Lieber Code Conference | Columbia Law School

Co-Sponsored by the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, the Roger Hertog Program on Law and National Security, and The Lieber Society of the American Society of International Law.

Drafted by Columbia University Professor Francis Lieber and signed by President Lincoln in 1863 as General Order No. 100, the Lieber Code represented the world's first attempt to codify the laws of war.  This conference celebrating its 150th anniversary will address the historical origins of the Code, its impact on the development of international humanitarian law and its continued significance to modern challenges in armed conflict. It will feature a lunch keynote address by Brigadier General Rich Gross, U.S. Army, Legal Counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Panelists will include Sir Adam Roberts, University of Oxford, Sir Daniel Bethlehem, former Legal Adviser to the United Kingdom Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Prof. John Witt, Yale Law School, Prof. Robert Chesney, University of Texas at Austin School of Law, Dapo Akande, University of Oxford, Maj. Gen. Blaise Cathcart, Judge Advocate General of the Canadian Armed Forces, Jelena Pejic, Legal Counsel, International Committee of the Red Cross, Marten Zwanenburg, Senior Legal Advisor in the Netherlands Ministry of Defense, Dr. Bruce Oswald, Melbourne Law School, Naz Modirzadeh, Harvard Law School and Sarah Cleveland, Philip Bobbit and Matthew Waxman of Columbia Law School.

Conference Schedule

9:00 – 9:15 Introductions

Philip Bobbitt, Herbert Wechsler Professor of Federal Jurisprudence, Columbia Law School

9:15 – 10:30 Panel One: The Lieber Code & the American Civil War

• John Witt, Allen H. Duffy Class of 1960 Professor of Law, Yale Law School
• Robert Chesney, Charles I. Francis Professor in Law, University of Texas at Austin School of Law
• Moderator: Sarah Cleveland, Louis Henkin Professor of Human and Constitutional Rights; Faculty Co-Director, Human Rights Institute, Columbia Law School

10:30 – 10:45 Break

10:45 – 12:00 Panel Two: Global Influence of the Lieber Code

• Dapo Akande, University Lecturer in Public International Law and Co-Director of the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict (ELAC)
• Sir Adam Roberts, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for International Studies, University of Oxford; Emeritus Fellow, Balliol College, University of Oxford.
• Moderator: Philip Bobbitt, Herbert Wechsler Professor of Federal Jurisprudence, Columbia Law School

12:00 – 12:10 Break

12:10 – 1:20 Lunch Keynote Remarks

• Brigadier General Rich Gross, U.S. Army, Legal Counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Introduction: Sir Daniel Bethlehem, Visiting Professor, Columbia Law School and former Legal Adviser to the United Kingdom Foreign & Commonwealth Office

1:20 – 1:30 Break

1:30 – 3:00 Panel Three: Contemporary Challenges in the Law of Armed Conflict Enforcement & Compliance

• Major General Blaise Cathcart, Judge Advocate General of the Canadian Armed Forces
• Jelena Pejic, Legal Counsel, International Committee of the Red Cross
• Marten Zwanenburg, Senior Legal Advisor, Netherlands Ministry of Defense
• Moderator: Matthew Waxman, Professor of Law; Faculty Chair, Roger Hertog Program on Law and National Security, Columbia Law School

3:00 – 3:15 Break

3:15 – 4:45 Panel Four: A Lieber Code for the 21st Century? Harmonizing Standards in Armed Conflict

• Sir Daniel Bethlehem, Visiting Professor, Columbia Law School and former Legal Adviser to the United Kingdom Foreign & Commonwealth Office
• Dr. Bruce Oswald, Associate Professor, Melbourne Law School
• Naz Modirzadeh, Senior Fellow, HLS-Brookings Project on Law and Security, Harvard Law School
• Moderator: Brigadier General Rich Gross, U.S. Army, Legal Counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

4:45 – 5:00 Closing Remarks

• Sarah Cleveland, Louis Henkin Professor of Human and Constitutional Rights; Faculty Co-Director, Human Rights Institute, Columbia Law School

5:00 Reception