About The Stockton Center
The Stockton Center focuses on the most vexing questions of international law, often by conducting focused research workshops that bring together leading thinkers from government, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, academia, and the private sector to explore them.
More on The Stockton Center
Click to Open Stockton Center faculty teach in the core curriculum as well as electives at the U.S. Naval War College, and at advanced international law courses around the world. The study of international law at the U.S. Naval War College dates back 125 years, and the Naval War College has published the Stockton Center’s flagship journal, International Law Studies, since 1895.
Workshops & More
The Stockton Center annually hosts legal research workshops on emergent issues drawing many of the world’s leading international law experts. The Center also co-hosts an annual International Law of Military Operations course and Maritime Security Cooperation Workshop for legal advisors from the U.S. and abroad. The Center provides legal support to War Games, and when requested, advice to the Fleet and other DoD entities on a variety of international, operational, and maritime legal issues.
International Law Studies (ILS)
Click to Open 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.
More on ILS The Center also serves as the Primary Review Authority for the Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations.
Faculty
Faculty at the Center serve as faculty for International Institute of Humanitarian Law courses on the Law of Armed Conflict, the law of naval operations, and the rules of engagement, and as guest lecturers at various international law conferences.
Stockton Chair
Click to Open Professor Michael N. Schmitt holds the Charles H. Stockton Chair of International 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
Download History Levie Chair
Click to Open Professor James Kraska holds the Howard S. Levie Military Chair of Operational Law.
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 becoming on the world's leading scholars on international law.