H.E. Dr. Kamalinne Pinitpuvadol, Secretary-General of AALCO was invited by the Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) to the First Public International Law Conclave held on 4th February 2022 which took place virtually. This was a half-day event which was attended by Deputy-Secretaries General of AALCO and the team at AALCO Secretariat.
Dr. Pinitpuvadol delivered the keynote address at the event. The event saw the participation of Pof. Dr. Bimal Patel, Vice Chancellor, RRU the Member-designate from India to International Law Commission (ILC) for the term 2023-2027 and Dr. Luther Rangreji, Joint Secretary, Legal & Treaties Division, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.
The event also saw the essay competition of the student on various topics of International Law.
The Event commenced with Prof. Dr. Bimal Patel delivering an opening address, which was titled his vision plan for the ILC during his tenure 2023-27, wherein he highlighted various agenda items of the International Law Commission and laid his vision plan for the quinquennium 2023-27. He touched upon aspects on the long-term programme of work of the ILC and opined that the Prevention and Repression of Piracy and Armed Robbery at Sea needs the development of guidance on the interpretations of existing law. He spoke of topics about piracy and armed robbery, Sea level rise, politically sensitive issues like Immunity of State Officials from Foreign Criminal Jurisdiction and crimes against humanity. He insisted that the ILC should adopt a universal approach by enhancing its ability to understand the practice and precedents of the various regions of the world. Regional approaches are very important, 17/34 members in this commission (2023-27) are drawn from African-Asian states.
H.E. Dr. Kamalinne Pinitpuvadol, in his keynote address spoke about the “African-Asian Perspectives and Practices of International Law”. He highlighted about the historical overview of the Asian-African approach on perspectives of International Law. He highlighted several significant milestones to ascertain the contribution of the Asian-African countries in the post second world-war era towards the progressive development and codification of international law. He went on to establish the constitution of the AALCO in 1956 as the tangible outcome of the historic Bandung Conference held in 1955. Over the years, AALCO have played a key consultative role in facilitating the codification and progressive development of international law and in the process have highlighted the particular importance of incorporating Afro-Asian perspectives in such an exercise.
He further went to mention that AALCO has cultivated a very close relationship with the International Law Commission (ILC). In fact, the work of the ILC has been a mandated part of AALCO’s work programme. It has also become customary for AALCO and the ILC to be represented during each other’s sessions.
He also informed the students about the internship opportunities at AALCO and encourage students to visit the website of AALCO for more details on the internship programmes. He concluded by encouraging students to pursue International Law and hopes to engage RRU on more capacity building programmes.
Dr. Luther Rangreji delivered his statement on the topic, Indian State Practices aand International Law. He said that It is important to look at the commission by searching ways to improve the work of the ILC on the developing and underdeveloped countries and by improving their work and capacity. He added that Article 51 of the Indian Constitution gives you an insight of what international law was and that there existed an international order and India recognized the same. Out of the many texts provided in Article 51, one speaks about settlement of international disputes by arbitration, Article 51 signified India’s adherence and respect for international law and India’s belief that the same governs relations among states and the entire principle for the need of coordinating domestic and international legal orders. He urged the ILC members to speak on behalf of the developing countries and on their capacities such as island states and work on climate change by also studying on climate finance. Many smaller countries, island states need climate finance. States who are fighting developmental issues cannot be expected to abide by international norms without doing anything on building their capacities. He concluded by saying that Large number of studies and programs could be undertaken not strictly dealing with ILC topics but also other important and larger issues of international law that could blend with other topics dealt by the commission.
The half day event concluded with the winners of the essay competition being announced.
