During the Spring Meeting a subject of current interest relating to public international law or private international law is discussed. For this meeting two or sometimes three speakers are invited to give a brief introduction on the chosen subject. This is followed by a debate. Usually, this meeting is held in The Hague during the evening hours. In 2020, the Spring Meeting took place online, in light of COVID-19. Often, English is spoken to render the meeting accessible to a broader audience.
Spring Meeting 2020
The WTO Before, During and After Corona
Speaker
- Prof. Peter van den Bossche
Professor of International Economic Law, University of Bern, Director of Studies, World Trade Institute, Bern, honorary professor at Maastricht University, visiting professor at the LUISS Guido Carli University, Rome, Italy, and the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador, and at the College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium.
The Minutes of the KNVIR Spring Meeting will be made available here.
Spring Meeting 2019
The UN In Times of Global Challenges
Insights from The Security Council
Speaker
- Ambassador Karel van Oosterom
Permanent Representative of The Kingdom of The Netherlands to The United Nations
Meeting jointly organised by
The Netherlands United Nations Association (Nvvn), The Royal Netherlands Society Of International Law and The Hague University of Applied Sciences (Hhs) Leiden University
The Minutes of the KNVIR Spring Meeting will be made available here.
Spring Meeting 2018
The Children of the Caliphate and International Law
Speakers
- dr. Bibi van Ginkel, LLM
Senior research fellow, Netherlands Institute for International Relations ‘Clingendael’ and research fellow, International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, The Hague (ICCT) - drs. Mattie van der Molen
Behaviourist, Dutch Council for Child Protection
Spring Meeting 2017
Fake News and National Sovereignty
The dangers of politically and militarily motivated fake news and its impace on national interests
Speakers
- mr. Jan Kleijssen
Director of Information Society and Action against Crime, Council of Europe - Rosa S.E.V. Toxopeus, M.A.
Analyst National Security, National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism, Analysis and Strategy Department (DAS) - drs. Carmen Gonsalves
Head International Cyber Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Proceedings of the Spring Meeting 2017 are available here.
Spring Meeting 2016
Migration, Refugees and
International Law
Speakers
- drs. Bram van Ojik
Special Envoy for Migration, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs - prof. dr. Ashley B. Terlouw
Professor of Sociology, Radboud University, Nijmegen
Board Member Centre of Migration Law, Nijmegen - dr. Hans van Loon
Former Secretary General of the Hague Conference onPrivate International Law
Spring Meeting 2015
Arbitration as a means of solving international disputes
Advantages and Risks
Speakers
- mr. Hugo H. Siblesz
Secretary General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration - prof.dr. Jamal Seifi
Judge at the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal and Professor of Global Law (2015) at Tilburg University - prof.dr. Vesna Lazic
Senior Researcher at the T.M.C. Asser Institute, Associate Professor of International Commercial Arbitration at Utrecht University and Professor of EU Civil Procedure at the University of Rijeka, Croatia
Spring Meeting 2014
Looting of Cultural Property
during Foreign Occupation
Speakers
- mr. Taco Dibbits
Director of Collections of the Rijksmuseum - prof.dr. Liesbeth Lijnzaad
Legal Adviser, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Professor Practice of International Law at Maastricht University - mr. Rob Polak
Formerly partner De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, and Chairman of the Association of Art, Culture and Law
Spring Meeting 2013
Business and Human Rights: Issues of Legal Accountability
Speakers
- dr. Liesbeth F.H. Enneking
Post-doctoral Research Fellow at UCALL, Utrecht University’s Centre for Accountability and Liability Law and co-author of one of the amicus curiae briefs in the Kiobel case before the U.S. Supreme Court - prof.dr. René J.M. Lefeber
Professor of International Environmental Law at the Amsterdam Centre for Environmental Law and Sustainability of the University of Amsterdam - mr. Bastiaan Pries
Associate General Counsel in the Legal Department of Shell International B.V.
KNVIR Spring Meeting 2020
Spring MeetingThe video of the Royal Netherlands Society of International Law’s Spring Meeting ‘The WTO Before, During and After Corona’, organised on 24 June 2020 in cooperation with the T.M.C. Asser Instituut.
The (adapted) power point presentation of the Spring Meeting’s speaker, Prof. Peter van den Bossche, can be found here:
The WTO Before, During and After Corona
Spring MeetingSPRING MEETING
of the Royal Netherlands Society of International Law
to be held online on
Wednesday 24 JUNE 2020 16.00 – 17.00 Hrs (cet)
The WTO, established on 1 January 1995, has for a long time been one of the success stories of international law. This is largely due to its track record in the settlement of disputes: since 1995, 595 disputes have been brought to the WTO, while over 350 rulings have been issued. However, in recent times, the Organization has been challenged by, inter alia, inconclusive discussions on multilateral trade, a growing emphasis on nationalism and protectionism, at least in some states, the lack of attention to the position of developing states (despite the 2013 ‘Bali Package’), the blocking of the appointment of judges in the Dispute Settlement Body, and, in recent times, the nearly unforeseeable trade consequences of COVID-19.
For obvious reasons, the Society’s traditional ‘Voorjaarsvergadering’ (Spring Meeting) cannot take its usual shape this year. The Board of the Society therefore invites its Members and others who are interested to attend this online meeting. The event will have an informative as well as forward-looking character, and will be introduced by Prof. Peter Van den Bossche, judge in the WTO Appellate Body from 2009 to 2019, Professor of International Economic Law, University of Bern, and Director of Studies, World Trade Institute, Bern. Prof. Van den Bossche is an honorary professor at Maastricht University, the Netherlands (since 2018), and a visiting professor at the LUISS Guido Carli University, Rome, Italy (since 2016), at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador (since 2016), and at the College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium (since 2010).
The event will run for one hour, with half an hour being reserved for the introductory lecture by Prof. Van den Bossche and half an hour for Q&A and some discussion, depending on the time available.
Date and Time: Wednesday 24 June 2020, 16.00-17.00 hrs (CET), via Zoom.
Registration: Members and non-members are welcome to attend. Registration is required. Please register for free by Monday 22 June 2020 by sending an email to .gro.1615264067rivnk1615264067@ofni1615264067