For Immediate Release:
TV and Print Media Welcome
For more information:
Susan Davis, Cardozo, 212.790.0237
Joan M. Dim, NYU, 212.998.6849
EUROPEAN COURT MEMBERS AND FOUR U.S. SUPREME JUSTICES TO DISCUSS CURRENT EUROPEAN AND U.S. CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES
Historic Exchange To Be Hosted By NYU and Cardozo Law Schools -- April 16-17
Members of the Court of Justice of the European Communities will make their first-ever official visit to the United States to meet with four Associate Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court for frank and historic discussions on current European and U.S. constitutional issues. Participants will include Associate Justices of the U. S. Supreme Court Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen Breyer.
Of the 15 Judges and 8 Advocates General who sit on the European Court, six Judges, including the President of the Court and three Advocates General will participate.
Among the issues to be raised:
-- Women's rights, including affirmative action, in the federal system,
-- Compensation for environmental disasters,
-- Internet exchanges that threaten personal privacy, and
-- Different regulatory approaches to mega-mergers that affect businesses and consumers worldwide.
The visit, a two-day event, will be held at Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and New York University School of Law Sunday, April 16, and Monday, April 17. On April 16, both Courts will participate in discussions at Cardozo School of Law, 55 Fifth Avenue, beginning at 1:45 PM. On April 17, a seminar with members of the European Court will take place at NYU School of Law, 40 Washington Square South, beginning at 9 AM.
The New York City meeting marks the second gathering between the two Courts. The first took place in Luxembourg in July 1998. If history repeats itself, the second meeting will be as spirited as the first.
In 1998, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the leader of the American delegation, commented on the Luxembourg meeting: "In the next century, we are going to want to draw upon judgments from other jurisdictions," Justice O'Connor said. "We are going to be more inclined to look at the decisions of (the) European court -- and perhaps use them and cite them."
"At the productive exchange that took place two years ago in Luxembourg, it was clear that the United States' and European legal systems are drawing closer together all the time," said Dean Paul R. Verkuil of Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. "There was also the realization that when it comes to constitutional courts, the US is the old world and Europe is the new, and they each have much to learn from each other."
"The meeting between the American and European Courts offers a remarkable opportunity for exploration and a rare chance to discuss the different and similar ways in which each Court functions and the values and issues that touch it," said John Sexton, dean of the NYU School of Law. "We are delighted to co-host this meeting and feel strongly that it resonates the spirit of NYU's Global Law School Program as it expands---once again---the boundaries of the academy."
The Court of Justice of the European Communities, founded in 1952, is the supreme judicial authority of the 15 member states on matters governed by European Community law. The Court's judgments apply directly to citizens of the entire European Union, currently encompassing 375 million people. It adjudicates between the member states and the EU, balances the power between the Council of Ministers of the EU and the European Parliament, and interprets EU law for all national courts.
Media are invited to attend the discussions. Please call Joan M. Dim at 212.998.6849 or Susan Davis at 212.790.0237 to make a press reservation.
Pr..EU Court
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