Governance

The Institute is composed of six statury bodies namely the General Assembly, the President, the Council, the Executive Board, the Secretary-General and the Treasurer.

Members of the Institute are of different nationalities. They are persons that have particularly distinguished themselves through competence or activities in fields of specific interest to the Organisation. Institutions significantly contributing to the work of the Institute may also be admitted as members. Qualified persons and academic institutions, as also nations and international intergovernmental organisations contributing to the activities of the Institute, may be admitted as Associate members but may not vote.

The General Assembly, including all Members of the Institute, establishes the general policy of the Institute. It meets in an ordinary session each year to approve the annual budget and final accounts.

The Council

The Council is composed of twelve members elected by the General Assembly for a period of four years, each of whom may be re-elected for a total period of twelve consecutive years. The Council oversees the management of the Institute, determining the programme of activities, elects the President and Vice-Presidents and appoints the Secretary-General and Treasurer, who then form the Executive Board. The Municipality of Sanremo and the Italian Red Cross are ex officio members of the Council of the Institute.

The President

The President is elected by the Council every four years and may be re-elected for a second consecutive term up to a maximum of eight consecutive years. The President is the Chief Executive Officer of the Institute and has the primary responsibility to ensure that the Institute pursues its purpose and objectives in conformity with the Statutes and the general policy established by the General Assembly. Current President of the Institute is Lt. Gen. (retd) Giorgio Battisti.

The financial resources of the Institute include membership fees, course participant fees, voluntary contributions of Governments, Institutions or Organisations, and subsidies, bequests or donations. The financial resources of the Institute are modest if compared with the extent of its commitment and activity in a field of increasing interest to the international community.

President & Honorary President *

Lieutenant General (rtd) Giorgio BATTISTI
Lieutenant General (rtd) Giorgio BATTISTI

Former Commanding General of Italian Army Training and Doctrine Command

President

Professor Fausto POCAR
Professor Fausto POCAR

Former President, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia; Emeritus Professor, University of Milan

Honorary President

Vice Presidents *

  • Ambassador Marja LEHTO (Finland), Ambassador (International legal affairs), Ministry for Foreign Affairs
  • Colonel Carl MARCHAND (Switzerland), Head, IHL and Human Rights Section, Swiss Armed Forces
  • Ms Laurence MARION (France), Director of Legal Affairs of the Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans
  • Brigadier General (rtd) Jan Peter SPIJK (The Netherlands), Honorary President, International Society for Military Law and the Law of War

 

Council members *

  • Dr. Vidar BIRKELAND (Norway), Lawyer/Medical Doctor (MD); Senior advisor; Statnett SF
  • Professor Michael BOTHE (Germany), Professor Emeritus, J.W. Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main
  • Professor Geoffrey S. CORN (United States), Chair of Criminal Law and Director of the Center for Military Law and Policy, Texas Tech University School of Law
  • Brigadier General Dr. Karl EDLINGER (Austria), Legal Adviser, Austrian Armed Forces
  • Professor Chris JENKS (United States), Senior IHL Advisor to the Judge Advocate General of the US Army
  • Dr. Riccardo MAIA (Italy), Head of Integrated Office, Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo – DRC), United Nations Mission in the Congo (MONUSCO)
  • Professor Nils MELZER (Switzerland), Director of International Law, Policy & Humanitarian Diplomacy, ICRC; Human Rights Chair, Geneva Academy of IHL and Human Rights
  • Professor Marco PEDRAZZI (Italy), Full Professor of International Law, University of Milan
  • Brigadier General (rtd) Darren STEWART OBE (United Kingdom),General Editor, United Kingdom Joint Service Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict; Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre, UK Ministry of Defence
  • Professor Bakhtiyar TUZMUKHAMEDOV (Russia), Vice-President of the Russian Association of International Law
  • Professor Gabriella VENTURINI (Italy), Professor Emerita, University of Milan
  • Mr John YOUNG (United States), Head of Protection Learning and Development, UNHCR Global Learning and Development Centre, Budapest
  • MUNICIPALITY OF SANREMO (ex officio member)
  • ITALIAN RED CROSS (ex officio member)

Other Statutory Bodies

Mr. Gian Luca BERUTO
Mr. Gian Luca BERUTO

Secretary-General a.i. **

*

President, Honorary President, Vice-Presidents and Council members do not receive any remuneration for their services.

**

Obblighi di pubblicazione concernenti artt. 14, 15 e 22 D. Lgs. 33 del 2013 e L. 124 del 4 agosto 2017 del D. Lgs. 33 del 2013.