Professor Milena Sterio was an invited speaker at the Armenian International Law Association Conference in Yerevan, Armenia, on February 14, in Yerevan, Armenia, “Rethinking International Law: Knowledge, Action, Reflection.”

She presented on a panel titled “International Courts and Beyond: Various Pathways of International Law Enforcement” on the specific topic of The Role of Domestic Courts in Global Peace and Security.  In her remarks, Professor Sterio focused on how different courts can play a role in transitions toward peace and security, by holding states responsible for international law violations, and by imposing individual criminal responsibility on perpetrators of atrocity crimes.   

Professor Milena Sterio co-hosted a new episode of the International Law Chats podcast, a monthly podcast by the American Branch of the International Law Association co-hosted by Professor Sterio, Professor Chiara Giorgetti (University of Richmond Law School), and Alison McDonald, KC.  The episode, published on Feb. 2, 2026, featured as guest Professor Harold Koh, Yale Law School, speaking on “The Future of the International Legal Order.”  Professor Koh is the most highly cited international legal scholar; he is former dean of Yale Law School as well as former Legal Advisor to the U.S. State Department.

Professor Milena Sterio has been invited to submit an article to La Trobe University’s (Melbourne, Australia) inaugural volume of the La Trobe University Law Review. The volume will focus on the theme “AI on the Battlefield: Navigating Legal and Ethical Frontiers in 21st Century Conflict,” and Professor Sterio’s article will focus on the issue of individual criminal responsibility for operators of autonomous weapons systems which use AI.

Professor Milena Sterio has accepted a publication offer from the American University International Law Review, one of the most prestigious international law journals, for her article “Artificial Intelligence, the Use of Autonomous Weapons, and Individual Criminal Responsibility: A Paradox or a Possibility.”  The article will be published in the journal’s forthcoming 2026 issue.

Professor Milena Sterio ranks 39^th in the United States in Scholarly Impact Rankings for International Law scholars, according to Hein Online. Hein Online publishes a list of top 100 scholars by subject area, and Professor Sterio is listed in the International Law Impact Rankings. The impact rankings are based on the number of citations, as well as additional factors.  

Professor Milena Sterio participated as an expert in a week-long training of Ukrainian judges and prosecutors on International Humanitarian Law, War Crimes Prosecutions, and International Environmental Law, from January 19-23, in Rzeszów, Poland. 

The training was organized by the International Bar Association, and the expert team, in addition to Professor Sterio, consisted of professors and practitioners from the United Kingdom, Brazil, Chile, and the United States.  Professor Sterio delivered two presentations about the sources of International Humanitarian Law and the fundamental principles of International Humanitarian Law.  In addition, she also led several discussion groups and simulated exercises, where she guided Ukrainian colleagues across various evidentiary challenges as they relate to complex war crimes trials.  This was Professor Sterio’s second trip to Poland as an expert; she had previously participated in a similar training in September 2024.

Professor Sterio presented on six different panels at the AALS Annual Meeting in New Orleans.  

On January 6, she spoke on a Hot Topics panel entitled “Ukrainian Resilience on the Front Lines of Democracy: What is the Role of International Law?.  On January 7, she spoke on a panel entitled “Declaring a Climate Emergency,” where she focused on the recent rulings by international and regional courts establishing that there is a human right to live in a healthy environment. 

Also on January 7, Professor Sterio spoke on a late-breaking panel, which she also organized, on “Maduro’s Capture and the Venezuelan Incursion: Untying the Legal Knots?”  On January 8, she presented at two teaching/pedagogy panels, on the topics of “Teaching Human Rights: From Specialized Courses to Doctrinal Integration” and “Teaching International Law & Intergroup Dialogue in Challenging Times” (Professor Sterio organized the latter panel as well).  Finally, also on January 8, Professor Sterio provided comments to a junior scholar on a panel entitled “New Voices in International Human Rights and International Law.”  

Professor Sterio was also elected Treasurer of the International Law Section; she continues to serve on the Executive Committees of the International Human Rights Law and the National Security Law Sections, where she is past chair.