Vaughan Lowe
Visiting Professor in Law
About
I took my undergraduate, Master’s and Doctor’s degrees in Law in Cardiff. I taught Law at the universities of Cardiff and then Manchester, before moving to Cambridge, where I was Reader in International Law and a Fellow of Corpus Christi College. In 1999, I moved to become Chichele Professor of International Law and a Fellow of All Souls College in the University of Oxford, where I remain emeritus in both positions. I am a Member of the Institut de Droit international, and was awarded an honorary LLD by the University of Athens in 2022, and an honorary LLD by the University of Chichester in 2023. I have been awarded decorations by the governments of Japan, Romania, Brunei, and Peru, as a result of my work in international law. I have also been a visiting professor at universities in the USA and Europe.
Professional
I am a barrister and Bencher of Gray’s Inn. I took silk as a QC in 2008, becoming a KC in 2022, and I practice in the field of public international law, with cases before the International Court of Justice, the European Court of Human rights and other international tribunals. Current cases include litigation on climate change, and the South Africa v Israel case concerning Gaza, in the International Court of Justice. I also sit as an arbitrator in inter-State disputes, such as a current dispute between Ukraine and Russia, and in investment protection cases between foreign investors and States.
Publications
Books include
- The Law of the Sea, 4th edition (with Robin Churchill and Amy Sander) (Manchester University Press, 2021)
- International Law. A Very Short Introduction, (Oxford University Press. 2016)
- International Law – Clarendon Law Series (Oxford University Press, 2007).
- The Settlement of International Disputes (with J G Collier) (Oxford University Press, 1999).
Articles and chapters in various journals and books.
Research
I continue to research, and occasionally to publish, on the international law of the sea, the settlement of international disputes, and various other topics in international law.
Other department members
Alison MacLeod
Visiting Professor in Creative Writing
