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Biennial Conference

Every two years the International Law Association stages a major biennial conference, hosted by different national branches, that bring together the leading international lawyers, international law academics, and members of governments and international organizations from around the world.

A major focus of each conference is on the work of the ILA’s committees and study groups, but plenary sessions and other panels address a wide range of leading international law issues. In August 2008, the Brazilian Branch hosted the seventy-third biennial conference in Rio de Janiero. Future hosts include the Dutch Branch (2010): www.ila2010.org, the Bulgarian Branch (2012), and the Japanese Branch (2014).

The United States has hosted five of the ILA’s biennial conferences. Buffalo, New York was the location of the eighteenth conference in 1899, and the twenty-fourth was held in Portland, Maine in 1907. New York City was the site of the thirty-sixth (1930), the forty-eighth (1958), and the fifty-fifth (1972) ILA biennial conferences.

The United States will again host an ILA biennial conference in 2016.

ILA 2016 Biennial Conference United States

The American Branch invites your thoughts about where in the United States to hold the International Law Association's 2016 biennial conference. The ILA has accepted the American Branch's proposal to host the ILA's 2016 biennial conference at some point during the months of April through August.

In August 2008, the Brazilian Branch hosted the seventy-third biennial conference in Rio de Janiero, and future locations include The Hague in the Netherlands (2010), Bulgaria (2012), and Japan (2014). The United States has hosted five of the ILA’s biennial conferences, in Buffalo, New York (1899), Portland, Maine (1907), and New York City (1930, 1958, and 1972).

The biennial conference is a four-day meeting bringing together leading international lawyers, international law academics, government officials, and leaders of international organizations from around the world. ILA 2016 will feature programs and working sessions of the international committees of the ILA, as well as numerous other panels and plenary sessions.

At this stage, the threshold decision that needs to be made is the location of the conference. Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC have been suggested as host cities. The American Branch would value your input concerning that issue, in light of such factors as: cost (including the availability of low-cost housing, perhaps at universities); venue (including the availability of a hall that could accommodate a plenary session of up to 1500 people); attractiveness of locale for foreign and U.S. visitors; and likely support from law firms and other institutions.

Please pass along your ideas about the location of the 2016 biennial conference, as well as any other ideas about planning for this event, to John Noyes (President@ila-americanbranch.org) or Charles Siegal (ExCommChair@ila-americanbranch.org).

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