Klare Honored in South Africa

The University of Stellenbosch, a leading academic institution in South Africa, honored Matthews Distinguished University Professor Karl Klare in August by holding a one-day seminar, “Transformative Constitutionalism — Ten Years Later,” in recognition of the anniversary of the publication of Klare’s seminal article, “Transformative Constitutionalism,” in the South African Journal on Human Rights. Judges, academics and legal activists attended the event. While in South Africa, Klare spent several weeks as a visiting lecturer at the law faculty of the University of Cape Town. He co-taught a course on constitutional litigation with the Hon. Dennis Davis, judge of the High Court of South Africa, and Professor Halton Cheadle, a distinguished labor and constitutional lawyer. Klare also participated in an editorial board conference of the new journal Constitutional Court Review, which will publish an article by him in its inaugural edition.

Spring 2009 Faculty News

Profile: Sonia Elise Rolland

When it comes to international law — and international waters — new faculty member Sonia Elise Rolland is a natural at the helm. A native of France, Rolland joined the Northeastern community in January and will soon be teaching International Law as well as two new courses, International Trade Law and International Litigation.

When Rolland isn’t busy with the demands of developing advanced law courses and writing articles, she can be found on the open seas. She’s currently working toward coastal skipper certification, and in December sailed the English Channel from Southampton to Cherbourg. She has also sailed the coasts of France, England and Italy.

“The skipper license means I can charter sailboats pretty much anywhere,” says Rolland, who began sailing as a child. “Unlike the US, boat charters in most of Europe require some proper qualification. The process entails learning a lot about nautical charts, calculating tides — I do more math on boats than anywhere else — safety and navigation. I have to accumulate hundreds of miles of sailing and hours of night sailing as well as the ability to give first aid, fix a diesel engine and operate a VHF radio.”

Back on terra firma, Rolland’s research interests include public international law, international trade law, environmental law and energy regulation. She has published on several aspects of international law, including, “The Precautionary Principle: Development of an International Standard” (23 Michigan Journal of International Law 429, 2002), which received several awards. The International Law Commission, in a resolution by the United Nations General Assembly, recently endorsed the article’s findings.

With degrees from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (France), the Université Paris-10 (France) and the University of Michigan Law School, Rolland joined the energy law practice of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan in Washington, DC, where she focused on international trade in energy commodities and the development of import infrastructure in the United States, as well as environmental regulation of oil and natural gas shipping in the United States and internationally. Drawn back to academia, she recently ventured to Cambridge University (England), where she defended her PhD thesis on the legal framework for development at the World Trade Organization. Her teaching experience includes a year as a visiting research scholar at Columbia University Law School and the position of visiting professor at the University of Michigan Law School in 2008.

At Northeastern, Rolland will no doubt chart new waters as she helps broaden the curriculum — and students’ horizons — with more international course offerings.

Adjunct Professor Ralph Gants Appointed to SJC

The Honorable Ralph Gants, a member of the Massachusetts Superior Court for more than a decade, was nominated in December to the Supreme Judicial Court by Governor Deval Patrick. Gants previously ran a public corruption unit while serving as a federal prosecutor and was in private practice. At the School of Law, he has taught Civil Trial Practice as well Balancing Security and Liberty, a seminar developed by his wife, Professor Deborah Ramirez.

PHOTO: BOSTON GLOBE