About the Section Founded in 1933, the Section of International Law has been the leader in the development of policy in the international arena, the promotion of the rule of law and the education of international law practitioners. It is the only ABA entity that focuses on the full range of international legal issues and is involved in a wide variety of substantive legal activities. Currently, the Section has 13,000 members worldwide. The Section's purposes are to promote interest, activity, and research in international and comparative law and related areas; to further its development; to diffuse knowledge among members of the legal profession and others; to formulate professional opinion thereon; to promote professional relationships with lawyers similarly engaged in foreign countries; and to implement Goal VIII of the Association -- "To advance the rule of law in the world." To address these issues, the Section has assigned over 60 committees, task forces and working groups within five divisions - Business Transactions and Disputes, Business Regulation, Comparative Law, Public International Law, and General - to closely monitor and disseminate information on domestic and international policy developments with implications for law practice. Section members are encouraged to join and participate in any of the aforementioned committees. These groups produce a variety of programs, ABA policy recommendations, and publications helping to advance careers and serve the legal profession and the public. To cultivate discussion, the Section provides its members with various listservs, Webboard conferences, and web pages. In addition, members receive The International Lawyer, the quarterly law journal on international practice; International Law News, a quarterly publication with updates on international practice and news regarding the Section; discounts on practical publications; and programs that meet their CLE requirements. The Section regularly conducts educational programs for its membership and for other members of the legal community. Programs take the form of symposia, panel discussions, workshops and National Institutes and have recently focused on the legal aspects of international securities, international trade, and international litigation. Recent programs included the following: The Third Annual International Corruption Symposium; Cross-Border Offerings and Other International Finance Issues: Video Conference between the SEC and London members; National Institute on International Joint Venturing; and International Law in 2001: The Interaction of Law, Business and Politics. Future programs will include teleconferencing, videoconferencing and web casting. Furthermore, the Section continues to focus on the implementation of Goal VIII. The Central and Eastern European Law Initiative (CEELI - later renamed Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative), now an independent entity, was started by the Section to provide technical legal assistance to countries of that region. The ABA has expanded its technical legal assistance to all regions of the world through the ABA-Asia Law Initiative, ABA-Africa Law Initiative, and ABA-Latin America Law Initiative. The ABA/UNDP International Legal Resource Center (ILRC) was established in December 1999, based upon the common commitment of the ABA and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to support and promote good governance and rule of law around the world. The ILRC, which is housed within the Section, identifies legal experts to fulfill the requirements of UNDP requests relating to legal technical assistance projects worldwide, taking into account all relevant factors, including language capability and cultural sensitivity. The Center also serves as a depository of relevant rule of law and governance documents and other materials that are available to legal experts, UNDP staff, government officials, and others involved in UNDP-supported programs. Upon UNDP request, the ILRC is also available for specialized assistance including legislative assessment of draft national laws and regulations, and substantive advisory inputs on policy formulation. To date, the ILRC has assisted more than fifty UNDP representative offices in countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and the CEE and CIS regions. The International Legal Exchange Program (ILEX) arranges an annual outbound briefing trip for legal professionals who are interested in exchanging ideas with other countries. In 2000, ILEX organized a briefing trip to Brazil, where a delegation met with government officials, attorneys and bar association leaders in Sao Paulo, Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro. The substantive program focused on Brazil's privatization program, investment regime, intellectual property protections and the judicial system. In 2001, a delegation visited Beirut, Damascus and Tehran. The focus of this trip was to gain a greater understanding of the legal and business environments in Lebanon, Syria and Iran. In 2002, a delegation visited with governmental officials, local business leaders, private practice attorneys, and academics in Costa Rica and Guatemala. Additionally, ILEX arranges meetings for prominent international lawyers, judges, and scholars with legal professionals in the United States and assists international attorneys who have received an offer of short-term training by a U.S. law firm to obtain J-1 visas. Recent Section publications include: ABA Guide to Foreign Law Firms, 3rd ed. ABA Guide to International Business Negotiations, 2nd ed. Careers in International Law, 2nd ed. China Library: China Law Deskbook; China and Hong Kong in Legal Transition; The Lawyer's Guide to China's Technical Regulations for Imported Products Compendium of Foreign Trade Remedy Laws Doing Business in Argentina The International Human Rights of Women: Instruments of Change The International Lawyer's Deskbook A Legal Guide to Doing Business in Russia and the Former Republics of the USSR NAFTA and the Environment The North American Free Trade Agreement: A New Frontier in International Trade and Investment in the Americas The United Nations at 50 Geared for the working lawyer, the Section's International Practitioners' Workshop Series provides practical information on the major areas of international law and is produced in conjunction with each seasonal meeting. Recent ABA positions adopted at the Section's request have included resolutions that: (1) Support the United States' ratification of the Council of Europe's Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, provided that a significant number of eligible states have demonstrated that they are prepared to accede to this agreement; (2) Recommend United States ratification of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict; (3) Recommend that the United States Government accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; (4) Support U.N. adoption and U.S. ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflicts and; (5) Support U.N. adoption and U.S. ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography; Members of the Section are lawyers in private practice, corporate counsel, government lawyers, professors of comparative and international law, human rights activists, law students, and LLM candidates. Non-U.S. lawyers also can participate in the Section by becoming Foreign Associates of the ABA and joining the Section. To join the Section of International Law, please click here http://www.abanet.org/intlaw/about/join.html. The American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership association in the world. With more than 400,000 members, the ABA provides law school accreditation, continuing legal education, information about the law, programs to assist lawyers and judges in their work, and initiatives to improve the legal system for the public.