ILA Committees
The objectives of the ILA are primarily pursued through the substantive work of its international committees. There are currently 19 committees on topics as diverse as International Tax Law, Global Health Law, Space Law, and the Rights of Nature.
A Committee is established to assist the ILA in the realisation of its objectives of studying, clarifying and developing international law, both public and private, and the furtherance of international understanding and respect for international law, by bringing together members with relevant expertise to carry out research, surveys and investigations on selected areas of international law and to prepare reports for consideration by the membership and other interested parties at the biennial conferences and recommendations for adoption by the Conference Plenary.
Committees are established with a mandate in the first instance of 4 years. On the recommendation of the Director of Studies, the Executive Council may renew the mandate, in its original form or with amendments, for further periods of up to 4 years.
Membership of the Committees is open to persons nominated by their Branch in accordance with the nomination process. They must have sufficient expertise in the subject of the Committee in question, either as academics or practitioners. They must be able and willing to contribute actively to the work of the Committee, in particular by participating in Committee meetings, responding to questionnaires and providing input into circulated drafts.
Branches may also nominate one alternate for each appointed member. The role of alternate should be used to enable younger members of the ILA to participate in its work.
The nomination form is available here and this must be completed by the Branch and the nominee. The signed form must be submitted to ILA HQ, together with a copy of a recent CV of the nominee no later than 6 weeks in advance of the next ILA Executive Council meeting (usually May and November).
A copy of the current ILA Committee Rules and Guidelines is available to download - Committee Rules & Guidelines 2024
Index of Current Committees
The ILA Committee will initially focus on the most frequently quoted examples of the application of
the abuse of rights doctrine. Besides academic writings, the concept of abuse
of rights also appears in numerous international conventions or agreements
(e.g. in Article 17 of the ECHR, Article 29 of...
- Start Date
- May 16, 2024
- Contact
- Prof Marie Lemey (Co-chair)
The aim of the ILA Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution is to raise awareness of ADR’s potential contribution to international law. This Committee will work to establish common definitions of ADR procedures, and call attention to disputes where the use of ADR could be more efficient and effective...
- Start Date
- May 7, 2022
- Contact
- Prof Serena Forlati
Building on the idea of “foundational” issues, the ILA Committee on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Technology Law aims to move beyond the traditional responsive approach of addressing specific consequences of AI (e.g., algorithmic bias or privacy violations) to examine the broader ways in which AI...
- Start Date
- May 21, 2025
- Contact
- Sheikh Sultan Aadil Huque
The purpose of the ILA Committee on Business and Human Rights is to study and analyse developments in international, transnational and domestic legal systems with regards to state and corporate obligations in the field of human rights and business and concerning access to remedies and justice of victims...
- Start Date
- Nov 16, 2023
- Contact
- Professor Marcus Krajewski
The ILA Committee is focused on domestic courts' interpretation and application of international norms concerning diplomatic and consular immunities, privileges, and inviolabilities. Presently, domestic judicial decisions on international law matters surpass international courts' rulings. Domestic courts'...
- Start Date
- Nov 16, 2023
- Contact
- Professor Aziz Tuffi Saliba (Chair)
The ILA committee on conflict-of-laws issues in international arbitration (the “Committee”) aims to foster a harmonious approach to conflict of laws – or private international law, as it is often called – at both the state and the arbitral level. This harmonisation will contribute to the development...
- Start Date
- Nov 28, 2024
- Contact
- Dr Nikolaus Pitkowitz
The Committee will continue the work commenced by the
Study Group on Cross-Border Violations of Children’s Rights. The Children’s
Rights Study Group completed and submitted its report, Enforcing the Rights
of Children in Migration in May 2021. The work of the Study Group is now ready to be expanded
and...
- Start Date
- May 7, 2022
- Contact
- Professor Warren Bindford
The ILA Committee on the Contributions of International Law to the Global Sustainable Development Goals and the Post-2030 Agenda (Committee on International Law for the SDGs) will pursue a work programme to analyse how international law can support current efforts in treaty regimes, international tribunals...
- Start Date
- Nov 28, 2024
- Contact
- Prof Marie Cordonnier Seggier
This Committee will pursue a work program with the objective of developing recommendations on key issues relating to the international legal regulation of migration, and with the further objective of establishing international migration law as a recognized field of international law, bringing together...
- Start Date
- May 8, 2021
- Contact
- Professor Vasilka Sancin
The Committee on International Monetary Law of the International Law Association (MOCOMILA) is dedicated to the study of legal aspects of money, payments, currency and financial stability.In particular the Committee's work includes the following topics:International financial standards:Procedural aspects...
- Start Date
- May 1, 1952
- Contact
- Professor Chiara Zilioli
To follow
- Start Date
- Nov 15, 2008
- Contact
- Professor Claudia Lima Marques
The Committee for International Tax Law of the International Law Association aims to bridge the gap between public international lawyers and international tax lawyers by addressing the issues that the international tax law discourse confronts from the perspective of public international law and using...
- Start Date
- Nov 14, 2020
- Contact
- Advocate General Juliane Kokott
International space law is composed of five United Nations space treaties that lay the foundations for space exploration and use by humans. However, in an effort to prevent technology from outdating the treaties in a sector where technology and law are closely interlinked, the language of the treaties...
- Start Date
- May 21, 2025
- Contact
- Prof Stephan Hobe
The ILA Committee
on Protection of People at Sea will address the emerging
issue of how to protect all people who are at sea and their
human rights. In its first 4 years, it will focus on the jurisdiction
of States for the purpose
of protecting people at sea. The Committee
will in particular address the following
three...
- Start Date
- Jun 18, 2023
- Contact
- Prof Natalie Klein
The Committee of the International Law Association (ILA) on Rights of Nature (the RoN Committee) aims to study the evolving law in this field and contribute to the further development of international law addressing rights of nature through developing common principles, general guidelines and concrete...
- Start Date
- Nov 28, 2024
- Contact
- Philippe Cullet
This
new Committee has three key objectives: first, to conduct a gap analysis of the
international legal regime addressing the safeguarding of cultural heritage
from the effects of armed conflicts; second, to identify good practices
stemming from past efforts to redress the harm caused to cultural heritage;...
- Start Date
- Jun 18, 2023
- Contact
- Prof Andrzej Jakubowski
The Committee will study and clarify how existing international law develops and is developed in urban contexts and in turn why and how cities participate at the level of international law and governance. The Committee aims to help shed light on whether fundamental concepts of international law are...
- Start Date
- Nov 16, 2023
- Contact
- Helmut Aust
Index of Former Committees
The Committee will focus upon the theoretical aspects of state succession, and in particular on the relationship between state succession, identity and continuity of States. It also intends to check the criteria of the identity/succession and typology of the succession.
- Start Date
- Apr 1, 1994
- End Date
- Nov 1, 2008
- Contact
- Professor Gerhard Hafner
This committee currently has two projects: the first, an on-going one, is to monitor developments related to the UNESCO Convention on Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, which is based on the Buenos Aires Draft Convention of the same name that was drafted by our committee and approved by...
- Start Date
- Nov 1, 1988
- End Date
- Nov 12, 2016
- Contact
- Professor James A. R. Nafziger
The Committee on Feminism and International Law has produced a Preliminary Report in 2002 and an Interim Report in 2004 on Women and Migration. The first two Reports dealt with various aspects of gender in refugee law and trafficking in women. The third Report's main focus will be on aspects of purely...
- Start Date
- Apr 1, 1992
- End Date
- Nov 6, 2010
- Contact
- Justice Sujata V Manohar
Historically, the issues arising in international civil litigation have largely been premised on the commercial nature of that litigation. The challenges of cross-border dealings and the disputes that arose from them were such that it was generally assumed that litigation would be pursued only by sophisticated...
- Start Date
- Nov 1, 2004
- End Date
- Nov 10, 2012
- Contact
- Professor Catherine Kessedjian
At the 2004 Berlin Conference, the Committee presented its Interim Report on Res Judicata in International Commercial Arbitration. The Committee is presently completing its study of res judicata, and has started a study of lis pendens. It intends to present a final report on these two topics in Toronto...
- Start Date
- May 1, 1989
- End Date
- Nov 6, 2010
- Contact
- Professor Filip De Ly
In its First Report, presented in Berlin, the ICC Cttee dealt with the UN Security Council Resolutions which blocked the ICC's jurisdiction over nationals of non-State Parties twice for 12 Months, and with the attempts of the US to convince other States to enter into bilateral immunity agreements under...
- Start Date
- Nov 1, 2000
- End Date
- Nov 6, 2010
- Contact
- Professor Torsten Stein
The 2004 Berlin Conference requested the Committee to initiate a study on the relationship between general public international law and the international law of human rights. The Committee submitted an interim report on this theme to the 2006 Toronto Conference. The Committee will submit a final report...
- Start Date
- Nov 1, 1997
- End Date
- Nov 15, 2008
- Contact
- Professor Martin Scheinin
This Committee was formed in May 2003. MandateBiotechnology regulation cuts accross many areas of law, public, private, national, regional and international. The Committee would seek to focus on aspects of international law of biotechnology regulation, and take national regulations into account to...
- Start Date
- May 1, 2003
- End Date
- Nov 6, 2010
- Contact
- Professor Thomas Cottier
This committee was formed in May 2003.MandateThe task of the Committee will be to study both the substantive and procedural aspects of the law governing foreign investment. Among the substantive questions will be the regulation of admission, standards of treatment, performance requirements, direct and...
- Start Date
- May 1, 2003
- End Date
- Nov 1, 2008
- Contact
- Professor Christoph Schreuer
Committee formed May 2003.MandateThe objective of the Committee is to study the legal status and legal implementation of sustainable development. For this purpose the Committee’s mandate includes: - assessment of the legal status of principles and rules of international law in the field of sustainable...
- Start Date
- May 1, 2003
- End Date
- Nov 10, 2012
- Contact
- Professor Nicolaas J Schrijver
The world trading system has evolved not only into the most “legalized” area of international relations. It is also widely perceived as the most important legal and institutional framework for creating the welfare needed for poverty reduction, satisfaction of basic development needs and peaceful international...
- Start Date
- May 1, 1992
- End Date
- Oct 18, 2014
The Committee on Nuclear Weapons, Non-proliferation & Contemporary International Law has prepared an agreed Work Plan based on its mandate, along with an interactive Table of Treaties and Other International Instruments. The Committee has hosted three Round Table events and delivered its Report...
- Start Date
- Nov 1, 2006
- End Date
- Jun 24, 2022
- Contact
- Professor Jonathan L Black-Branch
This Committee was established in 2000. Its mandate is to study the regime of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured. Under article 76 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, coastal States have...
- Start Date
- Nov 1, 2000
- End Date
- Nov 6, 2010
- Contact
- Judge Dolliver Nelson
This Committee was formed in May 2003The first project of the Committee is that of stock-taking--a general survey of theories and practices relating to compensation for victims of war. The result is a 49-page Background Report prepared by Professor Rainer Hofmann, Co-Rapporteur, and Dr. Frank Riemann...
- Start Date
- May 1, 2003
- End Date
- Oct 18, 2014
- Contact
- Professor Natalino Ronzitti
IntroductionOne of the most notable features of the contemporary international system has been the emergence of Indigenous peoples as distinct subjects of concern. This has been largely due to their own advocacy at the international level over the last three decades.Indigenous communities have generated...
- Start Date
- Jun 1, 2006
- End Date
- Nov 10, 2012
- Contact
- Professor Siegfried Wiessner
In June 2006, in Toronto, the Committee submitted its Second Report on “Legal Aspects of the Privatisation and Commercialisation of Space Activities: Remote Sensing (RS) and National Space Legislation (NSL)” to the 72nd Conference of the ILA. During the Toronto working session special attention was...
- Start Date
- Aug 1, 1962
- End Date
- Jul 1, 2024
- Contact
- Professor Stephan Hobe
DescriptionThe Committee is working with its members to produce its report for the New Delhi conference. It has asked all its members to provide information on the current status of international law teaching in their home country. It has also sought information on effective methods of teaching international...
- Start Date
- Nov 1, 1998
- End Date
- Nov 6, 2010
To follow
- Start Date
- Nov 15, 2008
- End Date
- Oct 18, 2014
- Contact
- Professor Shinya Murase
Since at least the time of Hugo Grotius and his seminal work, THE LAW OF WAR AND PEACE (1625), international law has been organized around the existence of the two categories he refers to: war and peace. Of course there is no immutable, scientifically-definable line between these socially-constructed...
- Start Date
- May 1, 2005
- End Date
- Nov 6, 2010
- Contact
- Professor Mary Ellen O'Connell