Ruth Wedgwood
Encyclopedia
Ruth N. Wedgwood is an American
law
professor who holds the Edward B. Burling
Chair in International Law
and Diplomacy at the School of Advanced International Studies
, Johns Hopkins University
, in Washington, D.C.
, former general counsel
of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union who served as a World War II
cryptanalyst, and Anne Sorelle Williams, an artist and translator raised in Paris. In 1982 she married immunologist and pediatrician Josiah F. Wedgwood
, a member of the Darwin-Wedgwood family.. He died in 2009.
She teaches and writes in the fields of international law
, international criminal law
, United Nations
politics and law, peacekeeping, the law of armed conflict, constitutional law
and American foreign affairs power, comparative global constitutionalism, arbitration
and investment law, and human rights law. The international law program under her direction also instructs students in international environmental law, competition law
, financial regulatory law, trade law, Islamic law
, and Chinese law
.
Wedgwood serves as the U.S. member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee
, sitting in Geneva and New York (re-elected to a second term by the states parties in 2006), and as vice-chairman of Freedom House
, a 60-year-old NGO founded by Eleanor Roosevelt
that promotes democracy and human rights. She clerked for renowned federal judge Henry J. Friendly on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and Justice Harry Blackmun
on the U.S. Supreme Court. Wedgwood received her undergraduate education in economic history at Harvard and her legal education at Yale Law School
. Wedgwood was the executive editor of the Yale Law Journal
and received the Peres Prize for the finest legal writing.
Since 1993, Wedgwood has also served as a member of the Secretary of State
's Advisory Committee on International Law, and is a member of Davos World Economic Forum
's Council on the International Global Agenda.
She was a member of the Yale Law School
faculty for over a decade; a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations
, directing the Ford Foundation-funded diplomatic roundtable on the United Nations; and the Charles Stockton
Professor of International Law at the U.S. Naval War College
in Newport, Rhode Island
. She has traveled widely in areas of post-conflict transition, and served as an independent expert for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
.
Wedgwood has served as vice-president of the American Society of International Law
; chairman of the Council on International Affairs of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York
; a member of the policy advisory group of the United Nations Association
; and an expert consultant on the Hart-Rudman Commission on National Security in the 21st Century.
She has also served on the board of editors for the American Journal of International Law
; the editorial advisory board of the World Policy Journal
of the New School University; and the editorial board of The American Interest
magazine.
Wedgwood is a member of the American Law Institute
, the Council on Foreign Relations
, the Institute for Strategic Studies, and the San Remo International Institute for Humanitarian Law.
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
professor who holds the Edward B. Burling
Edward B. Burling
Edward Burnham Burling was a prominent American lawyer and the name partner of the Washington, D.C.-based law firm of Covington & Burling. He grew up in Eldora, Iowa and worked in a grocery store at age eleven, and went on to Grinnell College and then to Harvard Law School...
Chair in International Law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
and Diplomacy at the School of Advanced International Studies
Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies , a division of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., is one of the world's leading and most prestigious graduate schools devoted to the study of international affairs, economics, diplomacy, and policy research and...
, Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Family origins
Ruth Wedgwood is the daughter of labor lawyer Morris P. GlushienMorris P. Glushien
Morris P. Glushien was an American labor lawyer. He resigned in 1947 from the National Labor Relations Board in protest due to the Taft-Hartley Act and then acted as counsel to the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. In 1957 he argued the landmark free-speech case Staub v...
, former general counsel
General Counsel
A general counsel is the chief lawyer of a legal department, usually in a corporation or government department. The term is most used in the United States...
of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union who served as a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
cryptanalyst, and Anne Sorelle Williams, an artist and translator raised in Paris. In 1982 she married immunologist and pediatrician Josiah F. Wedgwood
Josiah F. Wedgwood
Josiah Francis Wedgwood, also known as Josiah Wedgwood VII was an American physician and paediatric immunologist.In 1982 he married Ruth Glushien, daughter of Morris P. Glushien...
, a member of the Darwin-Wedgwood family.. He died in 2009.
Current career
As the Burling Professor, Wedgwood is the director of the program on international law and organizations at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.She teaches and writes in the fields of international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
, international criminal law
International criminal law
International criminal law is a body of international law designed to prohibit certain categories of conduct commonly viewed as serious atrocities and to make perpetrators of such conduct criminally accountable for their perpetration. Principally, it deals with genocide, war crimes, crimes against...
, United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
politics and law, peacekeeping, the law of armed conflict, constitutional law
Constitutional law
Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....
and American foreign affairs power, comparative global constitutionalism, arbitration
Arbitration
Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, where the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons , by whose decision they agree to be bound...
and investment law, and human rights law. The international law program under her direction also instructs students in international environmental law, competition law
Competition law
Competition law, known in the United States as antitrust law, is law that promotes or maintains market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies....
, financial regulatory law, trade law, Islamic law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
, and Chinese law
Chinese law
Chinese law is one of the oldest legal traditions in the world. In the 20th and 21st century, law in China has been a complex mix of traditional Chinese approaches and Western influences....
.
Wedgwood serves as the U.S. member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee
Human Rights Committee
The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a United Nations body of 18 experts that meets three times a year for four-week sessions to consider the five-yearly reports submitted by 162 UN member states on their compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,...
, sitting in Geneva and New York (re-elected to a second term by the states parties in 2006), and as vice-chairman of Freedom House
Freedom House
Freedom House is an international non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C. that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights...
, a 60-year-old NGO founded by Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
that promotes democracy and human rights. She clerked for renowned federal judge Henry J. Friendly on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and Justice Harry Blackmun
Harry Blackmun
Harold Andrew Blackmun was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 until 1994. He is best known as the author of Roe v. Wade.- Early years and professional career :...
on the U.S. Supreme Court. Wedgwood received her undergraduate education in economic history at Harvard and her legal education at Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
. Wedgwood was the executive editor of the Yale Law Journal
Yale Law Journal
The Yale Law Journal is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students at Yale Law School...
and received the Peres Prize for the finest legal writing.
Since 1993, Wedgwood has also served as a member of the Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
's Advisory Committee on International Law, and is a member of Davos World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
's Council on the International Global Agenda.
She was a member of the Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
faculty for over a decade; a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
, directing the Ford Foundation-funded diplomatic roundtable on the United Nations; and the Charles Stockton
Charles Stockton
Charles Herbert Stockton was a rear admiral in the United States Navy and the U.S. Navy's first uniformed expert in International Law.-Early life and education:...
Professor of International Law at the U.S. Naval War College
Naval War College
The Naval War College is an education and research institution of the United States Navy that specializes in developing ideas for naval warfare and passing them along to officers of the Navy. The college is located on the grounds of Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island...
in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
. She has traveled widely in areas of post-conflict transition, and served as an independent expert for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
.
Wedgwood has served as vice-president of the American Society of International Law
American Society of International Law
The American Society of International Law is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational membership organization, based in Washington, D.C.. It was founded in 1906, and was chartered by the United States Congress in 1950...
; chairman of the Council on International Affairs of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York
Association of the Bar of the City of New York
The New York City Bar Association , founded in 1870, is a voluntary association of lawyers and law students. Since 1896, the organization, formally known as the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, has been headquartered in a landmark building on 44th Street, between Fifth and Sixth...
; a member of the policy advisory group of the United Nations Association
United Nations Association
The United Nations Associations are non-governmental organizations that exist in various countries to enhance the relationship between the people of a member state and the United Nations, raise public awareness of the UN and its work, promote the general goals of the UN and act as an advisory body...
; and an expert consultant on the Hart-Rudman Commission on National Security in the 21st Century.
She has also served on the board of editors for the American Journal of International Law
American Journal of International Law
The American Journal of International Law is an English-language scholarly journal focusing on international law and international relations...
; the editorial advisory board of the World Policy Journal
World Policy Journal
World Policy Journal is a magazine on international relations published by SAGE Publications for the World Policy Institute. It contains primarily policy essays, but also book reviews, interviews, and historical essays...
of the New School University; and the editorial board of The American Interest
The American Interest
The American Interest is a non-partisan bimonthly magazine focusing primarily on foreign policy, international affairs, global economics, and matters related to the military...
magazine.
Wedgwood is a member of the American Law Institute
American Law Institute
The American Law Institute was established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of American common law and its adaptation to changing social needs. The ALI drafts, approves, and publishes Restatements of the Law, Principles of the Law, model codes, and other proposals for law...
, the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
, the Institute for Strategic Studies, and the San Remo International Institute for Humanitarian Law.
International Law Views
In June 2010, on MSNBC daytime news, Wedgwood appeared to take the position that the Israeli Defense Forces had the legal right under the Law of the Sea to enforce its blockade against the Gaza flotilla, while on international waters, en route to the Gaza stripGaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
.