District Judge, District Court of Ostrobothnia, Finland
Doctor of Laws (Helsinki), former Assistant Professor (Tilburg)
Author of The Classical Doctrine of Civil War in International Law (2026)
Primary fields of research:
– Public international law
– History of international law
– Antarctic Law, Law of the Sea, Space law (Global Commons)
– Prize Law, Maritime Law
– International settlement of disputes, courts and arbitrations
List of Publications
Books
- Ville Kari, The Classical Doctrine of Civil War in International Law (322 + xvi pages, Cambridge University Press 2026)
- Ville Kari, A Digest of the Classical Doctrine of Civil War (Doctors’ Commons International, 2026, e-print, 44 pages)
- Ville Kari, On the classical doctrine of civil war in international law (LL.D. Thesis: University of Helsinki 2020, 507 pages)
Academic Articles and Chapters
- Ville Kari, ‘Finders, Keepers? Grotius and the acquisition of property from the global commons’, Grotiana (1/2026), 28 p.
- Ville Kari: ‘Natasha Wheatley, The Life and Death of States (Princeton: Princeton University Press 2023) [Book review], 37 European Journal of International Law 2026, 8 p.
- Ville Kari: ‘Anne Orford, International Law and the Politics of History (Cambridge University Press 2021) [Book review]’, 66 German Yearbook of International Law (2025), p. 456–8.
- Ville Kari, ‘Investment law and world heritage: The case of Le Morne’ 21 Nordic Journal of International Law 2024, pp. 370–390
- Ville Kari: ‘Ingo Venzke and Kevin Jon Heller (eds.), Contingency in International Law: On the Possibility of Different Legal Histories (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021) [Book review]’, 24(3) Journal of the History of International Law (2022), p. 453-458.
- Ville Kari, ‘Hugo Grotius and the classical law of civil war’ 41Grotiana 2020, pp. 412–427
- Martti Koskenniemi & Ville Kari, ‘Sovereign Equality’ in Jorge Viñuales (ed.), The UN Friendly Relations Declaration at 50: An Assessment of the Fundamental Principles of International Law (Cambridge University Press 2020)
- Ville Kari, ‘Etelämannersopimuksesta’ Oikeus 1/2020 [”On the Antarctic Treaty System”]
- Ville Kari: ‘Sotien kieltämisestä (ja hegemoniasta)’ Oikeus 1/2020 [Review article: Shapiro & Hathaway: The Internationalists]
- Ville Kari, ‘Freebooters and Free Traders: English Colonial Prize Jurisdiction in the West Indies 1655–1670’ 21 Journal of the History of International Law 2019, pp. 41–70.
- Ville Kari, ‘Ydinaseiden kieltosopimuksesta’ Oikeus 1/2018 [”On the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons”]
- Ville Kari, “A Less Elevated Cosmopolitanism: Victor Hugo, Francis Lieber, and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870” in Klabbers, J., Varaki, M. & Vasconcelos Vilaca, G. (eds.), Towards Responsible Global Governance (University of Helsinki 2018)
- Martti Koskenniemi & Ville Kari: “A More Elevated Patriotism: The Emergence of International and comparative law (Nineteenth Century)” in H Pihlajamäki, M Dubber & D Godfrey eds, The Oxford Handbook of European Legal History (Oxford University Press 2018)
- Ville Kari: ’Sielu ja uusi kone’ Oikeus 3/2018 [”The Soul and the New Machine”]
- Ville Kari: On the Foundation of the Helsinki Law Review. Helsinki Law Review 2/2017.
- Ville Kari: Philipp Dann: The Law of Development Cooperation. A Comparative Analysis of the World Bank, the EU and Germany [Book Review]. 13 International organizations law review (2016) 379–384.
- Ville Kari, ‘On the Constitutional Crisis of Nepal and the “Power to Remove Difficulties”’, 48 Verfassung und Recht in Übersee 2015, pp. 187–204.
Other Publications
- Ville Kari, “The Question of Palestine: Documents, texts, materials”, Doctors’ Commons International 2025 (www.doctorscommons.com)
- Final Report of the Forty-seventh Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (Antarctic Treaty Secretariat 2025)
- Final Report of the Forty-sixth Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (Antarctic Treaty Secretariat 2024)
- Final Report of the XLV Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (Antarctic Treaty Secretariat 2023)
- Ville Kari, ’Putinin sota ei kestä kansainvälisen oikeuden valoa’ Helsingin Sanomat, 9 March 2022
- Final Report of the XLIV Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (Antarctic Treaty Secretariat 2022)
- Ville Kari, “War in Ukraine: Documents, texts, materials”, Doctors’ Commons International 2022 (www.doctorscommons.com)
- Final Report of the XLII Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (Antarctic Treaty Secretariat 2019)
[contribution as a member of the rapporteur team] - Ville Kari & Martti Koskenniemi: International Law (several detailed scientific encyclopedia entries on questions of international law). Oikeustieteen termipankki. 2017.
- Ville Kari, ’Mistä Britannia oikein haluaa eroon?’ Helsingin Sanomat, 25 June 2016
- Ville Kari, ’Investointisuojan kanssa on oltava tarkkana’ Helsingin Sanomat, 14 March 2015
Academic Positions
2021 – present: Affiliated Fellow, Erik Castrén Institute of International Law and Human Rights (University of Helsinki, Faculty of Law).
2021 – 2026: Assistant professor (Permanent position), Tilburg University Law School, Department of Public Law and Governance.
2025–2026: Senior visiting fellow, Sciences Po Law School, Paris.
2023–2026: Research project ‘A legal history of the global commons’. Principal researcher. (250 000 €.)
2021 – IREDIES, Université Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne, Visiting researcher
2014 – 2020: University of Helsinki, Faculty of Law, Postgraduate research fellow.
Visiting fellowships 2013 – 2020 :
- 12/2019 – 3/2020 Université Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne, Visiting researcher
- 7/2019 – 9/2019 University of Cambridge, Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, Visiting scholar
- 4/2018 – 5/2018 Melbourne Law School, Laureate Program for International Law, Visiting Fellow
- 2/2017 – 4/2017 Melbourne Law School, LPIL, Visiting Fellow
- 4/2016 – 2/2017 Sciences Po école de droit, Paris, Visiting Fellow
- 12/2013 – 11/2014 IREDIES, Université Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne, Visiting researcher