30th Anniversary Symposium
Leiden Journal of International Law
30th Anniversary Symposium
on
The Trajectories of International Legal Histories
20 October 2017
The Hague
ABOUT
Thirty years ago, the Leiden Journal of International Law was born, at a time when the writing of histories was hardly a popular endeavour for international legal scholars. In his 1987 article ‘Probleme der Völkerrechtsgeschichte’ (‘The Problems of International Legal History’), Heinhard Steiger argued that only very few, ‘mostly authors of the older generation’, were interested in international legal history. Much has changed since that time.
The aim of this symposium is to pay tribute to the remarkable developments within the field, to engage in critical reflection on the directions that it has taken, and to discuss the potential avenues for future research. The symposium will engage with questions of methodology and perspective. We hope that it will encourage further historical work on international law and reveal the new possible ways of its application.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Gerry Simpson (London School of Economics, London)
INVITED SPEAKERS
Thomas Skouteris (The American University in Cairo, Cairo)
Janne Nijman (T.M.C. Asser Institute, The Hague)
Liliana Obregón (Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá)
PROGRAMME
11:00 Welcome and introduction – Ingo Venzke
Gerry Simpson (London School of Economics, London)
Keynote
12:00-13:30 PANEL I: INTERNATIONAL LEGAL HISTORY—LINKING PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
Chair: Cecily Rose
Thomas Skouteris (The American University in Cairo, Cairo)
‘Based on a True Story’: International Law and Microhistory
Yolanda Gamarra (University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza)
The Public Uses of the History of International Law: A Critical Appraisal
Raphael Schäfer (Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg)
The Turn to History in International Law and the Problem of Linear Time
13:30-14:30 Lunch
14:30-16:00 PANEL II: WRITING AND MEDIATING LEGAL HISTORIES—PLURAL ORIGINS AND CONCEPTIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
Chair: Surabhi Ranganathan
Janne Nijman (T.M.C. Asser Institute, The Hague)
Turning to Grotius once more? Writing Northern Humanism into International Legal History
Felix Lange (Humboldt-University, Berlin)
Bedrock of a Value-Based International Law, Tool to Circumvent the Versailles Treaty or Example for Non- Western Influences? – The Multiple Histories of the Ius Cogens-Doctrine
Jakob Zollmann (WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Berlin)
African International Legal Histories – International Law in Africa? Perspectives and Possibilities
16:00-16.15 Break
16:15-17:45 PANEL III: FIELDS OF ENGAGEMENT: INTERNATIONAL LEGAL HISTORY AND …?
Chair: Sergey Vasiliev
Liliana Obregón (Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá)
Before the “Turn”: The Objectives of the “Pre-Histories” of International Law
Julia Dehm (La Trobe University, Melbourne)
Highlighting Inequalities in the Histories of Human Rights
Guy Fiti Sinclair (Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington)
The Postcolonial Origins of International Organizations Law
Mackenzie Hamilton Eason (University of California, Los Angeles)
Assessing the Legacies of Empire in International Criminal Law
17:45-18:00 Conclusions and closing – Eric De Brabandere
Contact: ljil@law.leidenuniv.nl
VENUE
Leiden University | Campus Den Haag
Wijnhaven Building
Turfmarkt 99
2511 DC The Hague
Room 3.46
Click here to register online - attendance is free but prior registration is necessary.