News & Updates

We are pleased to share the publication of a new report in the ILA Committee on Urbanisation and International Law’s City Reports series: Milan, authored by Veronica Botticelli. The report explores how Milan engages with international law not as an abstract framework, but as a practical tool for addressing local challenges with global dimensions. From migration and housing to public health and climate action, Milan leverages international standards, transnational networks, an

Helmut Aust and Alejandro Rodiles have posted a new paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6725331 Here is the abstract: The idea of building new cities from scratch is gaining new popularity. A particular form of these endeavors relates to the construction of so-called "charter cities" which would be built on the territory of a given state, but would find themselves in more or less complete independence from the legal framework of the host state. Going ba

Seminar with Professor Priya S. Gupta (McGill University, Faculty of Law/Centre for Advanced Studies Reflexive Globalisation and the Law, HU Berlin) Organized by Freie Universität Empirical Legal Studies Center (FUELS) in cooperation with the Institute for Public International Law and EU Law at FU Berlin and the Berlin Office of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public and International Law Heidelberg This project examines the proliferation of high-rise luxury towers a

11 May 2026 | 18:00 – 20:00 | Auditorium Grimm-Zentrum, Geschwister-Scholl-Straße 1–3, Berlin An interdisciplinary panel discussion with Helmut Philipp Aust (Berlin / Heidelberg), Christoph Bernhardt (Berlin), Matthias Garschagen (Bonn), Priya S. Gupta (Montreal), Anne Holsten (Stuttgart), Angela Schwerdtfeger (Berlin), moderated by Alexandra Kemmerer (Berlin / Heidelberg). Cities are key drivers of climate change, but also central to its mitigation and adaptation. As urban a

Excited to announce that the SMU–Max Planck Asian Cities and the International Legal Order Workshop 2.0 (2–3 November 2026) is coming! Prof Liu Nengye (Singapore Management University Yong Pung How School of Law), together with Prof Helmut Aust (Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg) and Prof Orlando Woods (SMU Urban Institute), are delighted to launch the Call for Papers on Urban Challenges and International Law in Asia. Building o

UN Security Council Resolution 2803 on Gaza : over at EJIL: Talk! , our Committee co-Chair Helmut Aust and member Alejandro Rodiles examine the proposed special economic zone, the Board of Peace, and the broader implications of this component of the Trump peace plan. Their analysis highlights connections to other forms of libertarian reordering of urban spaces and plans for new cities construction. Read the post here: https://www.ejiltalk.org/the-corporate-identity-of-unsc-

Many congratulations to our Committee member Marius Pieterse for publishing a stellar and extremely thought-provoking article on "Urban collectives as victims of international human rights violations" with the European Journal of International Law. The themes that Marius engages with in his article are at the heart of the work of our ILA Committee: "Cities are places where people experience human rights violations collectively. Disputes arising from such experiences are incre

The ILA Committee on Urbanisation and International Law is pleased to announce the publication of a new addition to its City Reports series: “Amsterdam”, authored by Sophia Ikpia and Janne Nijman. “Amsterdam is an example of a city that navigates the complex sphere between the local, national and the global by asserting a form of glocal agency that has both pragmatic and aspirational aspects. The city’s engagement with international law and policy is always guided by its lo

We’re thrilled to announce the upcoming Asian Cities and the International Legal Order Workshop , taking place July 10–11, 2025 at the...

The Italian Association of Urban History is hosting a conference at Roma Tre University in Rome, dedicated to exploring the intersection...

The ILA Committee on Urbanisation and International Law: Potential and Pitfalls, invites proposals for a 4500-7000 word City Report. A...