The International Law Center is dedicated to the study of international and comparative law.
International law is a dynamic field which is increasingly relevant for the practice of law, including in the Cleveland area. Many of our students benefit from exposure to international and comparative law, and such exposure routinely enhances their job prospects at major law firms and corporations, as well as with the federal government and in the not-for-profit sector. Moreover, student interest in international law has grown significantly, as students have recognized that their daily practice of law is increasingly influenced by international and comparative law. Cleveland State University College of Law is already recognized as a leader in International Law, as evidenced by our U.S. News & World Report specialty ranking in International Law.
Cleveland State University College of Law responded to these growing opportunities by founding the International Law Center, one of only two law school centers in the greater Cleveland area dedicated to the study of international and comparative law.
The International Law Center is committed to three primary goals
- To promote the development of international and comparative law.
- To facilitate the growth of the international law field in the Cleveland area and beyond.
- To train next-generation International Law lawyers.
The International Law Center takes a multi-pronged approach to these goals
- The International Law Student Association to engage students with an interest in the field.
- A Certificate in International Law provides comprehensive coursework and experiential learning for students.
- An in-person and/or online International Law course offered to students and practitioners around the world.
- An Online International Law Research Guide to increase the availability of legal resources.
- A student Fellowship which allows students the opportunity to directly support the work of the Center.
- The publication of the student-authored International Law Blog to enable our students and guest authors to comment on developments in International Law.
- A program of Events, Initiatives, and Activities including an annual symposium to bring new ideas into the national and international debates regarding International Law.
International Law Center News
The Director of the International Law Center
Milena Sterio is the James A. Thomas Distinguished Professor of Law at Cleveland State University’s College of Law and Managing Director at the Public International Law and Policy Group. She is a leading expert on international law, international criminal law and human rights.
Sterio is an internationally and nationally recognized scholar. She has testified before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has appeared before the International Criminal Court; in addition, she has presented at the United Nations and at other presgitious venues. Sterio is one of six permanent editors of the prestigious IntLawGrrls blog, and a frequent contributor to the blog focused on international law, policy and practice. In the spring of 2013, Sterio was selected as a Fulbright Scholar, spending the semester in Baku, Azerbaijan, at Baku State University. While in Baku, she had the opportunity to teach and conduct research on secession issues under international law related to the province of Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh. Serving as a maritime piracy law expert, she has participated in meetings of the United Nations Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia as well as in the work of the United Nations Global Counterterrorism Forum. Sterio has also assisted piracy prosecutions in Mauritius, Kenya and the Seychelles Islands. She has also engaged in field work in the area of international human rights law, in Bangladesh (working with the Rohingya refugees), Jordan, Turkey, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, and Ukraine. Sterio is a graduate of Cornell Law School and the University of Paris I, and was an associate in the New York City firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton before joining the ranks of academia full time. She has published nine books and numerous law review articles. Her latest book, “The Syrian Conflict’s Impact on International Law,” (co-authored with Paul Williams and Michael Scharf) was published by Cambridge University Press in 2020; her new book, “Ukraine and the New Global order” will be published by Routledge in 2025.