A self-story of a conference in Lisbon (International Law Association)

The following thoughts came to me as I ventured to the annual conference of the legal community of the International Law Association (ILA). As a scholarship recipient, I had been invited to the regional conference organised at Lisbon University (Towards a Universal Justice? Putting International Courts and Jurisdictions into Perspective – 11-12 September 2014).

On the first day of the conference, as I left the hotel, a soft rain was gently moistening Lisbon streets. As I headed to the underground, entering at the Saldanha station, I observed that unlike other capitals, the city did not seem to be in a hurry. Maybe the rain was calming the rush hour through its tranquillity. Maybe there was some other reason, but the flow of the city and its dwellers were striking in their serenity at that morning. This was quite at odds with the vibrant atmosphere of the city’s nights. It was also interesting to see that Lisbon’s quaint and varied buildings were occasionally illuminated by a stray sunbeam breaking through the clouds.

As I continued to stroll, glancing here and there, what struck me most were the cafes on the street where several people were drinking espressos, like the coffee houses in Turkey. For a split second, an odd feeling enveloped me: I felt as if I were in some different city of my homeland. As I began to rush to the tube station, despite the rain, I oddly felt a sensation of heat. I was wearing a dark-blue suit and a tie. I began to sweat. I quite regretted wearing smart clothes that morning. Was I nervous? I think I was extremely excited.

After about five minutes, as I was exiting the station called Cidade Universiteria, I saw two ladies, ascending the stairs. I approached them. Rather shyly, “Do you speak English?” I asked. With a welcoming smile, “Yes” one of them nodded. Almost immediately, trying to hide my confusion in finding my way to the conference venue, I showed them the address of the conference on my phone. Fortunately, they were professors of law from Brazil, Adriana Ramos Costa and Eleonora Mesquita Ceia, who were attending the conference as well. They escorted to me towards the Law School of Lisbon University where the conference was being held. When I arrived, I immediately noticed the similarity of the front view of the Law School with my Law Faculty at Ankara University in Turkey. It was a concrete building with a portico and five or six high pillars, which gave it a serious but very dull look.

After sorting out registration, an elegant and smart looking lady approached me. It was Professor Catherine Kessedjian, the chair of the ILA scholarship committee. Soon after Petra Baumruk, Matina Papadaki and Daniel Kaasik, other three other scholarship recipients and PhD Law student, joined us. Professor Kessedjian made brief introductions. We all introduced ourselves as well. After this warm beginning, which greatly assured me, we headed to the conference hall.

Delegates to the conference were milling about, cries of recognition and the murmur of voices filled me with anticipation. At the opening the conference, all of us, scholarship recipients, were introduced to the conference. During the first break, we were able to meet other scholarship recipients; Aiste Dumbryte, Nino Parsadanishvili, Peter Katonene and Zekarias Abebe.

I had the pleasure to attend all presentations on the different up-to-date topics of international law throughout the conference. Amongst them, the paper delivered by Professor Dario Moura Vicente, a panellist of the conference on the second day, particularly attracted my attention. He explained the current discussion around the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). I was surprised to find myself inwardly objecting to the existence of the ISDS provisions in new treaties under negotiation. My objections were mainly focused on the key statement which repeatedly put forward by many scholars “Without the ISDS clauses in an investment treaty, foreign investors won’t come to your country to invest!”. The lawyer in me could not help thinking that, actually, “the laws” of countries provide investors with many domestic avenues to seek remedy. Therefore, there is a “someone” or a “something” giving investors, like all other remedy seekers, adequate opportunities to file a case if there is a dispute and that “something” is the law, notwithstanding it is national law. No other community, not even other states, except privileged investors, are given such an opportunity to challenge states’ public policies by private ordering in the form of the ISDS. How can this right?

Likewise, the presentations of Ireneu Cabral Barreto, the former Portuguese Justice of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), and panellist Paulo Pinto de Albuquerque, the incumbent Portuguese Justice of the ECHR, gave me new insights to make sense of how the ECHR shapes international law. My research project is to provide an assessment of the intellectual property provisions in TRIPS-plus non-multilateral agreements from a human rights perspective. These presentations were of great help for my research project to understand how these courts perceive the trade-related aspects of international law. Therefore, I benefited from some presentations a lot during the conference.

Throughout my participation in the conference, I learnt two precious things: The ILA has a highly warm and super-friendly environment. Additionally, it is not an exclusive debating academic society, but, more than that, a visible and vibrant network of lawyers that has a say on international law issues.

In conclusion, I had great time and I would also like to thank my all colleagues, whom I met there, for their delightful friendship throughout our Lisbon days. Their names are: Petra Baumruk, Matina Papadaki, Daniel Kaasik, Aiste Dumbryte, Nino Parsadanishvili, Peter Katonene, Zekarias Abebe, Diertje Keβ, Carmen Alexandra Saugar Koster, Dr Francesca Capone and Odysseas Repousis. See you again guys!

For the website of the conference and for our reports click here.

By Hasan Yilmaztekin

#ila #conference #lisbon #humanrights #echr