Office at the United Nations, New York

As part of UNU Worldwide in New York, Professor Charles Sampford, Director of the Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law (a joint initiative of the UNU and Griffith University, Australia) will give insight into the role of ethics in systematic economic governance and financial regulation reforms.

The global financial crisis has been the result of multiple and reinforcing governance failures, where financial intermediaries abused the powers entrusted to them. Professor Sampford's "values-based governance" approach will recall from history the lost legacy of Adam Smith's "The Theory of Moral Sentiments" for the 250th Anniversary of its publication.

With the Worldwide in New York, the United Nations University Office at the UN, New York, as part of its mandate, showcases the recent work of UNU Research and Training Centers/Programs (UNU-RTC/Ps) from around the world. In conjunction with other experts from different organizations, UNU researchers share new ideas and highlight new policy avenues in the areas of security, environment and development.

Date: Friday, October 23, 2009
Time: 1:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. EDT (New York Time, GMT -5)
Venue: Conference Room 9, UN Headquarters

Speaker Profile:
Dr. Charles Sampford, Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law (joint initiative of UNU and Griffith University)

Moderator Profile:
Dr. Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director, UNU-ONY

If you have any questions regarding the event, please contact:

• Mr. Renato Giacon, giacon@unu.edu, (212) 963-6387
• Ms. Amira Hassanein, hassanein@unu.edu, (212) 963-6387

Event reports both in PDF and Word format:

• Report for Event "Ethics in Financial Regulation" - Download PDF
• Report for Event "Ethics in Financial Regulation" - Download DOC

Further Information and Background Readings:

• Adam Smith's Dinner
• Placing Ethics at the Heart of Good Governance
• Integrity, corruption, transparency and accountability
• Financial Regulation
• A Blog about "Adam Smith's Lost Legacy"
• Professor Sampford's Short CV
• Professor Sampford's List of Publications
• Website of Professor Sampford's Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law

Biographies:

Dr. Charles Sampford is the Director of the Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law, (a joint initiative of the UNU, Griffith University and QUT in association with the ANU) Australia. Dr. Charles Sampford became the Foundation Dean and Professor of Law at Griffith University in 1991. He was the first Director of the Key Centre which was the first of three centres to form the Institute which is a UNU associated institution. Foreign fellowships include the Visiting Senior Research Fellow at St John's College Oxford (1997) and a Fulbright Senior Fellowship to Harvard University (2000). From 2002-4, he was a member of a task force on responding to threats to democracy chaired by Madeleine Albright. In 2006, he convened the first World Ethics Forum in Oxford. He has written 80 articles and chapters in Australian and foreign journals and collections ranging through law, legal education and applied ethics and has completed 18 books and edited collections. He has also won more than $12 million in grants, consultancies and awards. Business, government and parliamentary committees in England and Australia have consulted Professor Sampford.

Dr. Jean-Marc Coicaud is the Director of the United Nations University (UNU) Office at the United Nations in New York. He was Senior Academic Officer at the UNU in Tokyo from 1996 to 2003. Before joining UNU, he served in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General as a speechwriter for Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali (1992-1996). A former fellow at Harvard University (Center for International Affairs, Department of Philosophy and Harvard Law School, from 1986 to 1992), Coicaud has held appointments such as Cultural Attaché with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Legislative Aide with the European Parliament (Financial Committee), Associate Professor at the University of Paris, Visiting Professor at the Ecole Normale Supérieure-Ulm in Paris and Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University School of Public Policy and Management. He has also taught at the New School for Social Research (New York). He has been a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace (Washington, D.C.) and a Global Research Fellow at New York University School of Law. Coicaud holds a Ph.D. in political science-law from the Sorbonne and a Doctorat d'Etat in philosophy from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques of Paris. In addition, he holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in literature and linguistics. Jean-Marc Coicaud is a member of the Advisory Board of Carnegie Council's Global Policy Innovations (New York). He also serves as an adviser for the Fondation pour l'Innovation Politique (Paris).

Jean-Marc Coicaud has published 14 books in the fields of comparative politics, political and legal theory, international relations and international law. They are available in English, French, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic, and include the following single-authored books: Politics and Legitimacy: A Contribution to the Study of Political Right and Political Responsibility (Cambridge University Press, 2002), Beyond the National Interest (United States Institute of Peace Press, 2007), Kokuren no Genkai/Kokuren no Mirai (Future of the UN/Limits of the UN - Fujiwara Shoten, 2007), Mai Xiang Guo Ji Fa Zhi (Towards the International Rule of Law - Sanlian Shudian, 2008). His latest book, co-edited with Hilary Charlesworth, is Fault Lines of International Legitimacy (Cambridge University Press, 2009).