Registration is open for two unique 2021 winter academies. Sign up now to advance your career! The online winter academy on 'Due diligence as master key to responsible business conduct' will take place on January 25-29 2021. Our online winter academy on 'Artificial intelligence & international law' will take place on February 10 - 19 2021. Read more and register here. Scholarships are available for students from lower income countries. Read more here.

[Blog] ‘Meaningful human control over autonomous weapons and International Criminal Law’

In a contribution to international law blog OpinioJuris, Asser researcher Marta Bo writes that international criminal law could provide guidance for operationalising the concept of meaningful human control over lethal autonomous weapons (LAWS). Bo suggests that a treaty obligation on meaningful human control must therefore be adopted and articulated in terms of legal duties to act on individuals. Read more.

Joint initiative: Launch of a Forum of Legal Actors on freedom of expression

On Wednesday December 9, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, UNESCO, Free Press Unlimited and the T.M.C. Asser Instituut jointly launched the Forum of Legal Actors at the World Press Freedom Conference 2020. The initiative should help to create a network of legal actors to support and defend the right to freedom of expression and the safety of journalists. Read more here.

[Lecture series] ‘Method, methodology and critique in international law’

Over 200 people from all over the globe joined and participated in the first edition of the brand new T.M.C. Asser Lecture series on ‘Method, methodology and critique in International Law, with Dimitri van den Meerssche (Asser Instituut) and Wouter Werner (VU Amsterdam). Read more and register here for 2021 editions.

Handover ceremony of unique inter-university programme in Lebanon

For nearly ten years the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) has supported a unique inter-university programme on international criminal law in Lebanon. Eleven Lebanese universities and the T.M.C. Asser Instituut cooperated within the project. The programme has been called ‘the best attempt towards reconciliation in Lebanon’, with more than a thousand students graduating in the last decade. The programme is being continued by the Asser Institute and the International & Transitional Justice Resources Center (ITJRC). Read more here.

Private International Law in Nigeria

Asser researcher Chukwuma Okoli co-authored ‘Private International Law in Nigeria’, which was published in June 2020. It is the first book-length treatise devoted to the full spectrum of private international law issues in Nigeria. Together with Afronomicslaw.org Okoli and his co-author Richard Frimpong Oppong kicked off a symposium on it. Read more here.

20 January 2021
[Workshop series] Workshop 1: International Law and Political Economy
On 20 January 2021 (11.00 CET), the Asser Institute will host the first thematic session in the Lecture and Workshop Series on Method, Methodology and Critique in International Law. This session will focus on the ‘turn’ to political economy in international law and the promise of this approach from the perspective of methodology and critique. Read more and register

25-29 January 2021
[Online winter academy] Doing business right: Due diligence as master key to responsible business conduct
What does it mean to do business right? How can businesses be held accountable for their negative social and environmental impacts throughout their transnational supply chains? And: what are the legal mechanisms that can help steer them towards responsible business conduct? The 2021 online edition of our Doing Business Right winter academy will focus on the function and functioning of due diligence as a central regulatory response to these questions. Read more & register here.

10-19 February 2021
[Online winter academy] Artificial intelligence and international law
This state-of-the-art winter academy will be hosted in an online format and take place over six days, split across two weeks: 10-12 February and 17-19 February. Sign up now to experience an in-depth and interdisciplinary programme which offers a comprehensive overview of AI and international law: from ground notions to complex debates on AI and the rule of law.

22 February 2021
[DILEMA lecture] Remote, autonomous weapons and human agency
On Monday 22 February 2021, Professor Bill Boothby (Australian National University) will deliver a DILEMA Lecture on the topic of ‘Remote, autonomous weapons and human agency’. Register here.