Mark Somos is a legal scholar and practitioner. He holds an MPhil in Political Thought and Intellectual History from Cambridge, an AM in Government and Social Policy and a PhD in Political Science from Harvard, an LLM in International Security and Law from Sussex, and a PhD in Law from Leiden universities.

Currently holding a Heisenberg Professorship at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Mark has taught law at Sussex, Tufts, Harvard and Yale universities. He is the author of five scholarly books and over sixty articles, and serves as co-editor-in-chief of Grotiana.

Mark advises and represents States and individuals, served as Counsel in three ICJ cases and has won, on his clients’ behalf, human rights complaints at the UN Human Rights Council and several Special Procedures.

Mark served as Just Access’s Director until October 2023, and was suceeded by Tom Sparks.  As Special Counsel, he continues to play an active role seeking access to justice for victims of human rights abuses, as part of the Just Access team.