From “Law of Nations” to Law for Humanity? : International Law, Peace and Justice for All

Introduction by the Blog Editor

International law is in a process of transformation which no one can ignore. Since its origins as law governing relations between sovereigns, international law has within the past few decades transformed itself into law governing relations between a wide variety of actors. Today, not only States but also individuals, corporations, inter-governmental organizations and non-governmental organizations are holders of rights and obligations under international law.

The various manifestations of this development, the problems it raises and most importantly, the opportunities it provides for promoting peace and justice within – and not just between - States form the subject of this year’s ILA Conference aptly titled De Iure Humanitatis: Peace, Justice and International law.



The conference brings together over 600 international lawyers (as well as policy makers and academics from other disciplines) to discuss the role of international law in addressing common problems facing humanity.

The wide range of subjects to be discussed at the conference evidence the far reach of international law to matters formerly within the exclusive jurisdiction of nation States. They also highlight attending questions concerning the nature of international law and its relations (and conflicts) with national law.

Among the many issues to be discussed at the conference is the role of international law in financial supervision following the recent world financial crisis. The widespread effects of the crisis on individuals, States and corporations alike had led to calls in certain quarters for the establishment of a World Financial Court to try persons accused of financial crimes. So far the crisis had led to varying national responses which were frantically coordinated by bodies such as the IMF, G20 and EU. It has also led to the adoption of international norms whose legal status is still a subject of contention. It will be interesting to hear the views of the conference on the role of international and comparative law in implementing lessons learnt from the financial crisis.

Also a hot button issue to be discussed at the conference is the impact of the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on peace negotiations. The potential tension between peace and justice before the Court has been illustrated by recent criticisms that the Court's charges against Sudanese President Al-Bashir and Ugandan rebel leaders have impeded peace processes in their countries. At the conference, the Court’s Deputy Prosecutor, Mrs Fatou Bensouda, will exchange views with experts from Africa on the seeming conflict between peace/ reconciliation and international criminal justice.

Other subjects to be discussed by the conference panels include the use of international law in human rights, bankruptcy, contract and other types of  litigation before domestic courts (plaintiffs and defendant's perspectives); the international accountability of government lawyers for advice that leads their governments to violate international law, the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion in the Kosovo Case and its impact on self-determination struggles across the globe, current international law on piracy and the argument that Somali pirates are freedom fighters, the enforceability or otherwise of the Millennium Development Goals and the role of international law in realizing those goals, access to justice at the domestic level and the tension between local and international ideas of justice, the necessity or otherwise of an Organisation for the Prohibition of Biological Weapons (OPBW), the Sudan Abyei Arbitration as an example of international law arbitration as conflict prevention, Islamic finance and in general the role of religion in the making and practicing of law, domestic law limitations to parties’ freedom of choice of applicable law in arbitration and a-national or transnational law as a possible solution thereto, and the newly emerged doctrine of the Responsibility to Protect, its relationship with international law on the use of force and whether the doctrine is yet another tool for western intervention in so-called fragile or failed states.


The conference will also feature Open Working Sessions of the Committees and Study Groups of the ILA on subjects such as Feminism and International Law, Islamic Law and International Law, Space Law, Reparation for Victims of Armed Conflict, International Securities Regulation, International Law on Sustainable Development, Rights of Indigenous People, Legal Principles Relating to Climate Change, the Teaching of International Law, International Civil Litigation and the interests of the public, Cultural Heritage Law, International Commercial Arbitration, International Criminal Court, International Family Law, International Human Rights Law, International Law on Biotechnology, International Protection of Consumers, International Trade Law, Outer Continental Shelf, and Responsibility of International Organizations.

The 2010 ILA conference therefore carries the promise of stimulating and fruitful debates on a wide variety of issues confronting international society today.


This blog gives you the opportunity to follow some of the panel sessions and take part by discussing or commenting on the blog posts. For conference participants who have to chose between different conference sessions holding at the same time, it would be a means of following discussions at sessions you were unable to attend.