Peace through Law: The Role of the ILC

Abstract

I hope you will not be disappointed if I do not deliver a wrap-up of the entire discussion. I will not add to the discussion on the ILC’s contribution to peace by pursuing any grand general ideas because I think they have all been put before you repeatedly. I only want to make a few remarks on some specific aspects of this morning’s topics. But before I start let me just say that I understood Martti Koskenniemi’s concept of cultural formalism in a different way than did some of the people who discussed it this morning. I never had doubts that these year-long tortuous and very sophisticated procedures leading to, I quote, mere softlaw instruments would not qualify in Martti’s eyes as formalism. So I think that is about as formal or as formalistic as you can get irrespective of the outcome.