The Summer School on Public International Law
The Summer School is an intensive programme on public international law. Classes are held in person at the ICLRC’s library over the course of two weeks.
In 2026, the Summer School will take place from 9 to 21 August at the ICLRC (14 b.3 Kadashevskaya Embankment, Moscow, Russia).
The lecturers of the Summer School include foreign and Russian experts, such as representatives of international organisations, judges of international courts and tribunals, lawyers, and professors of leading universities.
The classes are held in English and Russian (without translation) at the ICLRC's library (throughout the day) and cannot be combined with work or studies. Please note that some lectures may be delivered by experts joining online at the ICLRC's library.
The Summer School is designed for lawyers who have obtained a higher education degree and have accumulated professional experience.
As participants in the Summer School, attendees have the opportunity to expand their knowledge of international law, become part of a professional community, and personally meet like-minded people from different countries.
Upon completion of the Summer School, attendees receive a Certificate of Attendance (provided they attend at least 90 per cent of the sessions). This certificate is not an official educational or qualification document.
Participation in the Summer School is free of charge. However, applicants selected by the Advisory Board are required to pay a registration fee of 5,000 RUB.
Attendees permanently residing outside Moscow may be granted a scholarship.
Questions related to participation in the Summer School can be addressed by e-mail: summer_school@iclrc.ru.
The texts of lectures, presentation materials, and everything said by the experts during the Summer School reflect their own views and may not necessarily align with the opinions of the ICLRC and its staff.
Programme and experts 2026*
General topic of the Summer School 2026: BRICS and International Law
George Rodrigo Bandeira Galindo
General Course on Public International Law
Bimal N Patel
India’s Approaches to International Law
Juwana Hikmahanto
Indonesia’s Approaches to International Law
Thembile Elphus Joyini
South Africa’s Approaches to International Law
Ma Xinmin
UN Charter and Development of International Law
Jasmine Moussa
Egypt’s Approaches to International Law
*The programme is subject to change
Requirements
- Higher legal education (as of the applications closing date)
- Proficiency in Russian and English
To participate in the selection process, it is necessary to submit:
- CV (in Russian and English)
- letter of motivation (in English)
- proof of a law degree
Scholarship
Attendees permanently residing outside Moscow may be granted a scholarship of up to 50,000 RUB to cover expenses.
Attendees who have been approved for a scholarship are required to submit documents confirming their expenses for accommodation in Moscow and expenses for travelling from their place of permanent residence to Moscow and back.
Members of the Advisory Board
The Advisory Board, in particular, determines the issues of the School’s Special courses, its experts and students.
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Past schools
General topic of the Summer School 2025: Judicial Resolution of International Disputes Involving States. The curriculum comprised a general course on public international law, lectures on special topics, seminars, independent learning, meeting on various issues of international law with Judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea Roman Kolodkin, and also informal activities
34 attendees from different regions of Russia, and also from:
Belarus
Israel
Kyrgyzstan
Syria
Program
Olufemi Elias
General Course on Public International Law
Paolo Palchetti
Work as a Counsel to States in International Adjudication
José Luis Jesus
Dispute Settlement Under UNCLOS
Omri M. Sender
Dispute Resolution in the International Court of Justice
Alexey Dronov
Dispute Settlement in the EAEU
Alfredo Crosato Neumann
Significance of International Courts' Decisions
Manuel Sánchez Miranda
Dispute Settlement in the WTO
Application form
Ph.D. (Law), Principal Legal Secretary of the Court, Head of the Department of Legal Matters, International Court of Justice, Member, Institut de Droit International
In 1992-2016 he was a senior staff member of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. From 2009 to 2015 he was a judge at the UN International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and a judge at the Appeals Chamber of the UN International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and for the former Yugoslavia. He taught at the Hague Academy of International Law, Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry and other higher education establishments in Russia and abroad. Author of multiple publications in the field of international law, including on international law in constitutional jurisdiction.
Russia
In 1986–1990, served at the USSR Ministry of Merchant Marine.
In 1990–1991, served at the Committee on Inter-Republic Relations of the Supreme Soviet (Parliament) of Russia.
In 1991–1992, served as Assistant to and Head of Staff of the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
In 1992–1997, served as Head of Division, Deputy Director of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
In 1997–2001 — Deputy permanent representative to the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva.
From 2009 to 2015, he served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Netherlands, Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
In 2001–2009, 2015–2017, he served as Director of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
In 2017–2020 — Director of Public International Law Studies, since 2020 — Advisor on Public International Law of the International and Comparative Law Research Center.
In 2003–2011, 2015–2018 — Member of the International Law Commission.
Professor of International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva since 1995. Titular Member of the Institut de Droit International, its Secretary-General since 2015. Marcelo Kohen has worked as legal counsel and advocate for a number of States before international courts and tribunals. He also acts as an arbitrator in ICSID and UNCITRAL cases. He has been visiting professor at several European universities and Rapporteur or Corappor-teur for the International Law Association, the Council of Europe, and the Institut de Droit International. He was one of the founders of the Latin American Society of International Law and served as its Secretary-General until 2015. He has been in the Board of the LLM in Interna-tional Dispute Settléement of Geneva (MIDS) since its creation. Author of many publications in the field of international law. He was awarded the Paul Guggenheim Prize in 1997 for his book “Possession contestée et souveraineté territorial” (Adverse Possession and Territorial Sovereignty).
Stefan Talmon, DPhil LLM MA, is Professor of Public Law, Public International Law and European Union Law, and Director of the Institute of Public International Law at the University of Bonn. He is also a Super-numerary Fellow of St. Anne’s College, Oxford. He also was Professor of Public International Law at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of St. Anne’s College, Oxford. In the academic year 2020…2021, he was a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford. Stefan Talmon is a generalist with wide-ranging interests in international law: he is the editor of the blog and CUP book series GPIL — German Practice in International Law. Professor Talmon practices as a Barrister from TwentyEssex, London, and frequently advises States and transnational corporations on questions of public international law. He has appeared as counsel and expert before the International Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights, and international arbitral tribunals (including ICSID), as well as domestic courts in England, Germany, and the United States of America. In 2019…2020, he sat as an arbitrator in a confidential PCA arbitration concerning international terrorism.
Expert in international law, comparative law, international business, and international dispute resolution, with an emphasis on Soviet and post-Soviet legal systems. He also received his J.D. degree. During 2006…2007, he served as Counselor on International Law in the U.S. Department of State, and in 2020…2021 as Special Counsel to the General Counsel in the U.S. Department of Defense. He also worked with the U.S. Department of Treasury, the IMF, the World Bank, and the OECD on issues of tax reform from 1993 to 1998. He was coordinating reporter for the American Law Institute’s Restatement (Fourth) of the Foreign Relations Law of the United States (2018). He clerked for Judge LevinCampbell of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. He has taught as a visiting professor at numerous universities. He has written many books and published over a hundred articles. His current research interests include “The Crisis in International Law – System Shocks, National Populism, and the Battle for the World Economy”, due for publication by Cambridge University Press in 2022.
President of the Society of the Law of the Sea and former Judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (2008…2020). Dr. Gao received Doctorate in the Science of Law, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada, and finished a Post Doctorate in Law, East-West Centre, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA (1994). Over the last two years, Zhiguo Gao has been a teacher in a large number of universities and has also received honorary titles. Dr. Gao‘s professional experiences in recent years also include: Professor and Honorary Dean, Hainan University Law School (2014…present). Professor and Honorary Director, Centre for the Law of the Sea, Tsinghua University (2009…present). Professor and Adjunct Professor of Shanghai University of Communications (2020…present), University of Nanjing (since June 2013) China University of Political Science and Law (2012…present), Hainan University (2008…present); Xiamen University (2004…present), China Ocean University (2000…present); Senior Lecturer (1994…1997) and Honorary Lecturer (1998…present), Unive-rsity of Dundee, United Kingdom; President, China Society for the Law of the Sea (1998…present); Member of the Advisory Board, Chinese Society of International Law (since 2013), Member of Editorial Board, Ocean Development and International Law (Canada); Member of Editorial Board, Ocean Yearbook (United States of America); Chairman of the Editorial Board, Ocean & Boundary Affairs, Wuhan University, China. Dr. Gao is widely published in books and journals. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the Chinese Yearbook of the Law of the Sea.
Professor of Public International Law at the Federal University of Minas Gerais and Director of its Public Law Department. Caldeira Brant got his Ph.D. in International Law, doctorate thesis awarded with the “Prix du Ministère de la Recherche”, Paris, France. He is a visiting professor at various universities. Member of the Argentina National Academy of Law. Lecturer at the XXXVII International Law Course of the Organization of American States. Lecturer at the Gilberto Amado Memorial Lecture Series, held by the International Law Commission. Former member of the legal body of the International Court of Justice. Former member of the Advisory Committee for Nominations at the International Criminal Court. Former Brazilian candidate to the post of Judge at the International Criminal Court. Honorary member of the Minas Gerais Academy of Legal Letters. Member of the Societé Française de Droit International. Director of the Brazilian branch of the International Law Association (ILA Brazil). Founder and Honorary President of the International Law Center (CEDIN), director of the Brazilian International Law Yearbook.
Emeritus Professor of Law of the Univer-sities of Leiden and the Witwatersrand and former Director of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, Cambridge. He participated in the drafting of South Africa’s democratic Constitution of 1996. He was a member of the International Law Commis-sion (1997…2011) and Special Rapporteur on the subject of diplomatic protection, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (2001…2008), and Judge ad hoc of the International Court of Justice (2000…2018). He has taught at the Hague Academy of International law and has published several books and many articles on international law. He is a member of the Institut de Droit International and an Honorary Member of the American Society of International law.