HLS PILAC Website Privacy Policy
The Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict (HLS PILAC) is an academic institution engaged in research, primarily related to international law concerning armed conflict. Students, staff, and other personnel may engage in active online research projects that collect information of various kinds from users. HLS PILAC is committed to respecting and protecting personal privacy. We are also committed to conducting our work in as open and transparent a process as possible. Those users who do not wish to expose any personal information should not provide it, or should consider using anonymizing services where possible.
Personal Information
The HLS PILAC website collects and records information about you to perform research, improve usability of the site, and to administer mailing lists, online communities, events, and conferences. Depending on the context, this information may include personal names, e-mail addresses, and mailing addresses. The amount of personal information collected by projects supported by HLS PILAC varies, depending on the particular project. Accordingly, the privacy policy that applies to any specific project supersedes this general policy, so be sure to check whether a project has its own policy.
Usage Data
When you browse, read, or download information on our website, we collect only limited, anonymous data. For instance, our web server may record the numerical Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer you are using; information about your browser and operating system; date and time of access; and the internet address and page which linked (referred) you to our site. In addition, we analyze traffic to HLS PILAC site in various ways, including using a service called Squarespace Analytics and a service called Google Analytics. (Squarespace Analytics is subject to the privacy policy of Squarespace, which you can find on their website. Google Analytics is subject to the privacy policy of Google, Inc., which you can find on their website.) We use this information to generate statistics and measure site activity to improve the usefulness of the site to our visitors.
We collect the IP addresses of visitors, time of access, browser type, and web pages visited. We collect this information on an aggregate basis only. For example, we track which pages are most popular among visitors as a whole. We do not track information on which pages an individual user visits. We do not collect any other information without your knowledge and permission. If you search the site, your search requests may be logged. We use this information to measure the number of visitors to different sections of the site, diagnose and correct system errors, perform research, and improve the usability of the site
Cookies
Some projects hosted by HLS PILAC use web cookies. Cookies are a mechanism by which a web server and a web browser can jointly “remember” information within or between browsing sessions. The web server sends a cookie containing some information to your browser, which may record it on your hard drive. When you next visit the website, that cookie is sent back to the web server. Cookies are useful because they can be used to improve the user experience. However, cookies have been subject to criticism because they can be used as a mechanism for invisibly gathering information about user’s browsing habits for marketing purposes.
HLS PILAC uses cookies to improve the user experience within the context of a single browser session. Cookies may contain a “key,” so that you do not need to login every time you visit a new page. Remember, if you are using a public computer, and you fail to log out or quit the browser after you finish your session, another person may be able to access your account.
Links to Independent Websites
Pages hosted by the HLS PILAC website may link to independently-run web sites outside of the law.harvard.edu domain. Harvard is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of such web sites.
Disclosure of Information to Harvard University Administration and to Law Enforcement Available log records, and all stored data may be accessed by our system administrators. The system administrators may produce these records and data to the Administrative Dean, Dean of Students, or the Administrative Board, upon request or suspected violation of our terms of use. It is Harvard’s policy to cooperate with law enforcement officials in the detection, investigation, and prosecution of unlawful activity. If we receive a warrant or subpoena for user information, we may disclose requested records to law enforcement authorities or outside parties seeking information through the legal process.
In the event that we are required by law (including a court order) to disclose the information you submit, we will provide you with notice (unless we are prohibited) that a request for your information has been made so that you may object to the disclosure. We will send this notice by email to the address you have given us. We prefer to independently object to over-broad requests for access to information about users of our site, but we cannot assure you that we will be able to do this in all cases. If you do not challenge the disclosure request yourself, we may be legally required to turn over your information.
Children’s Privacy
HLS PILAC website content is intended for adults and we will not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 years old. If you are a parent or legal guardian of a child under age 13 who you believe has submitted personal information to a site hosted by the HLS PILAC, please contact us immediately.
Changes to this Policy
We retain the right to make changes, in our sole discretion, to this Privacy Policy. We will post any updated policies to the HLS PILAC’s primary web site in an accessible place.
Contacting Us
If you have any questions about this privacy statement or the general terms of use of the site, you may contact us by email at pilac@law.harvard.edu or by post to:
Director
Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict
1545 Massachusetts Ave., Langdell 175J
Cambridge, MA 02138
Last updated: May 22, 2018