First time in Lithuania – conference of the European Society of International Law

On 5-6 September, for the very first time, Vilnius hosted the annual conference of the European Society of International Law (ESIL), held in a different European city each year. The theme of this year’s conference, organized by Vilnius University (VU) and the VU Law Faculty, was “Technological Change and International Law”.

The conference discussed the impact of technology on international law and the role of international law in the context of rapid technological developments, global challenges, and changes. The event focused on international law experts from Europe, as well featured presentations and discussions by lawyers worldwide.

Several of the conference’s parallel themes were focused on the regulation of war technology and humanitarian innovation in conflict zones. Ukrainian lawyers from top-ranked universities and academic institutions such as the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law, University College London, the Graduate Institute of Geneva, etc. also gave the presentations.

At the event, experts presented their research on the use of technology in the prosecution of international criminal proceedings for international crimes. Participants have heard about shared archives of evidence of international crimes and the use of such evidence in international prosecutions, the recording of mass graves in war zones, and the use of digital evidence in criminological forensics.

Some of presentations were recorded, videos are uploaded on the VU Law Fcaulty’s Youtube platform.