From March 17 to 18, the Faculty of Law, Thammasat University is presenting an International Conference on Good Governance and Transparency in the Public and Private Sectors.

(courtesy of YouTube.com)

Introducing the speakers on the first morning of the conference, Associate Professor Narong Jaiharn, Dean of the Faculty of Law, Thammasat University pointed out:

It is undeniable that the problem of corruption in Thailand has worsened, and is now reaching a critical point. Despite continuous attempts by numerous parties drawn from the public sector, private sector, and across the whole of civilised society, the problem has not been resolved.

At the third meeting of the National Assembly for Reformation, in 2013, on “Increase of Private Participation for Prevention and Suppression of Corruption”, it was proposed that principles of transparency and good governance be adopted to rectify the problem of corruption. These principles were not new, but had been proposed, supported and discussed on several previous occasions. Nevertheless, the level of corruption has not decreased.

It is therefore interesting at this stage to discuss whether such principles have in practice been truly adopted and the manner in which they have been adopted; whether the adoption of such principles is appropriate; whether we lack a true and complete understanding of these principles; and whether these principles are in fact unsuitable for Thai society and Thai culture, thereby causing difficulties for the parties responsible for their implementation to address the problem of corruption.

The Faculty of Law, Thammasat University, which organises study and research relating directly to the problem of corruption and to principles of transparency and good governance, has deemed it appropriate to hold this International Conference in order to invite international experts to explore and elaborate on principles of transparency and good governance, including the application of such principles in both public and private sectors in other countries. The purpose of this Conference is to establish better understanding of, and identify important factors in the application of these principles, which may result in an effective solution to the problem of corruption.

(W. Michael Reisman in 1970, courtesy of the Yale Law School)

Associate Professor Narong was followed on the podium by Professor Dr. Somkit Lertpaithoon, Rector of Thammasat University, who officially opened the proceedings. Professor Dr. Somkit observed that corruption is not only a problem for politicians

but also for our people.

He added that to combat corruption,

awareness of the problem itself must go hand in hand with the proper solution.

Keynote speaker.

To this end, Professor W. Michael Reisman, Myres S. McDougal Professor of International Law at the Yale Law School gave the keynote address. Professor Reisman spoke on Why ‘Fair and Equitable Treatment’ Must Be a Dynamic Concept in International Investment Law.

The TU Libraries own a number of books that Professor Reisman has written, co-authored, or edited. Professor Reisman has been teaching at the Yale Law School for a half-century, since 1965. During that time, he has taught and supervised many Thai students who eventually taught at the Thammasat Law School. This conference marks Professor Reisman’s first-ever trip to Thailand, although he is very well-travelled as a legal scholar. He has been a visiting professor in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Berlin, Basel, Paris and Geneva. He has published widely in the area of international law and served as arbitrator and counsel in many international cases. He was also President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States, among many other distinctions. He has served as arbitrator and counsel in many international investment cases and was an arbitrator in boundary disputes between Eritrea and Ethiopia as well as in Abyei (Sudan). Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1939, he received a B.A. from the Johns Hopkins University in 1960; and a bachelor of laws degree from the Faculty of Law of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel in 1963. He earned other law degrees from the International Faculty of Comparative Law, Strasbourg and the Yale Law School.

(courtesy of the United Nations)

Human Rights Missions

In addition to many other scholarly and academic activities, Professor Reisman has distinguished himself by his tireless activism in the field of human rights, making trips to Pakistan and Suriname in 1987; Hungary, Haiti, and Peru in 1990; Taiwan and Colombia in 1991; Guatemala, the Bahamas, and Ecuador in 1994; Jamaica in 1995; Fiji in 1997; and   Greenland in 2001. He also revisited a number of these and other places to help observe elections or perform other duties as part of a team of legal experts. For all his undisputed eminence in the field of international law, especially on such matters as foreign investment disputes, Professor Reisman proved to be a soft-spoken, modest presence.

Law and Humor

The professor’s first words to his audience were that since he planned to talk for 45 minutes, he had decided to sit down while speaking. He stated wittily that lecturers who stand while addressing people “tower over audiences like a dictator” while the only other choice for the lecturer was “to sit like a supplicant,” or someone who is asking for something respectfully. Although his main subject was addressed to scholars of the law, his speech was clear even to non-lawyers. Professor Reisman suggested that international interpretations of words such as “fair and equitable” or “cruel and unusual” are always changing, which means that there will always be much interpretation for trained legal minds to do. Instead of merely verifying – or making sure something is true – such experts must interpret, or evaluate each individual case. These fine points of law or jurisprudence are what Professor Reisman has based his long and distinguished professional career upon. He gave as an example the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution which forbids “cruel and unusual punishment” for prisoners, but left it up to the government to decide whether the death penalty should be considered cruel and unusual. As views change at any given moment, when a legal specialist makes a decision it must be based on a snapshot of the circumstances as they exist at the time the judgment is needed.

Snapshots and Change.

Even a term such as “customary international law” can turn out to mean different things at different times, Professor Reisman pointed out, quoting an Italian legal authority, Judge Tullio Treves. International treaties must protect foreign investors in countries, just as arbitrators are not lawmakers, but participants in shaping international law. When his lecture was over, Professor Reisman stood at a podium for the question and answer period and when the audience turned out to be very shy about asking anything, he joked,

Speak now or forever hold your peace,

a phrase heard in traditional English-language marriage ceremonies where the guests are asked if anyone knows a reason why the couple should not be wed. A couple of questions were finally asked, including one about human rights, which Professor Reisman was particularly pleased to speak about as a veteran human rights lawyer, as he described himself.

Other presentations at the International Conference on Good Governance and Transparency in the Public and Private Sectors include the fields of international, business, public, and criminal law.