The Royal Asiatic Society in London, England recently named a prize in honor of Maine Law Professor Charles H. Norchi, the Benjamin Thompson Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Oceans and Coastal Law. The award will be conferred annually for the publication of a book about Afghanistan.
The Charles H. Norchi Prize recognizes his significant contributions to the body of work about Afghanistan and his later work as a human rights lawyer, serving as Director of the Independent Counsel on International Human Rights, working with the Committee for a Free Afghanistan and as Executive Director of the International League for Human Rights.
Beginning in the 1980s, Norchi worked in Afghanistan as a journalist, reporting on many facets of the Soviet-Afghan War including internally displaced peoples, foreign policy, humanitarian crises, and more.
“Most of us, the newcomers and the seasoned, stayed at Dean’s Hotel,” Norchi said, recalling what life was like as a journalist during these tumultuous and unstable times. “Among the noteworthy perennial residents were Louis Dupree, who as a young Princeton professor had published Afghanistan, and his wife, Nancy, who was also an accomplished anthropologist. They patiently tutored the newly arrived and counseled the seasoned.”
These experiences deepened Norchi’s interest in law and international affairs, especially as he navigated the tenuous new borders between Afghanistan and India (later Pakistan) and the precarious state of regional politics. After his many years working in the region, Norchi received his J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law, followed by an LL.M. and J.S.D. from Yale Law School.
“I am honored and humbled to follow in their footsteps by having my name associated with this Prize and wish to thank Dr. James J. Busuttil, who catalyzed this initiative. In addition to recognizing and promoting serious work on Afghanistan, the hope is that this Prize will shed yet another light on the plight of the Afghan people,” Norchi added.
Norchi’s work is still deeply rooted in parsing the often messy tenets of international law and regulation, although for many years his region of interest has been the Arctic, where most of his research is now focused.
“Professor Norchi is the cornerstone of our Arctic Law program here at Maine Law and brings with him a wealth of knowledge from his experiences in Afghanistan and beyond,” Maine Law President and Dean Leigh Saufley said. “We congratulate him on this substantial honor. It is always gratifying to see our exceptional faculty recognized for their outstanding contributions to their fields and the legal profession.”
