Mortimer Newlin Stead Sellers (M.N.S. Sellers) (born 1959) is Regents Professor of the

University System of Maryland The University System of Maryland (USM) is a public higher education system in the U.S. state of Maryland. The system is composed of the eleven campuses at College Park, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Princess Anne, Towson, Salisbury, Bowie, Fr ...

Elkins Professor
of the University System of Maryland, Professor of Law at the

University of Baltimore School of Law The University of Baltimore School of Law, or the UB School of Law, is one of the four colleges that make up the University of Baltimore, which is part of the University System of Maryland. The UBalt School of Law is one of only two law schools i ...

, and past President of th
International Association for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy (IVR)
His work primarily concerns the

philosophy of law Philosophy of law is a branch of philosophy that examines the nature of law and law's relationship to other systems of norms, especially ethics and political philosophy. It asks questions like "What is law?", "What are the criteria for legal val ...

legal theory Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning ...

, and

global justice Global justice is an issue in political philosophy arising from the concern about unfairness. It is sometimes understood as a form of internationalism. History Henrik Syse claims that global ethics and international justice in western traditi ...

with an emphasis on

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in fe ...

comparative law Comparative law is the study of differences and similarities between the law (legal systems) of different countries. More specifically, it involves the study of the different legal "systems" (or "families") in existence in the world, including the ...

and

legal history Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has evolved and why it has changed. Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilisations and operates in the wider context of social history. Certain jurists and histo ...

. He has been a Regents Professor of the

since 2003, the highest honor in the UM System. Sellers is best known for his books on republican legal and

political philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, ...

, and

universal human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hum ...

. He has been Director of the University of Baltimore Center for International and Comparative Law since 1994.

Education

The interdisciplinary nature of Sellers' work has been consistent throughout his career. After graduating from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

, summa cum laude, and Harvard Law School, with honors, Sellers studied history, philosophy, and Civil Law at

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

as a Rhodes Scholar and Frank Knox Fellow, receiving his doctorate in Literae Humaniores (philosophy and classics). He has taught in the University of Baltimore School of Law since 1989, and has taught and pursued research as a visitor at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United ...

Erasmus University Rotterdam Erasmus University Rotterdam (abbreviated as ''EUR'', nl, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam ) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century humani ...

, and the Academy of International Law in The Hague.

Career

Along with authors such as

Philip Pettit Philip Noel Pettit (born 1945) is an Irish philosopher and political theorist. He is the Laurance S. Rockefeller University Professor of Politics and Human Values at Princeton University and also Distinguished University Professor of Philos ...

and Jürgen Habermas, Sellers has been a leader in reviving

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

ideas among philosophers and lawyers and in international politics. Sellers' conception of republicanism is grounded in the history of ideas, with an emphasis on constitutional procedures and the concept of the

common good In philosophy, economics, and political science, the common good (also commonwealth, general welfare, or public benefit) is either what is shared and beneficial for all or most members of a given community, or alternatively, what is achieved by c ...

. Sellers has written extensively on the republican antecedents of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

and the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, and the influence of legal philosophy and legal education on political and social change. He has been an active participant in the development of post-Soviet and post-authoritarian legal institutions in Europe, Asia, and South America. Sellers’ public influence arises in part from his editorship (with Mark Agrast) of the book series ''ASIL Studies in International Legal Theory'' and (with David Gerber) of ''ASCL Studies in Comparative Law'', both published by Cambridge University Press. Much of the most important new thought in international and comparative law has been published in these series. He is also the editor (with Stephan Kirste) of the ''IVR Encyclopedia of the Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy''. In addition to his scholarly work, Sellers has been active in promoting international cooperation between lawyers and judges to advance global justice, through the European-American Consortium for Legal Education (EACLE) and the Brazil-United States Administration of Justice Project, among other initiatives. He is an associate editor of the ''

American Journal of Comparative Law The ''American Journal of Comparative Law'' (AJCL) () is a quarterly, peer-reviewed law journal devoted to comparative and transnational legal studies—including, among other subjects, comparative law, comparative and transnational legal history ...

'' and a member of the editorial board of the '' Archiv für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie'', ''Lusíada Direito'', ''Notícia do Direito Brasileiro,'' and ''Glossae: The European Journal of Legal History.'' Sellers is an elected member of the ''

International Academy of Comparative Law International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

'', a former H.L.A. Hart Fellow of University College, Oxford, and former Lauterpacht Fellow of Cambridge University. Sellers is married to the journalist

Frances Stead Sellers Frances Stead Sellers is a senior writer at ''The Washington Post'' and frequent moderator for the newsroom’s live platform, Washington Post Live. Life and career Sellers’ career as a reporter, editor and moderator has ranged from politics t ...

. See also: '' Sellers family''

Bibliography

Books by M.N.S Sellers

''Law, Reason, and Emotion'' (Cambridge, 2017)''Parochialism, Cosmopolitanism, and the Foundations of International Law'' (Cambridge, 2011)''The Rule of Law in Comparative Perspective'' (with Tadeusz Tomaszewski) (Springer, 2010)''The Internationalization of Law and Legal Education'' (with Jan Klabbers) (Springer, 2008)''Autonomy in the Law'' (Springer, 2007)''Republican Principles in International Law: The Fundamental Requirements of a Just World Order'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006)''Universal Human Rights: Moral Order in a Divided World'' (with David Reidy) (Rowman and Littlefield, 2005)''Place, Memory and Time'' (with Anthony F.C. Wallace and H. Dabbs Woodfin) (Nicholas Newlin Press, 2004)''Republican Legal Theory: The History, Constitution and Purposes of Law in a Free State'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003)''The Sacred Fire of Liberty: Republicanism, Liberalism and the Law'' (Macmillan, 1998)''The New World Order: Sovereignty, Human Rights, and the Self-Determination of Peoples'' (Berg, 1996)''American Republicanism: Roman Ideology in the United States Constitution'' (Macmillan, 1994)''An Ethical Education: Community and Morality in the Multicultural University'' (Berg, 1994)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sellers, Mortimer University System of Maryland American legal scholars 1959 births Living people Harvard Law School alumni American Rhodes Scholars Alumni of University College, Oxford Harvard College alumni