Michael J. Kelly

Michael J. Kelly serves as The Senator Allen A. Sekt Endowed Chair in Law Professor at Creighton University School of Law. He coordinates the International and Comparative Law Program, including its nationally-ranked summer school program on international criminal law and the Holocaust in Germany: From Nuremberg to The Hague. Professor Kelly is a member of the Board of Directors of L'Association International du Droit Pénal, a Paris-based society of international criminal law scholars founded in 1924 with consultative status at the United Nations.

Professor Kelly's research spans multiple critical areas of international law. His work focuses on international and comparative law, cyber law (particularly Internet governance), climate change, national security & foreign relations law, international criminal law, constitutional law, environmental & natural resources law, and Native American law. He has conducted field work on genocide in northern Iraq, consulting with the Kurdish Regional Government on federalism and constitutional issues. His research bridges theoretical legal frameworks with practical applications in global conflicts and human rights issues.

Professor Kelly's recent scholarly output demonstrates a clear trajectory toward contemporary geopolitical challenges. His publications increasingly address the Russia-Ukraine war, cyber governance in the AI era, corporate accountability for war crimes, and the evolving right to a healthy environment. His work shows particular expertise in connecting historical legal precedents to modern conflicts, as evidenced by his publications on genocide studies, international criminal tribunals, and the application of international law to digital spaces. The interdisciplinary nature of his research bridges law, political science, and human rights frameworks.

• The Senator Allen A. Sekt Endowed Chair in Law
• His widely-cited work ranks among the top 3% downloaded from the Social Science Research Network (SSRN)

Professor Kelly serves as Co-Chair of the American Bar Association's Task Force on Internet Governance, where he published influential work on the European Union's 'Right to Be Forgotten' as a cyber-privacy right. He acts as a Corresponding Editor for the American Society of International Law's flagship publication International Legal Materials. His grant writing secured USAID funding for Creighton University to develop a model Cuba/U.S. bilateral property claims settlement tribunal, reflecting his ability to secure significant research funding for complex international legal projects. He testified before Congress in 2010 on Cuba policy related to lifting the embargo.

Professor Kelly leads initiatives connecting academic research to real-world policy challenges. His work with the Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq demonstrates practical application of constitutional expertise in post-conflict settings. He has developed frameworks for addressing Cuba-U.S. property claims and is currently working on developing a matrix tracking the migration of human rights from the physical world into the digital world as Internet Human Rights. His nationally-ranked summer program on international criminal law in Germany provides students with immersive learning experiences connecting historical atrocities to contemporary legal frameworks.