Bolch Judicial Institute hosts annual World Justice Project conference

Oct 29, 2018Latest News

The Bolch Judicial Institute hosted the 2018 World Justice Project Scholars conference at Duke Law School Oct. 26-27. The conference, which focused on “The Rule of Law: Subnational, Supranational, and Empirical,” assembled scholars from around the world to share and discuss research and scholarship on a range of topics relating to the rule of law, including international enforcement of rule of law principles, rights and compliance, criminal justice and judicial reform in Mexico, and historical perspectives on the rule of law. Recordings of the proceedings will be made available on the World Justice Project website.

Jack Knight, the Frederic Cleaveland Professor of Law and Political Science at Duke and a faculty affiliate of the Bolch Judicial Institute, convened the invitation-only event. “The World Justice Project conference brings together some of the most creative and cutting-edge scholars from around the world who are studying the rule of law and how it is strengthened or compromised,” Knight said. “Hosting the conference at Duke with the Bolch Judicial Institute was a wonderful opportunity to align our mutual efforts to study and advance the rule of law. We hope to find other ways to collaborate in areas of shared interest.”

Several Duke faculty presented at the event: Professors Knight, Margaret Lemos, Georg Vanberg, and Curtis Bradley were discussants; Professor Timur Kuran presented on “Economic Harbingers of Ottoman Political Modernization: Evolving Anatomy of Power in Istanbul, 1600-1839”; Professor Larry Helfer presented “Populism and International Human Rights Institutions: A Survival Guide”; and Professor Rachel Brewster presented “OECD Anti-Bribery Treaty and the FCPA.”

During the conference, the World Justice Project awarded its annual Anthony Lewis Prize for Exceptional Rule of Law Journalism to a reporting team from Mexico’s Animal Politico that documented the large number of homicides that go unsolved and unpunished in Mexico. Read more on the World Justice Project website.