LAW - Rule of Law Institute
Rule of Law Institute
The rule of law underlies all political, economic, and social goods. It ensures equal access and responsibility to the law, accountability, due process, and transparency. To overcome today’s global challenges – violence, infringement of human rights, environmental destruction, economic inequality, injustice, poverty, and hunger – the rule of law is essential.
Who we are
This Institute is established within Loyola as a center for the advancement of the rule of law. We seek to develop ground-breaking research, produce new solutions, and prompt real change that will empower individual lives, assist economic development, and advance legal standing.
By identifying expertise and commitment within the Loyola community, as well other domestic and international actors, we hope to produce knowledge and processes that can be shared and leveraged for change. The Institute also seeks to find external partners who can contribute to such research and research opportunities, serve as change partners, and expand the national and global reach of the institute and its mission.
Juliet S. Sorensen
Clinical Professor of Law; Director, Rule of Law Institute and Program in Rule of Law for Development
Read Sorensen's bioCenters and Initiatives
The Institute is an inter-disciplinary entity. It is composed of three centers and an academic arm that researches, analyzes, and produces new knowledge about rule of law issues, develops solutions for those problems, and implements those solutions to the betterment of society.
Rule of Law for Development Program (PROLAW)
The mission of PROLAW is to equip legal and development professionals with the knowledge and practical skills needed to inspire, lead and manage national efforts to strengthen the laws and institutions required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. It is the degree-granting arm of the Institute.
The Faculty and Scholar Directory
The Institute is just beginning our work, but we have already achieved significant results at the local, state, and federal levels. We invite you to join the conversation and become part of the faculty and scholar directory to stay updated on all of the institutes work.
In The News
Events
Democracy in Crisis
Professor Juliet Sorensen in conversation with Belarus' opposition leader at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on Friday, Sept. 27.
2025 Law and Development Conference Call for papers
Call for Papers for the 2025 Law and Development Conference co-hosted by the Law and Development Institute and the University of Hawaii School of Law; abstracts due by May 1, 2025.
Save the date
Global Conference on Rule of Law and Migration
Rome, Italy
April 11-12, 2025
The rule of law underlies all political, economic, and social goods. It ensures equal access and responsibility to the law, accountability, due process, and transparency. To overcome today’s global challenges – violence, infringement of human rights, environmental destruction, economic inequality, injustice, poverty, and hunger – the rule of law is essential.
Who we are
This Institute is established within Loyola as a center for the advancement of the rule of law. We seek to develop ground-breaking research, produce new solutions, and prompt real change that will empower individual lives, assist economic development, and advance legal standing.
By identifying expertise and commitment within the Loyola community, as well other domestic and international actors, we hope to produce knowledge and processes that can be shared and leveraged for change. The Institute also seeks to find external partners who can contribute to such research and research opportunities, serve as change partners, and expand the national and global reach of the institute and its mission.
Centers and Initiatives
The Institute is an inter-disciplinary entity. It is composed of three centers and an academic arm that researches, analyzes, and produces new knowledge about rule of law issues, develops solutions for those problems, and implements those solutions to the betterment of society.
Rule of Law for Development Program (PROLAW)
The mission of PROLAW is to equip legal and development professionals with the knowledge and practical skills needed to inspire, lead and manage national efforts to strengthen the laws and institutions required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. It is the degree-granting arm of the Institute.