Past Events

Date: 16 October 2009
Time: 5.00pm
Venue: The Tun Mohamed Suffian Auditorium, Faculty of Law

Biography of the speaker:

Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson is a citizen of the Haida Nation from Skidegate, Haida Gwaii. She holds degrees in computer science and law from the University of British Columbia. She has practiced in the area of aboriginal-environmental law for the last 12 years, and restricts her personal law practice at White Raven Law in this area. Terri-Lynn represented the Haida Nation at all levels of court in litigation to protect the old-growth forests of Haida Gwaii in the Haida TFL39 Case ('Council of the Haida Nation and Guujaaw, et. al.' v. 'Ministry of Forests, et. al.'), and is General Counsel for the Haida Nation.

She has published and regularly lectures internationally in aboriginal law, particularly as it relates to cultural heritage and environmental protection. She was the founding Executive Director of the charity EAGLE (Environmental-Aboriginal Guardianship through Law and Education). Terri-Lynn has volunteered for numerous organizations, including as an Advisory Council member for the Vancouver Foundation's Environment Program, as a juror for the Buffet Award for Indigenous Leadership, at Ecotrust (US) and an Executive Member for Ecotrust Canada. She is currently a board member of Earthlife Canada Foundation and Haida Gwaii Singers Society.

Terri-Lynn is devoted to perpetuating Haida culture, beginning with co-founding a children's dance group in 1978 and illustrating a children's book for the QCI Readers Series, 'Crests of Haida Gwaii'.

She creates appliqud and woven ceremonial-regalia and is an accomplished singer and dancer. Her voice has graced ceremonies and conferences throughout the BC and other exotic locations including Indonesia, Italy, Amsterdam, New York and Haida Gwaii. She has recorded for film and television, including 'I called Her Lootaas', 'Keepers of the Fire', 'Keeping the Spirit Alive', 'The Nature of Things', CBC's 'First Night', 'First Story', and 'Ravens and Eagles'. Since 2001 Terri-Lynn has been an active member of the Rainbow Creek Dancers, which travels and performs locally and internationally.

All are welcome.

In conjunction with "The Colloquium on Contemporary Legal Issues in Malaysia" organised by the Faculty of Law, University of Malaya, you are cordially invited to a seminar entitled:

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY & THE LAW presented by Dr. Jayanthi Naidu Desan and Dr. Mohammad Rizal Salim

Date: 12 October 2009 Venue: The Tun Mohamed Suffian Auditorium, Faculty of Law Programme: 9.00am - Registration 9.30am - 10.00am - "Hard and Soft Standards in CSR : Never the Twain Shall Meet?" by Dr Jayanthi Naidu 10.00am - 10.30am - "Responsible But Not Accountable? CSR and the Law" by Dr Mohd Rizal Salim 10.30am - 11.00am - Q & A session 11.00am - Light refreshments Admission is free. For more information or to register your attendance, please contact 03 - 7967 6500/ 6501/ 6502 / 6575 or email anisah@um.edu.my

Synopsis "HARD AND SOFT STANDARDS IN CSR: NEVER THE TWAIN SHALL MEET?" by Dr. Jayanthi Naidu This paper makes a functional comparison of what is meant by voluntary and mandatory standards or ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ standards in corporate social responsibility engagement. The boundaries of both sides of the hard and soft divide will be illustrated by providing various examples. The aim is to show that the interaction between the two supposedly distinct types can give rise to a fruitful regulatory dynamic. Taken together, this paper suggests that CSR engagement must be understood as an interaction between both hard and soft aspects. Understanding standards this way becomes important as it provides a perspective on the magnitude of CSR engagement. It is also an attempt to reconcile with the social and environmental character of the corporation which sits alongside its economic side. Further, such an overview provides a starting point to critically evaluate CSR standards. Unless there is in place some kind of framework to evaluate standards, the standards will continue to proliferate indiscriminately and possibly threaten to undermine CSR engagement. "RESPONSIBLE BUT NOT ACCOUNTABLE? CSR AND THE LAW" by Dr. Mohd Rizal Salim Corporate social responsibility has attracted immense interest internationally. Critical insights on CSR have emerged from a variety of social science disciplines including economics, political science, sociology and numerous fields in management. This paper seeks to contribute to this body of knowledge. It is argued that the law in its current expression stands as a barrier to CSR in that directors are legally prevented from acting in any way which might be inconsistent to the interests of the company. This paper looks at ways to overcome this impediment and areas for reform.

Speakers' Profile JAYANTHI NAIDU DESAN is a Senior Consultant in CSR Asia, Kuala Lumpur. Her experience in the area of governance and sustainability spans government, academia and consulting. At CSR Asia, her role involves advising companies and institutions in realizing their CSR strategies. Jayanthi’s portfolio of work covers companies located in Europe and within the region. She is published in the area and is regularly invited to conferences. Her particular interest lies in bottom of the pyramid strategies and pro-poor policies. Prior to joining CSR Asia, she was the Executive Director of the University Malaya Malaysian Centre of Regulatory Studies, focusing on regulatory governance. Jayanthi is a lawyer by training and was previously involved in capital market prosecution and compliance. Jayanthi has a PhD in the area from Queen Mary, University of London and teaches a CSR module on the MBA programme at University Malaya. DR MOHAMMAD RIZAL SALIM is Associate Professor of Law at Nottingham University Business School, the University of Nottingham Malaysia campus. He lectures part-time the Advanced Company Law course, an LLM paper at the Faculty of Law, University Malaya. He has published internationally, and was awarded the 2007 Global Jurist Gold Medal for his article in "Global Jurist Frontiers". His book "Corporate Governance in Malaysia: Theory, Law and Context" (co-written with Dr Rashidah Abdul Rahman) is published by Sweet & Maxwell Asia in 2009. His research papers: http://works.bepress.com/mohammad_rizal_salim

Date: 16 October 2009

Time: 5.00pm

Venue: The Tun Mohamed Suffian Auditorium, Faculty of Law

Biography of the speaker:

Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson is a citizen of the Haida Nation from Skidegate, Haida Gwaii. She holds degrees in computer science and law from the University of British Columbia. She has practiced in the area of aboriginal-environmental law for the last 12 years, and restricts her personal law practice at White Raven Law in this area. Terri-Lynn represented the Haida Nation at all levels of court in litigation to protect the old-growth forests of Haida Gwaii in the Haida TFL39 Case ('Council of the Haida Nation and Guujaaw, et. al.' v. 'Ministry of Forests, et. al.'), and is General Counsel for the Haida Nation.

She has published and regularly lectures internationally in aboriginal law, particularly as it relates to cultural heritage and environmental protection. She was the founding Executive Director of the charity EAGLE (Environmental-Aboriginal Guardianship through Law and Education). Terri-Lynn has volunteered for numerous organizations, including as an Advisory Council member for the Vancouver Foundation's Environment Program, as a juror for the Buffet Award for Indigenous Leadership, at Ecotrust (US) and an Executive Member for Ecotrust Canada. She is currently a board member of Earthlife Canada Foundation and Haida Gwaii Singers Society.

Terri-Lynn is devoted to perpetuating Haida culture, beginning with co-founding a children's dance group in 1978 and illustrating a children's book for the QCI Readers Series, 'Crests of Haida Gwaii'.

She creates appliqud and woven ceremonial-regalia and is an accomplished singer and dancer. Her voice has graced ceremonies and conferences throughout the BC and other exotic locations including Indonesia, Italy, Amsterdam, New York and Haida Gwaii. She has recorded for film and television, including 'I called Her Lootaas', 'Keepers of the Fire', 'Keeping the Spirit Alive', 'The Nature of Things', CBC's 'First Night', 'First Story', and 'Ravens and Eagles'. Since 2001 Terri-Lynn has been an active member of the Rainbow Creek Dancers, which travels and performs locally and internationally.

All are welcome.

SEMINAR: "Corporate Social Responsibility & the Law"

In conjunction with "The Colloquium on Contemporary Legal Issues in Malaysia" organised by the Faculty of Law, University of Malaya, you are cordially invited to a seminar entitled: 

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY & THE LAW

presented by

Dr. Jayanthi Naidu Desan

and

Dr. Mohammad Rizal Salim

Date: 12 October 2009

Venue: The Tun Mohamed Suffian Auditorium, Faculty of Law

Programme:

9.00am - Registration

9.30am - 10.00am - "Hard and Soft Standards in CSR : Never the Twain Shall Meet?" by Dr Jayanthi Naidu

10.00am - 10.30am - "Responsible But Not Accountable? CSR and the Law" by Dr Mohd Rizal Salim

10.30am - 11.00am - Q & A session

11.00am - Light refreshments

Admission is free.

For more information or to register your attendance, please contact 03 - 7967 6500/ 6501/ 6502 / 6575 or email anisah@um.edu.my

Synopsis

"HARD AND SOFT STANDARDS IN CSR: NEVER THE TWAIN SHALL MEET?" by Dr. Jayanthi Naidu

This paper makes a functional comparison of what is meant by voluntary and mandatory standards or ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ standards in corporate social responsibility engagement. The boundaries of both sides of the hard and soft divide will be illustrated by providing various examples. The aim is to show that the interaction between the two supposedly distinct types can give rise to a fruitful regulatory dynamic. Taken together, this paper suggests that CSR engagement must be understood as an interaction between both hard and soft aspects. Understanding standards this way becomes important as it provides a perspective on the magnitude of CSR engagement. It is also an attempt to reconcile with the social and environmental character of the corporation which sits alongside its economic side. Further, such an overview provides a starting point to critically evaluate CSR standards. Unless there is in place some kind of framework to evaluate standards, the standards will continue to proliferate indiscriminately and possibly threaten to undermine CSR engagement.

"RESPONSIBLE BUT NOT ACCOUNTABLE? CSR AND THE LAW" by Dr. Mohd Rizal Salim

Corporate social responsibility has attracted immense interest internationally. Critical insights on CSR have emerged from a variety of social science disciplines including economics, political science, sociology and numerous fields in management. This paper seeks to contribute to this body of knowledge. It is argued that the law in its current expression stands as a barrier to CSR in that directors are legally prevented from acting in any way which might be inconsistent to the interests of the company. This paper looks at ways to overcome this impediment and areas for reform. 

Speakers' Profile

 JAYANTHI NAIDU DESAN is a Senior Consultant in CSR Asia, Kuala Lumpur. Her experience in the area of governance and sustainability spans government, academia and consulting. At CSR Asia, her role involves advising companies and institutions in realizing their CSR strategies. Jayanthi’s portfolio of work covers companies located in Europe and within the region. She is published in the area and is regularly invited to conferences. Her particular interest lies in bottom of the pyramid strategies and pro-poor policies. Prior to joining CSR Asia, she was the Executive Director of the University Malaya Malaysian Centre of Regulatory Studies, focusing on regulatory governance. Jayanthi is a lawyer by training and was previously involved in capital market prosecution and compliance. Jayanthi has a PhD in the area from Queen Mary, University of London and teaches a CSR module on the MBA programme at University Malaya.

 DR MOHAMMAD RIZAL SALIM is Associate Professor of Law at Nottingham University Business School, the University of Nottingham Malaysia campus. He lectures part-time the Advanced Company Law course, an LLM paper at the Faculty of Law, University Malaya. He has published internationally, and was awarded the 2007 Global Jurist Gold Medal for his article in "Global Jurist Frontiers". His book "Corporate Governance in Malaysia: Theory, Law and Context" (co-written with Dr Rashidah Abdul Rahman) is published by Sweet & Maxwell Asia in 2009.

His research papers:

http://works.bepress.com/mohammad_rizal_salim

LECTURE:"Data Protection: Too Litle, Too Poor" by Professor Abu Bakar Munir

Date : 4th August 2009

Time : 5.00pm

Venue : Tun Mohamed Suffian Auditorium, Faculty of Law

After a long wait of more than a decade, on 17 June 2009, the Deputy Minister of Information, Communication and Culture announced in Parliament that the Personal Data Protection Bill is to be presented for the first reading in October 2009. The Deputy Minister stated, "We are determined to get it done this year. This Act is vital in protecting our privacy and to safeguard personal information". This law affects almost every individual and organization, public or private, as collecting and managing data is part and parcel of an organization.

The law also gives certain rights to individuals whose data are collected. This talk provides an overview of the international data protection instruments. It discusses the approaches adopted by the different jurisdictions in protecting personal data. In conclusion, it elaborates on the salient features of the data protection law and its effects and impact on an organization.

SPEAKER'S PROFILE :

Abu Bakar Munir is a Professor of Law and the former Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Malaya, Malaysia. He is the author of several books; 'Privatisation' (1992), 'Cyberlaw: Policies and Challenges' (1999), 'Privacy and Data Protection'(2002), 'Internet Banking: Law and Practice' (2004) and 'Information', 'Communication and Technology Law' (2009) (in print). He has published articles widely on Information and Communications Technology Law, Air and Space Law and Nanotechnology Law. He speaks extensively at conferences around the globe including those organized by the universities such as Oxford, Cambridge and MIT.

Professor Abu Bakar Munir has been widely consulted by governments and private entities around the world. He was seconded as the IT Law Adviser and Principal Consultant to the Government of Dubai, UEA where he led an international team of consultants in developing and drafting several IT legislation to facilitate the Dubai Internet City, a multi-billion dollar IT project. He is currently the Adviser to the Government of Malaysia on data protection. Since 2007, he has been actively involved and instrumental in developing and drafting the above-mentioned Bill. He is also an Adviser to the Government of Indonesia and has recently completed drafting the Personal Data Protection Bill for the Republic.

He is a member of the United Nations ICT Policy and Internet Governance Working Group and a Council Member of the Asia Pacific Privacy Charter Council (APPCC). He is also an Expert to the Amicus Legal Consultants Ltd. London and an ICT Law Consultant to Dr. Colin Ong Legal Services, Brunei Darussalam. He is affiliated to many other organizations and is also a Visiting Professor at several universities, nationally and internationally.

All are welcome. Light refreshments will be served after the lecture.

For further details, please contact sujatabalan@um.edu.my or call 03- 7967 6544 / 6500 / 6575 / 6501

LECTURE: "Judicial Independence in the United States" by Judge David M.Ebel

Date: 15 July 2009 (Wednesday)

Time: 3.00pm

Venue: The Tun Mohamed Suffian Auditorium, Faculty of Law

Biography of the speaker:

Judge Ebel is a Federal Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, having served in that capacity now for almost twenty years. This is one of twelve regional appellate courts in the country that sits just below the United States Supreme Court. Judge Ebel has also served for seven years on the Codes of Ethics Committee for United States Judges, which advises all United States Judges on ethics and discipline issues.

Judge Ebel has been active in international relations with judges from other countries. He provided assistance to the Judges of Canada in drafting their first Code of Judicial Ethics. He has made several trips to Rwanda to provide advice regarding the reconstruction of their judicial system following the genocide. He also recently made several trips to Montenegro to consult with the Judges of the Administrative Court of Montenegro regarding a desk book and to consult with the Judicial Council of Montenegro regarding judicial governance, appointment, discipline and removal of judges.

All are welcome. Light refreshments will be served after the lecture.

For further details, please contact sujatabalan@um.edu.my or call 03 - 7967 6544 / 6500 / 6575 / 6501

SEMINAR: "Immunities from Jurisdiction since Pinochet: The Place of Universal Jurisdiction in International Law" by Dr. Amrita Mukherjee

Date: 1st April 2009 (Wednesday)

Time: 4.00pm

Venue: Bilik Persidangan, Faculty of Law, UM.

Biography of the speaker:

Dr Amrita Mukherjee LL.B (Hons.), LL.M, Ph.D. is a lecturer at the School of Law, University of Leeds. Her research interests are in the field of international law and international human rights law and her book "Torture and the United Nations: Charter and Treaty-based Monitoring" was recently published by Cameron May. She is a member of the Centre for International Governance at the School and Director for the Programmes in International Law and International Trade Law.

All are welcome

SEMINAR: "Sharia in Europe: the Archbishop, Pluralism and Democracy" by Peter Cumper

Date: 22nd April 2009 (Wednesday)

Time: 3.00pm - 4.00 pm

Venue: Bilik Persidangan, Faculty of Law, UM.

Biography of the speaker:

Peter Cumper is a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Leicester. He has taught at the Universities of Hull, Nottingham and Nottingham Trent, and has also held visiting positions at the University of Minnesota, Loyola University Chicago, William Mitchell College of Law, and the Open University of Hong Kong. His main research interest is in the field of Public Law. He is currently visiting Malaysia as part of a British Academy funded project into the relationship between international human rights norms and 'Sharia' law. Details of his most recent publications can be found at http://www.le.ac.uk/law/staff/pc29/index.html

Seminar's Summary:

In 2008, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in a well publicised speech, suggested that consideration be given to the incorporation of elements of 'Sharia' law into the UK's legal system. His speech generated considerable controversy, but what has not been widely publicised is the fact that, during this speech, he suggested that in implementing 'Sharia', the UK could learn lessons from overseas, and in this regard he very briefly cited with approval, Malaysia. In this talk I will examine the Archbishop's proposal, and will contrast his approach to 'Sharia' law with that of Europe's primary human rights Court, the European Court of Human Rights. The aim of the talk is to consider the extent to which Europe should accommodate elements of 'Sharia' law and whether there are useful lessons from Malaysia in this regard.

All are welcome

FIRST YEAR STUDENT WINS UNIVERSITIES ESSAY CHALLENGE 2008/2009

University of Malaya (UM) by winning the Standard Chartered Bank-MoU Universities' Essay Challenge 2008/2009. His essay entitled  Islamic Banking and its relevance to my personal finances  came out as the Best Overall Essay out of 500 entries from University of Malaya (UM), University of Mara Technology (UiTM) and University of Science Malaysia (USM).

He received his prize from Y.B Dato' Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Minister of Defence in a ceremony on 13 April 2009. He brought back with him overall RM 3500 in Standard Chartered Saadiq savings account.

Tan has distinguished himself from the other two finalists from USM and UiTM by being the only first year student who managed to enter the final stage. This shows the quality of student that UM has. In the prize giving ceremony, the three finalists were required to present their essays through what the organizer called as oratory challenge. This challenge was won by UiTM senior student, Norazlin.

The essay produced by Tan has proven the originality of idea and the level of understanding that he has on Islamic Banking system that had appealed the independent committees who assessed all the essays. The UM campus community is proud on this achievement and hopefully this successful story will encourage more UM's students to prove their ability in their respective academic fields in various competition.

PUBLIC LECTURE : "Can International Law Solve the Palestinian- Israeli Conflict?" by Dr. Azzam Tamimi

Date : 8 May 2009

Time : 3pm

Venue : The Tun Mohamed Suffian Auditorium, Faculty of Law

SPEAKER'S PROFILE :

Dr Azzam Tamimi is the director of the Institute of Islamic Political Thought (IIPT), London. He has been a visiting professor at Kyoto University (2004) and Nagoya University (2006). He has published several books on Islam and democracy, among others, entitled Rachid Ghannouchi, Democrat within Islamism (Oxford University Press, New York, 2001).

He also co-edited a book, Islam and Secularism in the Middle East (Hurst, London and NY University Press, New York, 2000). Another book, Hamas, The Unwritten Chapters, was published in October 2006. He writes and lectures on issues related to Islamic political thought and Middle Eastern politics. He is a regular commentator on the Arabic satellite channel Al-Jazeera and makes frequent appearances on a number of other channels, both English and Arabic.

LECTURE SYNOPSIS :

The United Nations (UN) was formed in the aftermath of the Second World War with the objective of preventing another global conflagration and reducing the outbreaks of localised conflicts. From May 1947 to April 2009, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), established under the auspices of the UN, has either resolved or is hearing up to 144 cases involving disputes involving sovereign states. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict, on the other hand, since May 1948 has brought to the fore legal issues relating to sovereignty, wars, occupation, refugees and the construction of the Israeli barrier in the West Bank, some, if not most of which have been brought before the UN and ICJ for resolution. And yet the conflict persists. Dr. Azzam Tamimi will address these issues and the question of whether the international legal process can resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

All are welcome.

FORUM: "Towards a More Structured Approach to Public Health Law in Malaysia" by Professor John Blum

Date : 3 June 2009

Time : 10am

Venue : Conference Room, Faculty of Law, University of Malaya

In this forum, Professor Blum will share his experience in developing public health law programmes in other jurisdictions and it is hoped that this forum will be a catalyst for further research and development of public health laws and policies in Malaysia.

SPEAKER'S PROFILE :

Prior to joining the School of Law at Loyola University in Chicago, Professor Blum held positions at the faculties of Penn State and Boston University, and was a teaching fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health. In the spring of 1993 he was a visiting professor at Osgoode Hall and the University of British Columbia faculties of Law under the auspices of the U.S.-Canada Fulbright program. He has served as a consultant to USAID in Indonesia where he worked on the development of a curriculum in public health law for use in schools of public health. He has many years of experience in health law and policy, and is very active in research in these areas, with a particular focus on legal issues in medical quality assurance. Professor Blum is also an adjunct professor of medical humanities in Loyola's Stritch School of Medicine, Department of Medicine.

All are welcome

UM WINS THE 2009 PHILIP C. JESSUP INTERNATIONAL LAW MOOT COURT COMPETITION

20th - 22nd of February 2009, the Malaysia National Round of the Phillip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition 2009 was held at the Faculty of Law, University of Malaya.

Eight teams from both public and private law schools participated in three grueling days of oratory competition. The eight Malaysian teams which took part this year were Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Universiti Darul Iman Malaysia (UDIM), Multimedia University (MMU), Advanced Tertiary College (ATC), International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and University of Malaya (UM).

After a long and intense competition, the team from University of Malaya was announced as the National Champions and will represent Malaysia at the International Rounds of the competition in Washington D.C. Congratulations to the UM team!

The team from University of Malaya comprised of the following students from the Faculty of Law, namely,

* Samuel Leong Chan Yan

* Tharishni V. Arumugam

* Karthini Mahendranathan

* Affendy Ali Dally

At the end of the competition, UM also bagged the Best Oralist award as Samuel Leong from the University of Malaya team was named the best oralist of the competition. Well done!