2016-06-23

The summer course of The Hague Academy of International Law started on 7 July 2014 with the presence of Prof. Djamchid Momtaz, an outstanding professor of international law and one of the founders and head of Iranian Association of United Nations Studies between 1999 and 2013.

Dr. Momtaz who is the first Asian professor in the history of the academy will teach the “The hierarchy of international law mechanism” course to 400 participants. This summer course is annually held by the most well-known and high-qualified professors of international law and accordingly the top issues of international law are well explained and taught. Teaching general course in this Academy is an indication of the highest degrees of knowledge and qualifications of professors of international law. This invaluable course which is the outcome of at least a 4-year research will be available for enthusiastic students.

This summer course is the most famous academic course of international law which last for 6 weeks; The first three weeks deal with public international law and the last 3 weeks considers Private International Law Course. During past 80 years, thousands of students from all around the world have taken part in these courses. A huge number of these students have played vital roles in training, research or even diplomacy. This summer course is usually considered as an extraordinary opportunity for visiting worldwide recognized professors of international law as well as attending a highly professional course.

Dr. Momtaz, as the first and only Iranian professor in The Hague Academy of International Law, did successfully complete his doctoral studies with a dissertation titled “legal mechanism of sea beds” in France. This eminent scholar teaching at the faculty of law and political science in the University of Tehran, works as a visiting professor in various universities including Sorbonne, Cannes, Grenoble in France and other international academic institutes as well.

In line with academic activities, Dr. Momtaz as a distinguished lawyer is one of the representatives of Iranian delegations in various international meetings, including Iranian delegation in meetings of General Assembly of the United Nations. Of his other striking experiences is the membership and the presidency of the International Law Commission.

Previously in 2001, Dr. Djamchid Momtaz also offered the special course of “international humanitarian law applicable on non-international armed conflicts” in the summer course of the academy. Furthermore, in September 2007, a cumulative research was conducted in Francophone section of the “Center for Studies and Research in International Law and International Affairs” directed by Dr. Djamchid Momtaz. Noteworthy, these kinds of research are annually carried out on the same subjects in both English and French language under the supervision of one of the outstanding international law professors. Finally, the outcome will be published as a book that each chapters of that has been prepared by lecturers and researchers who attended in this program.

The summer course officially ended on 25th July 2014 when Dr. Djamchid Momtaz offered the last general course. In the last session, continuing teaching course materials, Dr. Momtaz reviewed materials mentioned in previous sessions. The first Asian lecturer has educated the hierarchy of international legal order during 15 hours in three weeks. In the closing session, he explained the consequences of hierarchy on the world public order and international law. In addition, he instructed two sessions on the “responsibility to observe international humanitarian law and international human rights”, “responsibility to protect” and “termination of impunity in case of international crimes” in which participants and Dr. Momtaz mutually discussed the issues.

After a three-week course, almost 400 participants praised him for a while standing up, for his high quality and informative course. The standing ovation during the Academy courses was a “rare historic event”, said Professor Daudet, the Secretary General in farewell ceremony.

In a forum organized by the Iranian Association for United Nation Studies at the start of 2014/15 academic year, it was approved that Prof. Djamchid Momtaz presents the issues discussed during The Hague Academy. The target date for the Forum is October 12, 2014. However, the details will be announced later.

 

The General course discusses the procedures and main principles of the International Law and offers a comprehensive approach on this issue. In addition to the General course, two professors covered two specific issues related to the public international law. In the first week, Professor Christine Gray from the University of Cambridge discussed the constraints, aspects and consequences of using force in the public international law. Olivier Corten from Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), taught a topical issue, i.e., Rebellion and international law.

During the second week, Professor Emmanuelle Tourme-Jouannet, the professor of International law at the Sorbonne School of Law, Paris 1 University lectured on “historical and philosophical development of international human rights law”. The other course taught by Bakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov lawyer at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and Russian attorney during the second week was “Legal Dimensions of Arms Control Agreements”.

 

In the last week, Brooks W. Daly Deputy Secretary-General and Principal Legal Counsel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) talked about “Renaissance in Inter-State Arbitration” and Professor Maurizio Ragazzi, Senior Counsel for International Law, World Bank discussed “the relationship between the United Nations and the World Bank (IBRD)”.

 

This international law course is known for being serious in granting the Evaluation Diploma. Each year, part of attending students registers for the Academy exam from which only a limited number of students have been graduated from 1950 onwards and in some years even no student succeeded in getting the diploma.

 

The exam is composed of two parts: oral and written parts. This year an African-French girl succeeded to get the valuable diploma from The Hague Academy of International Law.

 

During the last 80 years, thousands of students have participated in the course. Most of them have gained key entrepreneurship positions in education, research or diplomacy. This year, 11 Iranian students participated which ranked the second in Asia after China with regard to the number of participants. This summer course provides an excellent opportunity to meet the “great names” in international law and participate in a high-quality course.

 

Teaching the General course in the Academy is considered a valuable academic achievement. The course is the result of an at least four years of research and will be taught to those who are interested and will be published.

 

Along with numerous social programs organized for the student, the Academy for the first time holds a one-day simulation of the Security Council focusing on drones.