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Center for Policy Studies
Public Affairs Discussion Group |
| Is International Law Relevant? |
Michael P. Scharf, JD - Joseph C. Hostetler / BakerHostetler Professor of Law, President of the American Branch of the International Law Association |
Friday September 25, 2026
12:30-1:30 p.m.
Meeting Both In-Person and by Zoom
Dampeer Room, Second Floor of Kelvin Smith Library
Case Western Reserve University
For those interested in participating by Zoom please e-mail padg@case.edu for more information.
Dear Colleagues:
Well, let’s see… the U.S. President seems to see any kind of international law as an illegitimate constraint on American sovereignty, or maybe his own urges. In fact, one of his early acts in his second administration was to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court. Conflicts both in Ukraine and in various parts of the middle east rather raise doubts about the effectiveness of standards about starting wars at all (jus ad bellum) and how they may be conducted (jus in bello). One of the most normally-honored and established of international rules, free passage of the seas, is now being violated by Iran, the U.S., and the Houthis. China for a decade has rejected a ruling by the United Nations Commission on the Law of the Sea against its construction of islands in, so as to claim further jurisdiction over, the waters of the South China Sea. If there is some limit on its ongoing conflict with the Philippines, that limit doesn’t seem to derive from international law. And I haven’t even mentioned other wars, or the effects of the Trump administration on international trade.
According to one summary, “Issues that fall under international law include trade, human rights, diplomacy, environmental preservation, and war crimes.” International law always could be questioned because of its lack of reliable sanctions. It is hard to have “law” when there is no sovereign. But it seems relatively easy to believe that regimes in all of these dimensions have become weaker and weaker over the past decade – or more.
I’ve wondered what to make of all this, and so will be extremely glad to welcome Professor Michael Scharf this Friday to talk about it. On campus we know Professor Scharf as a longtime leader in our highly-ranked international law program. And, not incidentally, as the long-time (2013-2024) co-dean of the School of Law. Yet he is known internationally especially for his practice in international criminal law. As a lawyer with the U.S. Department of State he served as a delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Commission and received the Department’s Meritorious Service Award, for the role he played in creation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. He trained judges for the trial of Saddam Hussein, and served as Special Assistant to the Prosecutor of the Cambodia Genocide Tribunal. He has assisted numerous courts in trials of maritime pirates. In 2022 he presented an amicus brief before the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court on application of the insanity defense in the war crimes trial of someone who had been kidnapped and forced to become a child soldier at the age of eight.
Professor Scharf also is publishing, this week, a memoir about his career, Adventures and Misadventures in International Justice. In a blurb Oona Hathaway of Yale Law School says the book “offers a rare inside look at the life of an international lawyer who has pursued justice and accountability in some of the most dangerous and difficult places in the world. Tireless and relentlessly upbeat despite immense challenges, Scharf offers a vision of what it is to lead a life of commitment to the rule of law.” In the book’s final chapter, Professor Scharf explains the case for international law in light of his own experience, and that surely will be part of his talk this Friday.
I look forward to being there!
Best wishes for safety and security for you and yours,
Joe White
Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies
About Our Guest
Michael P. Scharf currently serves as the Joseph C. Hostetler-BakerHostetler Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Global Affairs at the CWRU School of Law. He is also President of the American Branch of the International Law Association and serves as Managing Director of the Public International Law & Policy Group, a global pro bono law firm that has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Since 2012 Scharf has been the producer and host of “Talking Foreign Policy,” a radio program broadcast on NPR stations and also available as a podcast.
Professor Scharf is a graduate of Shaker Heights High School and, with high honors, Duke University and Duke Law School. He clerked for Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit before joining the Office of the Legal Adviser of the U.S. Department of State from 1989 to 1993. Professor Scharf joined New England School of Law in 1993, earning tenure and promotions up to full professor before joining Case Western as Director of the Frederick K. Cox International Law Center in 2003. He served as co-Dean of the School of Law from 2013 – 2024. In addition to his new memoir and lots and lots of articles, Professor Scharf is author or co-author of twenty-one other books, five of which have won national awards.
Schedule of Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:
October 2: The Midterm Elections – A Month Before. With Paul Herrnson, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science, University of Connecticut and author or co-author of eight editions of Congressional Elections: Campaigning at Home and in Washington (CQ Press).
October 9: Russia and Its Ukraine War. With Steve Crowley, Ph.D., Professor of Politics, Oberlin College. Alternate Room, Mather House 100
October 16: ”Student Accommodations” at CWRU. With Eboni Porter, M.Ed., Director, Disability Resources, Accommodated Testing and Services. Alternate Room, Mather House 100
October 23: The Data Center Boom Meets Last Century’s Grid: How Big Tech is Disrupting the “Sleepy” Politics of Electricity. With Joshua Basseches, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Political Science. Alternate Room, Mather House 100
October 30: Pre-Election Preview Discussion. With Joe White, Ph.D., and Hopefully Others.
November 6: TBA
November 13: The Public Health Dilemma of E-Cigarettes. With Jacob James Rich, Ph.D. Candidate, Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
November 20: Rare Earths. With Rohan Akolkar, Ph.D., Milton and Tamar Maltz Professor of Energy Innovation, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Faculty Director, Great Lakes Energy Institute; Director, Electrochemical Design Center and EMF Lab.
November 27: Thanksgiving Break
December 4: Are We There Yet? Self-Driving Autonomous Vehicles and the Law. With Cassandra Burke Robertson, JD, John Deaver Drinko – BakerHostetler Professor of Law. Alternate Room, Mather House 100 | |
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