Conference: ASIL Annual Meeting 2015

The 109th Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law will take place April 8-11, 2015, in Washington, DC. The theme is "Adapting to a Rapidly Changing World." Online registration is now open. Here's the idea:

For better or worse, international law is confronting a period of profound change. Geopolitical developments—in particular, new assertions of economic, political, or military power by countries like Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—have simultaneously aggravated latent territorial disputes and created the potential for unprecedented economic integration. Advances in technology have enabled cyber-conflicts and forged new tools for governmental coercion or control, while also facilitating the dissemination of information. Shared environmental challenges have presented new causes of human suffering or conflict, as well as new possibilities for global cooperation and assistance. And the increased role of non-state actors in international affairs has made more vocal the still unfulfilled demands on, for example, the universal recognition of the human rights of LGBT persons, the responsibilities associated with corporate conduct, and the protection of people from mass atrocities.

The 2015 ASIL Annual Meeting will ask how international law is adapting to a rapidly changing world. For example: Are the existing international legal regimes capable of meeting these challenges or will new regimes be required? Through what processes can we expect international law to adapt, and how might new norms emerge in the face of persistent disagreements or holdout problems? How is the legal order responding as the world moves from a unipolar system dominated by the United States to a more multipolar system? And what is the role or relevance of international law where it might be unable to resolve global issues?

The American Society of International Law, with its membership of scholars, practitioners, and students of international law from around the world, will explore these questions at the 2015 Annual Meeting.