Annual report 2018 Table of contents Foreword 4 “Courage to pursue ideals in international law” About T.M.C. Asser Instituut 6 Academic director’s report 7 “Bringing critical thinking to power” 12 Research strand 12 Human dignity & human security in international and European law “People still turn to international 13 18 institutions to find justice” Research strand 18 Advancing public interests in international and European law “Actively weighing in on societal 19 developments” Sports law at the Asser Institute 22 Research strand 24 Dispute settlement adjudication in 24 international and European law “International institutions are 25 changing their operating models” Research projects 30 Cooperation & inter-university 33 activities Cover The Peace Palace as seen from the third floor of the T.M.C. Asser Instituut building A global network 36 Education & capacity building 38 43 Public events 43 Communications 47 T.M.C. Asser Press 50 Financial overview 52 Organisation & governance 53 34 39 40 44 41 4 T.M.C. Asser Instituut | Annual report 2018 “Courage to pursue ideals in international law” Foreword “In these times of growing international the significance of international gatherings tensions, rising populism and attempts to (and the institutes that might arise from reverse the embrace of multilateralism in them) for both the Netherlands and The international relations, the team at the Asser Hague. The international conferences on Institute continues to focus on our mission private international law that Tobias Asser to develop trustworthy international institu- organised, and later the Peace Conferences tions and legal regimes through our research of 1899 and 1907, would lay the foundation and education. Human rights, individual for The Hague to become one of the legal liberty, equality and the rule of law are too capitals of the world. important not to nurture. Without a doubt, Asser’s vision on inter- One of the reasons we feel deeply connected national relations as an instrument for with the theme of ‘trust’, is that Tobias Asser peaceful development was – in the words (1838-1913), professor of law at the of international legal scholar Martti University of Amsterdam, as well as the man Koskenniemi – ‘enchanting’. However, as after whom our institute is named, dedicated Koskenniemi acknowledges too: both the his life to foster peace through international vision and the mission of Tobias Asser and law. his contemporaries, had their implicit limita- tions. Inevitably, great minds are children of Tobias Asser was an expert in both private their time. Asser and his fellow international and public international law; he was a legal scholars focused on the West and did practitioner and a scholar, a peace activist not yet put the rights and interests of other and a diplomat. The cosmopolitan Asser peoples and nations on an equal footing. was greatly appreciated: he became Dutch Minister of State (1904) and he received the Knowing this, and relating to the current Nobel Peace Prize in 1911, being the only backlash against multilateralism and glo- Dutch person to ever receive it. balism, we, as international scholars, should ask ourselves how we can connect the devel- By devoting his life to the international opment of the international legal order with cause, Asser swam against the tide, joining the interests of the vulnerable and those of forces with other open-minded personali- future generations. Could we achieve this ties in public life. He lived in the heyday of while improving living conditions, sustaina- nationalism, when the Netherlands, nestled ble development and keeping peoples’ rights between the new superpower Germany and interests in sight? and the imperialist states of Great Britain and France, went through an introspective Timely, critical and relevant research period. Being rooted in practice, Asser saw As you will read in this annual report, our T.M.C. Asser Instituut | Annual report 2018 5 relationships with Geneva-based institutes, like the Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies (IHEID) and the Geneva Academy. Our researchers taught courses and collaborated on a project on individual criminal responsibility for Lethal Autonomous Weapons – a topic joining the research fields of Geneva (international team at the Asser Institute contributes to humanitarian law) and The Hague (inter- address these challenges through timely, national criminal law). We launched a new critical and relevant independent research. cooperation with the Law Faculty of the In December 2018, for example, following University of Basel with an event addressing a series of raised concerns by several EU the ‘Human Dimension of the Law of the Sea’, member states about the possible future at which Prof. Dr Liesbeth Lijnzaad, Judge at implications of the Global Compact for Safe, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea Orderly and Regular Migration, the Asser (ITLOS) spoke. team produced well-timed legal information that contributed to finding solid ground in Improving stability, safety and security the debate on the legal nature and possible The Asser Institute also became a member future implications of the compact. of the Common Effort Community, a platform of over fifty German and Dutch organisa- Much valued partner tions coming from government, civil society, The Asser Institute is a much-valued partner police, military and the private sector. All for (inter)national collaborations with uni- share the idea of ‘comprehensive consulta- versities and with national and international tion, cooperation and preparation’ and work networks of scholars, legal practitioners and towards improving stability, safety and secu- professional societies. To highlight some rity. Together we will continue to contribute special collaborations: to a safe and secure world that protects • In 2018, T.M.C. Asser Instituut and the universal human rights. University of Amsterdam (UvA) signed an interim covenant, which further enhances I would like to thank everybody who has our long-standing close relation. The contributed to our success in 2018. We are agreement contributes to Asser’s financial very grateful to the staff of the T.M.C. Asser stability and confirms the close ties between Instituut, to our partner organisations and the institute and the UvA. Our collaboration to all the eminent researchers and legal with the Amsterdam Center for International experts who joined us for inspiring research Law (ACIL) will continue and, where possible, collaborations, discussions, teaching and our be extended to other research centres of the events.” Law Faculty of the University of Amsterdam. • At the same time, we remain committed The Hague, May 2019 to our inter-university tasks on behalf of the Dutch law schools, including the Netherlands Prof. Dr Ernst Hirsch Ballin, Network for Human Rights Research (NNHRR). President of the Board of T.M.C. Asser • Asser researchers forged further Instituut 6 T.M.C. Asser Instituut | Annual report 2018 About T.M.C. Asser Instituut to The Hague in 1899. Tobias Asser received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1911 for his devotion to the Hague Conference on Private International Law. He was the first, and until today the only, Dutch citizen ever to be honoured with this prestigious prize. Located in The Hague, the ‘International City of Peace and Justice’, the T.M.C. Asser Instituut is the established location where critical and constructive reflection on international and European legal develop- ments takes place. In the vicinity of the many Hague international institutions, diplomatic missions and government ministries, the institute exercises strong convening power and attracts legal scholars from around the world to present and test innovative ideas in their respective fields of expertise. This con- tinually strengthens our research expertise, academic profile and sharpens our funda- mental and independent policy-oriented research. In doing so, the Asser Institute fulfils the following roles: • A facilitator for all Dutch Law Schools that wish to collaborate with the T.M.C. Asser Instituut in research networks, projects and/or in knowledge dissemi- nation activities. The institute actively promotes the collaboration with- and The T.M.C. Asser Instituut, an internation- between Dutch Law Schools; and ally renowned centre for international and • A vanguard institute for the University European law, is named after Tobias M.C. of Amsterdam (UvA) in The Hague (for Asser (1838-1913). Asser was an expert in the UvA Law School in general and the private international law and active in many Amsterdam Center for International Law fields of public international law, as well as (ACIL) in particular). in the peaceful settlement of international conflicts. He founded theHague Conference on Private International Law and played a sig- nificant role in bringing thePeace Conference T.M.C. Asser Instituut | Annual report 2018 7 “Bringing critical thinking to power” Academic director’s report “2018 was marked by U.S. border control Who is served, and who is not? controversies, a hugely chaotic Brexit pro- When I introduced Martti Koskenniemi at cess and the online manipulation of electoral the Annual Lecture, I summarised the work processes and voter data in both the U.S. of the Asser Institute as ‘Bringing critical and the UK. In November 2018, during the thinking to power’. I am convinced that we Annual Asser Institute Lecture, international need law to help us confront the many 21st law scholar Martti Koskenniemi spoke on century