On October 13, Professor Milena Sterio participated in an expert group discussion, organized by the Cleveland Council on World Affairs, with Latvian State Secretary Aivars Puriņš on European security and US-NATO cooperation.

State Secretary Puriņš traveled to Cleveland as part of a German Marshall Fund Across America trip focused on the state of transatlantic defense cooperation and the deep ties that connect Americans and European communities across the Atlantic. Ohio has a large defense manufacturing sector, and participants in this trip will engage with state and local elected officials, students, and business leaders to further the discussion around what it means to be part of NATO and the importance of the alliance’s role in security and prosperity in the United States and Europe.

Professor Sterio serves on the Cleveland Council on World Affairs’ Board of Directors.  

Professor Milena Sterio co-organized and participated in the American Society of International Law’s Midyear Meeting, which took place in Cleveland from September 25 to 27.  Professor Sterio co-chaired the Midyear Meeting and helped organize the entire conference, which consisted of the Practitioners’ Forum, held at Jones Day, and the Research Forum, held at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. 

During the Practitioners’ Forum, on September 25, Professor Sterio moderated a panel on the topic of “Algorithms on Trial: Navigating the Nine-Figure Litigation Minefield of Generative AI.”  During the Research Forum, on September 26, Professor Sterio presented her paper, on the topic of “The Role of International, Regional, and Domestic Courts in Transitions Toward Peace and Security.” On September 27, she also moderated a panel on the topic of “Accountability under International Legal Frameworks.”

On September 11, Professor Milena Sterio presented her research at the European Society of International Law Conference in Berlin, Germany. Her paper, “The Role of International, Regional, and Domestic Courts in Transitions Toward Democracy,” was selected through a highly competitive call-for-papers process.

In her work, Professor Sterio examines how courts can play an essential role in supporting peace and democracy when traditional global security mechanisms falter. She argues that the United Nations Security Council—long the cornerstone of international peace and security since 1945—has become increasingly paralyzed. In this context, judicial bodies at the international, regional, and domestic levels may step in to fill the void.

When courts determine that a state has violated international law, or that a leader bears responsibility for atrocity crimes, they not only advance transitional justice but may also help restore peace and security within affected regions. Professor Sterio’s scholarship highlights the evolving role of courts in shaping pathways toward democracy in times of crisis.

Professor Milena Sterio presented at the European Society of International Law Conference in Berlin, Germany, on September 11, on the topic of “The Role of International, Regional, and Domestic Courts in Transitions Toward Democracy.”  Professor Sterio’s paper was selected from a competitive call-for-papers.  In this paper, Professor Sterio argues that because our traditional peace and security apparatus, which has existed since 1945 through the United Nations Security Council, is mostly paralyzed, we may need to increasingly turn toward courts.  When international, regional, or domestic courts proclaim that a state is responsible for an international law violation or that a specific country leader ought to bear individual criminal responsibility for the commission of atrocity crimes, courts thereby play a role in transitional justice, and may contribute toward a re-establishment of peace and security in a region.