The Lauterpacht Centre for International Law and the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law of Heidelberg are pleased to announce that the Max Planck – Cambridge Prize for International Law (MaxCamPIL) has been awarded to Eliav Lieblich, Professor at Tel Aviv University.
The Prize was established in 2019 by the Max Planck Institute and the Lauterpacht Centre with the generous donation of the Max Planck Society’s Supporting Members. It is awarded biennially to a mid-career scholar who has made an outstanding contribution to the study of international law and promises to continue to engage in substantial, innovative, and cutting-edge research. The Prize seeks to highlight existing research and to support the prize winner’s future work.
The selection committee for this prestigious prize is composed of one Director and three postdoctoral researchers from each institution. The committee unanimously agreed that Professor Eliav Lieblich is an outstanding, innovative, and highly original scholar. His work never ceases to engage, surprise, and amaze. Professor Lieblich has become a leading authority in the ius in bello and ius contra bellum, fields that have assumed a new centrality in international law. Moreover, he has provided major, impactful, and thought-provoking contributions to the history, theory, and methodology of international law. As such, he provides an outstanding example to younger scholars.
Eliav Lieblich joined Tel-Aviv University’s Faculty of Law in 2016. He earned his JSD and LLM degrees from Columbia Law School, where he was a recipient of the Norman E Alexander Fellowship, and an LLB from Hebrew University, where he also earned a degree in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies.
Professor Lieblich teaches and researches public international law, with a focus on the laws on the use of force, just war theory, international humanitarian law, and the history and theory of international law. He is currently the inaugural Hans Kelsen Visiting Professor for the History and Theory of International Law at the University of Cologne and has held visiting professorships at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, Columbia Law School, and University of Toronto Faculty of Law. He has also taught at the European University Institute's Academy of European Law.
Professor Lieblich has received the Alon Scholarship for outstanding junior faculty, three Israel Science Foundation (ISF) research grants, the Cegla Prize for Young Faculty, and the Max Planck-Cambridge Prize for International Law (2025).
Prior to his graduate studies, Professor Lieblich served as a law clerk to Acting Justice D Cheshin of the Israeli Supreme Court. In recent years, he participated as an expert in various international forums.
The award ceremony for the prize takes place alternately in Heidelberg and Cambridge respectively. This year, the ceremony will take place at the Lauterpacht Centre in Cambridge.
A testimonial lecture of the winning scholar will be published in a scholarly journal of international law which will also acknowledge this prize. The winning scholar is also expected to visit one of the two institutions for a stay of one month, and to visit the respective other institution for a stay of at least five days and to hold a guest lecture or seminar.
