April 7, 2022
President Catherine Amirfar opened the Annual Assembly at 5:00 p.m. E.T. in Columbia Rooms 5–8 of the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., noting that it was the first in-person meeting since 2019. After welcoming attendees, but before beginning the formal program, President Amirfar recognized Executive Director Mark Agrast and the rest of the staff at Tillar House for the extraordinary work that they had done for the meeting and continue to do year round.
President Amirfar then remembered the leaders and members of the Society who were lost since the last Annual Meeting. Paul Reichler offered a tribute in memory of James Crawford, which was followed by a general tribute to several other members of the Society who passed during the previous year.
At 5:10 p.m., President Amirfar called the Annual General Meeting to order. She began by recognizing outgoing officers and Executive Council Members and thanking the co-chairs and members of the Annual Meeting Committee. She then announced the co-chairs of the 2023 Annual Meeting Committee—Jennifer Permesly, Priya Pillai, and Sergio Puig—and proposed the following members to serve on the 2022–23 Nominating Committee: Catherine Amirfar (Chair), David Bigge, Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, Patrick Pearsall, Chantal Thomas, and Leila Sadat (alternate). It was moved and seconded to elect the proposed members to the 2022–23 Nominating Committee. The motion passed.
Nominations for the 2022–23 Officers, Executive Council Members, and Counsellors were as follows:
It was moved and seconded to approve the slate. The motion passed.
The Annual General Meeting adjourned at 5:15 p.m. E.T.
President Amirfar then recognized seven new emeritus members and announced the creation of a new prize to be awarded by the Dispute Resolution Interest Group for Best Article in International Dispute Resolution, which will be presented at next year's Annual Meeting. President Amirfar then went on to announce the Interest Group Prizes.
The International Legal Research Interest Group selected NATLEX, a database created under the direction of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to record and provide access to national labor, social security, and related human rights legislation from nations around the world, as the recipient of its 2022 Jus Gentium Award.
The International Refugee Law Interest Group selected Charlotte Labrosse as the winner of its Student Writing Competition for “Humanitarian Visas as a Legal Pathway to International Protection in Europe.”
The International Legal Theory Interest Group presented its 2022 scholarship prize to Tom Dannenbaum for his article “Siege Starvation: A War Crime of Societal Torture.” An Honorable Mention was awarded to Melissa Stewart, for “‘A New Law on Earth’: Hannah Arendt and the Vision for a Positive Legal Framework to Guarantee a Right to Have Rights.”
The Lieber Society on the Law of Armed Conflict awarded three prizes. The Francis Lieber Prize in the Article category was awarded to Tilman Rodenhäuser, for “Partnering in Detention and Detainee Transfer Operations.” The Francis Lieber Prize in the Book category was awarded to Jelena Plamenac for her book Unravelling Unlawful Confinement in Contemporary Armed Conflicts. The Lieber Society's 2022 Richard R. Baxter Military Prize was awarded to Asaf Lubin for his article “The Reasonable Intelligence Agency.”
Finally, President Amirfar announced that the 2022 Prominent Woman in International Law Award would be presented to former International Criminal Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda by the Women in International Law Interest Group.
President Amirfar then turned to the presentation of the Francis Deák Prize, awarded by the Board of Editors of the American Journal of International Law. The Deák Prize Committee chose to give two awards for 2022. The first was awarded to Zachary Mollengarden and Noam Zamir for their article, “The Monetary Gold Principle: Back to Basics.” The second Deák Prize was awarded to Stratos Pahis for his article, “BITs & Bonds: The International Law and Economics of Sovereign Debt.”
Next, Executive Director Mark Agrast and incoming AJIL Editors in Chief, Monica Hakimi and Ingrid Wuerth, joined Catherine to present two special citations. The first citation was given to Richard Bilder, who was concluding a half-century of active service on the Journal. The second special citation was awarded to outgoing AJIL Editors in Chief, Curtis A. Bradley and Laurence R. Helfer, who served from 2018–2022.
The 2022 David D. Caron Prize was presented by Susan Spencer to Shiri Krebs for her paper, presented at the 2021 Research Forum, on “The Effects of Visual Evidence on the Application of International Humanitarian Law: A Behavioural Approach.”
President Amirfar then presented the 2022 book awards. The Certificate of Merit in a specialized area of international law was awarded to Mira L. Siegelberg for her book, Statelessness: A Modern History, published by Harvard University Press. The Certificate of Merit for “high technical craftsmanship and utility to practicing lawyers and scholars” was awarded to Amal Clooney and Philippa Webb for their book, The Right to a Fair Trial in International Law, published by Oxford University Press. The Certificate of Merit for a preeminent contribution to creative scholarship is awarded to Ntina Tzouvala for her book, Capitalism as Civilisation: A History of International Law, published by Cambridge University Press. Finally, the winner of the Robert E. Dalton Award for Outstanding Contribution in the Field of Foreign Relations Law was awarded to Sarah H. Cleveland and Paul B. Stephan for their volume, The Restatement and Beyond: The Past, Present, and Future of U.S. Foreign Relations Law, published by Oxford University Press.
Following the announcement of the book awards, President Amirfar announced the establishment of the Robert E. Dalton Roundtable on International Law in Government Practice—a new annual program made possible by a gift from the Dalton family. The goal of the Roundtable is to invite government attorneys engaged in the practice of international law to give students and new professionals insights into the nature of their practice.
President Amirfar then conferred the Honors of the Society. The Honorary Member Award was presented to Bhupinder S. Chimni. The Goler T. Butcher Medal was awarded to Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji. The Manley O. Hudson Medal was awarded to ASIL Past President Professor Lori F. Damrosch.
President Amirfar then introduced Maria Ressa and joined her for a keynote conversation. Following the conversation, President Amirfar invited incoming President, Gregory Shaffer, to join her at the podium for the passing of the gavel. President Shaffer gave brief remarks and invited those in attendance to express their appreciation to Mark Agrast, who had announced that he would step down in the fall after eight years as executive director. The Assembly concluded at 6:30 p.m. E.T.
