The Informal Meeting of Legal Advisers, organized this year by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland, was held on the 22 and 23 of October, marking the traditional opening of International Law Week.

In the opening remarks of this meeting, the Legal Counsel highlighted the role of international law and the new trend on criminal accountability mechanisms, as well as the importance of the Law of the Sea and on-going processes such as the related to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ).

During his intervention, the Legal Counsel also referred to the relevance of treaties and the practice related to the functions of the Secretary General in light of Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.

The legal advisers were also addressed by Mr. Adama Dieng, Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, who opened the discussion on the prevention and punishment of atrocity crimes in light of the 70 years of the adoption of the UN Convention on Genocide.

The ensuing panels and the deliberations of the legal advisers focused on the responsibility of states for internationally wrongful acts as well as the most recent developments related to Law of Treaties.

Throughout the week, Mr. Serpa Soares also held bilateral meetings with several legal advisers who came from all over the world to the UN in order to discuss current issues of international law and its development