Every year the Hague Academy of International Law is organizing a Centre for Studies and Research in International Law and International Relations
The centre d'étude theme for this year (2018) will be:
International inspections
Directors of Research:
Prof. Christian J. Tams (University of Glasgow)
Dr. Anne-Laure Chaumette (Paris Nanterre University)
The usefulness of ‘international inspections’ is recognised in many areas of international law: in one way or another, inspections form part of international legal regimes in fields as diverse as international economic law (World Bank Inspection Panels), international environmental law (MEA), disarmament (IAEA, OPCW, etc.), the law of the sea (e.g. Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources), human rights and international dispute settlement, to name a few.
While particular forms of international inspections have been the subject of research, the concept as such remains under-researched and elusive.
The 2018 Centre for Research and Studies of The Hague Academy of International Law aims to fill the existing gap by bringing together researchers embarking on a cross-cutting analysis of international inspections. Proceeding from examples in particular fields, the overarching aim of the analysis is
- to enhance our understanding of the concept of international inspections by distilling, in a comparative analysis, common features and differences of inspection regimes;
- identify and classify their key functions;
- assess the potential and limits of inspections; and
- identify best practices of designing and implementing inspection procedures.