Miriam Cohen

Miriam Cohen is the holder of the Canada Research Chair in Human Rights and International Restorative Justice and an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Montreal, where she teaches courses in public international law and international human rights law. She is the recipient of the Book Prize from the Canadian Council on International Law and the Legal Contest Prize from the Quebec Bar Foundation for her book Realizing Reparative Justice for International Crimes: From Theory to Practice (Cambridge University Press, 2020). She is also the co-author of the third edition of the book Précis de droit international public with Professor Stéphane Beaulac (LexisNexis, 2021). Professor Cohen earned her doctorate at Leiden University in the Netherlands. She completed her graduate studies at Harvard Law School, where she was awarded the Frank Knox Memorial Fellowship (granted by Harvard University) and the John Peters Humphrey Fellowship (granted by the Canadian Council on International Law). She also obtained a Master of Laws from the University of Cambridge (Rt. Honourable Paul Martin Sr. Scholar) and received her legal training at the University of Montreal (LLB and LLM).

Within the Faculty of Law at the University of Montreal, she leads major research projects in the fields of international law and human rights. As the holder of the Canada Research Chair, Professor Cohen leads a program based on two main axes: international justice and the reparation of human rights violations (Axis 1); the relationship between human rights, new technologies, and the empowerment of individuals and communities (Axis 2). She is also the founder of the Laboratory on Human Rights and International Justice, where she leads interdisciplinary research teams to create a technological platform specialized in reviewing and analyzing human rights jurisprudence data. This large-scale project, developed in partnership with the Centre for Digital Expertise in Research (CEN-R) at the University of Montreal, has received a grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) through the John R. Evans Leaders Fund, and a second grant from the Government of Quebec for the creation of digital research infrastructure, totaling nearly $400,000 (phase 1). Before starting her academic career, Professor Cohen gained extensive experience in international organizations. She worked in the legal department at the International Court of Justice of the United Nations (ICJ) and, previously, in the Appeals Chamber and the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). She also worked as a researcher at Harvard Law School, served as rapporteur of a committee of experts on a draft convention on crimes against humanity, and was a member of an international delegation during treaty negotiations at the United Nations in Geneva. As an expert in international law, she acted as legal counsel before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (Hamburg). Also a member of the Quebec Bar and an accredited mediator, she participated in a recent intervention before the Supreme Court of Canada, worked at a large firm in Montreal, in addition to offering her expertise as a consultant and pro bono causes.

A recipient of numerous awards, scholarships, and grants, including from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Canadian Bar Association (Future of Law Fund), and the Foundation for Legal Research, she collaborates with several interdisciplinary and international teams. She has published over thirty articles and chapters in renowned publications in Canada, the United States, Europe, South Korea, Indonesia, and Brazil (her country of origin). Professor Cohen is regularly sought after by the international law network as a consultant, speaker, and trainer. In addition, she is Vice-President of the Quebec Society of International Law and a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Council on International Law. She is an associate researcher at the Centre for Public Law Research (CRDP), the International Centre for Comparative Criminology (CICC), and the Centre for International Studies and Research (CÉRIUM), and a member of the Hygeia Observatory (responsible for international law issues). Originally from Brazil, Professor Cohen works in Portuguese, English, Spanish, and French, while also mastering the basics of Italian and Dutch.