UW-Madison law professor named to federal commission

President Barack Obama has named a University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty member to a key federal post within the Department of Justice.

Anuj Desai, associate professor of law and an expert in Chinese studies, was nominated as a member of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission (FCSC). As one of two part-time commissioners (led by a third, full-time member), Desai will serve a three-year term.

Desai joined the UW–Madison faculty in 2001. He writes at the intersection of constitutional law and communications and information policy, teaching in both the law school and the School of Library and Information Studies. He has also taught law at National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu, Taiwan and National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan. Previously, Desai served as a law clerk to the American arbitrators at the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague, The Netherlands.  He worked briefly in the Legal Adviser’s Office at the U.S. Department of State and at the Legal Resources Centre in Grahamstown, South Africa.    

Established in 1954, the FCSC is a quasi-judicial, independent agency within the Department of Justice which adjudicates claims of U.S. nationals against foreign governments, under specific jurisdiction conferred by Congress, pursuant to international claims settlement agreements, or at the request of the Secretary of State.