Dr. Edward Cohen, associate professor of political science at Westminster College, recently attended a meeting of the Working Group on Security Interests of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) in Vienna.

 "I was an observer at this meeting," Cohen said.  "This group is putting together a legislative guide for countries interested in adopting a new law, or reforming an existing law, regarding the use of secured credit to finance business activity.  It provides a good case study of how political and economic interests and legal conceptions shape the goals that countries pursue in the regulation of economic activity."

 While at this meeting, Cohen interviewed Spirios Bazinas, a lawyer and member of the Secretariat of UNCITRAL.

 "He is responsible for providing legal and technical advice for this working group," Cohen said.  "My interview with him covered a range of issues concerning the role of UNCITRAL in the making of international commercial law, with a focus on the political processes and considerations that shape these activities."

 Cohen also recently presented his research, "The Diffusion of Legal Models for Financial Governance: The Case of Secured Finance," at the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) held in Budapest.

 "This conference, which takes place every two years, is the largest European-wide gathering of political scientists, and one of the most important global forums for the presentation and discussion of research in political science," Cohen said.  "The membership of ECPR is made up of all the leading universities in Europe and the most important research universities in the United States as well.  My paper was an attempt to present my initial findings and interpretations of the attempts of UNCITRAL and other institutions to promote legal change around the globe in the area of commercial law."

 While in Budapest, Cohen spoke with Professor Tibor Tajti, a member of the law faculty at the Central European University.

 "He's one of the leading younger scholars on the law of secured credit and author of an important work comparing the law of secured credit in different states," Cohen said.  "I was able to exchange ideas and learn a great deal about the current development and controversies in this field.

 "Since I have returned, we have continued out conversation via e-mail and exchange of papers," Cohen said.  "Both interviews with Bazinas and Tajti have proved invaluable in deepening my knowledge of this area of international commercial law, which is quite a mystery for non-lawyers like myself.  The information and insight I gained will play a key role in deepening and focusing my research questions."

 Cohen, who has been with Westminster College since 1996, earned his undergraduate degree from Brooklyn College, and his master's and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

 Contact Cohen at (724) 946-7304 or e-mail cohenes@westminster.edu for more information.

Dr. Edward Cohen