Mr. Rajeev Ranade, Chair
r-ranade@northwestern.edu


Dear Delegates of the ICJ,

Welcome to the International Court of Justice for NUMUN III! My name is Rajeev Ranade and I will be your Chair along with your Vice Chairs Ang Ma and Britten Piedrasanta. As a freshman this is my first year participating in NUMUN and I am greatly looking forward to the experience of working with all of you. I am from Ridgefield, Connecticut, although I am beginning to adopt Evanston and Chicago as a second home. When I am not busy trying to keep up with our quarter schedule I am probably playing golf, avidly watching 24 or starting pick up football games in the snow. I have served as a justice on the ICJ before and understand the challenging, yet fun, role you are all about to play.

This conference should be a time for all delegates to engage in interesting debate, appreciate the important role the United Nations plays in the global political spectrum, hopefully learn something new and have fun. The ICJ holds an essential spot within the framework of the UN. Justices are expected to be conscientious and pass judgments based on the facts at hand with respect to international law. Justices should be aware of their respective countries’ positions; however these should not be the sole basis for any judgment. Impartiality will be necessary and justices will need to individually interpret legal precedents and merits in order to adequately review the questions at hand.

The cases we will be adjudicating upon are that of Ahmadou Sadio Diallo and the Legality of Use of Force in the former Yugoslavia. The former case deals with one man’s plight among a larger international series of events. Justices must consider the tradeoff between the rights of Mr. Diallo and the potential affect of burdening a current nation state with the affairs of its predecessor. The question of Legality of Use of Force will indubitably incite questions over national sovereignty as well as the issue of genocide. It is my wish to see extended debate on both of these topics and your goal, as a committee, should be to be able to compromise towards a comprehensive resolution. Justices are expected to hand in position papers regarding each issue by the time the conference starts. Position papers will help you organize your ideas and will help me accommodate the committee into an encouraging forum for debate and progress.

I am confident that your experience this April on the ICJ will be highly rewarding. Understand that the more work we all put into this committee the better our session will be and the more we will all take away from it. The ICJ can be a daunting committee and I want to make sure all delegates are confident coming into the conference. Please do not hesitate to e-mail me with any questions whether they regard conference rules, position papers, research, or even if you want to learn more about Northwestern. As a college student I am prone to odd hours and will be able to answer questions around the clock. I look forward to seeing you all in the spring and hearing from you between now and then. Good luck!

Sincerely,
Rajeev Ranade
r-ranade@northwestern.edu