ASIL 2019 Annual Meeting

International Law as an Instrument
Actors on the international stage use a variety of tools to address their concerns, from climate change to economic development; from humanitarian crises to cross-border disputes; from commercial regulation to global trade. Governments and international organizations employ diplomacy and coercion, corporations use negotiation and persuasion, and non-governmental organizations engage in fact-finding and advocacy. And all of these actors affect and are affected by international law and use the international legal system to effectuate change and solve problems.

The 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) will focus on the distinctive ways international law serves as an instrument that national and international actors invoke and deploy, and by which they are constrained. How does international law shape the perceptions of the interests and problems of diverse global actors and help frame solutions? Is international legal language a useful medium for the development and dissemination of globalized norms? Under what conditions is international law most effective? Are international institutions effective instruments for addressing complex global challenges?

At the 2019 Annual Meeting, ASIL invites international lawyers from all sectors of the profession, policymakers, and experts from other fields to reflect on the different ways in which international law plays a role in identifying and resolving global problems.