The Rule of Law Academy will bring together 18 law students from around the world (12 international/6 national students) for intensive study in a block seminar. The program introduces students to comparative law methods and engages them in deep study of a common constitutional law issue or topic that is central to the rule of law, encompassing issues of state organization or basic rights. The program will be administered by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. in cooperation with respected academic partners: The Washington & Lee University School of Law, Virginia USA (represented by Prof. Russell Miller) and BSP Business and Law School, Berlin Germany (represented by Prof. Dr. Alexander Thiele). The seminar will take place in Berlin during the week 21 February to 1st March 2026.
The program of the Rule of Law Academy will involve intensive reading assignments followed by guided discussions around the seminar table. That reading material will focus first on the theory and method of comparative law and will then feature several sessions considering a selected substantive topic of constitutional law related to the rule of law. The classroom component of the seminar will end with student-led group presentations that call on the students to reflect on the new substantive material they have encountered as well as on their engagement with the different legal systems and legal cultures represented in the program. The seminar’s academic dimension will be reinforced by a visit to the German Bundestag.
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Rule of Law Academy – The program from our perspective
3Q
Participants 2026
S. Waverly Bah
Waverly Bah is a second-year J.D. candidate at Washington and Lee School of Law. She previously studied International Studies at the University of San Francisco and is originally from Bowie, Maryland.
Lucia Becerra
Lucia Becerra is a Colombian lawyer who graduated from the Nueva Granada Military University. She holds a Master's degree in International Studies from the University of Santiago de Compostela and a Law degree from the same institution. She is currently Project Coordinator for the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's Rule of Law Program for Latin America.
Makayla Bibby
Makayla Bibby is a second-year law student at Washington and Lee University School of Law and serves as a Junior Editor for the German Law Journal. She received a bachelor's degree in Public Policy & Leadership and Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. Her current research focuses on adopting legal frameworks for communities affected by emergent technologies, namely Artificial Intelligence, to bridge the gap between innovation and accountability.
William Gove
William Gove is a second-year law student at Washington and Lee School of Law and a Boston native who graduated cum laude from Clark University with a degree in International Development and Social Change. He is a cofounder of Worcester Free Fridge, a community-based nonprofit that works to reduce barriers to food access and strengthen community resilience. His academic and community work reflect a deep interest in the rule of law, social justice, and the role of law in advancing equitable access to basic rights.
Paul Grimm
Paul Grimm, LL.M., LL.B. studied law, criminology, and cultural studies at the European University Viadrina, University College Dublin, and the University of Melbourne. He is a candidate for the German First State Examination in Law at the European University Viadrina and works as a research assistant at the Chair of Prof. Jan Erik Schirmer, where his research and publications focus on the intersection of law and sustainability.
Theresa Hirte
Theresa Hirte is currently pursuing her Ph.D. on the rule of law in the European Union at the University of Cologne, focusing, in particular, on reform proposals to better safeguard the rule of law. She works for an international commercial law firm in Munich, is politically engaged, and also advocates for stronger rule-of-law principles on this level. She is a former scholarship holder of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and studied law at the University of Cologne, the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, and the Université de Lausanne.
Saidou Kebe
Saidou Kebe is an auditor at the Centre for Diplomatic and Geostrategic Studies in Dakar. His research focuses on comparative politics in West African states through the lens of constitutional reforms. He has also been working on issues related to promoting the rule of law for the past five years as a programme officer for the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's Programme for the Promotion of the Rule of Law in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, he has worked extensively with West African constitutional courts and councils, as well as the ECOWAS Court of Justice.
Nargiza Kilichova
Nargiza Kilichova holds a BA in Commercial Law from Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT), Uzbekistan, and an LLM in European and International Law from the Europa-Institut of Saarland University, Germany. She has worked as an Associate Lecturer at WIUT and as a Research Associate with the research group at the IOS Regensburg. Her current PhD research focuses on the legal dimensions of rule of law reforms and related projects in Central Asia.
Sara Markovska
Sara Markovska is a legal practitioner, project coordinator, and researcher at the Center for Legal Research and Analysis, focused on rule of law, human rights, and environmental governance in North Macedonia. She has contributed to numerous justice-sector reforms, national and regional rule-of-law initiatives. She holds an LL.M. in International Law and is a PhD candidate specializing in environmental law and governance, engaged in advanced academic and professional training.
Cynthia Miano
Cynthia Miano is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya with a multidisciplinary legal practice encompassing commercial law, governance advisory, and institutional development. Her work focuses on supporting organizations and decision-makers on legal compliance, governance, and policy matters, and serves as a trainer for Kenyatta University’s moot competitions. Her professional interests include the strengthening of institutions, promotion of human rights, and access to justice.
Cody Pfeiffer
Cody Pfeiffer is a second-year law student at Washington and Lee School of Law and a junior editor for the German Law Journal. He grew up in Centreville, Maryland, and attended college in Lewiston, Maine, graduating with a Bachelor's degree from Bates College in History and Spanish. His current research analyzes the environmental jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights through the framework of transformative constitutionalism.
Ben Justus Riepe
Ben Justus Riepe studies law at the University of Münster, specializing in legal history. His academic interests include the constitutional history of the United States and the United Kingdom, the history of ministerial responsibility, and early modern judicial practice in the German states. Mr. Riepe works as a student assistant at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg Münster, an interdisciplinary research center.
Thomas Rogers
Thomas Rogers is a Juris Doctor candidate at the Washington and Lee School of Law. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Edinburgh where he studied international relations and international law. Thomas was also briefly a tutor at the University of Edinburgh where he worked on the courses of European Union law and international private law.
Paul Saadeh
Paul Saadeh is a Project Manager at the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Rule of Law Programme Middle East and North Africa. He is also a fully qualified lawyer who pursued his legal studies at the “la Filière Francophone de Droit de l’Université Libanaise”. His Master thesis was about “the European Directive regulating the financial markets known as MIFiD II”. In addition to being socially and politically active in Lebanon, he accumulated a vast knowledge in topics such as history, religion and politics.
Eva Schwecher
Eva Schwecher is a law student at the University of Passau whose work centers on the international and European interconnectedness of legal systems. Her academic and professional experiences, including internships in Brussels, research roles in European legal history and advanced studies in the CECIL program and the EUI Summer School, have deepened her commitment to rigorous comparative legal inquiry.
Laura Catalina Senejoa
Laura Catalina Senejoa Jurado is a Colombian law student and political scientist with a strong academic background in constitutional law, human rights, and transitional justice. She has gained experience through internships and research work at national and international institutions, including the Office of the Inspector General of Colombia (Procuraduría General de la Nación), the Constitutional Court of Colombia, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. She is also actively involved in youth leadership initiatives. Her academic interests focus on comparative constitutionalism and the role of the rule of law in addressing democratic and institutional challenges in societies marked by inequality.
Elida Vikić
Elida Vikić is a human rights practitioner with over seven years of experience at Human Rights Watch, where she focuses on human rights abuses in the EU, Turkey, and the Western Balkans. Her thematic expertise includes the implementation of European Court of Human Rights judgments, advocacy on rule-of-law backsliding in EU member states, and research and reporting on the rights of refugees and migrants. She holds degrees from George Mason University and the University of Oxford.
Nith Vanchhay Virak
Nith Vanchhay Virak is a third-year law student in the ELBBL program at the Royal University of Law and Economics in Cambodia. He has demonstrated legal advocacy excellence through moot court competitions and has worked in education in an NGO supporting underprivileged communities. His academic and professional focus centers on advancing justice, legal development, and meaningful cross-border legal discussion.
Alyssa Wiese
Alyssa Wiese is a second-year law student at Washington and Lee School of Law and serves as a junior staff editor for the German Law Journal. Originally from Keller, Texas, Alyssa graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in criminology and political science. Alyssa’s interest in comparative constitutional law stemmed from her time in Cardiff, Wales interning for pro-bono organizations such as, the Innocence Project and Support Through Court.
