LCIL Lecture: 'The Historical Origins of Russia’s Contemporary Concept of International Law' - Lauri Mälksoo

Lecture summary: Russia’s strategic concepts such as the new version of the Concept of Foreign Policy adopted on 30 November 2016 greatly emphasize the role of international law. However, a closer analysis of trends in Russia’s international law scholarship and state practice reveals that what is meant by international law sometimes significantly differs both from trends in Western theory and practice. The lecture will focus on some of historical origins of Russia’s contemporary concept of international law, going back in particular to Soviet and Tsarist periods of Russian history. The talk will raise the question to what extent international law is universal and to what extent regional and civilizational.

Lauri Mälksoo is Professor of International Law at the University of Tartu in Estonia. He is member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, associate member of the Institut de droit international and member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. He has published widely on the history and theory of international law; his book “Russian Approaches to International Law” was published in 2015 at OUP.

  The Lauterpacht Centre Friday lecture series is kindly supported by Cambridge University Press.

Lauterpacht Centre - Term Lecture Programme and Information »

Numbers are limited so please arrive early to avoid disappointment. Please note the lecture programme is subject to revision without notice.