{"id":735,"date":"2012-12-09T20:51:34","date_gmt":"2012-12-09T20:51:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.backerinlaw.com\/Site\/?page_id=735"},"modified":"2026-01-29T09:37:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T09:37:47","slug":"speeches-and-remarks","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.backerinlaw.com\/Site\/podcasts\/speeches-and-remarks\/","title":{"rendered":"Speeches and Remarks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recent speeches and remarks:<\/strong><\/h1>\n

“The Virtual Platform Within the Temples of Law: Law and Platform as Each Other\u2019s Subject and Object.” Remarks prepared for International Symposium: The Technological Paradigm Shift in International and Transnational and European Union Law; Session on \u00a0Technology and International and Transnational Legal Subjectivity, Roma Tre, Rome, Italy\u00a0 29 January 2026. ACCESS THE REMARKS HERE–ENGLISH<\/strong><\/a>;<\/strong> ESPA\u00d1OL.<\/strong><\/a> ACCESS PPT HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Between the Eagle, the Bear, and the Dragon and Within the Global Flows of Economic Activity: Canadian Business and Human Rights Through the Lens of National Security;” Remarks delivered at the Canadian Forum for Business and Human Rights Inaugural Conference, \u201cCorporate Accountability in Canada: At the Crossroads of Scholarship, Legislation, Litigation, Policy-making, and Community Resistance.\u201d University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada, 14 November 2025. ACCESS REMARKS HERE: Backer_REMARKS_V2.0__CFBHRconference_2025<\/a>; ACCESS PPT HERE: Backer_CanadaBHR_PPT<\/a><\/p>\n

“Legal-Institutional Foundations for Reconstruction in a Post-Revolutionary Cuba: A Conceptual Exercise,” Remarks prepared for delivery at the 2025 Annual Conference of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy, Miami, Florida, 25 October 2025. ACCESS REMARKS HERE: Backer_Remarks_LegalFoundations_ASCE2025<\/a>; ACCESS LONGER PAPER HERE: Backer_Remarks_LegalFoundations_ASCE2025_v3<\/a> ; ACCESS PPT: Backer_Cuba_Institutional-Legal-Foundations_ASCE2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Coding the Rule of Code Versus Rule of Law for Blockchain Debate,” Keynote\u00a0 Remarks Prepared for the Session on Rule of Code vs Rule of Law, International Symposium: BlockchainGov International Symposium; Present & Future of Blockchain Governance,\u00a0 25-26 September 2025; Panth\u00e9on Assas – Universit\u00e9 Paris II, Paris France.\u00a0 ACCESS REMARKS HERE: \u00a0BACKER_Rule_of_Code_Blockchain_2025v4<\/a>; ACCESS PPT HERE: BACKER_Coding_Blockchain_REMARKS_9-2025<\/a><\/p>\n

“Network Sovereignties & Network Nations in global governance,” a discussion among\u00a0Larry Cat\u00e1 Backer, Primavera di Filippi, and Sofia Cossar. Internal Workshop for BlockChain Governance working group, 24 September 2025, Panth\u00e9on Assas – Universit\u00e9 Paris II, Paris France.<\/p>\n

\u201cSmart Regulation, Smart Society, Smart Courts, and Smart Party: The Ideology of Chinese Social Credit and its Dialectics.\u201d European China Law Studies Association Annual Conference 2025, University College Cork, Cork Ireland, 20 September 2025. BLOG POST HERE<\/a>; ACCESS PAPER HERE: Backer_SmartRegulation_ECLSA2025_v2<\/a>; The PPT MAY BE ACCESSED HERE: Backer-ECLSA-2025_SmartGovt<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Internationalism in Multiple Tracks: The UN Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights Between the EU, China, and the U.S. in the 2nd Quarter of the 21st Century.” Remarks delivered at the International Business and Human Rights Annual Workshop, 20th ESIL Annual Conference, \u201cReconstructing International Law: Structural Shifts Under the UN Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights\u201d 11 September 2025, Berlin, Germany. ACCESS REMARKS HERE: BACKER_ESIL_IBHRIREMARKS_v3_2025<\/a>; ACCESS PPT HERE: ESIL_2025_IGBHR_BACKER<\/a><\/p>\n

“Smart Court, Smarter Party: A Necessary but Incomplete Interpenetration,” Remarks delivered at the Workshop, Smart Courts in Comparative Perspective: Chinese Approaches and Global Developments, University of Cologne (7 July 2025). ACCESS REMARKS HERE: BACKER_Remarks_SmartCourts_Cologn2025<\/a>; PPT HERE: Backer_SmartCourts_PPT_Cologne8July2025<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The visualization of Text and the Textualization of Image: Factual Narratives in and as Legal Discourse.” Remarks Prepared for the 25th International Roundtable for the Semiotics of Law (Legal Evidence on the Age of Techno-Societies and Visual Jurisprudence), University of Coimbra, Portugal 9 May 2025. ACCESS REMARKS HERE: Backer_REMARKS_25IRSL<\/a>; ACCESS PPT HERE: Backer_VizualizationTex_IRSL25_2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Chinese Constitutionalism as Socialist Modernization.” Remarks delivered at the 10th Asian Constitutional Law Forum, University of Hong Kong (10 December 2024). ACCESS REMARKS HERE: Remarks1.1_ACLF_Backer_12-2024<\/a>; ACCESS PPT HERE Backer_Remarks_ConstitutionModernization-12-2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Revolutionary Constitutions and their Constitutionalism: The Internalization of Fear as Process and the Performance of Crisis in the Service of Stability.” Remarks delivered at the International Scientific Conference \u2018Legal Imaginaries of Crisis and Fear\u2019 9 November 2024, Sofia Bulgaria. ACCESS REMARKS HERE: Backer_Remarks_RevolutionaryConstitutions<\/a>; TEXT of ESSAY MAY BE ACCESSED HERE: Backer_EmotiveSemiotics_Draft_v2.0<\/a>; PPT MAY BE ACCESSED HERE: Backer_RevCon_Sofia-11-2024<\/a><\/p>\n

Remarks: \u201cA Question on Chinese Modernization and the Vanguard Party\u201d [\u201c\u5173\u4e8e\u4e2d\u56fd\u73b0\u4ee3\u5316\u548c\u5148\u950b\u515a\u7684\u95ee\u9898\u201d] Delivered at Renmin University of China, Beijing 3 September 2024. ACCESS HERE. Backer_Mingde_Strategic_Dialogue_RenminRemarks<\/a><\/p>\n

“Chinese Entrepreneurs as a leading force for new quality productive forces innovation” [\u81f4\u8f9e \u4e2d\u56fd\u4f01\u4e1a\u5bb6\u662f\u65b0\u9ad8\u8d28\u91cf\u751f\u4ea7\u529b\u521b\u65b0\u7684\u5f15\u9886\u529b\u91cf];\u00a0 Remarks delivered at the Wenzhou Entrepreneurs Forum: Accelerating the Cultivation and Development of New Quality Productive Forces (2 September 2024); Wenzhou Business College, Wenzhou, China. ACCESS REMARKS HERE: Backer_Wenzhou_Remarks-2Sept2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“You Can\u2019t Stop the ‘Signal’: From the Past to the Future of Digitally Mediated Sustainability Due Diligence,” Remarks delivered at the Asser Institute:\u00a0 Center for International and European Law & University of Amsterdam\u00a0 Law School-[Spring Academy] Technologies of sustainability due diligence: Digital tools and global value chain regulations; The Hague, Netherlands (8 April 2024). ACCESS REMARKS HERE<\/a>; ACCESS PPT HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“The Two Towers: China, the U.S., and the Structural Characteristics\u00a0 of Competitive Advantage in AI Innovation;” Remarks delivered at the Conference: Cooperation, Competition & Conflict in East Asia, William & Mary Security and Foreign Affairs Initiative, Williamsburg, Virginia, 15 February 2024. ACCESS HERE: Backer_Remarks_W&MConf2-2024<\/a>; PPT ACCESSED HERE Backer_TwoTowers_Conf_Presentation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Inside the Cage of the System (\u5236\u5ea6\u7684\u7b3c\u5b50\u91cc): Standards Setting, National Security Values, Tech Platforms, Regulation, and the Central Contradiction of Legality in the Current Historical Era;” Remarks delivered at the Workshop-Conference–Technological Platforms and National Security in Hong Kong: The Domain of Standards Setting; sponsored by the HKU Law and Technology Center and the Center for Chinese Law; University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, 25 August 2023. ACCESS HERE: Technological Platforms and National Security in Hong Kong<\/a><\/p>\n

“Social Listening and Infodemic\u2014An Epidemiology for the Body Politic;”\u00a0 Remarks delivered at the Conference: Governance of Social Listening in the Context of Serious Health Threats; Centre for Medical Ethics and Law; The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR 22 August 2023. ACCESS HERE :Backer_Remarks_Social_Listening_Conference8-2023<\/a><\/p>\n

“Reflections on the Importance of the 20th<\/sup> National Congress of the Communist Party of China”\u00a0 (\u4e2d\u56fd\u5171\u4ea7\u515a\u7b2c\u4e8c\u5341\u6b21\u5168\u56fd\u4ee3\u8868\u5927\u4f1a); distributed 6 October 2022. ACCESS HERE: Backer_Reflections on the Importance of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China<\/a><\/p>\n

“Brief Reflections on the Building of a Theory and Practice of Community with a Shared Future for Mankind and Global Human Rights Governance [\u5efa\u7acb\u5177\u6709\u4eba\u7c7b\u5171\u540c\u672a\u6765\u7684\u793e\u533a\u7406\u8bba\u548c\u5b9e\u8df5\u4ee5\u53ca\u5168\u7403\u4eba\u6743\u6cbb\u7406\u7684\u7b80\u8981\u601d\u8003];” Remarks presented at a side event on the occasion of the 51st Session of the Human Rights Council. That side event, entitled “Human Rights Development in the Perspective of Community with Shared Future for Mankind” was hosted by the China Society for Human Rights Studies and organized by Shandong University.\u00a0 29 September 2022, Geneva, Switzerland. ACCESS (Engish and Chinese versions) HERE: Backer HumanRights as Development<\/a><\/p>\n

“The in\/exclusiveness of law soft law instruments in international business and human rights (IBHR): Form and Function in the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights and the Framework Principles on Human Rights and the Environment;” Remarks delivered at the IBHR-IG Workshop, 17th Annual Conference of the European Society of International Law, Utrecht, Netherlands 1 September 2022. AccessBacker_IBHRIG_RemarksText_2022<\/a><\/p>\n

“Governing Platforms: Structural and Conceptual Challenges.” Prepared for Conference on Digital Platforms and Global Law organized by UNIDROIT, Roma Tre and the European Law Institute, Rome, Italy 29 April 2022 Available HERE:Remarks_PlatformGovernance_UNIDROIT2022<\/a><\/p>\n

“On the \u2018Natural\u2019 in Natural Law–From Aspiration to Signification and Back Again.” Remarks Delivered for event: “Natural Law and the US Constitutional Order” Organized by the Penn State Law Federalist Society; State College Pennsylvania, 12 April 2022. Available HERE:Backer_On the Nature of Natural Law<\/a><\/p>\n

Remarks delivered on the Opening of the International Symposium: Globalization in a Post-COVID World: Retreat or Revival?\u00a0 Organized by Foundation for Law and International Affairs and the School of Foreign Studies, East China University of Political Science and Law (Shanghai, China), 26 February 2021. Available HERE:Remarks on the Opening of the International Symposium<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cPeaches and Plums do not Speak, but they are so Attractive that a Path is Formed Below the trees\u201d [\u6843\u674e\u4e0d\u8a00\uff0c\u4e0b\u81ea\u6210\u8e4a]: China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights<\/a>,\u00a0 Remarks delivered at the 8th United Nations Forum for Business and Human Rights,<\/a> 26 November 2019, Palais des Nations, Geneva Switzerland. Download Text HERE<\/strong>:Peaches and Plums do not Speak<\/a><\/p>\n

Social Credit and Foreign Enterprises Along the Silk Road<\/em><\/a> , Remarks prepared for a Lecture Delivered at the Institute for East Asian Studies<\/a>, Cologne, Germany October 10, 2019.DOWNLOAD TEXT HERE<\/strong>: Social Credit and Foreign Enterprises Along the Silk Road<\/a>; DOWNLOAD PowerPoints<\/strong> HERE<\/strong>:Backer_CologneUniRemarks_10-2019<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fundamental Contradiction of Cuban Socialism in the \u201cNew Era\u201d: Economic Reintegration Preserving the Revolutionary Moment. <\/em><\/a>Larry Cat\u00e1 Backer. Remarks presented at the Latin American Studies Association<\/em> Annual Meeting 2019. Boston, MA 27 May 2019, for the panel: Cuba In Comparative Analysis; <\/em>Chair Silvia Pedraza (University of Michigan)<\/p>\n

\u201cHow to Become a Full Time Law Professor<\/a>\u201d <\/a>Transcript of Remarks Delivered at the Panel Session, Panel 4G: How to Become a Full-Time Law Professor \u2013A Workshop for Aspirants, 4th<\/sup> National People of Color Scholarship Conference: \u201cPeople of Color and the Future of Democracy\u201d (22 March 2019), American University Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C. Access PowerPoints HERE:Backer_How To Succeed NEPOC4<\/a> Access Transcript HERE: Backer_How to Become a Full Time Law Professor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Emerging Trajectories of Chinese Constitutionalism in the \u2018New Er<\/em>a<\/a>\u2019. Remarks delivered at Jesus College, Oxford at Conference: China\u2019s Changing Constitution, <\/em>15 November 2018.\u00a0 TEXT HERE: The Emerging Trajectories of Chinese Constitutionalism in China<\/a> AND HERE<\/a>. BLOG POST HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Socialist Constitutional Democracy in the Age of Accountability (<\/em>\u8d23<\/em><\/a>), <\/em>Remarks presented for the Panel:\u00a0 The Emerging Structures of Chinese Constitutionalism in the New Era;\u00a0 The 13th Annual Conference of the European China Law Studies Association; Turin, Italy \u00a013 \u2013 14 September 2018. DOWNLOAD VERSION WITH IMAGES HERE<\/strong><\/em> Backer_Remarks_ECLSA2018-FINAL<\/a>; DOWNLOAD TEXT ONLY HERE:\u00a0 Backer_Remarks_TextONLY_ECLSA2018<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Closing Remarks:\u00a0 Social Credit, Big Data Management, and Governance, New Possibilities, New Realities<\/em> <\/a>delivered at the International Conference: International Symposium on Rule of Law & Social Credit Systems. KoGuan Law School, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People\u2019s Republic of China, September 23, 2017. Download version: Closing Remarks v2 Social Credit Conf 2017<\/a><\/p>\n

Remarks: <\/em><\/strong>“Methodological Approaches to Assess the Legal Development in China\u2019s One-Party State– A Personal Journey” <\/em><\/a>delivered at the \u201cEuropean China Law Studies Young Scholars Workshop\u201d at the 12th annual conference of European China Law Studies Association (ECLS), Wednesday, 23 August 2017 Leiden University. PDF HERE: Remarks LCB<\/a><\/p>\n

Larry Cat\u00e1 Backer, Remarks: Transnational Legal Orders and Global Regulatory Networks, Prepared for the International Francqui Symposium (Global and Transnational Law Today). Brussels Global Law Week Universit\u00e9 libre de Bruxelles (CP-132) 50, av. F. D. Roosevelt, 1050 Brussels Belgium (May 15, 2017). RemarksFranquiSymposium5-2017<\/a><\/p>\n

Closing Remarks<\/strong>: International Conference: New International Trade and Investment Rules between Globalization and Anti-Globalization<\/em><\/a>. Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA; April 21, 2017. PDF HERE: Closing Remarks<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBeyond Nation and Law: A Manifesto<\/a>\u201d:\u00a0 Remarks at the Launch Symposium of the Dickson Poon Transnational Law Institute\u2013\u201cTransnational Law: What\u2019s in a Name?\u201d 27 April 2016. PODCAST HERE<\/a> (remarks start at hour 2.32.30).<\/p>\n

Considering a Treaty on Corporations and Human Rights: Mostly Failures But With a Glimmer of Success,\u00a0 <\/em>Remarks Delivered at the Workshop on a Treaty on Business and Human Rights<\/a>, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Madrid, June 26, 2015. PDF HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

Undermining Academic Freedom From the Inside: On the Adverse Effects of Administrative Techniques and Neutral Principles<\/a>, Remarks delivered at the Annual Conference of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), Washington, D.C., June 12, 2015. (pdf here:Remarks AAUP Crisis Panel6-2015<\/a> )<\/p>\n

Conceptual, Structural, and Operationalization Constraints on the Right to Remedy Under the Guiding Principles. Remarks delivered at the parallel events session of the 3rd<\/sup> U.N. Forum on Business and Human Rights, \u201cEnsuring access to effective judicial & non-judicial remedies: progress, trends & recommendations<\/a>\u201d, Geneva Switzerland, 1 December 2014.<\/p>\n

International Monitoring and Oversight: Africa\u2019s Increasing Presence, Remarks presented at Chatham House for Conference, Africa\u2019s Sovereign Wealth Funds: Demand, Development and Delivery, <\/i>The Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, United Kingdom, 5 September 2014<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 LINK HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

\u767d\u67ef\uff1a\u6cd5\u6cbb\u4e0e\u8f6c\u578b\u4e2d\u56fd<\/a>; \u6b66\u5353\u97f5<\/a>\uff5c2014-06-25 LINK HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

Methodological Issues in Implementing and Internationalized Curriculum – Five Approaches to Internationalization”<\/em><\/a> Larry Cata Backer, Penn State Law; Global Penn State Conference: Internationalizing the Curriculum, Part 5. Pennsylvania State University February 2014. <\/span><\/p>\n

Stress Points and Structural Challenges for the Continued Viability of the University Faculty Senate: Remarks Delivered at the Luncheon Honoring Past Chairs of the Penn State University Faculty Senate<\/a> (September 2013 LINK HERE<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Remarks of the Senate Chair Made at the April 23, 2013 Meeting of the Penn State Faculty Senate<\/a> (LINK HERE<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Remarks on Receiving the Penn State University Council of Commonwealth Student Governments\u2019 Friend of the Commonwealth Award 2012-2013<\/a>, April 13, 2013. (LINK HERE<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Statement of Senate Chair Made at the March 12, 2013 Penn State University Faculty Senate Meeting: Restructuring the Way We Operate <\/a>(LINK HERE<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Statement of Senate Chair Made at the January 29, 2013 Penn State University Faculty Senate Meeting–Attendance, Alienation and Cronyism <\/a>(LINK HERE<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Statement–Form and Function in Faculty Governance: Aligning Governance Structures With Changing Realities of University Administration January 29, 2013<\/a> (LINK HERE<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Statement From the Penn State University Faculty Senate Chair on the Chi Omega Sorority Photo, December 6, 2012<\/a> (LINK HERE<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Statement of Senate Chair Made at the December 4, 2012 Penn State University Faculty Senate Meeting: Is the Senate Fatally Ineffective?<\/a><\/p>\n

Statement of Senate Chair Made at the October 16, 2012 Penn State University Faculty Senate Meeting<\/a><\/p>\n

Statement of Senate Chair Made at the Aug 28, 2012 Penn State University Faculty Senate Meeting<\/a><\/p>\n

Remarks on Assuming Duties as Chair of the PSU University Faculty Senate, April 24, 2012<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Being a Part and Standing Apart:\u00a0 On the Culture of Law Faculties, Remarks of Larry Cat\u00e1 Backer as Outgoing Chair, AALS Minority Groups Section<\/a> (December 2007) SpeechAALSMinoritySectionChairSpeech2007<\/a>
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Recent speeches and remarks: “The Virtual Platform Within the Temples of Law: Law and Platform as Each Other\u2019s Subject and Object.” Remarks prepared for International Symposium: The Technological Paradigm Shift in International and Transnational and European Union Law; Session on \u00a0Technology and International and Transnational Legal Subjectivity, Roma Tre, Rome, Italy\u00a0 29 January 2026. ACCESS … <\/p>\n

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