The international academy of comparative law

The International Academy of Comparative Law is a body of scholars whose main purpose is the comparative study of different legal systems.

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Our History

The International Academy of Comparative Law was founded at The Hague on 13 September 1924. The date itself is significant because it coincides with the prodigious movement towards a renaissance of law which followed World War I. That the Academy was founded in The Hague is also notable because that city had earlier been designated as the seat of the Permanent Court of International Justice and, in addition, was the place at which the Academy of International Law was founded. In a sense the establishment of both Academies at The Hague amounted to a reaffirmation of the idea that this city was a symbol of the protection of peace through law.

The Academy of International Law and the International Academy of Comparative Law have numerous points in common. Both organizations bring together jurists from all countries of the world. In addition, both undertake the universal diffusion of publications which take into consideration all legal orders and all legal systems of the world. But there are also differences: the Academy of International Law offers its famous summer courses, its Centre of Study and Research, as well as other programmes at The Hague and abroad, and has thus become a teaching and researching institution in the field of international law.

Apart from its Curatorium and the Secretary-General, there are no members of the Academy of International Law. Conversely, the International Academy of Comparative Law is a body of scholars that primarily aims, according to article 2 of its Statutes, at “the comparative study of legal systems”, and it has currently more than seven hundred members. Furthermore, while our sister institution focuses its activities on international law, our Academy is interested in all legal disciplines under a comparative perspective.