Profile

Monica Hakimi

About/Bio

Monica Hakimi is a professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School. She teaches and writes on public international law and U.S. foreign relations law, with a particular focus on the informal ways in which international law adapts to contemporary challenges. Much of her research addresses that issue in the contexts of human rights law, the law of armed conflict, and the law governing the cross-border use of armed force. Professor Hakimi earned her JD from Yale Law School in 2001 and her BA, summa cum laude, from Duke University. Following law school, Professor Hakimi clerked for the Hon. Kimba Wood of the Southern District of New York and later served as an attorney-adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State, where she counseled policymakers on non-proliferation, the reconstruction of Iraq, international investment disputes, and civil aviation. Follow Professor Hakimi on Twitter @MonicaHakimi.

Recently Published

Pigs, Positivism, and the Jus ad Bellum

April 27, 2018

Now that the dust from the U.S.–U.K.–French operation against Syria has settled, I want to follow up on something I said when news of it first broke. Like most commentators, I argued that the operation did not satisfy the formal legal doctrine on the use of force. By this I meant that it was inconsistent with the…

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The Attack on Syria and the Contemporary Jus ad Bellum

April 15, 2018

The United States, Britain, and France have attacked various chemical weapons facilities in Syria. Even before they acted, a number of commentators claimed that any such attack would be internationally unlawful. Below, I explain why that claim is too simplistic and how we should situate the operation in the jus ad bellum going forward.

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International Law in “Turbulent Times,” Part II

March 6, 2018

Note from the Editors:  This week we hold the first EJIL:Talk! Contributing Editors' Debate, where some or all of our distinguished Contributing Editors lend their views on broad themes of international law and the state of the art, science, and discipline of international law.  Our thanks to Andreas Zimmermann (Co-Director of the Berlin-Potsdam Research Group, 'The…

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Popular articles by Monica Hakimi

North Korea and the Law on Anticipatory Self-Defense

March 28, 2017

Media reports over the last few weeks indicate that the already tense relationship between North Korea and the United States is getting worse. Now that North Korea is nearly ready to test an intercontinental ballistic missile, the United States has said that it will get more confrontational. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson even suggested…

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The Attack on Syria and the Contemporary Jus ad Bellum

April 15, 2018

The United States, Britain, and France have attacked various chemical weapons facilities in Syria. Even before they acted, a number of commentators claimed that any such attack would be internationally unlawful. Below, I explain why that claim is too simplistic and how we should situate the operation in the jus ad bellum going forward.

Read more

Pigs, Positivism, and the Jus ad Bellum

April 27, 2018

Now that the dust from the U.S.–U.K.–French operation against Syria has settled, I want to follow up on something I said when news of it first broke. Like most commentators, I argued that the operation did not satisfy the formal legal doctrine on the use of force. By this I meant that it was inconsistent with the…

Read more

Related Topics

Armed Conflict Syria Use of Force EJILTalk Contributing Editors' Debate Study of International Law Theory of International Law

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