The International Society for Military Law and the Law of War, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Royal Higher Institute for Defence (Belgium) are pleased to host the first Flanders Fields Conference of Military Law and the Law of War. This international conference will be hosted by the historical city of Ypres (Belgium) October 12 - 15, 2014, and forms part of the activities commemorating the centenary of the outbreak of World War I. The event also enjoys the institutional support of the Institute for International Affairs of the University of Hamburg, as well as the Melbourne Law School and the Asia-Pacific Centre for Military Law. The conference is built around 4 themes: - Legal and policy issues associated with chemical weapons; - The application of international humanitarian law in the conduct of hostilities; - The protection of specific groups in situations of armed conflict; and - Military justice in difficult circumstances. This conference will bring together experts (military and civilian legal advisors, commanders and other operational experts, academics, magistrates, policy makers etc.) from a wide variety of countries to discuss lessons learned from the past, and associated contemporary challenges in the field of military law and international humanitarian law. The language of the Conference will be English. The program will pay due attention to the devastating war fighting that started 100 years ago in the area of Ypres, and will also include some older and more recent elements of military history. The outline of the program will be published on the website of the International Society for Military Law and the Law of War. The conference is also designed to offer ample professional networking opportunities.
