Barrie Sander is Assistant Professor of International Law at Leiden University – Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs where he conducts research and teaches in the areas of digital technology and international law, international human rights law, international criminal law, international legal theory, and public international law.

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Barrie Sander is Assistant Professor of International Law at Leiden University – Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs where he conducts research and teaches in the areas of digital technology and international law, international human rights law, international criminal law, international legal theory, and public international law.  

Barrie’s current research explores how international law addresses societal risks associated with digital technologies, online platforms, and artificial intelligence (AI), including challenges related to content moderation, data surveillance, and algorithmic governance. His new project, Climate AI Rights (Project CLAIR), aims to examine the potential and limits of human rights law for addressing the risks, burdens and challenges associated with designing, developing and deploying AI technologies to address climate change. 

Barrie’s work at the intersection of international law and technology has benefitted from a number of grants and fellowships, including a research grant from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) to support the design and development of a multi-year project, Cybersecurity in Times of Peace: A Global Norms Perspective, and a collaborative seed grant from the Global Transformation and Governance Challenges programme at Leiden University to support the development of a project on The Promise and Perils of Human Rights for Governing Digital Platforms. 

Barrie’s first monograph, Doing Justice to History: Confronting the Past in International Criminal Courts (Oxford University Press, 2021) was based on his Ph.D. from the Graduate Institute, Geneva, which was awarded the Alumni Association Prize 2021 for the most outstanding Ph.D. thesis. He has published articles in a wide range of leading international law journals, including European Journal of International Law, Leiden Journal of International Law, London Review of International Law, Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, Fordham International Law Journal, Melbourne Journal of International Law, Journal of International Criminal Justice, and International Journal of Transitional Justice, amongst others. In 2019, Barrie was awarded the Young Scholar Prize by the Editorial Board of International and Comparative Law Quarterly for his article, History on Trial: Historical Narrative Pluralism Within and Beyond International Criminal Courts.  

Barrie is a passionate educator within the field of international law. He currently teaches a diversity of areas of international law at Leiden University College (LUC), including courses on international and regional human rights law, international legal theory, and digital technology and international law, and has served as convenor for a course on global peace and justice. At the Graduate Institute, Geneva, Barrie worked as part of the inaugural team that launched a new LL.M. in International Law and helped construct a successful clinic programme in collaboration with the Association for the Prevention of Torture and the International Commission of Jurists, amongst other organisations. He also established a non-profit experiential learning programme, Collaborate for Social Impact, which has facilitated the creation of social innovation projects within student communities for over a decade.  

Barrie is also interested in critically reflecting on what and how international law is taught. He led a research clinic on decolonising the International Justice major at LUC, which led to the publication of a report, Decolonising International Justice: Unravelling What Decolonising Means for the International Major at Leiden University College (LUC, 2023). In collaboration with the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, Barrie also co-convened a series of 10 webinars on teaching international law, which led to the publication of an edited volume, Teaching International Law: Reflections on Pedagogical Practice in Context (Routledge, 2024). He also co-convened an online symposium on Early Career International Law Academia to help early career scholars grapple with the wide-ranging challenges often experienced in the field of international law. 

Barrie’s expertise has been sought by NGOs, international organisations, legislators, and journalists. He has worked closely with civil society groups and institutions at the EU and UN in the context of, for example, Brazil-EU consultations on preventing conflict in cyberspace, a commentary on norms of responsible state behaviour in the use of information and communications technology, and a report on international law and cybersecurity governance. Barrie regularly participates as an expert speaker, for example for the Asser Institute’s Spring Academy on AI and International Law and the International Legislative Drafting Institute at Tulane Law School. Barrie’s work has also appeared in news outlets, such as Foreign Policy, as well as international law podcasts, such as Asymmetrical Haircuts and The Auxiliary Chamber. 

Barrie is a member of the Coordinating Committee of the European Society of International Law Interest Group on International Law and Technology, a member of the Editorial Board of the Leiden Journal of International Law, and a member of Leiden University’s Artificial Intelligence in Education Workgroup. Barrie is also a qualified Solicitor of England and Wales (non-practising) and was a founding member of the European Society of International Law Interest Group on International Criminal Justice. 

Prior to his appointment at Leiden, Barrie was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) in São Paulo. He has also enjoyed research stays at Harvard Law School, Copenhagen University, and FGV Direito Rio. Barrie obtained his Ph.D. in International Law (summa cum laude avec félicitations du jury) from the Graduate Institute, Geneva. He also holds an LL.M. in Public International Law (cum laude) from Leiden University and an M.A. in Law from Jesus College, Cambridge University. 

PhD Supervision

Barrie is open to expressions of interest for PhD supervision in the areas of: 

• Digital Technology and International Law 

• International and Regional Human Rights Law 

• International Criminal Law 

Research Interests

• Artificial Intelligence, Climate Change, and Human Rights Law 

• Digital Technology and International Law 

• International and Regional Human Rights Law 

• International Criminal Law 

• International Legal Theory 

• Public International Law 

Teaching

• Digital Technology and International Law (LUC The Hague) 

• International and Regional Human Rights (LUC The Hague) 

• Ways of Seeing International Law: Theories, Frames, and the Everyday Life of International Law(yers) (LUC The Hague) 

• International Criminal Law (FGV Direito Rio) 

• Academic Writing (LUC The Hague) 

• Global Challenges: Peace and Justice (LUC The Hague) 

Activities