Keynote Address

• Published in: American Society of International Law. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting Vol. 96; pp. 348 - 353
• Main Author: O’Connor, Sandra Day
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.01.2002; The American Society of International Law
• Subjects: Agreements; Americans with Disabilities Act 1990-US; Attorneys; Countries; Court decisions; Federal court decisions; Globalization; Hague Conventions; Human rights; International agreements; International law; International relations; Judges; Judges & magistrates; Law schools; Law students; Litigation; Rule of law; United States > US
• ISSN: 0272-5037; 2169-1118
• DOI: 10.1017/S0272503700063801

Why does information about international law matter so much? Why should judges and lawyers who are concerned about the intricacies of ERISA, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Bankruptcy Code care about issues of foreign law and international law? The reason, of course, is globalization. No institution of government can afford now to ignore the rest of the world. The importance of globalization should not be underestimated. The US operates today under a large array of international agreements and organizations: the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the World Trade Organization, the Hague Conventions on collection of evidence abroad and on service of process, the New York Convention on the Enforcement of Arbitral Awards, to mention only a few of a great many such agreements. But globalization is so much more than simply these agreements and organizations. Globalization also represents a greater awareness of, and access to, peoples and places far different from one's own.