Who Are We?
The Lab and Its Mission

Bridging legal theory and practice, Professor Miriam Cohen has gained extensive experience in international organizations while pursuing graduate studies in international law and human rights. She has worked in the Legal Department of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and previously in the Appeals Chamber and the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC). She has also been a researcher at Harvard Law School, rapporteur for an expert committee on a draft convention on crimes against humanity, and a delegation member in a United Nations treaty negotiation in Geneva. As a legal counsel and expert in international law, she represented the Republic of Panama before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (Hamburg) and worked at a major law firm in Montreal while also providing pro bono legal expertise. Originally from Brazil, Professor Cohen moved to Montreal in 2004 at the age of 20 to pursue her Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) at the Université de Montréal. She graduated with distinction, earning a place on the Dean’s Honour List and receiving the Bloomfield Excellence Scholarship and the Jean-Martineau Prize. She was then invited to pursue graduate studies through the Faculty of Law’s Excellence Pathway, completing her first Master of Laws (LL.M.) at the Université de Montréal with prestigious scholarships from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), Alan B. Gold, and Aubrey-Vincent-Senez. Driven by her interest in international human rights law, she pursued two additional LL.M. degrees: one in International Law at the University of Cambridge (UK) in 2008, supported by the Right Honourable Paul Martin Sr. Scholarship and the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust; and another in International Human Rights Law at Harvard University (USA) in 2009, where she was awarded the Harvard Law School Academic Scholarship, the Frank Knox Memorial Fellowship, the John Peters Humphrey Fellowship from the Canadian Council on International Law, and the Harvard Law School Thesis Publication Prize. She completed her academic journey in 2017 by successfully defending her doctoral thesis (LL.D.) at Leiden University (Netherlands), where she was a Grotius Centre doctoral fellow. During her studies abroad, Professor Cohen developed strong multilingual skills, becoming fluent in Portuguese, English, Spanish, and French, while also acquiring a working knowledge of Italian and Dutch. This linguistic proficiency allows her to collaborate with interdisciplinary and international research teams and conduct multilingual research published in high-impact journals and collections worldwide, including in Canada, the United States, Europe, South Korea, and Brazil. She is frequently invited to participate in prestigious international events, serving as a rapporteur for the Oxford International Organizations (OXIO) project with Oxford University Press and delivering lectures at institutions such as Columbia University, the University of Oxford, George Mason University, the University of Western Australia, and the American Society of International Law (ASIL). She has also represented the Canadian Council on International Law at the Four Societies Conference at Waseda University in Tokyo. An outstanding educator, she has contributed to the ProCuria training program for jurists of Indonesia’s Constitutional Court and has presented her research to legal professionals at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. In 2015, Professor Cohen transitioned into academia, beginning her university teaching career as an Assistant Professor of Law at Lakehead University (Ontario). In 2018, she returned to her alma mater, the Université de Montréal, to further her research and teaching. Now a tenured Associate Professor, she teaches Public International Law and International Human Rights Law. Since 2022, she has held the prestigious Canada Research Chair in International Justice and Fundamental Rights. She is also an associate researcher at the Centre for Public Law Research (CRDP), the International Centre for Comparative Criminology (CICC), and the Centre for International Studies and Research (CÉRIUM). Most recently, she authored *Realizing Reparative Justice for International Crimes: From Theory to Practice* (Cambridge University Press, 2020), which offers an innovative analysis of reparative justice for mass human rights violations. The book has received high praise for its scholarly rigor and originality. She is also the co-author, with Professor Stéphane Beaulac, of the third edition of *Précis de droit international public* (LexisNexis, 2021).

Sarah-Michèle Vincent-Wright is a doctoral candidate in law at Université de Montréal and a recipient of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship. Specializing in international law, her research focuses on the protection of human rights, particularly during armed conflicts (work published by Éditions Thémis in 2021), as well as on reducing socioeconomic inequalities linked to women's unpaid or underpaid care work (topic of her doctoral thesis). She has extensive experience in legal scholarship and scientific communication, having served as an expert at the Supreme Court of Canada and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and as a visiting researcher at the International Criminal Court. Alongside her studies, she is the scientific coordinator for the Canada Research Chair in Human Rights and International Reparative Justice and the Observatory on National Security Measures. She also coordinates the grant-funded projects *Human Rights and International Justice Lab* (CFI) and *Dialogue on Human Rights* (FRQ). Additionally, she has taught courses and coached multiple moot court competitions within her Faculty. A member of the Quebec Bar, she chairs the Legal Affairs Committee of the Montreal-based organization Info-Secte and serves on its Board of Directors.

Anne-Sophie Létourneau-Hudon is a senior strategist specializing in brand strategy, marketing, and 360-degree project management, with a strong passion for arts, culture, and human behavior. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in French Language and Literature from McGill University in Montreal and a Master of Science in Media Management from The New School in New York. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Université de Montréal, with the goal of undertaking a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology or Research-Intervention. Her multidisciplinary academic background, combined with extensive professional experience, reflects a rigorous and integrative approach to understanding and shaping human and cultural dynamics at the core of contemporary strategies.