From March 30 to April 2, 2016, the American Society of International Law (ASIL) will hold its 110th Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., with the theme “Charting New Frontiers in International Law.” The Annual Meeting is expected to draw thousands of policymakers, judges, academics, and leading practitioners from government, nongovernmental organizations, and private firms all around the world.

Debevoise lawyers are playing a critical role in ensuring the Annual Meeting’s success. Senior associate Ina C. Popova is Co-Chair of the Program Committee for the Meeting, and associates Z.J. Jennifer Lim and Elizabeth Nielsen also have key responsibilities on the Program Committee. In addition, partner Donald Francis Donovan, Co-Chair of Debevoise’s International Dispute Resolution Group and former President of the Society, will moderate a panel on reparation in international law and Debevoise alumna Catherine Amirfar, now at the U.S. State Department, will participate in the inaugural Detlev F. Vagts Roundtable, which will address transnational professional ethics.

Highlights of the Annual Meeting include:

• Chilean President Michelle Bachelet’s Grotius Lecture, which will mark the first time that a sitting head of State has addressed the Annual Meeting.
• U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer’s keynote address at the Society’s first ever Assembly.
• Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler’s Brower Lecture on “Accountability in Investment Arbitration.”
• A mock debate on the primacy of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in international dispute settlement, featuring judges from the ICJ and the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal.
• A roundtable on the agent’s perspective in international dispute settlement, featuring the Ambassador of Nicaragua to The Hague, the Director-General of the International Affairs Division of the Singapore Attorney General’s Chambers, and the former agent of the U.S. to the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal.
• A panel addressing comparative perspectives on the new U.S. Department of Defense Law of War Manual, featuring defense officials from the U.K., U.S., and Georgia.
• A keynote address by Brian Egan, Legal Adviser of the U.S. State Department, giving a definitive statement of U.S. policy on the campaign to counter ISIL/Daesh.
• A debate on whether we need a treaty on business and human rights.
• A panel on arbitrating the public interest, featuring the Deputy Director-General of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and a former Canadian Cabinet Minister.
• A panel on new technologies and international criminal accountability.
• A “late-breaking” panel on the groundbreaking negotiations and agreement reached at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference.

The program for the Annual Meeting is available here.

ASIL is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational membership organization. It was founded in 1906, chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1950, and has held Category II Consultative Status to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations since 1993. ASIL’s mission is to foster the study of international law and to promote the establishment and maintenance of international relations on the basis of law and justice. The Society’s nearly 4,000 members from more than 100 nations include attorneys, academics, corporate counsel, judges, representatives of governments and non-governmental organizations, international civil servants, students, and others interested in international law.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is a premier law firm with market-leading practices, a global perspective and strong New York roots. We deliver effective solutions to our clients’ most important legal challenges, applying clear commercial judgment and a distinctively collaborative approach.