The London Conference on International Law 2022

States in Emergency – International Law at a Time of Reckoning

Date: Monday 10 – Tuesday 11 October 2022
Venue: QEII Centre, London

What is the use of international law and how do we engage with it? Over the last few years, the focus appears to have been on disengagement. Yet, at the same time, international courts and tribunals are busier than ever before, while domestic courts have an increasing engagement with international legal issues. Likewise, international law features to a greater extent than ever before in the conduct of public life and debate.

In 2019 the inaugural London Conference on International Law brought together international law academics, judges, practitioners, representatives of civil society, business-leaders, and other stakeholders to see how States and all other actors engage with international law. We’re delighted to announce that 2022 marks the return of the London Conference with the theme of States in Emergency – International Law at a Time of Reckoning. The Conference will take place at the QEII centre, London, on October 10-11, 2022

People at any point of human history may be excused for thinking that they live in a time of crisis or find themselves in the midst of some emergency: political, economic, security, health, environmental. It is however characteristic of the current stage of human development that we actually find ourselves in a crisis seemingly spanning the whole gamut of potential crises—an overarching crisis, if you will.

The 2022 London Conference on International Law will examine the opportunities and challenges that this moment of truth presents, and will endeavour to answer the following central questions: what is the role of international law in dealing with such crises and emergencies, but equally: what is the impact of these circumstances on the international legal order as a whole? In other words: is international law fit for purpose when faced with crises—and do crises help shape a more responsive international law?

Register your delegate place here, follow the LCIL2022 Twitter feed and bookmark this page for the latest updates on speakers and content.

Organisations participating in this conference:

Who can you expect to network with at the London Conference on International Law 2022?

• Barristers specialising in international law, including from 3 Hare Court, 3 Verulam Buildings (Gold Sponsor), 9 Bedford Row, Doughty Street Chambers, Essex Court Chambers (Co-Convenor and Silver Sponsor), Garden Court North Chambers, Six Pump Court, Temple Garden Chambers (Bronze Sponsor) and Twenty Essex (Co-Convenor and Silver Sponsor)

• International law and policy institutions, including the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (Co-Convenor), the International Law Association (Co-Convenor), Chatham House (Co-Convenor) and the Foreign Policy Centre

• International lawyers in Government, including from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Defence (as well as speakers from the Attorney General’s Office and GCHQ)

• International humanitarian organisations and NGOs, including the British Red Cross (Silver Sponsor) and the Accountability Unit (as well as speakers from the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Global Justice Centre and Freedom from Torture)

• UK universities, including the University of Oxford (Co-Convenor), Kings College London (Co-Convenor), the Universities of Nottingham (Academic Sponsor), Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Leicester and Sheffield, LSE, City Law School and SOAS (as well as speakers from the Universities of Essex, Glasgow, Lincoln, Oxford, KCL and University College London)

• International academics and students, including from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Freiburg, the Geneva Graduate Institute, University College Utrecht and the University of Paris Panthéon-Assas (as well as speakers from the Universities of Notre Dame, Oslo and Angers)

• Law firms specialising in international law, including Clifford Chance LLP (Gold Sponsor), Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, Fietta LLP (Gold Sponsor), Foley Hoag LLP (Silver Sponsor), Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP (Silver sponsor), Herbert Smith Freehills LLP (Gold Sponsor), Hogan Lovells, Latham & Watkins LLP (Gold Sponsor), Linklaters LLP (Bronze Sponsor), Van Bael & Bellis, and Withers LLP (Bronze Sponsor)

• High Commission and diplomatic representatives and officials

• International organisations, inter-government institutions, and international courts and tribunals, including the World Trade Organization, the Commonwealth Secretariat (Co-Convenor), the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (as well as speakers from the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, the International Tribunal for Law of the Sea and the International Law Commission)

> Register your delegate place here to join them at the conference

Topics for discussion at this conference include:

• Addressing the climate emergency: from COPs to courts
• Investor-state dispute settlement and states in emergency
• International criminal law and the politics of impunity
• Human and collective security
• International settlement of disputes in a time of crises
• At a crossroads: jurisdiction and enforcement at sea
• Protection of human rights during crises
• Formation and development of international law in times of emergency
• International economic law in an enduring period of economic crisis
• Legal and political reactions to crises: the role of sanctions
• Ethical challenges to the legal profession in situations of emergency
• Cyberwarfare and other challenges to the law of armed conflict

> View the conference progamme here