International Law Weekend 2024 Award Winners

Each year at International Law Weekend, the American Branch honors members and others in the international law community who have demonstrated exceptional service to the Branch and individuals who have contributed significantly to the field of international law.

ABILA Outstanding Achievement Award

The ABILA Outstanding Achievement Award was established to recognize outstanding contributions in the field of international law. Such contributions might include, but are not limited to service to an international organization, a State, or an international court or tribunal; or to teaching, research, or scholarship in the field of international law. While candidates are reviewed comprehensively, factors considered may include consideration of an individual’s specific extraordinary service initiatives and/or sustained superior contributions to the field of international law over a number of years, as well as visionary and innovative leadership.

2024 Recipient: The Honorable Charles N. Brower

Hon. Charles N. Brower’s 55-year career in the law has combined extensive practice at the bar with distinguished public service, both national and international. For nearly 40 years, he has focused on public international law and international dispute resolution. As counsel or arbitrator, he has handled cases on all six continents, principally under the rules of the ICC, UNCITRAL, LCIA, AAA, United Nations Compensation Commission, ICSID, Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, Insurance and Reinsurance Arbitration Society, and LMAA. These cases have involved a wide variety of commercial disputes as well as issues of public international law, particularly involving the oil and gas sector, major infrastructural projects, expropriations, and other investment disputes, including ones arising under both bilateral and multilateral investment treaties. He has served continuously since 1983 as a judge of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague, The Netherlands. That service was interrupted for some months in 1987 by White House service as Deputy Special Counsellor to President Reagan. Brower resumed partnership in White & Case LLP from 1988 until joining 20 Essex Street in 2001. Since 2014, he has also served as a Judge ad hoc at the International Court of Justice.

Charles Siegal Distinguished Service Award

The Charles Siegal Distinguished Service Award was established by the ABILA Board of Directors in 2020 to recognize outstanding contributions to the Branch by a member of the ABILA. Contributions may include to the ABILA Board, ABILA Committees, and/or the ABILA’s International Law Weekend. In choosing the recipient, the Selection Committee may consider an individual’s specific extraordinary service initiatives and/or sustained superior contributions to the ABILA over a number of years.

2024 Recipient: Professor Philip Moremen

Professor Philip Moremen is an Associate Professor and Department Chair at Seton Hall University’s School of Diplomacy and International Relations. He is a long-time devoted member of the ABILA, currently serving as Honorary Vice-President. For the past 24 years, Professor Moreman has been an active member of ABILA’s Executive Committee, now its Board of Directors. He has also overseen the Proceedings of the Branch for several years. Professor Moreman chaired the Formation of Customary International Law Committee. As a member of the Branch’s Centennial Committee, Phil played a leading role in helping ABILA create a series of meaningful events and programs related to the Centennial year. Of particular note was his distinguished service as Director of Studies for several years, exhibiting wise leadership, collegiality, and counsel. He has worked diligently with students, encouraging their interest in international law and participation in the ABILA’s work. Finally, his thoughtful and quiet leadership style has been an incredible and memorable gift to the Branch. Through this award, we recognize Professor Moremen’s exemplary and selfless contributions to the work and success of the ABILA over many years, for which he more than merits our appreciation, respect, and deep admiration.

ABILA Book Awards

The ABILA Book Awards were established to recognize the best books on international law published by ABILA members. Eligible books must have been published within the calendar year of nomination or the preceding calendar year. The subject matter of the book must fall into the broadly defined category of international law.

The Book Awards Committee is proud to offer four separate awards:

– ABILA Book of the Year Award: Awarded each year to the best book published on international law or a topic in international law.

– ABILA Practitioners Book Award: Awarded each year to the best book published on a technical topic in international law or on a topic likely to be of particular interest to practitioners of international law.

– ABILA New Authors Book Award: Awarded each year to the best first book published on international law or a topic in international law by an author who has not previously published a book on this or any other subject.

– ABILA Edited Volume Award: Awarded each year to the best edited volume published on international law or a topic in international law.

ABILA Book of the Year Award Recipient: The 3 Regional Human Rights Courts in Context – Justice That Cannot Be Taken for Granted (Oxford University Press, 2024) by Laurence Burgorgue-Larsen.

Professor Burgorgue-Larsen is a Professor at the Sorbonne Law School, a Member of the Institut de Recherche en droit international et européen de la Sorbonne, Director of the Studies Group on International Law and Latin American Law, and Director of the Master 2 ‘Human Rights and the European Union.’ She is also the Director of the Collection ‘Cahiers européens’ (Pedone) and serves on the advisory boards of numerous legal journals and scientific societies.

ABILA Award for a Book on a Practical or Technical Subject: The Law of U.S. Foreign Relations (Oxford University Press, 2023) by Sean D. Murphy and Edward T. Swaine.

Sean D. Murphy is the Manatt/Ahn Professor of International Law at George Washington University, where he teaches U.S. foreign relations law and international law. Between 1987 and 1998, he served in the Department of State’s Office of the Legal Adviser. Edward T. Swaine is the Charles Kennedy Poe Research Professor at the George Washington University Law School. He previously served as the Counselor on International Law at the State Department.

ABILA Book Award for a First-time Author: International Criminal Tribunals and Domestic Accountability – In the Court’s Shadow (Oxford University Press, 2023) by Patryk I. Labuda.

Patryk I. Labuda is an Assistant Professor of international law and international relations at Central European University in Vienna. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor at the University of Amsterdam and has held positions at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, NYU School of Law, the University of Zurich, and more. In 2024, he was elected to a four-year term on the Board of the European Society of International Law.

ABILA Best Edited Volume Award: States, Firms, and Their Legal Fictions – Attributing Identity and Responsibility to Artificial Entities (Cambridge University Press, 2024) edited by Melissa J. (‘MJ’) Durkee.

Professor Durkee is the William Gardiner Hammond Professor of Law at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. Durkee chairs the International Legal Theory Interest Group of the American Society of International Law and has previously served on the Society’s Executive Committee, among other leadership posts. She serves on the Board of Editors of the American Journal of International Law.