2020 Grotius Lecture: The Promise of International Law: A Third World View

The Society's 114th Annual Meeting—and first Virtual Annual Meeting—took place June 25–26, 2020. The 2020 Annual Meeting theme, "The Promise of International Law," was an opportunity to reflect on the successes and failures of international law, while reaffirming our commitment to achieving its promise of a more just and peaceful world.

Sponsored by the American University Washington College of Law

This is a moment of repudiation of international law. Some of the leading States that have shaped international law are not only exiting treaties, but also openly declaring and operating outside its rules. One important way to trace the promise of international law at this moment of difficulty is to go outside the beltway of our discipline to places often unfamiliar in our textbooks and the locations where we practice and teach international law. To do that, this lecture will take you to places like Arusha, Tanzania, the seat of three international courts. In doing so, it will bring into the conversation the voices of international lawyers from the Third World and the everyday issues that drive their practice and scholarship often under very difficult political circumstances.

FEATURING
James Gathii, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, 2020 Grotius Lecturer
Fleur Johns, University of New South Wales School of Law, 2020 Grotius Distinguished Discussant

(Speaker organizations are shown as of June 2020)