Georgetown Law

B.A., Cornell University; J.D., Yale. Professor Rutzen is President and CEO of the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL), which has worked in 100 countries on the freedoms of association, assembly, and expression. Prof. Rutzen advises governments around the world on civil society law. He also serves on the advisory boards of the United Nations Democracy Fund and the OECD Civic Space Observatory.

Under Prof. Rutzen’s leadership, ICNL received a MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, the organizational analogue to MacArthur’s “genius award” for individuals. In 2013, Prof. Rutzen presented remarks at a meeting moderated by President Obama for world leaders attending the UN General Assembly. For the past eight years, the Nonprofit Times has named Prof. Rutzen as one of the most influential nonprofit leaders in the United States.

Prof. Rutzen previously served as Legal Advisor to the Czechoslovak Parliament upon the country’s transition to democracy, taught at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and co-chaired the civil society pillar of the Community of Democracies. In addition, Prof. Rutzen was co-counsel on the first lawsuit against Moammar Gaddafi for the bombing of Pan Am 103, which culminated in a $2.7 billion settlement.