Running a Never-Ending Race to Catch Up with the Western International Lawyers

Abstract

For a long time, discussions on the diversity of international legal academia and practice have not been properly addressed. Protagonists from the Global South were not even considered as relevant issue-setters of international law. However, the situation is gradually changing. More and more academics, practitioners, and students both from the Global South and Global North raise their voices to address pressing issues of discrimination, sexism, and racism that we currently observe in the international legal sphere. This paper offers a glimpse into some of these challenges drawing from the author’s personal experiences. It points to existing problems of the diversity in international legal institutions, representation in international legal academia, and publishing practices. This essay finally offers suggestions for how international lawyers can help each other to overcome existing inequalities and create a better environment for future generations of international legal scholars and practitioners.

Keywords: Universality of international law, Global South, reflexivity, gender inequalities, decolonization of the syllabus