About Us

Founded in 1967, the Cornell International Law Journal (ILJ) is one of the oldest and most prominent international law journals in the United States. Three times a year, the Journal publishes scholarship that reflects the sweeping changes that are taking place in public and private international law. Each issue features articles by legal scholars, practitioners, and participants in international politics, as well as student-written notes.

Law students perform all editorial functions for the Journal. The Editorial Board selects articles and notes for publication, communicates with the authors, edits manuscripts for substance and style, and manages the Journal's financial and administrative affairs. Journal associates are driving forces behind the Journal and complete many sourcing, editing, and proving assignments, in addition to writing substantially publishable Student Notes on international law. Members are selected based on academic performance and writing ability.

History of the Journal

In 1967, the Cornell Society of International Law established Cornell International Law Journal as a forum for the exploration of international legal scholarship. Professor Robert A. Anthony, later director of the U.S. Office of Foreign Direct Investments in the Department of Commerce and the Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States under President Ford, served as the Journal's first faculty advisor. Professor Paul C. Szasz '56, former Deputy to the United Nations Legal Counsel and principal drafter of the constitutions of Namibia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, contributed the first article. Of the more than eighty student-published international and comparative law journals across the country today, only five have a longer international heritage.

CILJ Symposium

The Journal grew steadily over the years and in 1977 held its first Symposium - "An International Comparison of Legal Services for the Poor." Since then, the annual Cornell International Law Journal Symposium has become a banner event for the Journal. Past topics have included "Terrorism: the Legal Implications of the Response to September 11" (2002), "Process and Procedure in WTO Dispute Settlement" (2009), and "Comparative Antitrust Policies in Mergers and Acquisitions" (2010). In addition to hosting the Symposium, the Journal also publishes an issue featuring select speeches and articles from the Symposium participants. The next Symposium issue, "Forces Without Borders: Non-State Actors in a Changing Middle East," will be available in spring 2013.