IBL Breakfast Roundtable Features
International Trade Judge
Judge Delissa A. Ridgway Addresses
Trade and Terrorism

October 23, 2007 – Brooklyn Law School’s popular Breakfast Roundtable series continued on Oct. 19, with U.S. Court of International Trade Judge Delissa A. Ridgway addressing the connection between international trade and efforts to halt terrorism. Co-sponsored by the Dennis J. Block Center for the Study of International Business Law and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, the well-attended breakfast drew judges and practitioners as well as Brooklyn Law School alumni, professors and students to Skadden, which hosted the event in its New York office.

Centennial Professor of Law Roberta Karmel and Professor Claire Kelly introduced Judge Ridgway, whose talk was titled, “Trade: The Antidote to Terrorism?” After setting forth the common view that poverty gives rise to terrorism, trade helps mitigate poverty, and therefore, if trade can be bolstered, terrorism can be deterred, she addressed each part of that argument. First, does poverty really cause terrorism? The evidence, garnered from political economists who debate the subject, indicates a possible link, as terrorists come from a range of socio-economic backgrounds.

Second, does free trade – in the form of globalization and foreign investment – diminish poverty? There’s more support for this contention, said Judge Ridgway, but it is complicated by the fact that globalization highlights inequalities among classes in developing countries.

Third, she asked, how can we improve international trade in developing countries? The consensus is that implementing the rule of law as part of a political and judicial system is critical to building trade. Investors and businesses demand predictability and consistent application of laws in order to engage in trade in any country or system, she pointed out. In her travels to some of the countries where the western world is concentrating its counter-terrorism efforts, she has helped train judges on adopting systems based on the rule of law.

After her talk, Judge Ridgway took questions from the audience, which resulted in further discussion of issues including the failure of consumerism in developing countries; whether trade – and its accompanying changes to economic systems – can actually encourage terrorism; and how corruption in the judiciary and government itself should be addressed as a problem that can arise when a country opens up to foreign trade.