SCHOOL of INTERNATIONAL SERVICE

American University · Washington, D.C.

FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES -- Paul R. Williams

Paul R. Williams
Ph.D., University of Cambridge
J.D., Stanford University School of Law
B.A., University of California at Davis
E-mail: pwilliam@american.edu
Phone: (202) 885 - 3486

Professor Williams holds a joint appointment as an Associate Professor of Law and International Relations in the American University School of International Service and Washington College of Law, where he directs the J.D./M.A. joint degree program. Professor Williams is the Executive Director of the Public International Law & Policy Group, which provides pro bono legal assistance to developing states and states in transition. Professor Williams has formerly served as a Senior Associate with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, directing the Public International Law and Policy Program, and as an Attorney-Adviser for the U.S. Department of State.

During the course of his legal practice, Professor Williams has provided legal aid to numerous developing states and states in transition, serving as a legal advisor to the Chair of the Iraqi Constitution Drafting Committee, the President of Macedonia on matters of state sovereignty, the President of Bosnia on the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords, the government of Kosovo on peace negotiations, and the President of Estonia on territorial negotiations with Russia. Professor Williams has also served as a legal adviser during several peace negotiations, including Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia/Montenegro, and Somalia negotiations. He has served on the Bosnian delegation to the Dayton Peace Negotiations, and given legal assistance to the Turkish Parliamentary delegation on Bosnia. Professor Williams has facilitated legal assistance to the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, as well as a variety of NGO’s.

Professor Williams has authored four books, including the award winning International Law and the Resolution of Central and East European Transboundary Environmental Disputes. In addition, he has authored a number of articles in top-rated law journals, most recently in the Stanford Journal of International Law, the ISLA Journal of International and Comparative Law, and the Denver Journal of International Law & Policy. Professor Williams has also authored policy oriented editorials which have appeared in the International Herald Tribune, Wall Street Journal Europe, Le Monde, and the Christian Science Monitor, and has been interviewed by CNN International, BBC, ABC, BBC Radio 4, The New York Times, Washington Post, New Republic, Time Magazine, and U.S. News and World Report.

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