DETROIT (Jan. 21, 2011) -

Julia Ernst

Wayne State University Law School's Program for International Legal Studies and the International Law Students Association are pleased to host a lecture by Julia Ernst, visiting associate professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, at 12:15-1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26, in the Law School's Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium. Ernst's lecture is titled "U.S. ratification of the Women's Rights Treaty: Fabulous, horrendous or meaningless?"

"The United States has not ratified the Women's Rights Treaty more than 30 years after it was drafted," said Professor Gregory Fox, director of the Program for International Legal Studies. "This is puzzling, to say the least. Julia Ernst is the ideal person to help us understand the debates surrounding the treaty and the prospects for U.S. ratification."

Ernst directs the Women's Law and Public Policy Fellowship Program at the Georgetown University Law Center, which provides fellowship opportunities for public interest lawyers to work for a year in Washington, D.C., on legal and policy issues affecting women and girls. She also leads the Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa Fellowship Program, which trains lawyers from Africa who have dedicated their careers to advancing women's human rights in their countries. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School.

The event is free and open to the public, and lunch will be provided. Parking is available for $4.75 in Structure #1 across from the Law School on West Palmer Street in Detroit. For directions to the Law School or to view a campus map, visit www.campusmap.wayne.edu/location/LAW.

For more information regarding the event or the Program for International Legal Studies, visit Wayne Law at www.law.wayne.edu/international-studies or contact Fox at gfox@wayne.edu.

Additional upcoming international events:
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
John Hutson, University of New Hampshire Law School (formerly Franklin Pierce Law School), "Rules of Engagement in Counter-Insurgency Campaigns"

Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Natalie Klein, Macquarie Law School, Sydney Australia, "Protecting Whales under International Law: Australia's case against Japan before the World Court"

Find more information about these events at http://law.wayne.edu/international-studies/events.php.  

Program for International Legal Studies
Wayne Law created the Program for International Legal Studies in recognition of the breadth of the faculty's international engagements and expertise and the fact that nearly all aspects of law now have an international component. From regulation of cross-border financial transactions to controlling pollution that recognizes no boundaries to human rights treaties that regulate how governments treat their citizens, law is now an interconnected global phenomenon.

The program coordinates all activities at Wayne Law related to international law. These activities include hosting the Speaker Series, sponsoring conferences and symposia featuring leading international scholars and practitioners, promoting research on international and comparative law topics, and providing important resources for Wayne Law students, alumni and friends interested in international law.

The program capitalizes on the Law School's world-renowned faculty members, who teach and write on a wide variety of international legal issues.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research university offering more than 400 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 32,000 students.

For more information about Wayne State University Law School, visit law.wayne.edu.