The fabric of international law

What tools, materials and/or practices, rarely thought about as primary elements of international legal practice, are nevertheless integral and potentially co-constitutive elements of international law?

International lawyers are regularly faced with the need to interact with practices, tools and materials which are often obscured in their training and scholarship, but that can play a pivotal role in the formation and workings of the ‘family of professions’ that is international law.[1] Think of a member of counsel in a maritime dispute faced with interpreting specialised maritime cartography, or the awareness of the contemporary international lawyer to the growing instantaneity with which they may be expected to respond to international legal developments – whether through open-letters, quick reactionary blog posts and/or a social media presence. In terms of practices, consider how international legal institutions have been shown to rely on management tools, such as strategic plans, audits and mission statements in their everyday functioning, showing the potential for law and management to become ‘…intertwined, reciprocally conditioning and constituting one another.’[2]

This seminar series will explore this entanglement between what we consider to be expected elements of international legal practice, and what many may consider extra-legal factors, to further explore the fabric of international law.

Format:

The series will be held at the T.M.C. Asser Instituut and consist of regular interactive seminars, where academics and practitioners can exchange their research and experiences, reflecting on the role that ‘extra-legal’ tools, materials and practices play in forming the fabric of international law. The seminars will be held in person, with the possibility for speakers to join via video-link when travelling to the institute is not possible.

Attendance is by invitation. Should you wish to join a specific seminar, please send an email with your name, affiliation and a few lines on which seminar from the programme you are interested in joining and why to f.bensadon@asser.nl.

Schedule:

Upcoming events

  • The use of scholarship by international courts
    24 April 2025 | Time TBC
    • Judge Iulia Motoc - Judge at the International Criminal Court  
    • Dr. Niccoló Ridi - Associate Director, Centre for International Governance and Dispute Resolution and Lecturer in Public International Law, King's College London.
    • Dr. Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou – Professor in Human Rights Law and Associate Dean for Internationalisation, University of Liverpool

Past events:

  • Management tools at the International Criminal Court ​
    17 October 2024 | 16:00-17:00
    • Dr Richard Clements - Assistant Professor, Tilburg University ​
    • Dr Thomas Henquet - Senior Legal Adviser and Chief of the Legal Office at the Registry of the International Criminal Court
      ​
  • Between strategy and tactics: litigating the externalisation of migration control
    28 ​November 2024 | 15:00-16:30 ​
    • Zoe Bantleman – Legal Director, Immigration Law Practitioner’s Association
    • Kris van der Pas – Postdoctoral Researcher, Tilburg University
    • Dr Annick Pijnenburg – Assistant Professor, Radboud University
      ​
  • Don't look [down]! The ahistorical space of international law ​
    11 December 2024 | 15:00-16:00
    • Prof Nikolas Rajkovic - Chair of International Law, Tilburg University
    • Florentine Vos - Consultant, Volterra Fietta
    • Prof. Liesbeth Lijnzaad - Endowed Professor, Practice of International Law (part-time), Maastricht University, and judge at the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea

  • Commentary in international law 
    26 February 2025 | 15:00-16:30 
    • Dr. Lianne Boer – Associate Professor, VU Amsterdam
    • drs. Eveline van Trigt – Foreign, comparative and international law librarian, Peace Palace Library

  • Exploring the intersections of international law and time
    11 March 2025 | 15:00 - 16:30
    • Dr Geoff Gordon - Senior Researcher, Asser Institute
    • Dr Eliana Cusato - Assistant Professor, University of Amsterdam
    • Manasa Venkatachalam - Legal Consultant, Blue Ocean Law

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[1] J d’Aspremont, T Gazzini, A Nollkaemper and W Werner, ‘Introduction’ in J d’Aspremont, T Gazzini, A Nollkaemper and W Werner, International Law as a Profession (CUP 2017) 1.

[2] R Clements, The Justice Factory: Management practices at the International Criminal Court (CUP 2024) 10.