Stockton Center for International Law

Stockton Center faculty teach in the core curriculum as well as electives at U.S. Naval War College (NWC), and at advanced international law courses around the world. The study of international law at NWC dates back 125 years, and the college has published the Stockton Center’s flagship journal, International Law Studies, since 1895.

Michael Schmitt

Michael Schmitt is professor emeritus and the Stockton Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the U.S. Naval War College's Stockton Center for International Law. He is also Professor of International Law at the University of Reading, the Francis Lieber Distinguished Scholar at the U.S. Military Academy’s Lieber Institute, Professor of Public International Law at the University of Exeter and Strauss Center Distinguished Scholar and Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Texas.

As part of its research, the Stockton Center compiles, edits, and publishes the International Law Studies series which, since 1895, has provided a forum for prominent legal scholars to publish articles that contribute to the broader understanding of international law.

Professor James Kraska is the Chair of the Stockton Center for International Law and the Charles H. Stockton Professor of International Maritime Law.

The Secretary of the Navy established the Charles H. Stockton Chair of International Law on 6 October 1967 in honor of Rear Admiral Charles H. Stockton, President of the Naval War College from 1898-1900, a recognized authority on international law. From its inception, the Chair has attracted an exceptional array of international law scholars and practitioners to the college, including such giants in the field as Manley O. Hudson (1951-1953), Hans Kelsen (1953), Leo Gross (1954), Howard Levie (1971), Leslie C. Green (1996-1997), Ruth Wedgwood (1998), and Yoram Dinstein (1999, 2002).

For more information on Stockton Chairs and the history, download the PDF below

The Levie chair is named for Colonel (Retired) Howard S. Levie. Colonel Levie was a Judge Advocate General in the U.S. Army where he served in both World War II and the Korean War. He served as a legal advisor reviewing Japanese war crimes tribunals and was the principle draftsman for the Korean War Armistice. After military service, Colonel Levie joined the faculty as Saint Louis University School of Law, where he went on to become one of the world's leading scholars on international law.

Stockton Center faculty have years of expertise across a wide range of international, operational, and maritime law topics. To learn more, please use the link below to access the faculty directory.

Camilla Cooper, Norwegian Defence Command and Staff College

John Dehn, Loyola University School of Law

Gloria Gaggioli, University of Geneva

Suk Kyoon Kim, Korea Coast Guard

Keiko Kono, National Institute of Defense Studies (Japan)

Masahiro Kurosaki, National Defense Academy of Japan

Tim McCormack, University of Melbourne (Stockton Distinguished Visiting Scholar)

Young-Kil Park, Korea Maritime Institute

Sasha Radin, University of Melbourne

Nicholas Tsagourias, University of Sheffield

Bart van den Bosch, Royal Netherlands Army

René Värk, University of Tartu (Estonia)