Prof. Niels Blokker's guest lecture
28. November 2019. 16:00
ELTE ÁJK Kari Tanácsterem (1053 Budapest, Egyetem tér 1-3., fszt.)
2019. November 28. 16:00 -
ELTE ÁJK Kari Tanácsterem (1053 Budapest, Egyetem tér 1-3., fszt.)
The occasion is the commemoration of Rudolph Cleveringa, Dutch law professor and dean of the Faculty of Law of Leiden University and his famous public speech held on 26 November 1940 protesting against the dismissal of his Jewish colleagues by the Nazi Occupying Powers. His speech, and similar statements by his colleagues, sparked a strike amongst students. The university was later closed by the Nazis and it remained closed throughout the war.
Since 1946, Leiden University Fund (LUF) has organized annual Cleveringa lectures at numerous places, both in the Netherlands and abroad. The lectures are delivered by Leiden academics who address current topics in their area of expertise.
This year professor Niels Blokker shall give this annual Cleveringa lecture at our Faculty with the title “Goodbye or not-so-goodbye? Withdrawing from international organisations in the age of nationalism and populism”.
During and after the Second World War many international organisations have been established. International cooperation was considered to be in the common interest. A growing number of problems could no longer be effectively addressed at the national level only. The UN, the IMF and the World Bank, the Council of Europe, the European Communities and NATO were created, as well as the World Meteorological Organisation, the European Space Agency, the African Union, ASEAN and many other organisations. However, nowadays these structures for international cooperation are increasingly criticised. Political leaders propose to withdraw from international organisations, and sometimes states actually withdraw. Is this not ‘throwing away the baby with the bathwater’? Is there a need to recalibrate multilateralism and ‘update’ international organisations? Professor Blocker shall touch upon these questions in his lecture.
Niels Blokker was appointed as Professor of International Institutional Law to the 'Schermers Chair' at Leiden University in 2003. Prior he worked as the legal counsel at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His publications include International Institutional Law (co-authored with the late Henry G. Schermers, 5th edition 2011 and 6th edition November 2018), Proliferation of International Organizations (co-authored with the late Henry G. Schermers, 2000), The Security Council and the Use of Force (co-edited with Nico Schrijver, 2005). He is co-founder and co-editor-in-chief of the journal International Organisations Law Review. His main current research project is about the governance of international courts and tribunals.
Please register for the event here if you intend to attend as there are restricted number of places available.