Intervention by the Permanent Representative of the Argentine Republic, Amb. Martín García Moritán

October 23

Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

It is a pleasure for me to welcome you all to this side event on the work of the Institute of International Law.

The Institute, or Institut de droit international, as it is known in French, is an institution that was founded on 8 September 1873 in Ghent, Belgium by a group of eleven remowned international lawyers of the time, including Carlos Calvo, from Argentina.

The Institute is an academic and scientific society with consultative status with the ECOSOC, devoted to the study and development of international law. Its membership comprises the world's leading public international lawyers. In recognition of its action in favour of peaceful means of settlement of disputes, in particular arbitration, the Institute was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1904.

The current Secretary General of the Institute is Professor Marcelo Kohen, from Argentina, the first non-European to be elected to that position in 2015. It is a great pleasure for me to have Prof. Kohen with us today, in order to give an overview of the work of the Institute and in particular its 2017 session.

Prof. Koehn is Professor of International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. He has been visiting professor at several European Universities and Rapporteur or Co-rapporteur for the International Law Association, the Council of Europe and the Institut de Droit International. He was one of the founders of the Latin American Society of International Law and served as its Secretary-General until 2015.

Prof. Kohen is the author of many publications in the field of International Law, in English, French and Spanish. He was awarded the Paul Guggenheim Prize in 1997 for his book “Possession contestée et souveraineté territoriale” (Adverse Possession and Territorial Sovereignty).

He has worked as legal counsel and advocate for a number of States before the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and other tribunals. In particular, in the case of Argentina, he took an active role in the case of the Pulp Mills in the River Uruguay before the International Court of Justice and in the "ARA Libertad" case before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Professor Kohen also acts as an arbitrator in ICSID and UNCITRAL tribunals.

Thank you.