West Virginia University College of Law Associate Professor Cody Corliss, an expert on international criminal law, recently offered his expertise at the Tenth International Legal Ethics Conference (ILEC), held July 17-19, 2024 at the University of Amsterdam’s Law School, in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Corliss presented his research on Friday, July 19, as part of a panel focused on ethics and government lawyers, speaking alongside legal experts from Botswana and Kenya.
His individual presentation focused on the qualifications and role of the United States special counsel, a position designed to operate when the United States Department of Justice has a conflict of interest that precludes its investigation. Notable recent special counsel investigations include the federal prosecutions of Hunter Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Specifically, Corliss advocated for increased attention to the specific qualifications that complement the special counsel role, arguing that a prosecutor with international criminal justice experience is best positioned to serve as special counsel, particularly in situations where the rule of law is under stress. His research forms the basis of a forthcoming article in the Utah Law Review.
“A prosecutor with international criminal justice experience has direct experience vindicating the rule of law after its failure,” Corliss noted. “International criminal law responds when the domestic rule of law has failed. Moreover, a prosecutor with international criminal justice experience has a background in investigating and prosecuting high-level government officials and defending attacks against the administration of justice.”
“Much of the conference focused on the rule of law, a legal principle that many legal experts see as under stress in the world today. I was proud to represent West Virginia University and to lend my voice to important discussions with many of the world’s foremost legal ethics experts.”
Corliss was particularly suited to the discussion. Prior to joining West Virginia University College of Law in 2022, he served as a prosecutor at two United Nations international criminal tribunals where he investigated and prosecuted such crimes as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Corliss was also selected as part of an American Society of International Law delegation to travel to Lviv, Ukraine, in December 2023 for its Stand Tall for the Rule of Law Summit, where he met with Ukrainian prosecutors investigating and prosecuting crimes committed in the Russia-Ukraine war.
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