Victoria Mars, Chairman of Salzburg Global’s Board of Directors, pays tribute to Sandra Day O’Connor following her death aged 93
At the beginning of this month, we learned the sad news that Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to sit on the US Supreme Court, died aged 93.
Justice O’Connor was a longstanding Salzburg Global Fellow, friend, and supporter. She was also an inspiration to many, including me.
I had the honor of knowing Justice O’Connor when I was a young woman at the beginning of my career and adult life. In 1983, my mother invited her to spend some time with us at our home in Austria right after she participated in what I now know was her first Salzburg Global program: American Law and Legal Institutions.
I can remember sitting on our patio, listening to the two of them discussing relevant issues, chiming in with “youthful” comments and questions. Looking back, I realize that her presence was a role model that would subtly influence my own attitude towards my career and perspectives on how to address issues.
She had the courage to enter a world dominated by men, hoping that she would be the first but not the last female Supreme Court Justice. She approached issues, considering the impact that her opinions and decisions would have on all, not just on those who aligned with her own values. She led the way for so many of us looking for guidance on how to manage life and our careers.
Justice O’Connor returned to Schloss Leopoldskron in 1992 for "Transnational Law and Legal Institutions." During this program, she delivered the opening lecture on "The American Federal System." She also dedicated time to discussing the outcome of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a US Supreme Court case that decided on a woman's right to abortion.
Justice O'Connor continued to attend Salzburg Global programs and events in the 2000s and became a member of the advisory board of the Lloyd N. Cutler Center for the Rule of Law. In 2012, she hosted the third Cutler Lecture at the US Supreme Court.
Salzburg Global was founded as a forum for post-war dialogue and reconciliation. For more than 76 years, its programs have sought to bridge divides, advance movements for change, and create a positive impact on individuals, institutions, and systems. We’re grateful for the role Justice O’Connor has played in our history, the contributions she has made to Salzburg Global’s programs, and the positive impact she’s had on other Fellows.
Our thoughts remain with Justice O'Connor's family and friends.
For more information on Justice O’Connor’s visit to Salzburg Global in 1992, please read Tim Ryback’s vignette on Fellows Hall written for our 75th anniversary.
Salzburg Global Fellow Harshitha Kasarla reflects on the significance of three climate landmark litigation developments that have changed the rules of the game
The past few years have witnessed an increase in climate litigation. A quick comparison of the number of climate-change-related cases filed over the years illustrates this well. Over 800 cases were filed between 1986 and 2014, while over 1,200 cases were filed from 2014 to 2022 alone.
Courts are fast turning into champions against climate change, but three landmark climate litigation developments in 2021-22, namely the 1) Milieudefensie v. Royal Dutch Shell case, 2) the European Union (EU) Proposal on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence, and 3) the Philippines National Inquiry on Climate Change, are ushering in a new regime of corporate climate litigation, which has promise to rapidly change the existing balance in the fight against climate litigation.
Historically, most climate change cases have been filed against states rather than corporations. However, studies show that a mere 100 companies in the world are responsible for over 70% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions since 1988. This discrepancy exists because all human rights recognized by international law or domestic law (including the right to a clean environment) were traditionally only enforceable against states.
However, in view of the increasing power and role of corporations, the law is gradually expanding to recognize corporations as bearers of duties under international law and domestic law. Consequently, climate litigation against companies is on the rise. This enables companies, which are some of the world’s largest polluters, to be held accountable for climate change.
On November 26 2021, the District Court of Hague, Netherlands, enforced an unprecedented duty of care on corporate entities for climate change mitigation. It held that Royal Dutch Shell, a multi-national company, must reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 45% by 2030. This judgment is revolutionary for applying global objectives of climate change to corporate actors for the first time and for holding that Royal Dutch Shell, as a “major player” in the fossil fuel industry, has an “elevated responsibility” to mitigate climate change.
While applauded for its novel application of the legal responsibility of corporate actors for climate change, the judgment has attracted criticism that it inconsistently determines the content of this duty of care. The judgment holds that Royal Dutch Shell must reduce 45% of its GHG emissions by 2030 without outlining the legal and scientific basis for arriving at specific numbers.
In arriving at its judgment, the Court relied on various non-binding instruments, including the United Nations (UN) Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to make this determination, despite the fact that none of these reports specify parameters to determine particular carbon contributions or numbers for corporations or any other entity.
Overall, the judgment marks a revolutionary path toward holding corporates liable for their contributions to climate change but draws attention to the potholes that we are to encounter in the rocky terrain of corporate climate litigation. Imposing a new duty of care on corporations raises a number of unanswered questions, which include the size, nature, geographical presence, and business processes of various corporations, their corresponding impact on climate change, and the extent of their legal liability.
The Proposal for a Directive on Corporate Sustainability and Due Diligence that was adopted by the European Union on February 22 2022 promises to address the lacunae highlighted by the Royal Dutch Shell case to a large extent.
The Directive imposes strict duties of corporate due diligence to identify, mitigate and prevent environmental impact. It is the first regulation that promises to provide an extensive framework for corporate due diligence. It classifies companies on the basis of their size, employees, presence in the EU, and value chains to determine their duty of care.
For example, specific large companies (i.e., Group 1 companies which have over 500 employees and 150 million net turnover worldwide) are liable to ensure that their business model and strategy are compatible with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius in accordance with the Paris Agreement. It also clarifies that this responsibility extends to all operations of the company, including its subsidiaries and its value chains.
The Directive may reduce the legal uncertainty surrounding corporate environmental due diligence by providing one of the first regulatory frameworks that categorizes a standard of care for large, medium, and small companies with varying carbon footprints.
Another important development that heralds corporate climate liability has been the release of the final report of the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (on May 6 2022) after a seven-year-long inquiry into the liability of the world’s biggest fossil fuel corporations (carbon majors) for climate change. The case was initiated by a petition filed by Greenpeace Southeast Asia and numerous other Filipino individuals seeking an investigation of various carbon majors in the aftermath of severe typhoons in the Philippines.
The report holds 47 carbon majors responsible for over 21.44% of global carbon emissions. It holds them accountable for human rights due diligence and failure to address environmental and human rights abuse from their business operations. The report dispels the argument of lack of jurisdiction that was raised by many carbon majors with operations outside the Philippines. This has far-reaching implications for it suggests that carbon majors could be prosecuted for their violations all over the world.
The above-detailed developments are each unprecedented in attributing primary and direct responsibility to a corporation for mitigating and compensating for climate change. They are significant steps towards holding corporations, which wield more power and produce more GHG emissions than many governments in the world, liable for climate change mitigation.
While region-specific, these developments resonate globally by providing new standards for corporate climate liability. I believe that they are especially transnational for relying on international law norms and soft law instruments like the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which can be incorporated by any country across the world. Their importance also lies in their function as signals for corporations that are devising a future business strategy that incorporates climate due diligence into their strategy and operations.
Climate change is called the greatest human rights crisis facing the 21st century, and it is ironic that we allow some of its greatest contributors to run riot without supervision or regulation. These measures are urgent and necessary and must be applauded for changing the rules of the game.
Takeaways from the 2023 Cutler Fellows program
February 16-18, 2023 – This year’s Cutler Fellows brought a wide range of interests and ideas about international law with them to Washington, DC for The Future of Public and Private International Law. During the program, some excitedly discussed trade law while others debated human rights and artificial intelligence. Matching the interests of students, the weekend’s panels covered topics as diverse as international accountability for war, climate law and human rights.
Among the many insights offered by the speakers were three lessons that any law student, no matter what their interests are, could apply to a future career. The lessons were to think creatively, take every opportunity to learn, and to keep people at the forefront of legal practice.
When Mark Ellis, Robin Dunnigan and Bill Taylor discussed the war in Ukraine and international accountability, Dr. Ellis explained that with records of over 65,000 war crimes, Russia's invasion of Ukraine is the most documented war in history. Despite a rising pile of evidence accessible to the International Criminal Court (ICC), Ellis emphasized that the ICC is only as powerful as the international community’s political willingness to support it and thus any legal action will be at the hand of evolving geopolitics. During the conversation it was noted that as countries grapple with how to legally approach the actions of Russia in Ukraine, the international community needs legal experts to navigate the gray areas of international law with smart and original thinking.
The second lesson came during a panel on climate law when Leslie Fields and Ambassador Daniel Feldman discussed their career trajectories. What stood out from both speakers’ stories was their unwavering commitment to seize every learning opportunity. Ms. Fields, whose climate career began while volunteering before and after law school, on intersectional issues such as public health, civil and human rights, advised Fellows to be advocates first, and lawyers second. Ambassador Feldman, who shared memories of the Biden Administration’s efforts to advance U.S. climate action, encouraged students to take advantage of the growing number of opportunities in a field that is becoming increasingly important and timely. Students came away from the panel feeling hopeful about what a career in public service might offer and encouraged to seek out new opportunities.
Finally, the third lesson for this year’s Cutler Fellows came from a panel on human rights. Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis and Ambassador Roya Rahmani emphasized that human rights must exist on both individual and societal levels, and we therefore need laws and institutions to foster individual practice of human rights. During the conversation, the story of a foreign organization offering women’s rights classes in a country in conflict arose as an example of how challenging it can be to integrate human rights practices into communities lacking the institutions to support them. While many women attended the classes, the country lacked the institutions - childcare, spaces for public representation, and employment opportunities - that would allow them to exercise these rights. Thus, the matter of women’s rights was largely left in the classroom. The example and remaining panel reminded Cutler Fellows that no matter what type of legal practice they pursue, people should be placed at the forefront.
The words of the speakers - to think creatively, take every opportunity to learn, and to keep people at the forefront of legal practice - reverberated through the weekend. One participating student inspired by the program’s content said: “I am a 2L and had been feeling a bit like giving up on the international law path. I see more possibilities after this weekend and feel more confident in pursuing them.”
Highlights from the 11th Salzburg Cutler Fellows Program
Students from 14 US law schools convened in Washington, DC, last month to discuss how international law can help shape a more just global society.
Between February 16 and 18, 56 students convened for the 11th annual Salzburg Cutler Fellows Program: The Future of Public and Private International Law.
Students engaged with prominent legal professionals, public servants, and leaders in the international legal community. Discussions focused on legal challenges facing today's world and public service career paths.
The Salzburg Cutler Fellows Program is held under the auspices of the Lloyd N. Cutler Center for the Rule of Law.
The program is held in collaboration with fourteen of the leading US law schools: University of California Berkeley, University of Chicago, Columbia University, Cornell University, Duke University, Georgetown University, Harvard University, University of Michigan, New York University, Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, the University of Virginia and Yale University.
This year's program included three panels on timely international law topics. On the first morning of the program, Mark Ellis, executive director of the International Bar Association (IBA); Robin Dunnigan, United States deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs; and Ambassador William Taylor, vice president of Russia and Europe at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), examined the war in Ukraine and accountability in the international system.
The conversation ranged from the US administration's assistance to Ukraine to the power and limitations of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
That evening, Leslie Fields, national director of policy, advocacy and legal at the Sierra Club, and Ambassador Daniel Feldman, partner at Covington & Burling and former chief of staff and counselor to Secretary John Kerry, reflected on how climate law and policy have evolved in the past few decades and how climate action must advance in the coming years.
The next day started with a panel on human rights with speakers Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis, EU ambassador to the US and former EU special representative for human rights, and Ambassador Roya Rahmani, senior advisor at the Atlantic Council and former ambassador of Afghanistan to the US and Indonesia.
The conversation underscored the importance of developing institutions that support human rights efforts in the long term and adapting human rights approaches to the communities they serve.
In advance of the program, Fellows prepared working papers on emerging questions in international law. Faculty advisors from each of the participating law schools facilitated workshops designed to help students receive feedback from peers and refine their papers for eventual publication.
This year's student papers covered diverse topics, ranging from star torts to cyber surveillance, war debt, Russia's war in Ukraine, gender-based violence, and climate law, among many others.
On the program's final day, students shared their personal ambitions with mentors in the international law field during "Knowledge Café" sessions.
This year's mentors included Katrin Kuhlmann, visiting professor of law and faculty co-director of the Center on Inclusive Trade and Development at Georgetown Law; Barbara Medrado, associate on the international trade team at King & Spalding and a 2019 Cutler Fellow; Gomiluk Otokwala, senior counsel at the International Monetary Fund; and Thomas Weatherall, attorney-adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser for Human Rights and Refugees at the US Department of State and 2013 Cutler Fellow.
Between listening to and connecting with expert legal practitioners, students had the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with peers from around the country. "It's often so isolating to engage with the international law community at one's own school, and feeling the energy of so many intellectually curious peers was energizing in my own work," said one participant.
"As a result of the program, I am even more excited about my career in international law," added another. "I now have a new cohort of colleagues in the field who I know will be instrumental to the future of international law."
"The Salzburg-Cutler [Fellows] Program was a tremendous opportunity that I never quite expected to have the good fortune of participating in," said Vuong Nguyen, a Harvard Law student who felt particularly inspired by the program.
He added: "In our increasingly fragmented international order, it is important that international law ensures the participation of a wide community of interests and perspectives, developing and developed alike. The Salzburg Cutler [Fellows] Program's commitment to pluralism is, to me, strong evidence of international law's vitality, even during these tumultuous times."
Rising lawyers from Japan and the United States explore links between climate and trade policies
In an online Salzburg Cutler Fellows event titled The Next Frontier of International Climate Cooperation: Can Trade Drive Decarbonization?Cutler Fellows met with counterparts in Japan to explore the linkages between climate and trade policies.
The Salzburg Cutler Fellows program seeks to support rising lawyers in building leadership skills and networks across law and public service worldwide.
The event came as the Japanese government announced plans to introduce carbon pricing as a tool to reduce emissions at a meeting of its Green Transformation Panel (GX) the day before. Given this, participants were able to explore what carbon pricing may look like for Japan alongside the potential impact of other ongoing efforts such as the European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and the G-7 “climate club” proposal raised by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Participants’ backgrounds in law and climate policies helped them explore the legal and technical challenges to implementation guided by a series of experts on climate policy and carbon pricing:
In small breakouts, participants outlined possible rewards and risks to participation in carbon pricing. Potential risks included whether these policies would initially benefit developed counties further along the decarbonization curve as opposed to those feeling most acutely the effects of climate change. Insights included the possibility of using rebates to mitigate at the individual level the increased tax levied. Groups also discussed the possibility of lower emission countries transferring decarbonation technology to higher emitters to reduce the tax in the long run.
In addition, participants discussed the impact of carbon pricing in an inflationary environment, but noted that studies have shown that carbon pricing has a mild deflationary effect.
The event, which intended to forge active links between Cutler Fellows and Japanese peers, was generously supported by the Japanese Embassy to the United States.
Salzburg Cutler Fellows discuss how international law and legal systems can tackle challenges ranging from human rights to climate change and global economic issues at tenth annual program
Students from 13 top law schools across the United States were selected to explore the future of public and private international law at the tenth annual Salzburg Cutler Fellows Program.
The online program, spread across two weeks, (February 24 - March 12, 2022) saw top law students engage with prominent legal professionals, public servants, and leaders in the fields of international law and public service.
Speakers this year included John B. Bellinger III, former Legal Adviser to the US Department of State and National Security Council Pavel Baev, Research Professor at Peace Research Institute Oslo and Senior Non-Resident Fellow at Brookings Institution Svitlana Starosvit, former staffer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.
The 13 law schools taking part in the program this year were Berkeley, Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Harvard, Michigan, New York University, Northwestern, Penn, Stanford, Virginia and Yale.
The Cutler Fellows Program is always looking to respond to current world events, but this year’s opening event happened at a particularly crucial time in history, as the most “notable use of force that we have ever seen on the European continent since World War II” happened simultaneously. The opening keynote session looked to cover the future of international law after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the future of the Western order and the future of Ukraine.
In addition, Fellows received individual critique on their student papers from faculty of the participating law schools, as well as further advice on how to seek publication in journals. This year’s papers covered diverse topics, ranging from cyberwarfare and space weapons, Black Lives Matter, gender-based violence and climate justice amongst many others.
In the program’s Knowledge Café, students discussed personal ambitions and potential career routes in international law with mentors from Covington & Burling LLP, the International Monetary Fund and New Markets Lab.
At the end of this year’s program, Salzburg Global Seminar President Stephen L. Salyer spoke about what it means to be a Salzburg Global Fellow and the value it can bring to their lives. “I hope as you move forward in your careers that you will find those in this network to be valuable mentors and counterparts in helping you to shape a more just and sustainable world.”
Throughout the year, Salzburg Global Seminar also convenes current and rising leaders on topics such as:
As Cutler Fellows, students are part of the wider Salzburg Global Fellowship and can connect with Fellows from around the world, giving them access to a rich and varied network.
About the Program
The Salzburg Cutler Fellows Law Program is held by Salzburg Global Seminar under the auspices of the Lloyd N. Cutler Center for the Rule of Law. The annual program collaborates with eleven of the leading US law schools. This year’s program was sponsored by NYU Washington and Arnold & Porter.
The Cutler Fellows Program is named in memory of Lloyd N. Cutler, the Washington “Super Lawyer” who served as White House Counsel to Presidents Carter and Clinton.
Cutler also served as Chair of Salzburg Global Seminar’s Board of Directors for a decade and believed firmly in the power of mentoring young leaders with a commitment to making the world a better place through legal practice and the rule of law.
The Cutler Fellows Program was founded in 2012 by Salzburg Global Seminar to carry forward Lloyd Cutler’s legacy and to empower the next generation of legal professionals.
About Salzburg Global Seminar
Salzburg Global Seminar is an independent non-profit organization with a mission to challenge current and future leaders to shape a better world.
For 75 years, whether at our home of Schloss Leopoldskron, online or in locations around the world, our retreat-like programs have provided a forum for global exchange and transformation. Our inspiring environment, remote from the day-to-day buzz, allows participants from across the globe to come together and speak candidly, learn from each other, and return to their communities, organizations, and companies with renewed purpose and fresh perspective.
We have been at the forefront of major global movements for change since in 1947. We convene diverse Fellows across generations, geographies, and sectors, most of whom would otherwise never meet to exchange views or collaborate on new ideas. Together they create outside-the-box solutions and expand their networks in unprecedented ways.
Our focus is on tough issues that require cross-sector and interdisciplinary dialogue and the space to step back and explore innovative approaches. As part of our evolving strategy, our programs focus on creative & healthy societies, long-term & sustainable development, and rule of law & social trust.
We are supported by a combination of institutional partnerships, generous individual donations and revenue generated from our social enterprise, Hotel Schloss Leopoldskron.
For more information about the program, please contact:
Nabil Saad, Davidson Impact Fellow, nsaad@salzburgglobal.org
For more information about Salzburg Global Seminar, please contact:
Louise Hallman, Director of Communications, lhallman@salzburgglobal.org
Some of the top law faculty in the US offer law students advice on how to make their argument more effective and how to successfully get their papers accepted by journals across the world
On Saturday, February 26 and March 3, the Salzburg Cutler Fellows Program continued with back-to-back Paper Workshops. 13 Law School Professors and 50 Law School students were split into seven groups to discuss their papers and receive feedback from not only their peers, but from professors at the other leading legal institutions in the country. Paper groups met for three hours on each Saturday and each student received approximately 40 minutes of attention. This year, Fellows’ papers covered a variety of topics, such as War, Human Rights, Trade, and Climate, amongst others.
“The Cutler Fellows Program was one of its kind, bringing young scholars in the international law space to elaborate on cutting-edge research topics. (…) I appreciate the opportunity to be connected to a brilliant cohort of future international lawyers who share an interest in China and Asia-Pacific-focused research, and the valuable experience of having peer-to-peer feedback will really help take our projects to the next level”, said Boguang Yang, law student at the University of Pennsylvania.
The Salzburg Cutler Fellows Program is a program for students from the top 14 US law schools who intend to pursue careers in international law, legal practice, and public service. The Program identifies and empowers outstanding talents, fosters leadership skills, and builds lasting collaborative networks within the legal and public service sectors.
Through these Paper Workshops, Fellows contributed to a decade’s worth of intellectual publications and hope to follow the footsteps of former Fellows, such as Nathan Yaffe, who saw his paper “Indigenous Consent: A Self-Determination Perspective” published in the Melbourne Journal of International Law, based on an earlier draft he had workshopped with other Fellows and expert faculty at the 2017 Cutler Fellows Program.
“Being a Salzburg Cutler Fellow has been a life-changing opportunity in many ways. First, it has given me the chance to present my research before experts in international law, human rights and comparative law, and I believe that the comments and advice that I received from them will certainly bolster the quality of my own scholarship. Secondly, it has considerably strengthened my network, something that will surely prove crucial as I look further to develop my career”, reflected Cristian Eyzaguirre, from Stanford University.
To find out more about the Salzburg Cutler Fellows Program, check out our program page.