THE PROJECT

The French branch of the Association de droit international/International Law Association has been chosen to organize, in Paris, the event associated with the 150th anniversary of the world organization, with 61 national or regional branches located in all continents and more than 4000 members.

The ILA/ADI is a direct result of the peace movement through international law born in the United States of America at the end of the 19th century (1873). Its mandate is to work for the evolution of international law and to propose either new norms or an improvement of existing norms. The creation of the ILA is contemporary to that of the first universal intergovernmental organizations, such as the International Telegraph (now Telecommunication) Union (ITU) in 1865 and the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1874. The same year, in France, Edouard Clunet, created the first professional journal devoted to international law. This journal (Journal du droit international – Clunet) still exists today.

Celebrating 150 years does not mean that we will look back only in retrospect. As the chosen motto suggests, the vision will be forward-looking. What do lawyers say about tomorrow’s world? What are the concerns of our societies for the 21st century? What are the needs of the actors and how do we articulate these needs for a more harmonious global society? These are some of the concerns that will be studied during the year 2023, at a time when one is struck by the limits shown by the organizations inherited from the aftermath of the Second World War.

Because of the pandemic, and the uncertainties weighing on the health and economic situation in 2023, it was decided to extend the anniversary activities throughout the entire year and declare the year 2023 “ILA/ADI Year”.

Throughout 2023, webinars will be organized based on the innovative ideas selected by the Foresight Council and the associated jury and by the White Papers published all through 2022.

The June 2023 event is conceived as a “mid-year review”. The year will end with a closing event in December.

Prior to the pandemic, approximately 700 people were expected to attend the June event. It is quite possible that we should expect only around 400 people.

In order to prepare the scientific content of these days, a vast organization of working groups has already been launched, on the five continents, under the coordination of the Foresight Council, in order to feed back the ideas that will be developed during the webinars and during the June event. These working groups are primarily aimed at the younger generation (PhD students, PhDs, young professionals in all branches of international law). Companies, essential actors of the international society, will be full partners, as well as NGOs and public actors.

The ILA/ADI is committed to ensuring that the panels and webinars present a diversity of gender, age, nationality and, more generally, are representative of society as a whole.