International Legal Studies Program

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Charney Lectures

The Jonathan I. Charney Distinguished Lecture in International Law honors Professor Charney, one of the world's preeminent experts on international law, who held the Lee S. & Charles A. Speir Chair at Vanderbilt Law School until his death in 2002. The series funds academic lectures and other presentations on international law by distinguished figures in the field.

2023-24 Charney Lecture

Gautam Rana, U.S. Ambassador to the Slovak Republic, “The Fight Against Disinformation”

Gautam Rana '97 discussed the EU’s recently passed Disinformation Act and differences in the ways various governments restrict free expression in the 2023 Jonathan I. Charney Distinguished Lecture in International Law at Vanderbilt Law.

Previous Lectures

  • 2022-23: Pramila Patten

    Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, the United Nations Office of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, "Evolution and Impact of the Mandate on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence" - November 10, 2022

  • 2019-20: Paul C. Ney, Jr. '84

    Paul C. Ney, Jr. '84 (MBA'84), General Counsel at the Department of Defense, "The Rule of Law in International Security Affairs: A U.S. Defense Department Perspective"

  • 2018-19: Judge Howard Morrison

    Judge Howard Morrison, International Criminal Court based in The Hague, Netherlands, "International Criminal Justice - The Road Less Traveled"

  • 2016-17: Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein

    Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "Global Challenges to Human Rights"

  • 2014-15: Sir Michael Wood

    Sir Michael Wood, a senior fellow at the University of Cambridge’s Lauterpacht Centre for International Law and a member of the International Law Commission, London, “International Organizations and Customary Law”

  • 2012-13: Fatou B. Bensouda

    Fatou B. Bensouda, Chief Prosecutor, International Criminal Court, The Hague, "Reflections from the International Criminal Court Prosecutor"