Keynote Address to the 20th Annual Fulbright Symposium – International Law in a Time of Change

The theme of this symposium is International Law in a Time of Change. Considering the events that have engulfed international law in recent times, it is hard to imagine a more important or timely topic than this one. Whether one focuses on the rules, principles and concepts, or the institutions of international law, there is no escape from the fact that these things all bear the indelible imprint of change. This fitting theme has undoubtedly been influenced, I believe, by the Change campaign of President Barrack Obama, the “new Prince of Change.” For this reason, I am inclined to think that it is no coincidence that the recently concluded meeting of the American Society of International Law in Washington, DC was also based upon the same theme. In line with the theme of change, the goal of today’s symposium is to survey the international law scene in a number of areas and to trace and identify the impact of the major developments in key areas of international law, as these developments continue to be shaped within the framework of changing global realities. The substantive issues arising from these developments range from armed conflict to climate change and from the financial crisis to terrorism