(Papers to be published in Southern Illinois Law Review)
The Northwest Passage, the Arctic Ocean, and NAFTA are the most obvious concerns for a North American year in review. The first two topics involve the struggle over whether the U.S. should ratify the Law of the Sea Convention, a matter that bears close watching, As for NAFTA, it is a paradigm for the U.S. for non-global trade pacts, so it is natural to look beyond it to the newer U.S. bilateral treaties for a broader context. Also, NAFTA was not just about trade – it raised concerns about labor and environmental issues, and now is a good time to take stock of those matters – in context. Finally, panels on the foregoing topics invoke pragmatic concerns and provide an occasion to interact with practitioners of international law; for teachers of international law this is a valuable opportunity to hear those practitioners tell us what they wish we were teaching our students.
Business Meeting of Section on North American Cooperation at Program Conclusion.