The Faculty of Law of the University of Pretoria is proud to announce that Professor Dire Tladi was appointed to serve on the Commission dealing with Pandemics and International Law of the Institut de Droit International, based in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Institut de Droit International is an organization devoted to the study and development of international law, whose membership comprises some of the world's leading public international lawyers. It was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1904. The Institut decided to place the topic of pandemics on its agenda in the wake of Covid-19.

Professor Tladi joins other leading international lawyers, such as former President of the International Criminal Tribunal, Theodore Meron and Judge of the International Court of Justice, Xue Hanqin. Other members of the Commission are Shinya Murase (Special Rapporteur), Gerard Niyungeko, Antony Anghie, Eyal Benvenisti, Claudio Grossman, Bernardo Sepulveda-Amor, Jose Alvarez, Francesco Francioni, Vanda Lamm, Vaclav Mikulka, Fausto Pocar, Antonio Remiro Brotons and Campbell McLachlan.

Professor Tladi has been a member of the Institut de Droit International since 2017. He is a professor of international law in the Department of Public Law and a fellow of the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa.

According to Professor Tladi, “The work of the Institut de Droit on this topic will hopefully clarify important rules of international law in times of pandemic, such as the duty to cooperation, responsibility for outbreaks, immigration-related questions, as well as the contours of the duty to act in the best interest of the human population.”

Prof Christof Heyns, the Director of the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa, commented as follows: “We are very proud of professor Tladi’s appointment. This is an honour but also a great opportunity to make a contribution to ensuring that international law retains its relevance for and impact in a time of great upheaval worldwide.”

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