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2023 Annual Conference

We are pleased to announce that the 12th Annual Conference of the Society will take place on 27-28 October 2023, at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on the theme: “Africa and the Governance of Global Commons.” It will be chaired by the Legal Counsel of the African Union Commission. The Global Commons comprise the areas and resources that are beyond state sovereignty and are theoretically available for the benefit of all. Their use is considered rivalrous because one group’s use of the Commons could affect another group’s use of the same. The Global Commons have traditionally included the high seas, the atmosphere, outer space, and the polar regions. But now that we are firmly within the Anthropocene – the era in which humans are changing the Earth such that its very integrity is at risk – many include the Earth itself, along with the natural systems on Earth that we all depend on for our existence, among the Global Commons.

2023-annual-conference

Speakers

Friday, 27 october 2023 (African union Commission Headquarters)

9.00-09.30 am - opening Ceremony

Professor, University of Geneva, Sciences Po

Former Judge, International Court of Justice

Chair: Ms. TAFADZWA PASIPANODYA, Partner, Foley Hoag LLP, Vice-President of AfSIL

Prof. Makane MoIse Mbengue,

University of Geneva & Sciences Po Paris, President of AfSIL

Amb. Youssouf Mandoha Assoumani

Ambassador of the Union of Comoros to Ethiopia & Chair of the AU Permanent Representatives' Committee for 2023 (Invited)

Mr. Mohamed Salem Boukhari Khalil

Acting Legal Counsel & Senior Legal Officer, African Union Commission

H.E. Gedion Timothewos

Minister of Justice of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Government of Ethiopia 

9.30-10.15 am – Keynote Speech/Conversation 

Chair: Prof. Phoebe Okowa, Professor of Public International Law, Queen Mary University of London

Discussant: Professor Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, Professor of International Law, University of Geneva & The College de France (2022-2023)

10.15-10.45 am – Photo Ceremony and Coffee Break

10.45 am-12.00 pm – Panel I: International Law-Making concerning the Global Commons

Chair: Prof. Edwin Egede, Professor of International Law & International Relations, Cardiff University

Nancy Kgengwenyane

Consultant, Global Commons - an African Legal Standing on Benefits in Participation in Governance of the Biodiversity Commons

Teddy Tabu Odira

Researcher, University of Nairobi : Decolonizing AI Governance: Africa's Path to International Law-Making in the Era of the Global Commons

Etienne Marque,

Lecturer, Université Paris Nanterre : Ubuntu ou une approche africaine de la gouvernance des biens communs

Miracle Okoth Mudeyi 

Researcher, University of Nairobi : Decolonizing AI Governance: Africa's Path to International Law-Making in the Era of the Global Commons

12.00-1.15 pm – Lunch Fireside Chat - Africa’s Carbon Markets: Financial Innovation for the Conservation of the Global Commons

Chair: Dr. Elena Cima, Lecturer in International Energy and Environmental Law, University of Geneva

Antonny Mukulu Nshimye

 

Chief Legal Officer, Kigali International Finance Centre

Yuejia Peng

Associate Director of Research, Nature and Biodiversity Lead, Environmental Markets Analytics, S&P Commodity Insights

1.15-2.30 pm – Panel II: International Economic Systems, Trade, & the Global Commons

Chair: Mr. Mezmur Yared, Deputy Attorney General, Ethiopia

Dr. Leonila Guglya

Counsel, Swiss Legal Rouiller et Associés: Africa’s Part in the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Deal: the Use of the Negotiations Theories for Ensuring More Effective Engagement in the Global Commons Governance

Jackson Shaw Kern

Partner, ALG LLP: Enforcing Investors’ Environmental Obligations Under the Investment Protocol to the African Continental Free Trade Area

Joel Matonga

Senior Legal Officer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Malawi: An analysis of the Primacy of Consensus Decision-Making in the BBNJ Agreement: A case study of the regime of the Access and Benefits Sharing of MGRs in ABNJ

Mohit Khubchandani

Lawyer, WilmerHale LLP, London: Enforcing Investors’ Environmental Obligations Under the Investment Protocol to the African Continental Free Trade Area

Nicholas Renzler

Counsel, Foley Hoag LLP: Opportunities and Obligations in the Management of Economic Activity Occurring in the Global Commons

2.30-2.45 pm – Coffee Break

2.45-4.15 pm Panel III: Pursuit of International Justice concerning the Global Commons

ChairProf. Christian Tams, Professor of International Law at the University of Glasgow

Dr. Harrison Otieno Mbori

Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute Luxembourg: Anticipating the ITLOS advisory Opinion: The continuing Experiments in International Judicialization of Climate Change and Environmental Justice

Dr Alberto Pecoraro

Lecturer, University of Hull:  National Courts and Disputes over Deep Seabed Minerals in the Area

Vonintsoa Rafaly

Postdoctoral researcher, University of Copenhagen: Africa, Climate Change and the Ocean: Seeking Justice at the Time of Global Challenges

4.15-4.45 pm – AfSIL Interest Groups Meeting

ChairJohn Nyanje, University of Bayreuth in Germany and the Leibniz University in Hannover

Discussants: Ahmed Abdel Hakam, Partner, Volterra Fietta, AfSIL's Dispute Resolution IG Co-Chair

                       Mezmur Yared, Deputy Attorney General, Ethiopia, AfSIL's Environment IG Co-Chair

6.00 pm: Cocktail Reception & International Law Award (Hyatt Hotel)

ChairMs. Tafadzwa Pasipanodya, Partner, Foley Hoag LLP, Vice-President of AfSIL

Speaker: Prof. Edwin Egede, Professor of International Law & International Relations, Cardiff University

Saturday, 28 october 2023 (Hyatt Hotel)

9.00 am-10.30 am – Panel Iv : Rights and Sustainable Development concerning the Global Commons 

Chair: Inès Ndonko Nnoko, Public International Law & International Organizations Department, University of Geneva

Francesco Luigi Gatta

Research Fellow, Université Catholique de Louvain: International Justice and ‘Green’ Human Rights: Challenges and Way Ahead

Yannick Kouassi

PhD candidate, University of Strasbourg: From Mbembe to John Locke: A Case for the Universalization of the African Philosophy of the Commons

Elodie Duhamel

Ph.D Candidate, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne: Garantir l’intégrité des biens communs globaux par une meilleure protection internationale des communs fonciers

Douglas Musebenzi

Lecturer, Herbert Chitepo Law School: International economic systems and Global Commons: A Critical examination of Africa’s utilization of High Seas and Outer Space in sustainable economic development

Kanyiri Kariuki

Advocate of the High Court of Kenya: The Faustian Pact of Carbon Trading: a legal-political analysis in Kenya through “Capitalism as Civilization”

10.30-10.45 am – Coffee Break

10.45-12.15 pm – Panel v : In-depth Analysis concerning Specific Global Commons

ChairMr. Eran Sthoeger, Attorney and consultant in international law; Adjunct Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School

Carlos A. Cruz Carrillo

PhD researcher, University of Basel: An appraisal of the ‘due regard’ obligation under the law of the sea: towards a more transparent and inclusive use of the high seas?

angeles jimenez cargia-CARRIAZO

Ramon & Cajal Research Fellow at University of Cadiz: Invoking Global Commons Against Exaggerated Extensions of The Continental Shelf: Is That a Feasible Solution ?

Mukulu Kioko

Policy Manager- SKA Observatory: Moving with the times: A Case for clearer legal and regulatory framework for the Protection of Dark and Quiet Skies

Marie Muhadia Shabaya

Fellow, Centre of Excellence for Human-Centred Global Economy, The Digital Economist: Fostering African Data Commons: Embracing the Philosophy of Ubuntu

12.15-1.15 pm – Lunch Break

1.15-1.45 pm – Closing Ceremony & Best Paper Award

Chair: Mr. Karim M’ziani, Associate, Foley Hoag LLP, Deputy Secretary General of AfSIL

Prof. Makane Moïse Mbengue

University of Geneva & Sciences Po Paris, President of AfSIL

Mr. Mohamed Salem Boukhari Khalil,

Acting Legal Counsel & Senior Legal Officer, African Union Commission

4.00 PM - Post-Conference Event - Early Career Meet-Up Weg Coffee Shop, Bisrate Gebriel Square Addis

 Weg Coffee Shop, Bisrate Gebriel Square Addis

Convener: John Nyanje, University of Bayreuth in Germany and the Leibniz University in Hannover

Speaker : Dr. Harrison Otieno, Researcher, Max Planck Institute Luxembourg

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Thanks to our Sponsors

Previous Events

Previous Events

2022

AFRICA AND THE CHALLENGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE

2021

International Trade Law 

2020

COVID-19, International Law

2015

The Contribution of Regional Courts to the Development of International Law

2014

International Criminal Law

2013

Disputes Resolution in International Law

2012

Creation of State in International Law

2019

International Environmental Law

2018

Law of the Sea

2017

Natural Resources

2016

Foreign Investment and International Investment Law
Publications
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Publications

The Society has had an annual conference every year over the past ten years. Each conference has led to the development of a publication of some of the papers presented at the annual conference. These include:

Our activities

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