CUUNA Panel Discussion: 'US & UK: How where they involved in the Middle East?'

Speakers: Professor Harold Hongju Koh and Commander Ian Park.

Both speakers were legal advisers on operations to the Middle East, one for the U.S. Department of State, the other for the UK Government. They will speak about their experiences as legal advisers and will give an insight into the strategies of two key players in armed conflicts in Syria and Iraq. A must-attend for all students interested in International Law!

Commander Ian Park is a barrister in the Royal Navy and specialized in international law. He was deployed as a legal adviser on operations to Afghanistan and, on many occasions, to the Middle East. Ian is, or has been, a Hudson Fellow at Oxford University, a Visiting Fellow at Harvard Law School, a First Sea Lord’s Fellow and a Freeman of the City of London. He has a doctorate in law from Balliol College (Oxford) and has lectured at Harvard Law School, Oxford University, The Academy of Military Sciences, Beijing, Hanoi University, Shanghai Jiao Tung University and Freiburg University amongst other institutions. Ian is the author of ‘The Right to Life in Armed Conflict’ (Oxford University Press, 2018) and in 2018 was the winner of the outstanding performance by an HM Forces barrister at the UK Bar Awards.

Professor Harold Hongju Koh has been an International Law Professor at Yale Law School for 37 years, and a Law School Dean for five years. He has gained experience as a Human Rights Lawyer and Practitioner for 30 years. Harold Koh has been twelve years in the U.S. Government, as an Attorney at the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice, as an Assistant Secretary of State Democracy Human Rights and Labor, and as a Legal Adviser in the U.S. Department of State.