79th session of the Institut de droit international

The Institut de droit international held its 79th meeting from 25 to 31 August 2019 in The Hague, at the Peace Palace and in the Hague Academy of International Law Auditorium. During the opening ceremony, in the presence of Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, speeches were delivered by Professor Nico Schrijver, President of the Institut de droit International and Member of the Curatorium of the Academy, Judge Abdulqawi Yusuf, President of the International Court of Justice, Ms. Sigrid Kaag, Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Professor Yves Daudet, President of the Curatorium, Ms. Saskia Bruines, Deputy Mayor of The Hague, and Professor Marcelo Kohen, Secretary-General of the Institut de droit international. 

The ceremony can be viewed on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_GPYLZbx34.

On this occasion, the President of the Curatorium referred to the ties linking the Institut de droit International and the Academy of International Law, in particular by recalling the history of the Academy, which will soon attain its centenary, and by mentioning the fact that many Members of the Institut have not only taught at the Academy, but that two-thirds of the Members of the Curatorium are also members of the Institut. By explaining the respective roles of these institutions, and extending his remarks to other institutions of international law, such as the International Court of Justice, the HCCH, and the United Nations International Law Commission, President Daudet recalled that, with regards to the Academy, René-Jean Dupuy considered that it fulfilled the dual function of revealing and anticipating international law, leading to the development of the latter. When questioning the Academy’s contribution to the development of international law, President Daudet argued that this development was in fact based on the work of all the institutions mentioned, if only because they share many of their members, and that the Academy certainly plays a role in it through its courses. In conclusion, President Daudet stressed that the Academy, a service of general interest to the international community, makes an important contribution to promoting the “spirit of The Hague”, a city rightly called the “capital of international law”, among the young lawyers who attend its courses, many of whom will subsequently perform important functions in the international order: “if they remember, as I believe, the spirit of The Hague, the Peace Palace and the Academy, we will all benefit”.