ILA Cypriot Branch Press Release: ILA 77th Biennial Conference 2016

ILA Cypriot Branch Press Release - ILA 77th Biennial Conference 2016 >7-11 August 2016, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa

 

>  The 77th biennial conference of the International Law Association (ILA) took place this year at the Sandton Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa over the span of five days: 7 to 11 August 2016. This was the first time that the Cypriot Branch ever participated in a biennial conference, given its recent establishment. The Cypriot Branch was represented by its President, Alexia Solomou, and one of its members, Diana Louise Constantinidou.   More than 200 delegates took part at this conference from approximately 40 different branches of the ILA. To name but a few of the distinguished speakers: Judge Navi Pillay, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Professor Christof Heyns, UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, and John Dugard, former Special Rapporteur to the Human Rights Council on the Human Rights Situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.   The ILA Biennial conference covered a wide variety of topics in different formats: from a conversation with Albie Sachs, former Judge at the South African Constitutional Court, on transitional justice and a panel discussion on international law, peace and security architecture of the African Union, to an ICC sponsored panel on transparency, integrity and efficiency in arbitration, featuring Lord Mance as a keynote speaker, to a discussion on marine bio-diversity.   A unique feature of ILA biennial conferences is the convening of its study groups and committees. Throughout the conference there were parallel sessions of both study groups, including the ones on preferential trade agreements, and the content & evolution of the rules of interpretation, and committees, including the ones on space law, use of force, and international monetary law. Diana Louise Constantinidou made a presentation in the ILA study group on the use of domestic law principles for the development of international law. All in all, the Cypriot Branch has established invaluable contacts at the 77th biennial conference, and it has planted the seeds for future collaborations with other branches. We look forward to the 78th biennial conference in Australia! Download a PDF version below.