The Future of International Law: Reflections on Challenges New and Old

About this conference

International law is at the forefront of addressing crucial future challenges but is under pressures unprecedented since the founding of the United Nations Charter order. The NUS Centre for International Law and UCL Laws will bring together leading public international law experts to tackle three selected themes for the future of international law: 

• the (non-)peacefulness of the settlement of international disputes,
• the interplay of strain and creativity in established fields of international law (climate change, critical submarine infrastructure, international trade, and the mechanisms for codification and progressive development), and
• new challenges posed by cyberspace and Artificial Intelligence.

This event takes a longue durée perspective on the development of public international law, considering in turn the future through the lenses of these selected themes and concluding with a high-level roundtable discussion on the future of universalism. 

We welcome practitioners, scholars and students to join us for the full day or just the evening high-level roundtable.