International Law Fellows Network: The Future of the Rule of Law in a Fractured World

Overview:

The United States and Europe have long sought to advance the rule of law abroad through aid programs, technical assistance, and conditionality. Yet those models, born of post-Cold War optimism, now appear dated.

Today, the rule of law faces new tests. In the United States, politicized attacks on courts and constitutional constraints reveal internal fragility. Across Europe, populism, executive dominance, and disinformation have strained democratic institutions. Externally, the once-shared project of promoting the rule of law has entered a period of uncertainty. Russia and China advance rival conceptions of governance that privilege sovereignty and control over accountability and rights. Other powerful illiberal states are now actively promoting these alternative models, offering a vision of “rule by law” that prioritizes regime security and centralized authority over pluralism and individual rights. 

Against this backdrop, how should rising leaders in the field of international law think about their responsibility to the mechanisms that uphold international law: accountability, equality, fairness, transparency, and the fundamental belief in the law as a precondition for international peace, political stability, and fundamental rights and freedoms? And what can be done to ensure that these rising international lawyers are supported and equipped to navigate the complex challenges facing the rule of law in the 21st century?  

Salzburg Global, the International Bar Association (IBA), and 21st Century Trust will bring together early- to mid-career lawyers from both sides of the Atlantic — many practicing in major law firms, international organizations, and public institutions — to ask what role they can play in defending, sustaining, and adapting the rule of law. Their daily work in cross-border transactions, compliance, dispute resolution, and human-rights advocacy makes them frontline actors in this global contest over legality. The program will connect their international legal skills and practice to the fundamental question of our time: How to safeguard the rule of law as a core principle of free, fair, and just societies. 

More information about the program is available here.

Program Dates: June 11-14, 2026 (arrival on June 11, departure on June 14)

Location: Salzburg, Austria

Online Pre-Program Meeting: TBD

Participation Fees:

Participants selected for this program through an IBA member firm or the Salzburg Global Cutler Fellowship community will have their program fees, accommodation, and meals at Hotel Schloss Leopoldskron fully funded. Participants from the IBA will also be eligible to have travel costs covered through IBA support.

For general applicants, the cost is $4,250 and employer sponsorship is welcomed.

Application Deadline: April 5, 2026

If you have any exceptional circumstances that inhibit your application through this online portal, please email bcarlson-peters@salzburgglobal.org.