What is the status of Taiwan under international law? In the second of our speaker series “Taiwan Legal,” Peter Dutton, senior research scholar at the Paul Tsai China Center of Yale Law School, will unpack arguments about who has sovereignty over the island of Taiwan and adjoining small islands that its government controls. If Taiwan’s status is unsettled, does international law still recognize its government’s right of self-defense and the right of its friends to defend it?

Nippon Steel’s planned purchase of former giant U.S. Steel is currently the most important and controversial topic in US-Japan economic relations.  Regardless of whether the purchase is ultimately allowed to proceed, the public opposition from leaders of both American parties raises important questions for the future. What effect could this have on other Japanese FDI into the US and broader US-Japan cooperation? Is there a risk of reciprocity when US companies seek to make acquisitions in Japan? To what extent does it represent a significant broadening of the definition of “national security” against the background trend of de-globalization and the reshoring of supply chains? William Chou, deputy director of the Japan Center at the Hudson Institute, and Hiroyuki Nishimura of Nikkei will put the Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel acquisition in context in a panel discussion with NYU Law Adjunct Professor Bruce Aronson and NYU Law Professor Jose Alvarez (moderating)

One of the most complicated issues in contemporary international relations is the status of the self-governing island of Taiwan and its government in Taipei, formally called the government of the Republic of China. Is Taiwan a sovereign state? What is the legal relationship between the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China? Is United Nations membership essential for statehood? How should other states engage with Taiwan? How much of US support for Taiwan is grounded in law and how much in policy? Does international law recognize Taiwan’s right of self-defense or the right of its friends to come to its aid?

Two members of the International Law Commission (ILC), the UN’s premier body for the codification and progressive development of international law, Phoebe Okowa and Nilufer Oral had a conversation with Prof. Jose Alvarez on the role and promise of the ILC -- and especially the challenge of sea-level rise which is being addressed in an ILC Study Group co-chaired by Ms. Oral. This is a rare opportunity to engage with two leading international lawyers on timely topics.

Professor Jose Alvarez provided tips and advice on what law reviews and other publishers are looking for in articles on the subject of international law.  This is an insider’s look at what it takes to be published in both student-edited and peer-reviewed journals