I join all friends of the University for Peace in welcoming the launch of the UPeace Law Review, an exciting new addition to the offerings of the University as its first all student-run peer-review publication. I salute the enthusiasm and ingenuity of the UPeace international law students who are responsible for this venture and took the initiative to recruit a diverse editorial board with 18 members from 11 different countries spanning three continents.

The UPeace Law Review provides a forum for UPeace students to expand on their understanding of international law beyond the classroom and promises to foster scholarly discussion and debate on a wide range of today’s issues.

One of the key aims of the founders of the UPeace International Law and Human Rights Programme was to increase the awareness of the educated public with the tools of international law. The UPeace Law Review represents one more means to achieve this aim.

I am honoured to be associated with this undertaking and wish the Editors, present and future, the best of success.

Gudmundur Eiriksson
Former Head
Department of International Law and Human Rights
University for Peace

We are grateful to Ambassador Eiriksson for all his encouragement and support.

International law is a broad and complicated thing. The issues within it are simultaneously vast and intricate, spanning disparate subject matter that is often fragmentary, both substantively and in practice. Now more than ever, with the field tackling vital and increasingly complex problems, it is necessary to explore and discuss the nature and purpose of international law and the many questions and debates therein. It is with this in mind that the University for Peace Law Review was created as a venue for international legal scholarship to engage today’s many pressing challenges.

Thus we proudly present to you, dear reader, the first edition of the University for Peace Law Review. Through the hard work and dedication of seven UPeace international law students – Amy, Andy, Cher, Saida, Summer, Wendy, and myself – and one student co-conspirator from the media department, Jacob Steele, we have forged over the last year a peer-review editorial board of the highest standards, who are ready to engage our literature with their broad range of perspectives and legal backgrounds.

In this year we have also networked far and wide with countless law schools from around the world to build relationships and bring in the best literary contributions we could find. We have created an opportunity for UPeace law students to further delve into the subject matter of our curriculum and gain essential editing and publication experience, and through our student notes, we have created a venue to capture the diverse voice of UPeace students who, this year, represent upwards of 40 countries. Perhaps most importantly, we have managed, successfully, to set the standard for our readers, editorial board, and future UPeace law students seeking to engage with international law on a deeper level.

For our premier issue we feature an article from a French professor published extensively on international law, now serving as the Director of the United Nations University Office at the United Nations Headquarters. We have also included two student notes from brilliant and dedicated UPeace international law students each tackling a vital challenge in international law. In the future, as the UPeace Law Reviewgrows, we hope to see more innovation on the content, hosting more views from around the world, and adding a case briefs section to allow scholars and students to present their juridical summations of cutting edge international legal decisions.

For more information on the UPeace Law Review including our submissions criteria and editorial policy see our website at www.lawreview.upeace.org. Finally, with much gratitude for all those who have contributed, advised, edited and worked so hard to set the standard and make this publication a reality, as part of the graduating class of 2010, we welcome you to the new University for Peace Law Review.

Sincerely,
Isaac Jalkanen
Founder and Managing Editor
editor@lawreview.upeace.org

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