Annual lecture

Professor Nathalie Tocci, Professor of Practice at Johns Hopkins University SAIS, Senior Fellow at the Institute for European Policymaking at Bocconi University (IEP@BU), and independent non-executive director of the multi-utility company Acea, will deliver the 11th T.M.C. Asser Annual Lecture. The lecture, which will address whether Europe is undergoing a fundamental redefinition of its global identity and the consequences of relinquishing the normative commitments that have long underpinned its international role, will take place on Thursday 26 November 2026.

Professor Joyeeta Gupta, winner of the prestigious Spinoza Prize and a leading global voice on climate and environmental governance, will deliver the 10th T.M.C. Asser Annual Lecture. The lecture, which will address the need for abandoning fossil fuel and the role of social movements and independent courts providing access to climate justice, will take place on Wednesday 26 November 2025.

On 25 April 2024, Professor Johns’ lecture will explore the concept of ‘community’ in today's international law, especially in the context of humanitarianism. As technology has radically changed the ways in which we connect, communicate, share values with each other, exercise power, and engage in conflict, the concept of ‘community’ in international law is once more in contention. Seats are limited, so please register now! Read the full programme. 

The 8th Annual T.M.C. Asser Lecture titled ‘The right to food, violence, and food systems’ was delivered by Michael Fakhri, UN Rapporteur on Food, in the Academy Hall, Peace Palace, The Hague. During the lecture, he examined forms of violence in food systems, to allow for a better understanding of how food systems operate and to reframe how the right to food is addressed in international law.

On the 24th of February 2022, the post-war international order ended, as did the 1989 peace dividend. A major nuclear power Russia, invaded its neighbour Ukraine, targeting civilians, reducing urban centres to a rubble and triggering a major displacement of people in Europe. For the European Union (EU) and the wider community of democracies, this is a critical juncture with implications for the security and political economy architecture of Europe and the wider world for decades to come.

On Thursday 28 November 2019, Prof. Anne Orford (Melbourne Law School) delivered the Fifth T.M.C. Asser Lecture on "International law and the social question", at the Academy Hall of the Peace Palace, The Hague.

On 29 November 2018, Prof. Martti Koskenniemi (University of Helsinki/Erik Castrén Institute of International Law and Human Rights) delivered the Fourth T.M.C. Asser Lecture on "International Law and the Far Right: Reflections on Law and Cynicism", at the Academy Hall of the Peace Palace, The Hague.

On 30 November 2017, Prof. Saskia Sassen (Columbia University/London School of Economics) delivered the Third T.M.C. Asser Lecture on "When the law cannot recognise extreme injustice even if it affects millions", at the Academy Hall of the Peace Palace, The Hague.

On 8 December 2016, Onora O'Neill (University of Cambridge/House of Lords, UK) delivered the Second T.M.C. Asser Lecture on "Accountable Institutions, Trustworthy Cultures", at the Gotische Zaal in The Hague.

On 2 December 2015, Prof. Joseph Weiler (European University Institute/NYU School of Law) delivered the Inaugural Annual T.M.C. Asser Lecture on “Peace in the Middle East: has International Law failed?”, at the Academy Hall of the Peace Palace, The Hague.