The Hague Academy's development of community interests in international law

• Published in: European journal of international law 2024-08, Vol.35 (2), p.529-536
• Main Author: Suedi, Yusra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Economics; Hague Academy of International Law; International Court of Justice; International law; Interpretation and construction; Study and teaching; Universalism
• ISSN: 0938-5428; 1464-3596
• DOI: 10.1093/ejil/chae035

The topic of community interests has sustained great interest in international legal scholarship for decades. The term itself has not been easy to define. For the purposes of this review essay, 'community interests' can be understood as interests shared by the international community of states to respect certain common values that are 'not to be left to the free disposition of States individually or 'inter se' but... recognized and sanctioned by international law as a matter of concern to all States'. The term is often used interchangeably with common or collective interests. This review essay assesses the role of 'community interests' in the Hague Academy's public international law lectures published between 1923 and 2023. It argues that, while these lectures did little to clarify the meaning, content and scope of the application of community interests, they contributed to reflections on their normative value and enforceability and emphasized the importance of such interests as characterizing the discipline of international law. The Hague Academy has therefore been a long-standing platform to reinforce the idea of community interests in international law.