2027 Centre for Studies and Research

The 2027 edition of the Centre will focus on “International Law on Mineral Exploration and Mining“.

The Directors of Research will be Professor Diana Correa (Externado University of Colombia) and Professor Arnaud de Nanteuil (Paris-Est Créteil University).  

Registration for the 2027 Centre will be open from 15 July to 1 November 2026.

The study of international law applicable to mining exploration and exploitation is becoming increasingly relevant in the contemporary context, which is characterized by rapidly growing demand for strategic minerals essential to the energy transition, as well as by the profound economic, social, environmental, and political impacts that such activities generate. This field lies at the intersection of various branches of international law that simultaneously apply to a single mining project.

Mining activities increasingly transcend the internal borders of states and pose complex legal challenges related to environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, the sustainable management of natural resources, international responsibility, and the governance of areas located outside national jurisdictions, cross-border exploitation, etc. In this context, international disputes arising from international mining law are particularly prominent in investment arbitration, as well as in other international litigation settings, including decisions by human rights courts and the domestic courts of States applying international laws. Mining activities also raise structural questions regarding the international legal system, being at a crossroad between several chapters of international law (private / public international law, economic / environmental law, treaty / contracts, etc.).

Within this framework, the 2027 Center for Studies and Research at The Hague Academy of International Law will examine how public and private international law should be rethought in relation to mining exploration and exploitation activities. The selected researchers will work collaboratively to address this study through several thematic areas, including:

• The Fragmentation of International Law Applicable to Mining
• Mining as an Instrument of International Geopolitics.
• Sovereignty over natural resources.
• Mineral Resources in Disputed Territories
• International law for the sustainable management of mineral resources located outside state jurisdiction.
• The Prohibition of Mining in Antarctica under International Law: Stability, Future Challenges, and Lessons for the Governance of Global Commons.
• Mining activities on the international seabed.
• Mining activities in outer space
• The legal distinction between mining exploration and exploitation in international law: normative content and practical consequences.
• International liability arising from transboundary environmental damage caused by mining.
• The international governance of critical minerals for the energy transition.
• The international regulation of closure and abandonment phases of mining operations.
• Mining exploration and the precautionary principle in international law.
• The scientific and commercial exploration of mineral resources.
• Protection of international investments in mining projects.
• Investor-state arbitration and resolution of mining disputes.
• Indirect expropriation in mining activities versus legitimate environmental regulation.
• The valuation of mining assets in the event of international damage.
• Corruption, illegality and regulatory compliance in mining activities.
• Indigenous peoples, local communities and social license to operate in mining activities.
• Mining and human rights due diligence.
• Mining and workers’ rights.
• Artisanal or small-scale and irregular mining.
• Local content requirement in the mining sector.
• Mining contracts, stabilization commitments and the energy transition expectations in the mining sector.
• Climate change and mining.
• The environment, water, biodiversity and sustainable development in mining activities.