ASIL Awards and Honors

The Society provides a variety of awards that recognize excellence in the field of international law. Awards are made by the Society on the recommendation of committees appointed annually in the spring by the President of the Society. Unless otherwise indicated below, questions about and nominations for ASIL awards should be sent to Rosemary Kurtz at 202.939.6000.

Annual Scholarship Awards
The Society bestows book awards known as ASIL Certificates of Merit, given for preeminent contribution to creative scholarship, a specialized area of international law, and/or high technical craftsmanship. Authors and publishers are encouraged to submit appropriate works for consideration by the Committee on Annual Awards. Books, monographs or articles of any nationality, language or place of publication, which have been published in the 24 months preceding February 1 of the year the award is to be made, are eligible. Detailed eligibility requirements and procedures are set out in the ASIL Regulations.

Congratulations to the 2008 Certificate of Merit award winners:

Christopher McCrudden, for Buying Social Justice: Equality, Government Procurement, and Legal Change (Oxford University Press) (Preeminent Contribution To Creative Scholarship)

Nikolas Stürchler,The Threat of Force in International Law (Cambridge University Press) (Specialized Area Of International Law)

Patrick Dumberry, State Succession to International Responsibility (Martinus Nijhoff) (High Technical Craftsmanship And Utility To Practicing Lawyers And Scholars)

Click here to see previous honorees.

Manley O. Hudson Medal
The American Society of International Law bestows from time to time without regard to nationality a medal to commemorate the life work of Manley O. Hudson. Such awards are made for scholarship and achievement in international law.

In 2008, the Hudson Medal was awarded to John Jackson.

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Goler T. Butcher Medal
The Society also awards a medal established in the name of the Society in honor of Professor Goler Teal Butcher to a distinguished person of American or other nationality, for outstanding contributions to the development or effective realization of international human rights law.

In 2008, the Butcher Medal was awarded to Virginia Leary.

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Honorary Members
Distinguished persons who are not United States citizens are awarded Honorary Membership in the Society for rendering distinguished contributions or service in the field of international law.

In 2008, John Dugard was named an Honorary Member.

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Francis Lieber Prize
The Francis Lieber Society of the ASIL awards the Lieber Prize annually to an author 35 years or younger for outstanding scholarship in the field of the law of armed conflict. Information about the annual Lieber Prize competition can be obtained from Professor Michael Schmitt at schmitt@aya.yale.edu .

Congratulations to the 2008 Lieber honoree:

Dr. Eve La Haye, the 2008 Lieber Prize, for War Crimes in Internal Armed Conflicts (Cambridge, forthcoming 2008).

Associate Professor Robert D. Sloane, 2008 Honorable Mention, for "Prologue to a Voluntarist War Convention," 106 Michigan Law Review 433 (2007).

Michael G. Kearney, 2008 Honorable Mention, for The Prohibition of Propaganda for War in International Law (Oxford University Press, 2007).).

Read more about the Francis Lieber Prize.

Lieber Society Military Prize

The Francis Lieber Society, an interest group of the American Society of International Law, announces that it will bestow each year, beginning in 2007, without regard to nationality, a prize based upon an exceptional writing in English by a member of the regular or reserve armed forces of any nation that significantly enhances the understanding and implementation of the law of war.

Congratulations to the 2008 winners:

Brigadier General Kenneth Watkin, the 2008 Lieber Society Military Prize, for "Assessing Proportionality: Moral Complexity and Legal Rules.”

Major Chris De Cock, 2008 Honorable Mention, for “The Use of Air Assets and Military Operations in Urban Terrain: Legal Constraints.”

Commander Rob McLaughlin, 2008 Honorable Mention, for “The Legal Regime Applicable to Use of Lethal Force When Operating under a United Nations Security Council Chapter VII Mandate Authorizing 'All Necessary Means'.”

Read more about the Lieber Society Military Prize.

The Francis Deak Prize
The annual Francis Deak Prize is awarded to a younger author for meritorious scholarship published in The American Journal of International Law. The prize was established by Philip Cohen in 1973, in memory of Francis Deak, former head of the international law program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and editor of American International Law Cases, 1783-1963, the first volume of which was published in 1971, the year before his death. The award is sponsored by Oxford University Press and made in the spring following the volume year in which the article appeared. Award presentations are made at the ASIL Annual General Meeting.

Congratulations to the 2008 Deak winner:

Michael Waibel, Opening Pandora’s Box: Sovereign Bonds in International Arbitration , 101 AJIL 711 (2007)

Click here to see previous honorees.