The International Law Association (ILA) was founded in Brussels in 1873.  Its objectives, under its Constitution, are “the study, clarification and development of international law, both public and private, and the furtherance of international understanding and respect for international law”.  The ILA has consultative status, as an international non-governmental organisation, with a number of the United Nations specialised agencies.  The ILA has its headquarters in London.

The International Law Association

The main activity of the ILA is organising a biennial Conference, which is held in a different country each time and organised by one of the national branches. The Conference was held in The Netherlands more than once, for the first time before the Society came into existence in 1910, and more recently in 1970 and again in 2010, when the KNVIR celebrated its 100th anniversary.

The main objective of the ILA Conferences is to discuss the (interim) reports of the various ILA Committees and Study Groups. Committees and Study Groups consist of a limited number of persons. Each national ILA Branch is entitled to nominate one or more members.  The Executive Council of the ILA appoints the members of each Committee and Study Group.  The number of members a National Branch may nominate depends on how many members it has.  At the moment the KNVIR is entitled to nominate two (2) members for each Committee and Study Group.

If you are interested in becoming a member of an ILA Committee or Study Group, you may indicate your interest by writing to the Board via gro.r1730612021ivnk@1730612021draob1730612021. The Board decides which nominations are submitted to the Executive Council for its approval.  Please contact the President or the Secretary of the KNVIR for further information.

ila2010 Conference
  • A current list of the ILA Committees and Study Groups may be found here. If you click on the name of a Committee or Study Group, you will be linked to a page with information regarding that Committee or Study Group, including names of officers and members, as well as links to documents, such as conference reports.
  • All members of the ILA may attend the biennial Conferences. Non-members also are welcome to attend, but they will pay higher admission fees.
  • The most recent ILA Conference was held in Kyoto (online, November/December 2020). The conferences before that were held in Johannesburg (August 2016) and Sydney (August 2018).
  • In the years in which there is no worldwide ILA Conference, smaller (“regional”) conferences or meetings are often organised. Information regarding these regional conferences may be found on the ILA website.