Concept Note

Programme

Chair's summary

Opening and welcome

Dr Konrad BÜHLER, Director General and Legal Adviser, Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (Austria) and Dr Jörg POLAKIEWICZ, Director of Legal Advice and Public International Law, Council of Europe

Statement by Konrad BÜHLER

Statement by Jörg POLAKIEWICZ

 

Keynote speech: The growing use of non-legally binding instruments and their potentially profound implications for the future of the international legal system

Professor Helmut AUST, Free University of Berlin

Keynote speech by Helmut AUST

Panel I – Exchange on “good” or “bad” practices between practitioners

Moderator: Ms Kerli VESKI, Undersecretary for Legal and Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia (Vice-Chair of the CAHDI)

  • ’Good’ or ‘bad’ practices on the types of provisions, terminology or blocks of text of non-legally binding instruments

Mr Jeremy HILL, Specialist Treaty Lawyer, former diplomat and legal adviser, now consultant to the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Presentation and statement by Jeremy HILL

Dr Charlotte PIVETEAU, Human Rights Adviser, Office of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights.

Observations by Charlotte PIVETEAU

 

Panel II – Practical examples of potential indirect legal effects of non-legally binding instruments

Moderator: Ms Kaija SUVANTO, Director General for Legal Affairs, Legal Service, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

  • Potential indirect legal effects of non-legally binding instruments

Professor Michael WAIBEL, University of Vienna

Presentation and statement by Michael WAIBEL

Presentation of the ongoing work by the ILC on “non-legally binding international agreements”

Professor Mathias FORTEAU, University of Paris Nanterre, ILC

Statement by Mathias FORTEAU

 

Panel III – Discussion on practical experiences that states have encountered regarding the possible “circumvention” of treaty procedures and good practices of risk mitigation

Moderator: Dr Jörg POLAKIEWICZ, Director of Legal Advice and Public International Law, Council of Europe

  • Possible “circumvention” of treaty procedures on the national level or on the international level

Professor Oona HATHAWAY, Yale Law School

Presentation and statement by Oona HATHAWAY

Concluding session – Usefulness and appropriateness of a potential model text for non-legally binding instruments, guidelines, compilation of good practices or a glossary

  • Presentation of different possible outputs

Presentation and statement by the Secretariat

  • Concluding remarks

Dr Helmut TICHY, Chair of the CAHDI, Austria

Concluding remarks by Helmut TICHY