Biography

As a Legal Scholar, Mr Baker's areas of expertise centre mainly upon international law (with a focus on the newly developing field of international criminal law); comparative constitutional and criminal law; the law of the European Union; and socio-legal studies. As a Political Scientist, his research interests focus on courts & judicial politics in a comparative context; democratic transitions; political parties; transnational relations; organizational theory; and qualitative & multi-method research design.

Mr Baker's current research project focuses upon the role of transnational epistemic communities in international and domestic norm formation. Bringing together literature in international relations, comparative politics, and socio-legal studies, he probes the independent effects these actors have had on institutional reform in the former Yugoslavia.

Mr Baker has published articles in leading Law Reviews and Social Science Journals exploring relevant issues in international law, comparative constitutional and criminal law, law & public policy, socio-legal studies, and international relations. He has held previous academic appointments in the United States at Pepperdine University (School of Law), as well as in Bosnia-Herzegovina at the University of East Sarajevo (Faculty of Law).

Prior to entering academia, Mr Baker worked in the Senate Opposition Research Office of the Progressive-Conservative Party of Canada; and later in the Department of Justice Resident Legal Advisor's Office of the U.S. Embassy in Serbia.

In addition to the English language, Mr. Baker speaks Persian, Serbo-Croatian, and some French.

Publications

* Downloadable copies of all publications available at: http://works.bepress.com/roozbeh_rudy_baker/

Journal Articles

“Individualizam i demokratska država,” Diskursi: društvo religija kultura 3: 131-142 (2012). (Serbo-Croatian)

“Model Švajcarskog federalizma,” Politička revija 32: 157-178 (2012). (Serbo-Croatian)

(with co-author Zoran S. Nikolić) “Intelektualci i politika,” Kultura polisa 8: 37-56 (2011). (Serbo-Croatian)

“Novi institucionalizam i međunarodni odnosi: korak napred,” Međunarodni problemi 63: 343-358 (2011). (Serbo-Croatian)

“Customary International Law in the 21st Century: Old Challenges and New Debates,” The European Journal of International Law 21: 173-204 (2010).

“Balancing Competing Priorities: Affirmative Action in the United States and Canada,” Journal of Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems 18: 527-543 (2009).

“Towards a New Transitional Justice Model: Assessing the Serbian Case,” San Diego International Law Journal 11: 171-225 (2009).

“Universal Jurisdiction and the Case of Belgium: A Critical Assessment,” ILSA Journal of International and Comparative Law 16: 141-167 (2009).

“Racial Formation in Quebec: A Legal Retrospective,” Journal of Law in Society 10: 1-30 (2008).

“Proportionality in the Criminal Law: The Differing American versus Canadian Approaches to Punishment,” University of Miami Inter-American Law Review 39: 483-502 (2008).

Journal Editorial Boards

DISKURSI: DRUŠTVO, RELIGIJA, KULTURA [DISCOURSES: SOCIETY, RELIGION, & CULTURE], Pale, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Member of the Editorial Board (July 2010 - Present)

BERKELEY JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, Berkeley, California, United States
Assistant Editor, Submissions Committee (August 2008 - May 2009) 

Conference Participation

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW (ASIL) – EUROPEAN SOCIETY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW (ESIL) RESEARCH WORKSHOP: TRANSATLANTIC DEBATES IN INTERNATIONAL LEGAL THEORY, Cambridge, United Kingdom (Sponsored by the University of Cambridge) (September 20-21, 2012)
Presenter: “The New Building Blocks of Customary International Law”

2012 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MIDWEST POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION, Chicago, Illinois, United States (April 12-15, 2012)
Presenter: “Transnational Actors and the Process of Judicial Reform and Democratization: Lessons From the Former Yugoslavia”

MEĐUNARODNA NAUČNA KONFERENCIJA NA UNIVERZITETU SINERGIJA [INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE OF SINERGIIJA UNIVERSITY], Bijeljina, Bosnia-Herzegovina (March 25, 2011)
Presenter (Plenary Session): “Doktrina direktnih efekata u pravu Evropske unije” [“The Doctrine of Direct Effects in European Union Law”] (Serbo-Croatian)

IZMEĐU NAUKE I POLITIKE: NAUČNA KONFERENCIJA NA UNIVERZITETU U ISTOČNOM SARAJEVU [BETWEEN SCIENCE AND POLITICS: SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EAST SARAJEVO], Pale, Bosnia-Herzegovina (May 22-23, 2010)
Presenter: “Kvalitativna metodologija i istraživački dizajn u društvenim naukama” [“Qualitative Methodology and Research Design in the Social Sciences”] (Serbo-Croatian)

2008 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE CANADIAN POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (June 4-6, 2008)
Presenter: “The Enshrinement of Rights: Courts and Constitutional Power in Canada”

AFTER YUGOSLAVIA: A SYMPOSIUM FOR SCHOLARS  & PRACTITIONERS, Los Angles, California, United States (Sponsored by the University of Southern California) (March 30-31, 2006)
Presenter: “Beyond the ICTY: The Role of the Serbian Special Court for War Crimes”

2006 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE WESTERN POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States (March 16-18, 2006)
Presenter: “Judicial Independence and Democratization in Serbia”

WAR CRIMES COORDINATING COMMITTEE ROUND TABLE, Belgrade, Serbia (Sponsored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) (April 6, 2004)
Presenter: “Current War Crimes Assistance Projects Being Undertaken by the U.S. Embassy-Belgrade Resident Legal Advisor’s Office”