SYMPOSIUM: The League of Nations and International Law during the Interbellum (Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for the Arts and Sciences/VUB/KUL/Tilburg, 25-26 OCT 2019)

(image source: Wikimedia Commons)

Symposium presentation:

The Committee for Legal History of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium of the Arts and Sciences, the Research Group CORE (VUB) and the Research Unit Roman Law and Legal History of the University of Leuven organize a two-day symposium (“Contactforum”) at the Royal Academy on the League of Nations and International Law in the Interbellum on 25 and 26 October 2019. Established researchers from various disciplines (law, history, sociology) will address issues of sovereignty and jus ad bellum, international organisation, colonialism, workers’ rights, minorities, investment law, cultural heritage protection, public opinion and national scholarly traditions through the paradigm of the Versailles Peace Treaties and the nuanced and complex story of the League of Nations, which is often classified as a mere unsuccessful predecessor of the United Nations.

Program:

Friday, 25 October 2019 (Palace of Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and Arts)
13:00: Welcome by Prof. dr. Dirk Heirbaut (UGent/Instituut voor Rechtsgeschiedenis; President of the Committee for Legal History)
13:10:  Welcome by Prof. dr. Randall Lesaffer (Tilburg/iHilt – KULeuven/Onderzoekseenheid Romeins Recht en Rechtsgeschiedenis) – Dr. Inge Van Hulle (Tilburg/iHilt) en Prof. dr. Frederik Dhondt (VUB/UAntwerpen)
13:30-14:45: Panel 1- Prof. dr. Giulio Bartolini (Roma Trè), “The League of Nations and Italian International Law scholars”
- Dr. Camilla Boisen (NYU Abu Dhabi) and Chris Allsobrook (Fort Hare University), “'The Development of Segregated Trusteeship in Africa and its Role in Decolonisation”
14:45-15:15: Coffee break
15:15-16:30: Panel 2- Prof. dr. Péter Kovács (ICC), “Historical and Legal Sources: The Protection of Minorities under the Auspices of the League of Nations”
- Dr. Martyn Housden (University Bradford), “Who were the most progressive: statesmen, international staff or nationality leaders? A discussion of the slow emergence of the international law of minority rights after the First World War.
16:30-17:00: Coffee Break
17:00-18:15: Panel 3- Dr. Vincent Genin (KULeuven/FWO), “Belgian Lawyers and the International Labour Organization (1920-1940)”
- Prof. dr. Agatha Verdebout (Université Catholique de Lille), “The Doctrinal Debates on the Concept of ‘War’ in the LN Covenant of the League of Nations and the Evolution of the Law on the Use of Force in the Interbellum”
18:15: Intermediate reflections by Prof. Dr. Frederik Dhondt.
19:30: Conferencedinner at the university foundation
21:00: Facultative social activities in the city centre of Brussels


Saturday, 26 October 2019 (Palace of Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and Arts)

08:30 Welcome
08:45-10:00: Panel 4- Dr. Megan Donaldson (Cambridge University), “Diplomacy by other means: international law, international lawyers, and the practice of codification”
- Dr. Sebastian Spitra (Universität Wien) , “The League of Nations and Cultural Heritage”
10:00-10:15: Coffee Break
10:15-12:00: Panel 5- Dr. Rose Parfitt (Kent University), “The Process of International League-al Reproduction”
- Prof. Dr. Morten Rasmussen (University of Kopenhagen) & Dr. Karin Van Leeuwen (Maastricht University), “Promoting the general interest in international law? Joost Adriaan van Hamel and the early years of the League of Nation’s Legal Section (1920-1925)”
- Dr. Klaas Dykmann (University of Roskilde), “Pan Americanism and its Imprint on the League of Nations”
12.00: Final Remarks (Prof. Dr. Randall Lesaffer)

Practical information:

 The congress
The congress takes place at Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van België voor Wetenschappen en kunsten, Hertogsstraat 1, 1000 Brussel
For more information about the location and how to reach it, click here
The dinner
The Dinner takes place at universitaire stichting, Egmontstraat 11, 1000 Brussel

More information and registration here.

(source: ESILHIL Blog)