Eric Posner

	Kirkland and Ellis Professor University of Chicago Law School 1111 E. 60th St. Chicago, IL 60637

General Information

The University of Chicago Law School
Curriculum Vitae
SSRN
Conflict of Interest Statement

Courses

Contracts
Foreign Relations Law
Greenberg Seminar: New Books on Foreign Relations
International and Foreign Relations Law: Advanced Topics
International Human Rights Law
Public International Law
Workshop: International Law

For Students

Taking Exams
Writing Papers

Books

Law and Social Norms: Harvard University Press (2000)
Japanese edition (Bokutakusha, 2002)
Chinese edition (China University of Political Science and Law Publishing House, 2005)
Taiwanese edition (Angle Publishing Company, 2006)
South Asia edition (Universal Law Publishing Company, 2009)
Arabic edition (Institute of Public Administration, Saudi Arabia, 2010)

Chicago Lectures in Law and Economics (editor): Foundation Press (2000)

Cost-Benefit Analysis: Legal, Philosophical, and Economic Perspectives (editor, with Matthew Adler): University of Chicago Press (2001)

The Limits of International Law (with Jack Goldsmith): Oxford University Press (2005)

New Foundations of Cost-Benefit Analysis (with Matthew Adler): Harvard University Press (2006)

Terror in the Balance: Security, Liberty and the Courts (with Adrian Vermeule): Oxford University Press (2007)

Social Norms, Nonlegal Sanctions, and the Law (editor): Edward Elgar (2007)

The Perils of Global Legalism: University of Chicago Press (2009)

Climate Change Justice (with David Weisbach): Princeton University Press (2010)

Law and Happiness (editor, with Cass R. Sunstein): University of Chicago Press (2010)

The Economics of Public International Law (editor): Edward Elgar (2010)

The Executive Unbound: After the Madisonian Republic (with Adrian Vermeule): Oxford University Press (2011)

Contract Law and Theory: Aspen (2011)

Economic Foundations of International Law (with Alan Sykes): Harvard University Press (forthcoming, 2013)

Articles

Contract Law in the Welfare State: A Defense of Usury Laws, the Unconscionability Doctrine, and Related Limitations on the Freedom to Contract, 24 J. Legal Stud. 283 (1995)

The Regulation of Groups: The Influence of Legal and Nonlegal Sanctions on Collective Action, 63 U. Chi. L. Rev. 133 (1996)

Law, Economics, and Inefficient Norms, 144 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1697 (1996)

The Legal Regulation of Religious Groups, 2 Legal Theory 33 (1996)

Norms, Formalities, and the Statute of Frauds: A Comment, 144 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1971 (1996)

Altruism, Status, and Trust in the Law of Gifts and Gratuitous Promises, 1997 Wisc. L. Rev. 567 (1997)

The Political Economy of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, 96 Mich. L. Rev. 47 (1997) (reprinted in part in Bankruptcy Anthology (Charles J. Tabb ed. 2001)

Standards, Rules, and Social Norms, 21 Harv. J.L. & Pub. Policy 101 (1997)

The Parol Evidence Rule, the Plain Meaning Rule, and the Principles of Contractual Interpretation, 146 U. Pa. L. Rev. 533 (1998)

Symbols, Signals, and Social Norms in Politics and the Law, 27 J. Legal Stud. 765 (1998) (reprinted in Law and Economics (Nicholas Mercuro ed., 2007))

The Strategic Basis of Principled Behavior: A Critique of the Incommensurability Thesis, 146 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1185 (1998)

Efficient Norms, in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics and the Law (Peter Newman, ed.): Macmillan (1998)

Notes Toward a Theory of Customary International Law, 92 ASIL Proceedings 53 (1998) (With Jack L. Goldsmith)

The Demand for Human Cloning, in Clones and Clones: Facts and Fantasies About Human Cloning (Martha C. Nussbaum and Cass R. Sunstein, eds.): W.W. Norton (1998) (with Richard A. Posner) (Reprinted, with a postscript, in 27 Hofstra L. Rev. 579 (1999))

A Positive Theory of Chapter 11, 74 NYU Law Rev. 161 (1999) (with Kevin A. Kordana)

The Decline of Formality in Contract Law, in The Fall and Rise of Freedom of Contract (Frank Buckley, ed.): Duke University Press (1999)

Family Law and Social Norms, in The Fall and Rise of Freedom of Contract (Frank Buckley, ed.): Duke University Press (1999)

Shaming White Collar Criminals under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, 42 J. Law & Econ. 365 (1999) (With Dan M. Kahan)

Arbitration and the Harmonization of International Commercial Law: A Defense of Mitsubishi, 39 Va. J. Intern’l Law 647 (1999)

Should Debtors Be Forced into Chapter 13?, 32 Loyola of Los Angeles L. Rev. 965 (1999)

A Theory of Customary International Law, 66 U. Chi. L. Rev. 1113 (1999) (with Jack L. Goldsmith)

Rethinking Cost-Benefit Analysis, 109 Yale L.J. 165 (1999) (with Matthew Adler) (Reprinted in part in Jurisprudence: Contemporary Readings, Narratives, and Problems (Robert Hayman et al., ed., 2d ed. 2002))

Contract Remedies: Foreseeability, Precaution, Causation, and Mitigation, in The Encyclopedia of Law and Economics (Boudewijn Bouckaert and Gerrit De Geest, eds.): Edward Elgar (2000)

A Theory of Contract Law Under Conditions of Radical Judicial Error, 94 Nw. U. L. Rev. 749 (2000)

Understanding the Resemblance Between Modern and Traditional Customary International Law, 40 Va. J. Int’l Law 639 (2000) (with Jack L. Goldsmith)

Implementing Cost-Benefit Analysis When Preferences Are Distorted, 29 J. Legal Stud. 1105 (2000) (with Matthew Adler)

Introduction to the Conference on Cost-Benefit Analysis, 29 J. Legal Stud. 837 (2000) (with Matthew Adler)

Agency Models in Law and Economics, in Chicago Lectures in Law and Economics (Eric A. Posner ed., 2000), reprinted in Game Theory and the Law (Eric B. Rasmussen ed., 2007)

The Design and Interpretation of Contracts: Why Complexity Matters, 95 Nw. U.L. Rev. 91 (2000) (with Karen Eggleston and Richard Zeckhauser)

Law and Social Norms: The Case of Tax Compliance, 86 Va. L. Rev. 1781 (2000)

Law and Regret (Review of Changing Your Mind by E. Allan Farnsworth), 98 Mich. L. Rev. 1468 (2000)

Review of The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics and the Law, edited by Peter Newman, 110 Econ J. 824 (2000)

Cost-Benefit Analysis as a Solution to a Principal-Agent Problem, 53 Admin. L. Rev. 289 (2001)

Law and the Emotions, 89 Georgetown L.J. 1977 (2001)

Controlling Agencies with Cost-Benefit Analysis: A Positive Political Theory Perspective, 68 U. Chi. L. Rev. 1137 (2001)

Strategies of Constitutional Scholarship (Review of The Strategic Constitution by Robert D. Cooter), 26 Law & Social Inquiry 529 (2001)

The Law and Economics of Consumer Finance, 4 Amer. Law & Econ. Rev. 162 (2002) (with Richard Hynes)

Legislative Entrenchment: A Reappraisal, 111 Yale L.J. 1665 (2002) (with Adrian Vermeule)

Fear and the Regulatory Model of Counterterrorism, 25 Harv. J.L. & Pub. Pol. 681 (2002)

Controlling Agencies with Net Benefit Accounts: A Thought Experiment, 150 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1473 (2002)

Moral and Legal Rhetoric in International Relations: A Rational Choice Perspective , 31 J. Legal Stud. S115 (2002) (with Jack Goldsmith)

Interring the Nondelegation Doctrine, 69 U. Chi. L. Rev. 1721 (2002) (with Adrian Vermeule)

Review of The Jurisprudential Foundations of Corporate and Commercial Law, edited by Jody S. Kraus and Steven D. Walt, 112 Ethics 626 (2002)

Review of Law and Market Economy, by Robin Paul Malloy, 18 Economics and Philosophy 183 (2002)

The Signaling Model of Social Norms: Further Thoughts, 36 U. Rich. L. Rev. 465 (2002)

Further Thoughts on Customary International Law, 23 Mich. J. Inter’l L. 191 (2002) (with Jack Goldsmith)

Introduction to a Conference on Rational Choice and International Law, 31 J. Legal Stud. S1 (2002).

Comment on Means Testing Consumer Bankruptcy by Jean Braucher, 7 Fordham J. Corp & Fin. L. 457 (2002)

Economic Analysis of Contract Law After Three Decades: Success or Failure?, 112 Yale L.J. 829 (2003), reprinted in Economics of Contract Law (Douglas Baird ed. 2007)

Four Economic Perspectives on American Labor Law and the Problem of Social Conflict, 159 J. Inst’l & Theoretical Econ. 101 (2003)

The Jurisprudence of Greed, 151 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1097 (2003)

International Agreements: A Rational Choice Approach, 44 Va. J. Int’l L. 113 (2003) (with Jack Goldsmith)

Reparations for Slavery and Other Historical Injustices, 103 Colum. L. Rev. 689 (2003) (with Adrian Vermeule)

A Theory of the Laws of War, 70 U. Chi. L. Rev. 297 (2003)

Do States Have a Moral Obligation to Comply with International Law?, 55 Stan. L. Rev. 1901 (2003)

Accommodating Emergencies, 56 Stan. L. Rev. 605 (2003) (with Adrian Vermeule), reprinted in The Constitution in Wartime 55 (Mark Tushnet, editor, 2005)

Transfer Regulations and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis, 53 Duke L.J. 1067 (2003)

Tobacco Regulation or Litigation? (Review of Smoke-Filled Rooms by W. Kip Viscusi), 70 U. Chi. L. Rev. 1141 (2003)

The Nondelegation Doctrine: A Postmortem, 70 U. Chi. L. Rev. 1331 (2003) (with Adrian Vermeule)

Bankuptcy Act of 1978, in Major Acts of Congress (Brian K. Landsberg ed., 2003), vol. 1, p. 59

Probability Errors: Some Positive and Normative Implications for Tort and Contract Law, 11 Sup. Ct. Econ. Rev. 125 (2004), reprinted in The Law and Economics of Irrational Behavior 456 (Francesco Parisi & Vernon Smith eds., 2005)

Transitional Justice as Ordinary Justice, 117 Harv. L. Rev. 761 (2004) (with Adrian Vermeule)

The Political Economy of Property Exemption Laws, 47 J. Law & Econ. 19 (2004) (with Richard Hynes and Anup Malani)

Emergencies and Political Change: A Reply to Tushnet, 56 Stan. L. Rev. 1593 (2004) (with Adrian Vermeule)

Remarks on the Alien Tort Claims Act and Transitional Justice, 98 Am. Soc’y Int’l L. Proc. 56 (2004)

Transnational Legal Process and the Supreme Court’s 2003-2004 Term: Some Skeptical Observations, 12 Tulsa Journal of Comparative and International Law 23 (2004)

Judicial Independence in International Tribunals, 93 Calif. L. Rev. 1 (2005) (with John Yoo)

Optimal War and Jus ad Bellum, 93 Georgetown L.J. 993 (2005) (with Alan Sykes)

International Law and the Disaggregated State, 32 Fla. St. U. L. Rev. 797 (2005)

Dollars and Death, 72 U. Chi. L. Rev. 537 (2005) (with Cass Sunstein)

Is the International Court of Justice Biased?, 34 J. Legal Stud. 599 (2005) (with Miguel de Figueiredo)

Political Trials in Domestic and International Law, 55 Duke L. J. 75 (2005)

Terrorism and the Laws of War, 5 Chi. J. Int’l L. 423 (2005)

Contract Theory, in The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory 138 (Martin P. Golding and William A. Edmundson eds. 2005)

Law, in The Encyclopedia of Social Measurement 463 (Kimberly Kempf-Leonard ed. 2005)

The International Court of Justice: Voting and Usage Statistics, ASIL Papers and Proceedings 130 (2005).

Reply to Helfer and Slaughter, 93 Cal. L. Rev. 957 (2005) (with John Yoo)

Should Coercive Interrogation Be Legal?, 104 Mich. L. Rev. 671 (2006) (with Adrian Vermeule)

Holding Internet Service Providers Accountable, 14 Sup. Ct. Econ. Rev. 221 (2006) (with Douglas Lichtman), reprinted in The Law and Economics of Cybersecurity (Mark F. Grady and Francesco Parisi eds. 2006)

The Decline of the International Court of Justice, in International Conflict Resolution 111 (Stefan Voigt, Max Albert, and Dieter Schmidtchen eds. 2006).

International Law: A Welfarist Approach, 73 U. Chi. L. Rev. 487 (2006)

International Law and the Rise of China, 7 Chi. J. Int’l L. 1 (2006) (with John Yoo)

Emergencies and Democratic Failure, 92 Va. L. Rev. 1091 (2006) (with Adrian Vermeule)

There Are No Penalty Default Rules in Contract Law, 33 Fla. St. U. L. Rev. 563 (2006)

The Law of Other States, 59 Stan. L. Rev. 131 (2006) (with Cass Sunstein)

The New International Law Scholarship, 34 Ga. J. Inter’l & Comp. L. 463 (2006)

Review of Terrorism and the State: Rethinking the Rules of State Responsibility, by Tal Becker, 121 Pol. Sci. Q. 505 (2006)

Chevronizing Foreign Relations, 116 Yale L.J. 1171 (2007) (with Cass Sunstein)

Signing Statements and Executive Power, 23 Constitutional Commentary 307 (2007) (with Curtis Bradley)

The Second-Order Structure of Immigration Law, 59 Stan. L. Rev. 809 (2007) (with Adam Cox)

On Learning from Others, 59 Stan. L. Rev. 1309 (2007) (with Cass Sunstein)

Agencies Should Ignore Distant-Future Generations, 74 U. Chi. L. Rev. 139 (2007)

Social Norms and Economic Analysis of the Law, in Economic Analysis of Law: A European Perspective (Aristides N. Hatzis ed., forthcoming 2007)

An Economic Analysis of State and Individual Responsibility Under International Law, 9 Amer. L. & Econ. Rev. 72 (2007) (with Alan Sykes)

The Credible Executive, 74 U. Chi. L. Rev. 865 (2007) (with Adrian Vermeule)

The Case for For-Profit Charities, 93 Va. L. Rev. 2017 (2007) (with Anup Malani)

Timing Rules and Legislative Action, 121 Harv. L. Rev. 543 (2007) (with Jacob Gersen)

Climate Change and International Human Rights Litigation: A Critical Appraisal, 155 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1925 (2007) , reprinted in Human Rights and the Environment (Svitlana Kravchenko & John E. Bonine eds., 2008)

A Critique of the Odious Debt Doctrine (with Albert Choi), 70 Law & Contemp. Prob. 33 (2007)

The International Protection of Cultural Property : Some Skeptical Observations, 8 Chi. J. Int’l L. 213 (2007)

Review of Law without Nations?: Why Constitutional Government Requires Sovereign States, by Jeremy A. Rabkin, 4 Perspectives on Politics 432 (2007)

Review of Robert E. Scott and Paul B. Stephan, The Limits of Leviathan: Contract Theory and the Enforcement of International Law, 101 Amer. J. Int’l L. 509 (2007)

Originalism and Emergencies: A Reply to Lawson, 87 B.U. L. Rev. 313 (2007) (with Adrian Vermeule)

Policy by Reflex, Review of Stephen Holmes, The Matador’s Cape: America’s Reckless Response to Terrorism, 70 Review of Politics 513 (2008)

Constitutional Showdowns, 156 U. Pa. L. Rev. 991 (2008) (with Adrian Vermeule)

Climate Change Justice, 96 Geo. L.J. 1565 (2008) (with Cass Sunstein)

Happiness Research and Cost-Benefit Analysis, 37 J. Legal Stud. S253 (2008)

Does Political Bias in the Judiciary Matter?: Implications of Judicial Bias Studies for Legal Reform, 75 U. Chi. L. Rev. 853 (2008)

Human Welfare, Not Human Rights, 108 Colum. L. Rev. 1758 (2008)

Soft Law: Lessons from Congressional Practice, 61 Stanford L. Rev. 573 (2008) (with Jacob Gersen)

Should Greenhouse Gas Permits Be Allocated on a Per Capita Basis?, 97 Calif. L. Rev. 51 (2009) (with Cass Sunstein)

Are Judges Overpaid?, 1 J. Legal Analysis 47 (2009) (with Stephen Choi and Mitu Gulati)

Erga Omnes Norms, Institutionalization, and Constitutionalism in International Relations, 165 J. Inst’l & Theoretical Economics 5 (2009)

Introduction to the Conference on Law and Happiness, 37 J. Legal Stud. S1 (2008) (with Cass Sunstein)

New Foundations of Cost–Benefit Analysis : A Reply to Professors Sinden, Kysar, and Driesen, 3 Regulation & Governance 72 (2009) (with Matthew Adler)

Judicial Evaluations and Information Forcing: Ranking State High Courts and their Judges, 58 Duke L. J. 1313 (2009) (with Stephen Choi and Mitu Gulati)

Fault in Contract Law, 107 Mich. L. Rev. 1431 (2009) 

Crisis Governance in the Administrative State: 9/11 and the Financial Meltdown of 2008, 76 U. Chi. L. Rev. 1613 (2009) (with Adrian Vermeule)