The T.M.C. Asser instituut (established in 1965) is a professional inter-university centre of knowledge and research. The institute carries out research in private and public international law, European law, international commercial arbitration and all other related fields, such as international sports law and international humanitarian and criminal law. It is based in The Hague and it is affiliated to the University of Amsterdam.
The institute is named after Tobias Michael Carel Asser (1838–1913), who was a Dutch jurist, and co-winner (with Alfred Fried) of the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1911 for his role in the formation of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the first Hague peace conference (1899). He also advocated for the creation of an international academy of law, which led to founding of the Revue de Droit International et de Législation Comparée with John Westlake and Gustave Rolin-Jaequemyns, the Institut de Droit International and the creation of the Hague Academy of International Law.
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Besides the research facilities for its team of expert researchers, the Institute has access to an extensive international network of academic and scientific contacts. The Asser Instituut aims to develop young talent. The Asser Dissertations Programme offers promising young lawyers the opportunity to work on their research. The funding and appointment of new candidates is done in collaboration with other institutions, preferably law faculties.
Besides fundamental research, the institute focuses on contract research and consultancy work. This ranges from tailored consultancy finding (ad hoc) solutions for small legal issues to coordination and/or export of long-term structural (research) projects. Clients include among others the European Union, national governments, ministries, international organizations, law firms and so on.
The institute has its own publisher: T.M.C. Asser Press. The following journals and yearbooks are being published: The Netherlands Yearbook of International Law (NYIL), Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law (YIHL), Netherlands International Law Review (NILR), Nederlands Internationaal Privaatrecht (NIPR) and European Business Organization Law Review (EBOR).
To feed and keep alive the scientific discussion the T.M.C. Asser Instituut organizes regular conferences and meetings. Smaller in scope, the Asser Round Table Sessions, where people informally exchange views on current international affairs. An overview of events can be found in the Calendar of Events.
The T.M.C. Asser Instituut was established in The Hague, also known as "The Hague: Legal Capital of the World" which is due to the fact that many international legal institutions serve their seat. In the Peace Palace the International Criminal Court and Permanent Court of Arbitration are based. The ICTY and International Criminal Court are also near the institute. This also applies to the Hague Conference on Private International Law.
The T.M.C. Asser Instituut is a member of the Hague Academic Coalition (HAC).
The member institutions are:
The T.M.C. Asser Instituut organises in cooperation with the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies and the Coalition for the International Criminal Court the Supranational Criminal Law Lecture series.
The Hague Initiative for Law and Armed Conflict is an initiative of the Netherlands Red Cross and the T.M.C. Asser Instituut. Its goal is to bring all actors in the field of International Humanitarian Law in the Netherlands together, and to disseminate International Humanitarian Law through different activities. Recently, HILAC has joined forces with the Amsterdam Center for International Law of the University of Amsterdam. The Hague Initiative for Law and Armed Conflict organizes a monthly lecture series.
The T.M.C. Asser Instituut is one of the founding partners of The Hague Institute for Global Justice, a newly established research institute in The Hague.