Photograph of Professor Paul Williams

Paul Williams

Rebecca I. Grazier Professor of Law and International Relations
Director of the JD/MA Dual Degree Program

Office: Room 400
 Phone: 202-274-4271
E-mail: vCard


Paul R. Williams holds the Rebecca I. Grazier Professorship in Law and International Relations at American University. Professor Williams teaches at the School of International Service and the Washington College of Law, and also directs the joint JD/MA program in International Relations. Professor Williams is co-founder and Executive Director of the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG), a non-profit group, which provides pro bono legal assistance to states and governments involved in peace negotiations, post-conflict constitutions drafting, and war crimes prosecutions.

During the course of his legal practice, Professor Williams has assisted over a dozen states and governments in major international peace negotiations, and advised fifteen governments across Europe, Africa and Asia on issues of state recognition, self-determination, and state succession, drafting and implementation of post-conflict constitutions, and border and sea demarcation. Professor Williams is a leading scholar on peace negotiations and post-conflict constitutions and a sought-after international law and policy analyst. He has authored four books on topics of international human rights, international environmental law and international norms of justice, and over two dozen articles on a wide variety of public international law topics. Professor Williams is also a sought-after international law and policy analyst, and has been interviewed more than 250 times by major print and broadcast media.

Previously, Professor Williams served in the Department of State's Office of the Legal Advisor for European and Canadian Affairs, as a Senior Associate with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and as a Fulbright Research Scholar at the University of Cambridge.



Areas of Specialization

  • Peace Negotiations
  • Post-Conflict Constitutions
  • Public International Law

Degrees & Universities

  • Ph.D., University of Cambridge 1998
  • J.D., Stanford Law School 1990
  • A.B., University of California at Davis 1987

  • Selected Publications

    • + More Publications...

    • Books

    • Paul Williams, Establishing a Stable Democratic Constitutional Structure in Iraq: Some Basic Considerations (Century Fund & The Pub. Intl. L. & Policy Group 2004) (reprinted in 39 New Eng. L. Rev. 53 (2004)).
    • Paul Williams, Janusz Bugajski & R. Bruce Hitchner, Achieving a Final Status Settlement for Kosovo (Ctr. Strategic & Intl. Stud. 2003).
    • Paul Williams & James Hooper, Simulating Kosovo: Lessons for Final Status Negotiations (U.S. Inst. for Peace Nov. 2002).
    • Paul Williams, Kosovo: From Crisis to Solution (Prepared in conjunction with the Austrian Ministry of Foreign AffairsAustrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1997).
    • Paul Williams, Treatment of Detainees (Henry-Dunant Inst. 1990).

    • Other Publications

    • Paul Williams, Lawfare: A War Worth Fighting, Case W. Res. J. Intl. L. (2011).
    • Paul Williams, Negotiating the Darfur Ceasefire, Prisim (Accepted).
    • Paul Williams, The Case for Federalism in Iraq, Am. U. Inl. L. Rev. (Nov. 2008).
    • Paul Williams & Meghan Stewart, Humanitarian Intervention Post 9/11, Case. W. J. Intl. L. (Spring 2008).
    • Paul Williams, The Responsibility to Protect and International Law, J. of the Hague Acad. of Intl. L. (Spring 2008).
    • Paul Williams & Jennifer Ober, Is It True That There is No Right of Self-Determination for Kosova?, in The Case for Kosova: Passage to Independence (Anna Di Lellio, ed., Anthem Press 2006).
    • Paul Williams & Catherine Croft, Was the Former 1999 NATO Intervention an Illegal War Against the Former Republic of Yugoslavia?, in The Case for Kosova: Passage to Independence (Anna Di Lellio, ed., Anthem Press 2006).
    • Paul Williams & William Spencer, Iraq's Political Compact, Boston Globe (Aug. 13, 2005).
    • Paul Williams & Yoonie Kim, Book Review: Illegal Annexation and State Continuity: The Case of the Incorporation of the Baltic States by the USSR, 99 Am. J. Intl. L. 734 (July 2005).
    • Paul Williams & Jamal Jafari, Word Games: The UN and Genocide in Darfur, The Jurist (Mar. 17, 2005).
    • Paul Williams & Francesca Jannotti, Earned Sovereignty: Bridging the Gap between Sovereignty and Self-Determination, St. J. Intl. L. (2004).
    • Paul Williams, Scott Lyons & Tali Neuwirth, Preemption in the 21st Century: What are the Legal Parameters?, 10 ILS j. Intl. & Comp. L. 353 (2004).
    • Paul Williams & Karen Heymann, Earned Sovereignty: An Emerging Conflict Resolution Approach, 10 ILSA J. Intl. & Comp. L. 437 (2004).
    • Paul Williams & Karen Heymann, Earned Sovereignty: An Emerging Conflict Resolution Approach, 10 ILSA J. Intl. & Comp. L. 437 (2004).
    • Paul Williams & Morton Abramowitz, Peace Before Prosecution?, Wash. Post (Aug. 25, 2003).
    • Paul Williams & Abraham D. Soafer, Yes, Military Commissions Are Appropriate, Knight Ridder (Apr. 23, 2003).
    • Paul Williams, The Case Against Amnesty for Hussein, Chi. Tribune (Feb. 14, 2003).
    • Paul Williams & James Hooper, Earned Sovereignty: The Political Dimension, 31 Denv. J. Intl. L. & Policy 355 (2003).
    • Paul Williams, Earned Sovereignty: The Road to Resolving the Conflict Over Kosovo's Final Status, 31 Denv. J. Intl. L. & Policy 387 (2003).
    • Paul Williams, James P. Scharf, & James R. Hooper, Resolving Sovereignty-Based Conflicts: The Emerging Approach of Earned Sovereignty, 1 Den. J. Intl. L. & Policy 349 (2003).
    • Paul Williams & Patricia Taft, The Role of Justice in the Former Yugoslavia: Antidote or Placebo for Coercive Appeasement, 35 Case W. Res. J. Intl. L. 219 (2003).
    • Paul Williams & Michael P. Scharf, The Functions of Justice and Anti-justice in the Peace-building Process, 35 Case W. Res. J. Intl. L. 161 (2003).
    • Paul Williams (co-authored), The Role of Justice in the Former Yugoslavia: Antidote or Placebo for Coercive Appeasement, 35 Case W. Res. L. Rev. 219 (2003).
    • Paul Williams & Michael P. Scharf, Report of the Committee of Experts on Nation Rebuilding in Afghanistan, 36 New Eng. L. Rev. 709 (2002).
    • Paul Williams & Richard L. Hubbell, With Its Acts of War, Al-Qaida Yielded Rights, Balt. Sun (Feb. 4, 2002).
    • Paul Williams & Abraham D. Sofaer, Doing Justice During Wartime: Why Military Tribunals Make Sense, Policy Rev. (Feb. 2002).
    • Paul Williams & Katrina M. Waller, Coercive Appeasement: The Flawed International Response to the Serbian Rogue Regime, 36 New Eng. L. Rev. 825 (2002).
    • Paul Williams, The Role of Justice in Peace Negotiations, in Post Conflict Justice (M. Cherif Bassiouni, ed., Transnatl. Pub. 2002).
    • Paul Williams & Michael Scharf, Prosecute Terrorists on a World Stage, L.A. Times (Nov. 18, 2001).
    • Paul Williams & R. Bruce Hitchner, Rebuild Afghanistan - or Terrorists Will Find Fertile Ground for Growth, Wash. Times (Oct. 24, 2001).
    • Paul Williams, The Norm of Justice and the Negotiation of the Rambouillet/Paris Peace Accords, 13 Leiden J. Intl. L. 207 (May 2000).
    • Paul Williams & M. Schraf, NATO Intervention on Trial: The Legal Case that was Never Made, Hum. Rights Rev. (Feb. 2000).
    • Paul Williams & M. Schraf, Legal Basis for NATO Military Action Taken Against Serbia/Montenegro, 5 Intl. Peacekeeping (Winter 1999).
    • Paul Williams, The Northern Ireland Peace Agreement: Evolving the Principle of Self-Determination, 12 Leiden J. Intl. L. 155 (1999).
    • Paul Williams, Book Review: Trying the Butcher of Omarska, 10 Crim. L. Forum 147 (1999).
    • Paul Williams & Ramzi Nemo, Book Review: Constitutionalizing Globalization: The Postmodern Revival of Confederal Arrangements, 93 Am. J. Intl. L. 561 (1999).
    • Paul Williams & Norman Cigar, The West Must Act to Avoid a Bosnia Redux, Wall Street J. Europe (Mar. 27, 1998).
    • Paul Williams & Michael Scharf, Indict Serbia’s Milosevic for Crimes Against Humanity, Intl. Herald Tribune (Mar. 21, 1998).
    • Paul Williams & Norman Cigar, Reward Serbs With the Town of Brcko? Don’t Do It, The Christian Science Monitor (Mar. 11, 1998).
    • Paul Williams, Legal Issues, in A Global Agenda: Issues Before the 53rd General Assembly of the United Nations (Tessitore & Woolfson, eds., Rowman & Littlefield Publishers 1998).
    • Paul Williams & Norman Cigar, Serbia After Milosevic, The Christian Science Monitor (Jan. 16, 1997).
    • Paul Williams & Norman Cigar, For the Peace in the Balkans, Indict Milosevic Now, Intl. Herald Tribune (Jan. 9, 1997).
    • Paul Williams, Promise Them Anything, The Weekly Standard (Dec. 18, 1995).
    • Paul Williams & Michael Scharf, UN Mandates: The Letter of the Law, in With No Peace to Keep: United Nations Peacekeeping and the War in the Former Yugoslavia (Grainpress, Ltd. Dec. 1995).
    • Paul Williams, UN Members Share Guilt for the Genocide in Bosnia, The Christian Science Monitor (Aug. 8, 1995).
    • Paul Williams, Une Lourde Violation du Droit International, Le Monde (June 29, 1995).
    • Paul Williams, Why the Bosnian Arms Embargo Is Illegal, Wall St. J. (June 15, 1995).
    • Paul Williams, The Crippling of Bosnia, The Tablet (Feb. 25, 1995).
    • Paul Williams, Can International Legal Principals Promote the Resolution of Central and East European Transboundary Environmental Disputes?, 7 Geo. Intl. Envtl. L. Rev. 421 (1995).
    • Paul Williams & Major Paul Wade, Bankruptcy in Russia: The Evolution of a Comprehensive Russian Bankruptcy Code, 21 Rev. C. E. Eur. L. 511 (1995).
    • Paul Williams, The Prospects for Improved Central and East European Environmental Dispute Resolution, Proceedings, Conference on Environment in Central Europe: Problems of Transition (Aug. 1994).
    • Paul Williams, International Environmental Dispute Resolution: The Dispute Between Slovakia and Hungary Concerning Construction of the Gabakovo and Nagymaros Dams, 19 Colum. J. Envtl. L. 1 (1994).
    • Paul Williams, State Succession and the International Financial Institutions: Political Criteria or Sound Management?, 43 Intl. Comp. L. Q. 776 (1994).
    • Paul Williams, Treaty Succesion: Conflicting State Practice, 23 Denv. J. Intl. L. & Policy 1 (1994).
    • Paul Williams, Book Review: The Politics and Policy of Deep Seabed Mining, 40 Am. J. Comp. L. 276 (1992).
    • Paul Williams, Book Review: Comm Heritage or Common Burden, 14 Hou. J. Intl. L. 260 (1991).
    • Paul Williams & Steve McHugh, Water Marketing and Instream Flows: the Next Step in Protecting California's Instream Values, 9 Stan. Envtl. L.J 132 (1990).

  • + Selected Presentations

    • Paul Williams, Congressional Testimony, Winning the Peace in Kosovo: Time to Formulate a Strategy (Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Sub-Committee on European Affairs, June 2000).
    • Paul Williams, Congressional Testimony, Holding War Criminals Accountable (Senate/House Joint Committee on Security and Cooperation in Europe, Sept. 1999).

  • + Selected Media Appearances