Join us on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 2:00pm in the McCune Room (HSSB) for a talk by Professor José Colmeiro: "Memories Without Borders, Crimes Without Impunity: Judge Garzón, Spanish Courts and the Quest for Global Jurisdiction."
Professor José Colmeiro - Prince of Asturias Chair at the School of European Languages & Literatures University of Auckland, New Zealand
This talk will examine the global frames of memory, understanding that the traditional spaces, channels and forms of collective memory are being transformed by, and in reaction to, the forces of globalization. Local and national spaces and processes have not disappeared, bUI the global has become the central stage for social, political actors, grassroots movements, and judicial activism. The talk will then evaluate the figure of Spain 's High Court Judge Baltasar Garzón, ClllTently suspended from the bench for delving into the "crimes against humanity" of the Franco era, and his acting under Spain's principle of universal jurisdiction when initiating high profile international cases, among others, against Chilean military ruler Augusto Pinochet and against Argentine ex-naval officer Adolfo Scilingo. Particular altention will be paid to Spain's principle of universal jurisdiction, which holds that some crimes are so grave that they can be t r ied anywhere regardless of where the offenses were committed.
Sponsored by:
Department of Spanish and Portuguese, the Interdisciplinary Humanities Center (IHC), the UC-Institute for Global Conflict and Cooperation. the Department of History. and the Orfalea Center. Also co-sponsored by LAIS and EAP (celebrating 50 years).