Professor Katharine Young has been elected to the American Law Institute (ALI), an independent organization of judges, lawyers, and scholars. Members contribute their expertise to the institute’s development of restatements, principles, and model codes, which have long shaped courts and legislatures across the country.
“Each class of new members represents both continuity and renewal for the American Law Institute,” said ALI President David F. Levi. “At a time of rapid legal and technological change, these incoming members will help us navigate these challenges while steadfastly upholding the rule of law. Their dedication to our mission and expertise in the law will ensure that ALI’s work continues to serve as a trusted guide for courts, practitioners, and the public.”
Young, professor and Robert A. Trevisani Dean’s Faculty Fellow at Boston College Law School, is a leading scholar in international human rights law, comparative constitutional law, and law and gender. Her work examines economic and social rights, the role of “positive” legal obligations, and the distributive challenges of access to health care, housing, and education. She has authored Constituting Economic and Social Rights (Oxford University Press, 2012) and co-edited The Future of Economic and Social Rights (Cambridge University Press, 2019) and The Public Law of Gender (Cambridge University Press, 2016).
In addition to her scholarship, Young has chaired interdisciplinary initiatives on climate change and migration, served as Associate Dean of Faculty and Global Programs at BC Law, and most recently taught a seminar on Human Rights and Inequality as the Stephen and Barbara Friedman Visiting Professor at Columbia Law School during Spring 2025. Earlier in her career, she clerked for Justice Michael Kirby of the Australian High Court and practiced law in Australia, Ghana, Germany, and the United States.
Returning from her post at Columbia Law, Young observes, “Columbia has long been a central node of international and comparative human rights thinking and practice, and it was a tremendous honor to teach and work alongside its faculty and students. Returning to Boston College, I feel equally fortunate to share fresh insights about international and comparative law in general, and human rights law in particular. Indeed, these added perspectives on US law have never felt more important. ”
Young’s election to ALI reflects her profound influence as both a scholar and a leader in comparative and international law.