Summer School

Summer School on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in International Law: Human Rights and Beyond

Date: Wednesday 29 July 2026 - Tuesday 4 August 2026
Explanation: Time: 10:00 – 19:00 (21:00 on 29 July and 4 August)
Address: Leiden & The Hague
Room: TBA

This summer school focuses on the emergence of sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex issues in different areas of international law. It covers global and regional human rights law, refugee law, international economic law, and international criminal law. Participants (professionals & students) need to have completed at least one year of university education, including several law courses, and have some knowledge of human rights law and of SOGIESC issues.

The complete programme for 2026, including the bios of all speakers, is now online. An early bird reduced fee is available until 17 April 2026.

The 2026 summer school speakers are:

Andreas Ziegler (professor of public international law at the University of Lausanne, & lead editor of the recent Oxford Handbook of LGBTI Law, & academic coordinator of this summer school),
Elias Tissandier-Nasom (PhD candidate at Leiden Law School, developing a child-rights-based approach to SOGIESC in asylum law, & academic coordinator of this summer school),
Jessica Stern (senior fellow at Harvard University, & formerly US Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons),
Seun Bakare (executive director of Justice Bridge Foundation, & senior associate at Human Dignity Trust, & visiting scholar at Columbia Law School),
Lisa Davis (law professor at CUNY in New York, & Special Advisor on Gender and other Discriminatory Crimes to the Prosecutor at the ICC),
Paula Gerber (law professor at Monash University, & chair of Kaleidoscope Human Rights Foundation, Australia),
Masuma Shahid (law lecturer at Erasmus University Rotterdam, & author of the award-winning 2026 book Queering Courts),
Benjamin Moron-Puech (law professor at Université Lumière Lyon II, France, & working on intersex legal issues since 2009),
Katinka Ridderbos (UNHCR’s Country Guidance Adviser, Geneva, overseeing UNHCR’s policy and guidance on the main countries of origin for asylum-seekers),
Lucas Mendos (PhD candidate at the University of Lausanne, & formerly lead creator of the ILGA World Database)
Claudio Pala (head of the International Crimes Component at the EU Advisory Mission (EUAM) Ukraine, & deputy lead coordinator of the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA),
Martina Semino (the 2026 Orientation Law Fellow at Leiden Law School, & student in Leiden University’s Advanced LLM in International Children’s Rights Law),
Graeme Reid (the UN Independent Expert on Protection Against Violence and Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, & scholar and lecturer at Yale University and at the University of Pretoria),
Kees Waaldijk (professor emeritus of comparative sexual orientation law at Leiden Law School, & founder of this summer school).

Why this summer school?

World-class expertise – Learn from leading academics in the field and world-renowned legal experts, many of whom have been involved in landmark strategic litigation for LGBTQI+ rights and in key international organisations.

Unique academic setting – Leiden University's Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies has hosted the world's only university chair in Comparative Sexual Orientation Law, and started this summer school in 2016. And the Leiden Law Academy has a great record in organising continuing legal education.

Global networking – Connect with fellow participants and speakers from around the world; previous editions attracted participants from at least five continents.

Inspiring locations – Discover The Hague, the International City of Peace and Justice, and the historic university town of Leiden.

Great timing – This summer school (29 July – 4 August, first days in The Hague, last two days in Leiden) takes place in the middle of two weeks of WorldPride in nearby Amsterdam, and is immediately followed by the WorldPride Human Rights Conference there (5-7 August).

Interested in joining this summer school? Please take the first step towards an inspiring week in The Hague and Leiden and apply now by submitting your CV and motivation letter.

Apply