Post by Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

This week our Legal Affairs Department hosted its annual International Law Seminar. The ministry values this seminar as an excellent arena for exchanges between practitioners and academics on current issues in international law. The program included a presentation by the Director General of the Legal Affairs Department, Kristian Jervell, on the international law year in review, as seen from the perspective of the Department. This was followed by presentations and discussions on selected topics: - “Complicity as a basis for international responsibility” - “Current issues in the law of the sea: International straits, neutrality and navigation” - “Non-legally binding international agreements: Is there a new trend in international regulation and should it occupy international lawyers at all?” With speakers from King's College London, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Universitetet i Bergen (UiB), and some of our in-house experts: Christian J. Tams, Federica Paddeu, Antonios Tzanakopoulos, Rolf Einar Fife, Knut Einar Skodvin, and Jørgen Sørgard Skjold. At a time when it is often said that international law is facing pressure, the seminar offered a valuable opportunity to reflect on the fact that international law is a legal system in constant development, shaped by the practice of states and new developments in international society. We thank the organisers and all participants who took part.