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Knowing when and how to cross-examine is an essential part of properly representing clients in international arbitrations. Many cases have been won by good cross-examinations and lost by bad cross-examinations, and that is just as true in international arbitrations as it is in any other dispute resolution procedure in which counsel are permitted to cross-examine witnesses.

The post The role of cross-examination in international arbitration appeared first on OUPblog.

By Kenneth S. Broun

Twenty-two years ago, on the 11th of February 1990, Nelson Mandela walked out of a South African prison, a free man for the first time in twenty-seven years. He immediately assumed the leadership role that would move South Africa from a system of apartheid to a struggling but viable democracy. No one person, not even Nelson Mandela, was solely responsible for this miracle. But no one can doubt the crucial role that he played in the process that brought a new era to South Africa, or that his intellect, sturdy leadership, and political savvy made this process far more peaceful than anyone had predicted would be the case.

That Mandela was alive to assume this leadership is a remarkable story. When the trial that led to his conviction began in 1963, most in South Africa and abroad predicted that he and his codefendants would be hanged. Mandela and his codefendants faced charges brought under the recently enacted Sabotage Act, the violation of which carried the death penalty. The South African government proudly announced that it had brought to justice men who had planned and begun to carry out a campaign for its violent overthrow. The country’s press celebrated the success of the police in catching the violent criminals who represented a very real threat to the way of life of white South Africa. Foreign representatives were told by informed sources that the maximum sentence for the top leadership was possible, indeed likely.

The 1963–64 trial of Mandela and his co-defendants is known as the Rivonia trial, named for the Johannesburg suburb in which most of the defendants were arrested. Other defendants included ANC leaders Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, the father of future South African president Thabo Mbeki, and the South African Indian leader, Ahmed Kathrada.

A team composed of lawyers of great intellect, legal ability and integrity defended the accused. They applied their considerable skill to a cause in which they deeply believed. The accused, through both their statements to the court and their testimony, demonstrated strength of character and devotion to a cause that even a hostile judge could not, in the end, ignore. The conduct of the judge before whom the case was tried illustrates both the strength and weaknesses of the South African judicial system. The judge may well have been independent of the government and its prosecutor, but his own prejudices guided him through much of the proceedings. The prosecutor, who was described by a visiting British barrister as a “nasty piece of work” may have hurt, rather than helped his case by engaging in a political dialogue with the defendants who took the witness stand.

White South African opinion was clearly in favor of the prosecution and harsh sentences for the accused. But international opinion was almost unanimous in its support for them, particularly in the newly independent African states and the Communist bloc. There was also considerable attention to the trial on the part of the major Western powers, or at least concern that death sentences would sour relations with African and other Third World people. The question was how the West, and in particular the United States and United Kingdom, might attempt to influence the trial’s outcome.

Perhaps the key point in the trial was Nelson Mandela’s statement from the dock, a statement made in lieu of testimony. He ended the statement with these words:

During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African People. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to li

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I told you a couple months ago about a big project I'm working on. I had to do a vector test to give the client an idea of the level of realism/stylization that they could expect. The first is from a photo of myself and the second from a drawing I did of one of the characters. Because the project has evolved so much I feel safe showing you some of the preliminary work. I'll show you lots more once the project has been published but until then... here's a teaser.

click on images to see in detail

I first caught a glimpse of this arc at ALA in Philadelphia. I found the cover intriguing, so I tossed it into one of my bags. Then, while attending the last Random House preview, Madapple was on the list of books being discussed. After hearing the editors speak about it, I knew I had to move it to the top of my "To Read" pile. I read it a couple of weeks ago, and have been wondering how to go about blogging this title. There is so much going on here, and yet it all works!

Aslaug has been living with her mother in Hartswell Maine in virtual isolation. Their household consists of the two of them, and they spend their days gathering local plants, and studying ancient texts, languages and lore. Whenever Aslaug has asked about her father, she is told she has none. And her mother's temper has taught her not to ask about much of anything else.

When Aslaug's mother dies, Aslaug herself is accused. After all, her neighbour sees her dragging the body to the yard to bury it. But what else is Aslaug to do? She has no real sense of how the world outside of her home works.

Once her name is cleared, she travels into the next town to look for a building where her mother once brought her. They had simply sat in the car and looked at the place, but Aslaug knows that her mother would never do something without reason. She finds the building, and is soon talking to Susan, Sara and Rune. Her family.

Aslaug is soon intertwined in a family saga filled with twists, turns and untruths. She has survived so much already, can she survive this?

Christina Meldrum has written a devastating, gut-wrenching, compelling and thoughtful story. The amount of research that must have been put into the sections on herbology and botany alone confound me. There are deep discussions of religion and faith, along with language and science. The characters are all broken but fierce, and I found myself loving and hating them in equal measure. Readers need to buy into the story, but one there, will not be able to put this book down. I have not come across a book as astounding as Madapple in a very long time.