Experts from across the nation and world are convening at the MSU College of Law for a conference on terrorism and international criminal law.
The Journal of International Law is hosting the day-long conference, which begins at 9 a.m. Monday. The conference will focus on how international law applies to the war on terror, said Alex Kanous, managing editor of publications for the journal.
"We're looking at how war-crime laws apply," Kanous said. "How does one resolve issues of genocide when it is not performed by traditional armies, but guerrilla groups, private organizations or terrorists."
Each academic year, the journal tries to select a topic that is relevant to current events, said Nicholas Mathieu, editor in chief of the journal.
"Last year's symposium was about international medical health - which was a response to SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome)," Mathieu said. "With the situation in Iraq and the potential trial of Saddam Hussein, this became a very hot topic to discuss."
The topic was taken from the headlines, said Joashua Schulman, managing editor of events for the journal.
"International law is front-page news - you just can't escape it," Schulman said. "We wanted to have a conference that touched up issues people care about."
