Ruth Wedgwood (born 1949) is an American
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
and university professor who holds the
Edward B. Burling Chair in
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 ...
and Diplomacy at the
School of Advanced International Studies,
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
, in
Washington, D.C.
)
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, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Family origins
Ruth Wedgwood is the daughter of labor lawyer
Morris P. Glushien, former
general counsel
A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department.
In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...
of the
International Ladies Garment Workers Union
The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), whose members were employed in the Clothing#Gender differentiation, women's clothing industry, was once one of the largest trade union, labor unions in the United States, one of the firs ...
who served as a
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
cryptanalyst, and Anne Sorelle Williams, an artist. In 1982 she married her Harvard classmate, National Institutes of Health immunologist
Josiah F. Wedgwood, a member of the
Wedgwood pottery family.
Current career
She has expertise in the fields of
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 ...
,
international criminal law, the
law of armed conflict
International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict, is the law that regulates the conduct of war (''jus in bello''). It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict by prot ...
, and human rights law.
In 2002, Wedgwood was elected to serve as the U.S. member of the United Nations
Human Rights Committee
The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a treaty body composed of 18 experts, established by a 1966 human rights treaty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee meets for three four-week sessions per y ...
. She currently serves as a member of the board of directors of
Freedom House
Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wil ...
a nonpartisan NGO that promotes human rights and democracy world-wide. She was the first female law clerk to renowned federal judge
Henry J. Friendly
Henry Jacob Friendly (July 3, 1903 – March 11, 1986) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as a circuit judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1959 until his death in 1986. Friendly was one of the most p ...
on the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
and also served as law clerk to Justice
Harry Blackmun
Harry Andrew Blackmun (November 12, 1908 – March 4, 1999) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 to 1994. Appointed by Republican President Richard Nixon, Blac ...
on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Wedgwood received her undergraduate degree at Harvard where she graduated magna cum laude, and her legal education at
Yale Law School
Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...
, where she was executive editor of the ''
Yale Law Journal
The ''Yale Law Journal'' (YLJ), known also as the ''Yale Law Review'', 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 ...
''.
She is currently a member of the
Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute
The Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute at Washington University School of Law, established in 2000 as the Institute for Global Legal Studies, serves as a center for instruction and research in international and comparative law.
Background
...
's International Council.
See also
*
List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 2)
References
External links
Lectures by Ruth Wedgwood*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wedgwood, Ruth
American legal scholars
International law scholars
1949 births
Living people
Naval War College faculty
Johns Hopkins University faculty
Harvard University alumni
Yale Law School alumni
Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
United Nations Human Rights Committee members
Darwin–Wedgwood family
American women lawyers
American officials of the United Nations
Women legal scholars
Charles H. Stockton Professors of International Law
American women academics
21st-century American women
Presidents of the International Law Association