The Hague Academy of International Law 2021 Summer Course on Public International Law was held from 5th to 23rd of July. The Hague Academy is situated in the Peace Palace in The Hague, The Netherlands, which is a seat of the International Court of Justice, a principal judicial body of the United Nations, and the Permanent Court of Arbitration as well. However, due to the Covid-19 epidemic, instead of taking place in The Hague, the Summer Course was held in the online format.
The Hague Academy is known for its famous annual Summer Courses (and since 2019 Winter Courses as well) on Public and Private International Law. Since the establishment of the Hague Academy in 1923, it hosted thousands of students and young professionals at its Summer Courses which represent its primary activity. Lectures at the Summer Courses are held in English and French by renowned scholars, practitioners and diplomats from around the world. So it was this year as well, so the participants had the opportunity to listen to lecturers from the University of Cambridge, Bologna, Pretoria and many others.
2021 Summer Course was dedicated to recently deceased professors Emmanuel Gaillard, a leading authority on international commercial arbitration and James Crawford, a judge of the International Court of Justice.
Jean-Marc Thouvenin, the Secretary-General of the Hague Academy, held the opening and closing speech, while Yves Daudet, the president of the Curatorium (the Scientific Board of the Academy), addressed the participants with encouraging thoughts on the principle of solidarity in the international legal order at the time of the pandemic.
This year’s Summer Course dealt with current issues such as the International Responsibility of States and the exceptions to the prohibition on the use of force along with the latest issues in the field of the International Law on Cyber Security and the Settlement of International Investment Disputes.
Irena Nišević, Assistant at the Adriatic Institute, participated at this year’s Summer Course, alongwith many other young professionals from around the world. The Summer Course undoubtedly represents an unavoidable step in the education of young professionals who in this way have the opportunity to acquire general knowledge useful for their further professional development in the field of Public International Law.