From Vienna to the Future of International Law: Global Challenges, Emerging Powers, Human Rights, Nature and the Rule of Law – Reflections on the 82nd ILA Biennial Conference
Looking back at an extraordinarily rich week at the 82nd Biennial Conference of the International Law Association (ILA) in Vienna, held from 17–21 August 2026 under the theme “Contours of International Law: Encounters and Evolutions,” what stays with me most is how frequently conversations that began in different Committees, Study Groups and plenary panels ultimately converged.
Across five days, I moved among discussions concerning global challenges and emerging powers, business and human rights, cultural heritage in armed conflict, regional organizations and multipolarity, Rights of Nature, the international rule of law, and the crime of aggression.
The subjects were different, but several questions repeatedly returned.
How is international law changing as geopolitical, economic and normative power becomes more dispersed?
How can universal principles coexist with regional, cultural and legal diversity?
When does differentiation become harmful fragmentation—and when can it instead become productive legal pluralism?
How do we move from formal legal recognition to meaningful implementation?
And how can institutions designed for an earlier international order respond to challenges that increasingly cross fields, jurisdictions and traditional disciplinary boundaries?
These questions are particularly important for the newly established ILA Study Group on International Law, Global Challenges, and the Impact of Emerging Powers on Global Governance, which I have the privilege of chairing. Vienna provided an invaluable opportunity not only to begin conversations with colleagues interested in the Study Group, but also to identify possible synergies with existing ILA Committees and Study Groups.
The Conference also reminded me why the ILA remains such an important intellectual community. The formal work inside meeting rooms was complemented by conversations across national branches and scholarly communities, including the gathering of the Italian Branch at the Italian Embassy in Vienna and an evening with colleagues from the American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA).
I have written a series of longer reflections on different parts of the week for those interested in the substantive discussions:
- Shaping the Future of International Law: Global Challenges, Human Rights, Peoples and Nature
https://paolofarah.wordpress.com/2026/08/14/the-changing-contours-of-international-law-global-challenges-emerging-powers-ai-human-rights-and-the-rights-of-nature/ - In Vienna for the 82nd ILA Biennial Conference: Encounters and Evolutions – Day 1
https://paolofarah.wordpress.com/2026/08/18/in-vienna-for-the-82nd-ila-biennial-conference-encounters-and-evolutions/ - Business and Human Rights at the International Law Association Vienna Conference – Day 2
https://paolofarah.wordpress.com/2026/08/19/business-and-human-rights-at-the-international-law-association-vienna-conference/ - Beyond Monuments and Objects: Intangible Cultural Heritage in Armed Conflict – Day 3
https://paolofarah.wordpress.com/2026/08/20/beyond-monuments-and-objects-intangible-cultural-heritage-in-armed-conflict-reflections-from-the-ila-vienna-conference/ - Regional Organizations, Multipolarity and Productive Legal Pluralism – Day 3
https://paolofarah.wordpress.com/2026/08/20/regional-organizations-multipolarity-and-productive-legal-pluralism-reflections-from-the-ila-vienna-conference-day-3-2nd-part/ - Rights of Nature and the ILA Across Borders – Day 4
https://paolofarah.wordpress.com/2026/08/21/rights-of-nature-and-the-ila-across-borders-from-committee-work-to-the-italian-embassy-and-the-american-branch-vienna-conference-day-4/ - The International Rule of Law and International Relations in a Changing World – Day 4
https://paolofarah.wordpress.com/2026/08/21/the-international-rule-of-law-and-international-relations-in-a-changing-world-reflections-from-the-ila-vienna-conference-day-4/ - The Crime of Aggression, Selectivity, and the International Rule of Law – Day 5
https://paolofarah.wordpress.com/2026/08/25/the-crime-of-aggression-selectivity-and-the-international-rule-of-law-reflections-from-vienna-and-a-conversation-to-continue/
The Conference may have ended in Vienna, but many of these conversations are only beginning. I look forward to continuing them through the work of the ILA, the new Study Group, collaborations across Committees and national branches, and the research and events that will grow from the encounters of this remarkable week.
Paolo Davide Farah, Paolo Farah