Meetings
A Letter from the President
To: ASCL Directors, Editors, Delegates, and Associate Members
From: John C. Reitz, President ASCL
Re: ASCL Annual Meeting 2011
Date: October 6, 2011
Dear Colleagues,
The annual business meeting of the American Society of Comparative Law will take place at 4:45 p.m., on Friday, October 21, 2011, in Classroom A at the McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, 3200 Fifth Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95817. I attach the agendas of the meetings of the Sponsor Members and the Board of Directors, as well as a proxy from from Directors who will be unable to attend. We would need the proxy form only for quorum purposes and only if no other colleague from your school will attend the meeting.
I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the agenda includes elections for Vice President, Parliamentarian and two members of the Executive Committee. It also includes two proposals I am making to amend the By-Laws. I have attached a copy of my memorandum setting out the proposed amendments and explaining my reasoning. The first proposal concerns eliminating the possibility of a second term in succession fro both the President and vice President and also eliminates the requirement for competitive nominations when an incumbent Vice President is nominated for the office of President. The second proposed amendment would create the position of Webmaster to oversee the development of the Society's website.
The latter proposal reflects the increasing importance of the website for the functioning of our Society. It has therefore become imperative to have a Society Webmaster. I hope the Board of the Directors will adopt the proposal I am making to create that position as an officer of the Society and member of the Executive Committee, but in any event, we need such a person, who is both familiar with what websites can do and with comparative law and the work of our Society. That person will be vital for overseeing the continued development and updating of our website. This position has to be volunteer, so please let me know if you are interest.
Finally, I would again note to you that, according to the By-Laws, reimbursement for travel expenses is available only to members who attend the business meeting and whose schools have timely paid their annual dues. The amount of reimbursement for this meeting is $600 per school.
In my September 9 letter to you I gave you the main details about the varied and interesting scholarly programs that will take place in conjunction with the meeting. The main academic part is focused on teaching comparative law, but there will also be a "hot topics" panel on "Revolution and Constitution" and Young Comparatists panel to workshop two papers, which both happen to be about the same topic. For more information about the conference, see the Society's home page (www.comparativelaw.org) and click on the link to the McGeorge website about the meeting. For links to papers to be workshopped, click on the link on that site for the Program and find the Young Comparatists Panel on Friday at 3:00 p.m.
If you have not yet registered, I hope you will do so right away. I look forward to seeing you in Sacramento.
Sincerely yours,
John C. Reitz
President
Upcoming Meetings
October 20-22, 2011
McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific
Sacramento, California