International Law Students Association (ILSA)

The ILSA is an international law non-profit organization that encourages communication between law students and lawyers in other countries. The hope is to advocate legal education and emphasize social conscientiousness in law and avail the chance for students to examine other cultures and their laws. ILSA will also make international educational events available as well as any career possibilities at the international level.

If you are a law student interested in joining ILSA, check at your school for an ILSA Chapter which would be called International Law Society. Lawyers who work in the International Law field and law students are invited to register as individual members with ILSA if there is not a chapter at your school. Registered members will be able to attend the 3 conferences ILSA holds annually and other events. The organization will send the members subscriptions to the ILSA Quarterly to keep everyone informed about events and conferences.


Events annually are:
 

• Fall conference
• Spring conference
• International conference
• International law weekend in New York

A well attended event annually is the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. Every year over 500 schools from more than 80 countries attend. It is the largest moot court competition internationally.

ILSA throughout the years has worked with students to bring together and finance international law conferences at Law Schools, Universities and any other professional organization that wishes to host such a conference. The conferences allow students and lawyers to network with international lawyers, professors and law students.

Here are three events that were released to the press which were sponsored by ILSA in 2008 through spring of 2009.
 

• Through the past year the ILSA sponsored the 50th anniversary of the World’s Largest International Moot Court Event. This was the press release for the evening dinner after the competition.

''the International Law Students Association and the American Society of International Law will co-host a gala dinner event to be attended by more than 800 students and attorneys. The event, held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., will honor the Jessup’s Anniversary. Three past and current presidents of the International Court of Justice will be in attendance.'' (ILSA, Press Release, March 2009.)
 

• A former U.N. Official spoke at the ILSA Conference on Genocide. The follow is a brief clip of a public news release to describe the conference.

“The conference, ‘Understanding Genocide: Prevention, Prosecution and Progress,’ will draw top scholars and human rights advocates from around the country to the VLS campus to explore what constitutes genocide and what can be done about such atrocities.'' (ILSA, Press Release, September 2008.)
 

• An article was released to announce the dates and location of the Annual ILSA Summer Conference in 2008.

“The International Law Students Association is pleased to announce that Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) has been selected as the host of the very first annual ILSA Summer Conference. The 2008 ILSA Summer Conference, entitled “Universalism and Regionalism in International Law,'' will be held August 12-15, 2008, on the UFMG campus in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.'' (ILSA, Press Release, January 2008.)

This information should get you excited to be part of the International Law Students Association (ILSA) and its events throughout the year. Check it out! Buenos Dias.