On September 6, 2013, an international conference entitled “End Game! An International Conference on Combating Piracy” will take place at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law.  The conference description reads as follows:

For the moment pirate attacks are down, but piracy continues to present a major threat to world shipping. Even with greatly expanded patrolling by international navies and increased use of private security forces, there have been 48 pirate attacks, 448 seamen were held hostage by pirates, and global economic losses due to piracy topped 5 billion dollars in the last twelve months. Meanwhile, renewed political turmoil in Somalia and Yemen is sowing the seeds for a fresh generation of pirates with increasingly deadly tactics. This conference brings together two-dozen of the world’s foremost counter-piracy experts to analyze the novel legal challenges and options related to this new phase in the fight against piracy.

This exciting conference will feature panels on current trends in combating piracy, the treatment of juvenile pirates, new ideas on combating financing piracy, as well as legal and operational issues in combating piracy.  The conference will reunite some of the most prominent experts from the field of maritime law, including law professors, prosecutors and judges from piracy-prosecuting nations, such as Kenya and Mauritius, NGO representatives, government officials, and international organizations members.  The key note lecture will be delivered by Canadian Senator Romeo Dallaire, founder of the Child Soldier Initiative at Dalhousie University and a prominent author and advocate.  Last but not least, Intlawgrrls participating at the conference include Laurie Blank and yours truly. 

The conference is open to the public (seating is limited and registration is required), and it will also be available via webcast.