The need for a strong rules-based international order that respects the rights of states regardless of size was a central theme of the Small States, International Law and the Realisation of Rights conference, which took place at WilmerHale’s London office on November 14–15. The conference drew over 80 participants from around the world, including speakers from The Bahamas, Barbados, Cape Verde, Fiji, Guam, Papua New Guinea, Singapore and Slovenia.
Leading lawyers, academics and government representatives discussed how, despite often-limited resources, small states can advocate for their interests and more effectively resolve international disputes. Among other issues, speakers addressed how small states influence global decision making; differing approaches to international law; the role of civil society; the emergence of new states; dispute resolution funding models; dispute resolution strategies; and climate change issues, including the role of blockchain.
WilmerHale Partner Steven Finizio welcomed attendees to the conference, which the firm co-hosted with the Institute of Small and Micro States and the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, with the support of De Montfort University and Brill. In his remarks, Finizio highlighted how “these conferences focus attention in a deeper way on issues facing small states, create connections, and create opportunities in a meaningful way for people to take these issues forward.”
Dr. Anne Gallagher, who directs the Commonwealth Foundation in London, gave the keynote address on the first day of the conference. She set the scene for the remaining discussions, focusing on power, status and influence in light of what she termed a “crisis of multilateralism.” She stressed that a rules-based legal order is favorable in that it provides a barricade to naked power. Only such an order would better protect small states and their interests, she argued.
Justice Ambeng Kandakasi, the deputy chief justice of the National and Supreme Courts of Papua New Guinea, gave the keynote address on the second day. Justice Kandakasi spoke on the grave challenges small states face as a result of climate change, and he proposed the formation of a new regional tribunal for Pacific Island countries to address environmental disputes.
WilmerHale lawyers played a substantial role in the conference. Senior Associate Dharshini Prasad chaired Justice Kandakasi’s keynote, and Counsel Francis Greenway spoke on the panel “Dispute Resolution Funding Models.” Finizio also spoke on dispute resolution options for climate change and environmental issues. He noted the seriousness of the threat to small states from environmental issues, and that it is therefore “crucial that there are effective forums available to address these issues, and that there is a better understanding of the options available for resolving them.”
The conference was the fourth in a series hosted by WilmerHale, which has addressed issues relating to small states and international law. Previous conferences have included Regional Integration and Dispute Resolution (2016), International Financial Services and Small States (2017), and Environmental Dispute Resolution and Small States (2018). All four conferences are available to watch in full.
Dr. Petra Butler, the director of the Institute for Small and Micro States, a professor at Victoria University of Wellington, a and co-organizer of the conferences, says, “It is hugely rewarding to bring together small states stakeholders from all corners of the world to meet and to discuss, with each other and with experts, issues pertinent to them.”
Watch the full 2019 conference.