The 2017 Conference on Theory and International Law seeks to understand better the behaviour of those who shape international law - international and domestic judges, arbitrators, and state officials. Inspired by ground-breaking research that opens the "black box" of international decision-making, this Conference invites participants to theorise, experiment and speculate.

Some of the questions we will explore are: Do decision-makers behave rationally? Do they behave predictably?What factors may influence their decision-making? What are the roles of cognitive skills, intuition, and background, including education and political persuasion? What are the implications of these insights for choosing a method of dispute settlement for a particular case or designing a dispute settlement mechanism for future disputes? What are the implications for the conduct and procedures of international negotiations?

Keynote speaker:
Professor Anne van Aaken, Professor of Law and Economics, Legal Theory, Public International Law and European Law at the University of St. Gallen and Vice-President of the European Society of International Law.

Closing address:
Dr Charlotte Peevers, University of Glasgow 'Prospects of truth seeking: the Chilcot Inquiry and the decision to go to war'

More information will be available shortly