United States Court of International Trade 25th Anniversary Celebration Special Session of the Court November 1, 2005.(United States Court of International Trade 25th Anniversary Celebration)

May it please the Court. Chief Judge Restani, members of the Court, Senator DeConcini, Chief Judge Emeritus Re, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. It is a privilege and an honor to be asked to address you on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the United States Court of International Trade.

I stand before you from a unique vantage point on a journey over the past 25 years--as a witness to history--from my days on Capitol Hill as an assistant counsel at the House Judiciary Committee to today as Clerk of the Court.

The saga is one of the emergence of a relatively little known federal court with limited subject matter jurisdiction as a full member of the mainstream of the federal judiciary. No single aspect of the story is momentous, but taken together it paints a mosaic of a modern institution responsive to the needs of its many constituents and playing a significant role in the federal court system.

The prologue to our saga is simple, yet powerful. It is the 60's and 70's, and the community of nations is growing ever closer. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the language of trade is the language of foreign relations. There is great interest in having the framework that governs the peaceful resolution of customs and trade disputes be responsive to the needs of the international trading community. From this need emerges the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 to address the substantive concerns about the trade regime.

It is at this point that our story begins. Recognizing that access to judicial review is critical to the …