On 23 and 24 November 2023, at the premises of the Faculty of Law at Charles University in Prague, the Czech Republic, the ESIL supported international conference for the early-career researchers titled ‘New Technologies in International Law’ took place –  https://law.prf.cuni.cz/ntil/. The conference, organised by Dr. Alla Tymofeyeva from the home institution, focused on the challenges posed by modern technologies and artificial intelligence for international law. Deliberations revolved around the implications of new technologies for humanitarian law, human rights, environmental law, international criminal law, space law, and other areas. The individual contributions addressed issues such as fake news, the utilisation of technologies in sustainable agriculture, and the regulation of autonomous weaponry beyond human control.

The partnership of ESIL made an invaluable contribution in attracting significant attention to this event. Apart from Czech young researchers, the conference was attended by speakers from Poland, Slovakia, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Egypt. The discussions within the conference generated insightful perspectives on the topics under consideration and proved to be highly valuable to all participants.

The keynote speaker of the conference was Dr. Inga Martinkute, a professor of Public International Law from Vilnius University and an ESIL board member. In her opening address, among other points, she emphasised the importance of sharing knowledge with less financially privileged societies and expressed the idea that the right to internet access should be regarded as a fundamental human right. The topic of modern technologies also constitutes the primary focus of the forthcoming Annual Conference of the European Society of International Law (ESIL), scheduled to take place on 5 and 6 September 2024 in Vilnius, Lithuania – https://esil-sedi.eu/2024-esil-annual-conference/. The Call for Papers is open, and the deadline for submissions is 31 January 2024.