Professor

Sean

David

Murphy

Sean D. MURPHY is the Manatt/Ahn Professor of International Law at the George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., where he teaches international law, law of the sea, and U.S. foreign relations law. From 1987 to 1995, Professor Murphy served in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State, specializing in oceans and environment law, international dispute resolution, and the law of war. From 1995 to 1998, he served as the Legal Counselor of the U.S. Embassy in The Hague, representing the U.S. Government before the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and as the U.S. Agent to the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal. Professor Murphy has served as an ad hoc judge, arbitrator, counsel, or expert in cases before international courts and tribunals, including on behalf of or appointed by Armenia, Croatia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Kosovo, Indonesia, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Suriname, Timor-Leste, Uganda, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He has published articles in a variety of national and international law journals, and his books include: Principles of International Law (4th ed. 2026); International Law: Cases and Materials (8th ed. 2025) (with Damrosch and Arato); Public International Law in a Nutshell (7th ed. 2025); U.S. Foreign Relations Law: Cases, Materials and Practice Exercises (6th ed. 2024) (with Swaine & Brunk); The Law of U.S. Foreign Relations (2023) (with Swaine); International Law relating to Islands (2017); Litigating War: Mass Civil Injury and the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission (2013) (with Kidane and Snider); and Humanitarian Intervention: The United Nations in an Evolving World Order (1996). Professor Murphy received his J.D. from Columbia University, LL.M. from Cambridge University, and S.J.D. from the University of Virginia. He is a Member of the Board of Editors of the American Journal of International Law, a Member of L'Institut de Droit International, a former Member of the U.N. International Law Commission (where he served as special rapporteur for crimes against humanity), and a former President of the American Society of International Law.