The Paul Reuter Prize for international humanitarian law 2024 – Call for applications

The Foundation for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is now accepting applications for the 13th Paul Reuter Prize for international humanitarian law. The Paul Reuter Prize of 5,000 Swiss francs is generally awarded every three years in recognition of outstanding work in the field of international humanitarian law.

Paul Reuter Fund
The Paul Reuter Fund, which finances the prize, among other things, was created in 1983 thanks to a donation made to the ICRC by the late Paul Reuter, Honorary Professor at the University of Paris and member of the Institute of International Law. In 2022, the Fund was transferred to the Foundation for the ICRC, which now oversees the administration of the prize.

Eligibility
Under the Regulations of the Paul Reuter Prize, any work submitted must:

• aim to enhance knowledge or understanding of international humanitarian law and stand out for its authoritative, innovative, humanitarian, useful, and general nature.
• have been published after 2020 or be in final proof at the time of submission and have never been submitted for the Paul Reuter Prize before.
• be written in English, French, or Spanish.
• be a monograph that addresses an issue of international humanitarian law, be written by a single author or a very small number of co-authors, and cover one or several related themes. Completed doctoral theses that have not yet been published may also be submitted. However, master's degree theses, articles, booklets, volumes edited by several individuals, teaching manuals and any other kind of work are explicitly excluded

Applications must include:

• a brief curriculum vitae
• a list of the applicant's or applicants' publications
• three unabridged, printed copies of the work
• one electronic copy (.doc or .pdf) of the work.

In the interest of fairness, ICRC staff members may not apply. Likewise, individuals who have worked for the ICRC in the ten years leading up to the application deadline may not apply.

Applications for the Paul Reuter Prize should be sent to:
Chair of the Committee of the Paul Reuter Fund
International Committee of the Red Cross
c/o Legal Division
19, Avenue de la Paix
1202 Geneva
Switzerland

Please send the electronic copy to: legal-meeting@icrc.org, with "13th Paul Reuter Prize submission (2024)" in the subject line.

Authors who meet the above requirements are invited to submit their completed applications no later than 15 March 2024.

Prize
The Paul Reuter Prize consists of a certificate of recognition and a financial award of 5,000 Swiss francs. If more than one laureate is selected, the award will be divided equally among them.

While the Paul Reuter Prize jury will make their decision in 2024, the name of the laureate will be announced on 12 February 2025, the birth date of the late Prof. Paul Reuter (as per his wishes).

 

Previous laureates
The prize has been awarded 12 times so far, to the following authors: Dr. Mohammed El Kouhène (1985), Dr. Heather A. Wilson (1988), Dr. Edward K. Kwakwa and Mr. Alejandro Valencia Villa (1991), Prof. Eric David (1994), Prof. Geoffrey Best and Major General A.P.V. Rogers (1997), Dr Ilias Bantekas (2000), Prof. Ruth Abril Stoffels (2003), Dr. Marten Zwanenburg (2006), Dr. Théo Boutruche (2009), Prof. Sandesh Siwakumaran (2012), Prof. Julia Grignon and Prof. Lawrence Hill-Cawthorne (2018) and Dr. Marco Longobardo (2021).

 

 

 

The 12th Paul Reuter Prize laureate, Dr. Marco Longobardo, presented his monograph, "The Use of Armed Force in Occupied Territory" (Cambridge University Press, 2018) at the award ceremony panel discussion, with Prof. Maya Hertig Randall, Prof. Sun Shiyan, Prof. Hani Sayed, Dr. Cordula Droege, Mr. Bruno Demeyère and Mr. Etienne Kuster.

Paul Reuter Prize Regulations - English

paul_reuter_prize_regulations_en.pdf