By Dean Jeffrey A. Brauch
It is my privilege to introduce to you Regent University’s Journal of Global Justice and Public Policy. The Journal joins the visions of two predecessor journals at Regent University School of Law: the Journal of International Law and the Journ al of Law and Public Policy. Each journal has made significant contributions to the world of ideas and scholarship. They have featured leading judges, scholars, and government leaders such as European Court of Human Rights President Jean Paul Costa, Professor David Smolin, and former United States Attorney General John Ashcroft. They have explored critical and challenging issues around the globe from humanitarian intervention to international adoption. The new Journal of Global Justice and Public Policy is built on this foundation and heritage.
It is most appropriate that the energy and resources of these two fine journals be combined. First, it is ever more apparent that any meaningful discussion of global legal issues inevitably involves issues of public policy as well. Effective lawmaking and enforcement in the international arena is inevitably intertwined with international relations. Consider the appropriate use of force in confronting terrorism or the prosecution of high profile leaders by the International Criminal Court. Any comprehensive and productive discussion of issues like these must involve issues of both law and public policy.
This is not to say that the new Journal will focus only on issues confronting nations other than the United States (or law applying outside of the United States). We carefully selected the title “Global Justice” because the Journal will continue to address issues of domestic law that have international implications or that necessarily operate within an international context. For example the new Journal may very well break ground with articles regarding efforts by the federal government or states to combat domestic human trafficking. Human trafficking is a tremendous problem within the United States with estimates that up to 17,500 people are trafficked across United States borders each year. Of course, human trafficking in the United States is a part of a greater global context in which it is estimated that close to 30 million individuals are held in slavery and between 800,000 and 6 million individuals are trafficked across borders worldwide each year. The legal and policy response of the federal government or of any state to combat this crisis may have an influence on nations throughout the globe or may be based in part on models of successful efforts abroad.
Formation of the Journal of Global Justice and Public Policy is appropriate for a second reason that is particularly significant at the Regent University School of Law. The Journal is perfectly poised to take advantage of collaboration with the law school’s Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law. The Center exists to equip advocates to promote the rule of law and to seek justice for the world’s downtrodden – the abused, the oppressed, and the enslaved. Though only in its 5th year, the Center for Global Justice has grown tremendously in both activity and influence. Through traditional courses, experiential learning opportunities, and a robust internship program, the Center has helped shape hundreds of justice advocates. Through the internship program alone over 70 men and women have spent their summers combating human trafficking, protecting children and religious liberty, and promoting the rule of law in countries such as Cambodia, Greece, India, Japan, Mexico, Nepal, Russia, Rwanda, Uganda, Ghana, Ukraine, Thailand, and the United States.
Significantly, the Center has also become a catalyst for both thought and action. It has conducted symposia and summits on human trafficking, the protection of children, the human rights situation in North Korea, and advancing the rule of law in East Africa. The dialogue taking place at Regent University is of a high and influential level. We look forward to years of collaboration as the Journal provides a forum to disseminate the ideas of the world-class speakers who participate in the activities of the Center and other events hosted by the university.
Welcome to the Journal of Global Justice and Public Policy. I look forward in the years to come to seeing it at the forefront of debates on the most pressing issues of global justice and public policy. I commend to you this volume of the Journal and those that follow. I also commend to you the fine students and faculty who will lead this effort and shape it for years to come.