International law-making is focus of conference

26 June 2015

Participants, processes and principles in international law-making as focus of conference

Academics, practitioners and NGO and government experts on the law of armed conflict, use of force, private international law and financial regulation are among the speakers at an upcoming conference hosted by the New Zealand Centre for Public Law at Victoria University of Wellington.

Attorney-General and Victoria Faculty of Law alumnus Hon Christopher Finlayson will speak at the opening session of the 23rd Annual Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law (ANZSIL) which will take place from Thursday 2 to Saturday 4 July.

Although states have traditionally been the main subjects of international law, new actors, processes and fora have been involved in the creation of international standards in recent decades. These innovative efforts at engaging in and making sense of legal diplomacy raise significant questions about the legitimacy, accountability, effectiveness and nature of international law.

The conference will explore the theoretical and practical challenges these efforts pose to law-making in the broad fields of private and public international law, says Alberto Costi, Associate Professor at the School of Law.

“We are delighted to host this conference, which is recognised as the annual gathering of international lawyers not only from the region but also from further afield, as shown by the affiliations of the speakers.”

The following keynote speakers will address the conference:
· Professor Douglas Arner, Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong—The new silk road: all roads lead to China?
· Sir Kenneth Keith, Professor Emeritus, Victoria University of Wellington—International humanitarian law: principles, problems and prospects
· Professor Mary Keyes, Griffith Law School, Griffith University—Making private international law in the 21st century: participants, processes and principles
· Professor Gerry Simpson, Kenneth Bailey Professor of Law, University of Melbourne—Mutually assured construction: international law and the Cold War

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