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External Programme

  • Location: Port Vila, Vanuatu
  • Programme dates: 3 - 10 October 2025
  • Registration period: 13 March - 1 May 2025
  • Open to highly qualified young civil servants and academics, No registration fee
  • In cooperation with and the sponsorship of CIL-NUS, the French Embassy in The Hague and the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The External Programme

2025 External Programme in Vanuatu

The 2025 External Programme will take place in Port-Vila from 3 to 10 October 2025. 
The programme topic is “International Law, Climate Change, and Climate Justice: Achievements and Challenges“.
The session will be held in English only.

Registrations for the 2025 External Programme are open between 13 March and 1 May 2025 (23:59 hrs. GMT+1, The Hague time).

The core programme will consist of the following lectures:

  • The International Regime for the Protection of the Environment and the Climate System
    Prof. Moïse Makane Mbengue,
    Professor at the University of Geneva, Member of the Curatorium
  • International Law and the Protection of Small Island States in the Face of Climate Change and Rising Sea Levels – Recent Developments
    Aspects Related to the Law of the Sea and the Environment
    Prof. Nilüfer Oral
    Director of the National University of Singapore Centre for International Law and Member of the International Law Commission, Member of the Curatorium
  • International Law and the Protection of Small Island States in the Face of Climate Change and Rising Sea Levels – Recent Developments
    Aspects Related to Statehood and the Protection of Persons Affected
    Prof. Patrícia Galvão Teles
    Professor at the Autonomous University of Lisbon and Member of the International Law Commission, Member of the Curatorium
  • Dealing with Climate Change Issues within Investment Arbitration: Challenges and Prospective Assessments
    Prof. Diego P. Fernández Arroyo
    President of the Curatorium, Professor at Sciences Po Law School, Paris
  • Access to Inter-State Justice; Ways and Limits to the Peaceful Settlement of Inter-State Disputes
    Prof. Jean-Marc Thouvenin
    Secretary-General, Professor at Paris-Nanterre University

 

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At the end of the 1960s, the Academy set up a  regional External Programme which generally takes place annually and on a rotating basis in Africa, Asia or Latin America, upon the invitation of a foreign government or an international organization. This intensive programme has a duration of seven full days. It is a means not only of developing knowledge on aspects of international law that are of particular interest to the region, but also, by the way in which it is organized, of furthering exchanges between attendees from the countries in the area. 

The teaching is highly interactive and aims to promote dialogue and discussion; two aspects that are further encouraged during the more informal lectures, meetings, visits and meals that are also part of the schedule. The External Programme brings together a number of nationals of the host State and approximately 20 attendees from other countries in the region. Since the beginning, hundreds of lecturers and more than 1500 participants from Africa, Asia and Latin America have attended the sessions. Registration for this programme is free of charge.