A Biographical Note (Download Arabic Version)
May, 2012
Dr. El-Ayouty, Esq. is Founder and President of SUNSGLOW – Global Training in the Rule of Law. This corporation is devoted to transnational judicial and legal training, especially in the developing world, and is assisted by a distinguished Board of Advisors, a corps of volunteers (Associates) from several countries, and 12 regional liaison centers around the world. In 2006 arrangements were made for joint programming with Fordham University School of Law through the Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics.
A former Fulbright Scholar, he served the UN from 1954 to 1986 including being UN Spokesman during the Algerian war of independence, and later became chief of the Africa Division, and Secretary of the Council of Namibia, Department of Political Affairs and Decolonization. In 1964, he drafted the statute of the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and later became its director of training. While serving at the United Nations from which he retired in 1986 as Principal Officer, Dr. El-Ayouty established the firs Peace Research Unit within the then Department of Political and Security Council Affairs.
From 1995 to 2009, he was special counsel for the then – New York City law firm of Spector and Feldman. Subsequently he established his solo practice in New York City. He is a member of several bars including New Jersey, the Bar of the US Supreme Court, the Egyptian Bar, the Bar of the Egyptian Court of Cassation (the Supreme Court of Egypt), the Federation of the Arab Bars and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He is a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs in Cairo, Egypt, which he represents before the United Nations, New York City. His other professional affiliation include the Association of Emeriti Professors of the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Dr. El-Ayouty was an adjunct professor of political science at the Graduate School of Arts and Science of St. John’s University, New York City (1966-1972) and at the State University of New York at Stony Brook (1972-1997) where he is now professor emeritus. From 1996 to 2000, he was distinguished visiting professor at the Shepard Broad Law School, Fort Lauderdale, Florida and, simultaneously, an adjunct professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, New York City (1996-2004). Since 1997, he is an adjunct member of the faculty of International Cultural Studies at St. Francis College, New York City. As of 2001, Dr. El-Ayouty became adjunct professor of law at the Cairo University School of Law, Cairo Egypt. He is a Fellow at the Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics, Fordham University school of Law, New York City, where he is also an adjunct professor of Islamic Law.
He specializes in legal and judicial reform; diplomatic and consular immunities; international sanctions; international criminal law; international humanitarian law; terrorism and the law; UN Security Council sanctions regimes, trans-jurisdictional litigation; and compensations for victims of war and other disasters. He also lectures on Islamic Law as it relates to global issues.
Prior to working on his doctorate, Dr. El-Ayouty received two bachelor degrees in education and psychology, one from the Teachers Institute of Cairo, Egypt (1948), and one from Trenton State Teachers College, New Jersey (now the College of New Jersey) (1953). Subsequently he assisted in teaching at Rutgers University, New Jersey, from which he received an M.A. in history and political science (1954).
Dr. El-Ayouty has a Ph.D. from New York University in international law and international organization (1966) and a J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, New York City (1994). He is the recipient of the Founders Day Award for his Ph.D. work at New York University, and of the Faculty Award for the “Best Independent/Supervised” legal writing from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (1994). He was also the Thomas Volpe Distinguished Professor for Global Studies at St. Francis College, Brooklyn, New York. Dr. El-Ayouty works in Arabic, English and French, and has a working knowledge of Spanish.
He is the author and editor of several articles, professional studies (see list below).
As an international attorney, Dr. El-Ayouty was legal counsel on a variety of cases (see list below). In the summer of 2010, Dr. El-Ayouty was invited by the Eastern District of New York City (Hon. Chief Judge Raymond Dearie and Hon. Senior Judge Jack Weinstein) to make a presentation in Judge Weinstein’s Court Room in Brooklyn on Islamic Law.
As a method of teaching of Islamic Law at the Fordham University School of Law, Dr. El-Ayouty has adopted simulation in terms of plays performed in class by his students based on Islamic Law principles. In regard to the Arab uprisings for democracy, Dr. El-Ayouty individually and through SUNSGLOW, has set up programs for implementation in the Arab world regarding various aspects of international criminal law and procedures, including the workings of the International Criminal Court in the Hague.
In December 2011, Dr. El-Ayouty was made a member of the Egyptian Government – sponsored Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. Simultaneously, he was appointed adjunct professor at Al-Azhar’s Faculty of Sharia and Law, teaching US constitutional law at that Faculty’s English Language Section.
Dr. El-Ayouty is of dual citizenship (Born Egyptian, naturalized American); is married to Grace Lasser El-Ayouty; and they both have a son, Joseph El-Ayouty.
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AUTHORSHIP AND LEGAL ADVOCACY
I. In English (Book Authorship and Co. Authorship 1970-2010)(Does not include Articles)
Refugees South of the Sahara: An African Dilemma
(New York: University Press, 1970)
The United Nations and Decolonization: The Role of Afro-Asia
(The Hague: Nijhoff, 1971)
Africa and International Organization
(The Hague: Nijhoff, 1974)
The Organization of African Unity After Ten Years
(New York City: Praeger, 1975)
The Organization of African Unity After Twenty Years
(New York City: Praeger, 1984)
The Organization of African Unity After Thirty Years
(New York City: Greenwood Press, 1994)
Government Ethics and Law Enforcement
(Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1998)
Perspectives on 9/11
(Westport, Connecticut: Heineman, 2004)
II. In Arabic (Does not include 17 short plays with songs)
Witchcraft in the Village (A Novel)
(Cairo: 1948)
America’s Imperial Security
(Cairo: Jamee Al-Kotob, 2010)
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CASES LITIGATED (A SELECTIVE LIST)
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Addendum to the Biographical Note of
Dr. Yassin El-Ayouty, Esq.
April, 2007
1954 Chief of the African Division, Political Department, United Nations, from 1981-1983 (within my UN tenure of 32 years from 1954-1986)
1962 UN Spokesman in the Algerian-French War, Algeria, 1962.
1970 Lecturer on insurgency and counter-insurgency for the US armed forces, New York University Summer Institutes, New York City, during the Vietnam War (early 1970’s)
1971 Founder of the Peace Research Unit, Security Council Department, U.N., New York City, 1971-1973
1995 Member of the bars of the US Supreme Court and of its equivalent in Egypt (the Court of Cassation), as of 1995 and 2001 respectively
1996 Distinguished Visiting Professor, Public International Law, Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad Law Center (with emphasis on conflicts of law, diplomatic immunities, the International Criminal Court, international terrorism) from 1996-2000.
1997 Revisor (Arabic and English) for the official records of the UN Security Council As of 1997.
1998 Lecturer in both Arabic and English in the Arab world on issues relating to judicial independence and judicial corruption. As of 1998.
1999 Founder and President of SUNSGLOW-GLOBAL TRAINING IN THE RULE OF LAW, New York City, 1999.
1999 Author of an article entitled “International Terrorism Under The Law”, ILSA Journal of International and Comparative Law , Vol. 5, Spring 1999, No. 2, Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad. Law Center, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, p. 485-499.
2001 Author of Study jointly Commissioned by the World Bank and the Government of Yemen entitled “The Judiciary of the Republic of Yemen: A Study on Reform” (2001)
2002 Expert Witness at Family Court, New York City, N.Y. on Islamic Law (Sharia) in the Case of Al-Attrash v. Al-Attrash
2004 Presentor of the topics of “Islamic Jurisprudence and the U.S. Constitution”,at the Bar of the City of New York, 2004, and of “The Role of Islam in US National Security”, at the annual meeting of the International Law Section, the American Bar Association, 2006.
2004 Editor and Co-Author of the Book entitled Perspectives of 9/11 (Westport, Conn., Greenwood Press, 2004)
2004 Representative of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, a non-governmental organization, Cairo, Egypt. (As of 2004)
2004 Special Counsel to the New York City law firm of Spector and Feldman wherein I handled cases relating to international sanctions and terrorism for the New York City law firms of Johnny Cochran ( a terrorist event in Egypt) and Patterson Belknap Webber and Tyler LLP (a suspected insurgency event in Iraq). The same applies to my capacity as defense counsel in a travel ban list case before the UN Security Council (2002-2004)
2006 Member of the Expert Panel Convened by UN Secretary-General, the Hon. Kofi Annan, on Reforming the Security Council Sanctions Regimes, As of Feb. 2006
2007 Presently engaged in the writing of a book to be entitled Islamic Law and Global Security (Westport, Conn., Greenwood Press, 2007)
2007 Adjunct Professor of Islamic Law, the Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics, Fordham University School of Law. (As of January, 2007)
2011 Made a member of the Egyptian Government – sponsored Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. Simultaneously, appointed adjunct professor at Al-Azhar’s Faculty of Sharia and Law, teaching US constitutional law at that Faculty’s English Language Section.