ASIL's Annual Meeting

Today began ASIL’s 102nd annual meeting, one of the largest gatherings every year on the topic of international law. With 2008 being an election year not only in the U.S., but in other world powers such as Canada and Russia too, the theme is appropriately "The Politics of International Law". The theme recognizes that international law does not operate in a bubble, but is subject to political influences and may not stand separately from politics at all. Many of the sources of international law (the ICC, the Security Council, the ICJ, and the WTO) are too often subject to political and foreign policy, which leads to questions regarding the efficacy and legitimacy of international law. These questions are important, especially as international law impacts larger aspects of daily life and national sovereignty. What the proper role of politics is in international law is a struggle that will not be resolved any time soon.

This Annual meeting will be only my second one as an ASIL’s Deputy Director of Programs and will mark the first time I will be actively involved in the annual meeting’s operations.