Each October, the American Branch presents International Law Weekend (ILW) in New York City. This two-and-a-half-day conference features over 30 panels, and many of the world’s leading international lawyers and diplomats participate. In recent years, keynote luncheon speakers have included the president of the American Society of International Law and the Legal Adviser to the U.S. Department of State. Gala receptions have been hosted by the Finnish, Belgian, British, and Singapore missions to the United Nations.

Recent ILWs have attracted an audience of over 1,200 practitioners, academics, U.N. diplomats, business leaders, federal and state government officials, NGO leaders, journalists, students, and interested citizens. This year, the ABILA International Law Weekend was held in New York City from 19-21 October 2023. Dr Oral was invited to speak on the panel titled “The Role of International Courts / Tribunals in Promoting States’ Responsibility for Climate Change”.

States’ climate inaction continues to hamper any substantial progress towards curbing climate change and mitigating its impacts. This inertia has led to an increase in climate litigation before international and domestic bodies in recent years; this year alone has seen ground-breaking requests for advisory opinions from the International Court of Justice, the Inter- American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), and the International Tribunal on the law of the Sea (ITLOS) on States’ responsibilities and obligations for climate change and its impacts. This is a unique moment in international law, with the ability to establish a new legal framework regarding the understanding of the international responsibility of States in the face of the climate crisis.

Moderator:

• Eneas Xavier de Oliveira, PhD Candidate, University of Montreal; Member, Latin American Climate Lawyers Initiative for Mobilizing Action (LACLIMA)

Panelists:

• Michael Gerrard, Founder and Director, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School
• Nilufer Oral, Director, Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore; Member, UN International Law Commission
• Maria Antonia Tigre, Senior Fellow in Global Climate Change Litigation, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School

More about the event at the link: https://www.ila-americanbranch.org/international-law-weekend/