Overview
Each October, the American Branch presents International Law Weekend (ILW) in New York City. This two-and-a-half-day conference features over 30 panels, and many of the world’s leading international lawyers and diplomats participate. In recent years, keynote luncheon speakers have included the president of the American Society of International Law and the Legal Adviser to the U.S. Department of State. Gala receptions have been hosted by the Finnish, Belgian, British, and Singapore missions to the United Nations.
Recent ILWs have attracted an audience of over 1,200 practitioners, academics, U.N. diplomats, business leaders, federal and state government officials, NGO leaders, journalists, students, and interested citizens. Registration for ILW is very reasonably priced as a service to our members. It is free for students. Sponsorship by law firms, universities, and interested practitioners is welcomed and recognized.
Save the date: ILW 2024 will take place October 24-26 in New York City!
International Law Weekend 2024:
Powerless Law or Law for the Powerless?
ILW 2024 will take place October 24-26, 2024 in New York City.
The unifying theme for ILW 2024 is Powerless law or law for the powerless?, as follows:
International law faces an existential threat as history unfolds at unprecedented speed worldwide. Indeed, international law and international institutions at times appear incapable of protecting vulnerable persons against war, disease, hunger, exploitation, climate change, and other human and natural catastrophes. Some people–both individually and collectively–are openly eschewing legal values and frameworks in order to pursue results through other means, including dangerous and destabilizing ones. Is international law, in fact, powerless or does it remain a source of power that vulnerable persons can utilize to protect and advance their rights and interests? This year’s ILW is focused on engaged, interactive, and inclusive discussions about how international law can transcend perceptions and misperceptions of its powerlessness and fulfill its aspirations of balancing power through principles of justice, equality, and dignity.
The call for proposals has been published – find further details here. Panel proposals are accepted until April 15, 2024 May 1, 2024. Calls for Student Ambassadors and Emerging Voices will be published later in the year.
Dedication: In honor of the 100th anniversary of the 1924 Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child, ILW 2024 is dedicated to the promise of the Declaration’s preamble recognizing that humanity owes to children the best that we have to give.
Organizing Committee
Members ILW 2024
Warren Binford, Co-Chair
Madaline George, Co-Chair
Frédéric Sourgens, Co-Chair
Dianne Amann
Michael Garcia Bochenek
Chloe Baldwin
Christine Carpenter
Rez Gardi
Preston Lim
Asaf Lubin
Viren Mascarenhas
Jessica Peake
Douglas Pivnichny
Hadley Rose Staley
Achinthi Vithinage
Elisabeth Wickeri
Naomi Rothenberg, student representative
Freya Doughty-Wagner, ex officio
Julia Liston, ex officio
Leila Sadat, ex officio
Michael Scharf, ex officio
For questions regarding ILW that are not covered in our FAQ, please contact: [email protected].
International Law Weekend 2023:
Beyond International Law
ILW 2023 was held October 19-21, 2023 in New York City.
The unifying theme for ILW 2023 was Beyond International Law, as follows:
International law is at a crossroads. While there have been many successes, the system’s shortcomings still remain visible, exposed by prolonged armed conflicts, a lack of accountability for atrocities, a global pandemic followed by an economic downturn, and entrenched economic and social inequalities exacerbated by the disastrous effects of climate change. The time is ripe for the international legal community to consider what lies beyond current international law. If existing legal solutions fall short, how can international lawyers and leaders effectively harness their creativity to tackle the complex challenges of today? How does international law interface with other disciplines that also seek to promote peace and equality, such as domestic law, diplomacy, trade, social change movements, and global solidarity initiatives? How can international law adapt to become more effective in responding to the world’s shifting crises? ILW 2023 encourages participants to think beyond international law.
ILW 2023 explored these issues through a diverse set of engaging and provocative panels, plenary sessions, and keynote addresses. As in prior years, we had nearly 2,000 registrants. The program included a broad array of both public international law and private international law topics in each time slot, all of which offered CLE at no additional cost. The Weekend also included networking opportunities for both professionals and students, social events, and award ceremonies, as well as the 101st Members Meeting.
Plenary and Keynote Speakers Included:
- Ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed Saif Al Thani, Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations
- Maxine Burkett, Assistant Director for Climate, Ocean, and Equity, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
- Judge Gatti Santana, President, International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals
- Gregory Shaffer, Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of International Law, Georgetown University Law Center; President, American Society of International Law
- Christopher Ward SC, Immediate Past President & Vice President, International Law Association
Organizing Committee Members ILW 2023
William Aceves, Co-Chair
Floriane Lavaud, Co-Chair
Milena Sterio, Co-Chair
Carolina Arlota
David Attanasio
Emily Behzadi
Amity Boye
Jovana Crncevic
Yvonne Dutton
Martin Flaherty
Rachel López
Yaw Otu Mankata Nyampong
Lisa Reinsberg
Jennifer Trahan
Federico Wynter
Alyssa Yamamoto
Madaline George, Chief Operating Officer
Leila Sadat, ex officio
Michael Scharf, ex officio
International Law Weekend 2022: The Next 100 Years of International Law
ILW 2022 was held October 20-22, 2022 in New York City. A recap is available here.
The unifying theme for ILW 2022, held during ABILA’s centennial year, was The Next 100 Years of International Law, as follows:
On the occasion of ABILA’s centennial anniversary, International Law Weekend 2022 invites reflection on the past and future of international law. Which foundations from the last century of international law should remain in the next century, and which should be reimagined? Today, the international legal order faces extraordinary challenges—threats to the peace, persistent economic and social inequalities, environmental and global health risks, and populist isolationism. Yet there are also many ways that international law has succeeded over the past century in resolving differences, keeping the peace, protecting human rights, and facilitating human flourishing. Present circumstances offer the opportunity to reevaluate the core features of international law. ABILA’s centennial ILW explores the areas of international law that offer robust solutions, and those that require reinvention.
ILW 2022 explored these issues through a diverse program of 35 panels, three keynote addresses, and a High-Level Opening Plenary. The Weekend included many networking opportunities for both professionals and students, social events, and award ceremonies, as well as the 100th Members Meeting. ILW 2022 also featured a Centennial Gala on Thursday, October 22 at White & Case LLP, with a keynote address by Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf of the International Court of Justice.
Additional keynote and plenary speakers included H.E. Dr. Fatou Bensouda (Gambia High Commissioner to The United Kingdom and the Commonwealth); Mr. Miguel de Serpa Soares (UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs); Justice Richard Goldstone (former Justice, Constitutional Court of South Africa; former Chief Prosecutor, UN International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda); H.E. Ambassador Beth Van Schaack (US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice); Dr. Christopher Ward (immediate past President of the International Law Association); and Judge Ganna Yuriyivna Yudkivsk (former Judge on the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Ukraine).