Professor Martti Koskenniemi FBA

History and theory of international law from early modern statehood to modern international institutions; relations between sovereignty and property, and the fragmentation of international law in the twenty-first century
Fellow type
International Fellow
Year elected
2014
Subjects
Law
Sections
Law

Summary

Martti Koskenniemi (born 1953) is Academy Professor of International Law at the University of Helsinki and Director of the Erik Castren Institute of International Law and Human Rights. He was a member of the Finnish diplomatic service in 1978-1994 and of the International Law Commission (UN) in 2002-2006. He has held visiting professorships in, among other places, New York University, Columbia University, University of Cambridge, London School of Economics, and Universities of Brussels, Melbourne, Paris and Sao Paulo. He is a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy and has a doctorate hc. from the Universities of Uppsala, Frankfurt and McGill. His main publications include From Apology to Utopia; The Structure of International Legal Argument (1989/2005), The Gentle Civilizer of Nations: The Rise and Fall of International Law 1870-1960 (2001) and The Politics of International Law (2011). He is currently working on a history of international legal thought from the late medieval period to the 19th century.

Current post

Professor of International Law and Director, The Erik Castrén Institute of International Law and Human Rights, University of Helsinki

Publications

The Politics of International Law 2011

The Gentle Civilizer of Nations. The Rise and Fall of International Law 2002

From Apology to utopia. The Structure of International Legal Argument 2005 Reissue with a New Epilogue

Other Fellows of the British Academy

Professor Norman Doe FBA

The history of ecclesiastical law in England and Wales and the modern canon law and other regulatory instruments of Anglican churches worldwide in their comparative and ecumenical contexts.

Norman Doe FBA

Professor Tony Prosser FBA

Public law relating to regulation, including government management of the economy; public service law; administrative law; law and social theory

tony-prosser.jpg

Professor Gillian Douglas FBA

The relationship between family law and social change; legal recognition of family ties, the consequences of relationship breakdown, and experiences of the family justice system

gillian-douglas.jpg

Sign up to our email newsletters

Join our mailing list to explore the ideas and impact of the British Academy. Get updates on research, funding, policy, international collaborations, and events that bring the humanities and social sciences to life.