S. Katharina Stein

Dr. S. Katharina Stein, LL.M. (Columbia), is a part-time lecturer at the University of Freiburg and a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law in Freiburg, Germany. Her work bridges public international law, international humanitarian law, comparative constitutional law, and jurisprudence, with a focus on decision-making processes and legal philosophy.

• Magister Legum Europae (summa cum laude) from University College Dublin
• Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Columbia Law School (James Kent Scholar, highest honors, Parker School Recognition)
• Ph.D. from Ludwigs-Maximilians-University of Munich (summa cum laude, Faculty Prize 2023)

Her research explores legal frameworks governing private military contractors, democratic principles, and the rule of law, as well as the concept of non-decisions in legal systems. She has held roles as a legal advisor to the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions and as a visiting researcher at Yale Law School.

• Faculty Prize from LMU Munich (2023)
• James Kent Scholar at Columbia Law School
• Parker School Recognition of Achievement in International and Comparative Law

Stein’s project All The Concept of Non-Decisions investigates how legal systems navigate the paradox of decision-making and non-decision-making, particularly in public international law contexts.