* Mike Schmitt named as the new Chairman of the International Law Department at the Naval War College
Congratulations to Mike, as well as to Dennis Mandsager who is stepping down as the Chair. Here is the announcement from Dennis:
The following message is from Professor Dennis Mandsager, Chairman,
International Law Department, US Naval War College:
Please join me in welcoming Professor Mike Schmitt as the new Chairman of
the
International Law Department (ILD) effective 1 October 2011.
Professor Schmitt, who is currently Chair of Public International Law at
Durham University in the UK, is well-known to many of you. He is a retired
USAF judge advocate, who graduated first in class from the Senior Course in
1996 and stayed on at the War College for two years as an instructor in the
International Law (formerly Oceans Law & Policy) Department. He was also
the visiting Stockton Professor in 2007-2008, has edited six volumes of the
International Law Studies ("Blue Books"), and has contributed to numerous
editions of the Naval War College Review.
Following his retirement in 1999, Professor Schmitt moved to the Marshall
Center in Germany as Professor of International Law. He went on to direct
the Program in Advanced Security Studies, and served as Dean from 2008-2010. A
noted international authority on the law of war, he is the General Editor of
the Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law, serves on many advisory and
editorial boards in the field, and is the author of over 100 articles and
books which have been published around the world. He has also been an
invited Visiting Scholar at Yale, the Australian National University and the
University of Melbourne.
Over the years Professor Schmitt has participated in many international
projects designed to clarify international law as it applies to armed
conflict, including the Harvard Manual on International Law Applicable to
Air and Missile Warfare, the Chatham House Project on Categorizing Conflict, and
the International Committee of the Red Cross’ study on the participation of
civilians in conflict. He is presently directing a major multi-year project
on Cyber War and International Law sponsored by the NATO affiliated
Cooperative Cyber Defence Center of Excellence.
I will step down as ILD Chair on 1 October and remain on the College
faculty.
Cheers, Dennis