Columbia Journal of Transnational Law


The Columbia Journal of Transnational Law is a law review edited and published by students at Columbia Law School. One of the oldest student-run international law journals in the United States, it publishes scholarly articles and student notes on issues of transnational law.

History

The Columbia Journal of Transnational Law was created by Wolfgang G. Friedmann and a group of Columbia law students belonging to the Columbia Society of International Law. The first volume, published in 1961 under the name the Bulletin of the Columbia Society of International Law, consisted of informal discussions of international legal questions. The second volume, published in 1963 under the title International Law Bulletin, adopted the tradition of the scholarly law review.
During its second decade, the journal expanded publication to three issues per year, experimented with themed issues, and published some of the early proceedings of the Friedmann Conference which is held annually at Columbia Law School. By the beginning of its third decade, the journal's themed issues—entire issues dedicated to the examination of current international law problems—became regular publications. These topical issues have examined international taxation, international trade embargoes and boycotts, China's legal development, sovereign debt rescheduling, socialist law and international satellite communications.

Organizational structure and staff

The Columbia Journal of Transnational Law is published by The Columbia Journal of Transnational Law Association, Inc., a New York corporation. The corporation is overseen by a board of directors of 18 members. The journal is further assisted by a board of advisors consisting of 9 members. The 2023-2024 editorial staff for Volume 62 consists of 29 student editors and 41 staff members.

The ''Bulletin''

The Columbia Journal of Transnational Law also publishes the Bulletin, an online publication featuring student notes, legal updates, and interviews with legal scholars and practitioners.

Wolfgang Friedmann Memorial Award

The Wolfgang Friedmann Memorial Award is presented annually to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the field of transnational law. The award is given in memory of the journal's founder, Wolfgang Friedmann. The recipient of the award is honored at the annual Wolfgang Friedmann Banquet.
YearRecipient
2024Sarah Cleveland
2023Navi Pillay
2022Christiana Figueres
2021Ruth Bader Ginsburg
2020Joan E. Donoghue
2019David Miliband
2018Anne-Marie Slaughter
2017Stephen G. Breyer
2016Martti Ahtisaari
2015Lori Damrosch
2014Aryeh Neier
2013Shirin Ebadi
2012M. Cherif Bassiouni
2011George J. Mitchell
2010Jerome A. Cohen
2009James Crawford
2008Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade
2007Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonio Cassese
2006Ian Brownlie
2005Richard N. Gardner
2004Giulano Amato
2003Harold Hongju Koh
2002Hans Blix
2001Louise Arbour
2000Gabrielle Kirk McDonald
1999Thomas Franck
1998Stephen M. Schwebel
1997Conrad K. Harper
1996James A. Baker III
1995Boutros Boutros-Ghali
1994Max M. Kampelman
1993Michael H. Posner
1992John J. Jackson
1991Daniel Patrick Moynihan
1990John N. Hazard
1989Thomas Buergenthal
1988John R. Stevenson
1987Keith Highet
1986Louis Henkin
1985Rosalyn Higgins
1984Tommy Koh
1983Oscar Schachter
1982Maxwell Cohen
1981Telford Taylor
1980Alona E. Evans
1979Hardy C. Dillard
1978
1977Arthur H. Dean
1976Oliver S. Lissitzyn
1975Philip C. Jessup