International Law Association - Melbourne Chapter

The International Law Association (ILA) was founded in Brussels in 1873 and its present-day headquarters are in London. Its purpose is the study, clarification and development of both public and private international law.

Melbourne Law School, with the strength and breadth of the international law subjects it offers in both the JD and the LLM, has more than one connection with the Victorian Chapter of the ILA. For example, MLS  will host the preliminary rounds of the ILA’ s Public International Law moot this year, as it did last year. Anna Hood, lecturer at the law school, is on the Victorian Chapter’s general committee. Georgina Wu, JD ’13, is the Chapter secretary, and I am the newsletter editor. Other MLS faculty are individual members.

The regional branches are autonomous and able to tailor their activities to members’ interests.  For example, last year we hosted the eminent jurist James Crawford, who gave a fascinating lecture on the next 50 years of public international law, free to members. The newsletter is focussed on developments that are important to Australia, for example, the High Court’s decision last year on the International Arbitration Act 1974.

Students can join for an annual fee of just $15. To become a member, or to find out more, visit: http://ila.org.au/