Rule of Law as Lawfare Conference - DAY 1

The conference will be organized around several thematic sessions, with both keynote speakers and panel discussions. Together, participants will address a range of issues pertaining to the terminology and practice of the "rule of law," as well as its abuse and manipulation by special interest groups, and its correct application and defense.

Day ONE

8:30-9:00 Registration

9:00-9:15 Welcome Address: ‘Defining Lawfare’

• István Kiss, Executive Director, Danube Institute (HU)
• István Kovács, Strategic Director, Center for Fundamental Rights (HU)
• Alvino-Mario Fantini, Editor-in-Chief, The European Conservative (US)

9:15-9:55 Keynote Address: ‘Fundamentals of Law’

• János Bóka, Minister for European Union Affairs (HU)
• Prof. Hadley Arkes, President of the James Wilson Institute on Natural Rights and the American Founding (US)

09:55-11:05 Presentation Panel: ‘Rule of Law: a Concept at the Intersection of Politics & Law’

• Presenter / Moderator: Attila Kovács, Director of EU Research, Center for Fundamental Rights (HU)
• Prof. Eugene Kontorovich, George Mason University Scalia Law School (IS)
• MEP Ryszard Legutko, Co-chairman of the Conservatives and Reformists (PL)
• Steve Hayward, Senior Fellow, UC Berkeley Law School (US)

11:05-11:25 Coffee Break

11:25-12:30 Presentation Panel: ‘Hungary, Poland, Spain: Case Studies and Triple Standards’

• Presenter / Moderator: Gergely Dobozi, Senior Research Fellow, Danube Institute (HU)
• Jerzy Kwaśniewski, President of the Board and co-founder of Ordo Iuris Institute (PL)
• Ricardo Ruiz de la Serna, Associate Lecturer, San Pablo-CEU University (ES)
• Miklós Szánthó, Director General, Center for Fundamental Rights (HU)

12:30-13:30 Lunch Break

13:30-13:50 Keynote Address by The Hon. Tony Abbott AC (AUS)

13:50-15:00 Presentation Panel: ‘Rule of Law Against Constitutional Sovereignty?’

• Presenter / Moderator: Prof. Frank Füredi, Executive Director, MCC Brussels (HU)
• Prof. Miguel Ayuso, Comillas Pontifical University, Madrid (ES)
• Nikola Kedhi, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Albanian Policy Center (AL)
• Nicolas Bauer, Senior Research Fellow, European Centre for Law and Justice (FR)

15:00-15:20 Coffee Break

15:20-16:30 Presentation Panel: ‘Stacking the Deck – Lawfare as a Political Weapon in the US’

• Presenter / Moderator: Ellen Kryger Fantini, Managing Editor, The European Conservative (US)
• Charles “Cully” Stimson, Senior Legal Fellow, The Heritage Foundation (US)
• Prof. John Yoo, Emanuel Heller Professor of Law, UC Berkeley Law School (US)
• Patrick Gray, Dean of the Center for Arts and Letters, University of Austin, Texas (US)

Language: English