FIU professor, Fulbright scholar conducts international law research in Sweden

Law professor Charles C.  Jalloh joins the roster of 61 Fulbright scholars and specialists at FIU who have taught, researched, provided service, or a combination thereof, at universities, NGOs and other entities across the globe. Jalloh spent six months as Fulbright Distinguished Chair at the Lund University Faculty of Law and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Lund, Sweden.

Lund University’s Faculty of Law and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law invited Jalloh to conduct research and offer several lectures on his Fulbright project titled “The Nature, Scope and Limits of the Principle of Universal Jurisdiction in International Law.” In addition, he taught Swedish undergrad and graduate law students an advanced course on the work of the International Law Commission, to which he was elected by the UN General Assembly for a five-year term in 2016; recorded a podcast on crimes against humanity; and moderated a panel following the screening of “Under the Wire” at the Swedish Human Rights Film Festival. “Under the Wire” is a documentary about the murder of an award-winning American journalist, Marie Colvin, who was reporting on the commission of international crimes in Syria. Jalloh also presented papers at conferences in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as in Hamburg and Berlin, Germany.

Lastly, for an upcoming book he is co-authoring, Jalloh travelled to Chad to interview victims of torture and crimes against humanity for which former Chadian President Hissiene Habre was tried, convicted and sentenced.

“I am profoundly grateful to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board for this highly coveted award, the Swedish Fulbright Commission as well as Lund University and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute for hosting me,” says Jalloh, now back at FIU. “As leading academic and research institutions in Sweden, they have allowed me to make incredible connections with colleagues in the field of international law in Europe. They helped open a new door to the Nordic countries. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden are, of course, widely regarded in my field as supportive of international law.

“But it was nice to also get a first-hand experience of being immersed in their legal culture and engaging daily with their academics, students and legal experts in foreign ministries to understand why they are so committed to advancing a rule-based international legal order.”

The Distinguished Chair program is considered the most prestigious appointment in the Fulbright Scholar Program. There are only 40 chairs each year in all academic disciplines combined and only three of them specifically designated in law. Of the three in law, only one is designated for international law. The awards are made to scholars judged by peers to be among the eminent leaders in their field.

Established in 1946, the Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship educational program designed to increase mutual understanding between people of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge and skills. It offers study, research and teaching opportunities in more than 160 nations to faculty and administrators and students .

“I encourage any member of the faculty to consider applying to Fulbright—to utilize such awards for extraordinary career and personal growth through contacts and resources that are not available in ones’ home community,”Jalloh adds. “Let me use this opportunity to acknowledge and thank the then-interim dean of the College of Law, Tay Ansah, and the Office of Faculty & Global Affairs, especially Vice Provost Meredith Newman and Fulbright Scholar Program Campus Liaison Birgitta Rausch-Montoto, for their wonderful support.”