Michael Liu is an external PhD candidate at the Van Vollenhoven Institute for Law, Governance and Society. 

More information about Michael Liu

Michael Liu is a lawyer and civil society activist from China. The NGO that he founded in 2012, "Chinese Initiative on International Law" (CIIL) has been actively engaged in rule of law training, refugee relief and gay rights advocacy in and out of China. The organization has also been granted a consultative status with the United Nations (ECOSOC).

Previously, Michael was a victims’ counsel at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (Khmer Rouge Tribunal) and worked at the International Criminal Court, the International Committee of Red Cross and a private law firm (Fangda Partners) under various capacities.

Michael taught international law and other subjects at the Royal University of Law and Economics in Phnom Penh Cambodia (2013-2015), jointly supervised a legal clinic with Renmin University of China and Chinese University of HongKong, and had visiting professional affiliations with the Paul Tsai China Center of Yale Law School and another institution in Taiwan. He was invited speak at a TEDx event to commemorate the centenary of the Peace Palace in 2013. 

For his PhD research at Leiden, he wants to research on The rise of China as a norm shaping force in the global human rights discourse.