Steven Hill

Biography

Steven Hill was appointed Executive Secretary of the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law in November 2022.

Prior to taking up his duties in Malta, he served as the Director for Global Criminal Justice on the National Security Council staff at the White House for the first 18 months of the Biden Administration in 2021 and 2022. He helped coordinate efforts to mobilize the United Nations in response to Russia's aggression against Ukraine. He also coordinated policy with respect to the UN human rights system.

From 2014 to 2020, Steve served as the chief legal counsel to NATO Secretaries General Jens Stoltenberg and Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

From 2011 to 2014, Steve was Counselor for Legal Affairs at the U.S. Mission to the UN. He represented the United States in the Security Council, the General Assembly's Sixth Committee (Legal), and other bodies. This assignment built on his earlier work as a delegate to the General Assembly's Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian & Cultural Issues) and Human Rights Council and as Counsel before the International Court of Justice.

From 2008 to 2010, he led the legal unit at the International Civilian Office / European Union Special Representative in Kosovo.

Steve began his international law career in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State (L), which he joined in 2001.

He graduated from Yale Law School and Harvard College and is a member of the New York bar.

In addition to his appointment at Vanderbilt, he is also a fellow in the Institute of Security and Global Affairs at the University of Leiden (Netherlands) and teaches at the University of Leuven (Belgium) and the University of Oklahoma College of Law.

In 2021, Steve received the American Bar Association International Law Section’s Award for Best Lawyer in a Government and International Organization. In March 2023, he was elected Vice President of the American Society of International Law.

He speaks French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.