On the interface between public and private international law
For Professor Campbell McLachlan KC, a professor of International Law at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University for over twenty years, life has been peripatetic of late.
Following his tenure as Arthur Goodhart Visiting Professor of Legal Science at the University of Cambridge last year, Professor McLachlan proceeded to deliver a career-defining lecture series at the Hague Academy of International Law. He is the first New Zealand legal academic to present the prestigious General Course—comprising fifteen lectures—to graduates from approximately 65 nationalities.
Established in 1923 with Carnegie Foundation support, The Hague Academy serves as the foremost research and teaching forum for International Law. It is situated at the Peace Palace, home to the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration, and hosts both the Summer and the Winter series—each lasting three weeks. Students receive special topic lectures alongside a series of fifteen General Course lectures delivered by law professors from around the world. These lectures contribute to the Recueil des Cours, a collection that documents over 400 lecture series since 1923 and offers insights into contemporary international legal thought.
The invitation comes with high expectations: Each lecture is simultaneously interpreted into French—the other working language of the Academy—and is live streamed. Besides students, other professors as well as judges from the International Court may also attend lectures, thus making it a highly public forum.
Luckily, unlike the summer programme, the winter lecture series covers both public and private international law—typically distinct areas of study—which aligns perfectly with Professor McLachlan’s academic scholarship and professional background as a partner in a London City law firm during the 1990s and, more recently, as an international arbitrator.
Professor McLachlan’s chosen theme—On the interface between Public and Private International Law—is an area where there is currently little academic discourse. He says, “You want to try and [deliver these lectures] in a way that pursues a single consistent theme throughout, aligns with your academic and lived experience, and says something that is original—which is not so easy when you have 400 volumes of the Recueil already behind you”.
During his lectures, his key proposition to students was to take a holistic view of our current position in international law. “There is no shortage of Law in the private or the public sphere,” he says, “and yet, every day, we get the impression that the world is in total chaos, where law seems to hold only the most tenuous grip on the real forces that shape the world.”
Professor McLachlan argues that, in any given case, students need to ask whether it is the state or the corporation—the two legal entities that characterise public and private international law respectively—who truly bears responsibility and whether the most suitable remedy can be found in Public or Private International Law.
Professor McLachlan believes that both states and corporations exert significant influence in our lives and that there are many junctures where the two intersect. He says, “States are invested with public power but also enjoy general legal personality. In the real-world, state-owned enterprises wield significant economic influence. Consequently, determining whether the State is privately or publicly accountable, especially in fields like investment law, is often highly consequential.”
Professor McLachlan enjoyed interacting with the students who brought their experiences and scholarship to the interactive small workshop sessions. They engaged actively in discussions on topics around the public-private divide in matters such as modern slavery, the environment, and expropriation of property in the public interest.
Another enjoyable aspect of the experience was the ‘old-world’ approach to networking that both Faculty and students enjoyed during their time at the Hague Academy. This included social events hosted by embassies and international organisations in The Hague. “For students it is a blast! Imagine that you are parachuted in from New Zealand or Burkina Faso or wherever and suddenly you’re meeting people from all around the world.”
Professor McLachlan’s association with The Hague Academy is long-standing and he is always encouraging Victoria University students to attend. A former student of his—alumnus Ashley Stanley-Ryan (LLB, 2017)—last year became the third New Zealander to be awarded the coveted Hague Academy Diploma. Professor McLachlan was the first ever New Zealander to receive it in 1985, after having just completed his LLB at Victoria University.
Reflecting on his experience, Professor McLachlan believes that this lecture series was a unique opportunity to contribute to modern international law discourse and to pass on something thought-provoking to the next generation of international lawyers who will pick it up in their own way. “That is the whole function of teaching and of higher education.”
Faculty of Law Dean, Professor Lee Godden agrees. “The Faculty of Law recognises this as a momentous achievement in one’s legal academic career and offers Professor McLachlan its sincere congratulations. This is a very proud moment.”
Professor McLachlan has been elected to a permanent Professorship in international dispute resolution at the University of Cambridge, which he will take up in July. The Faculty of Law looks forward to maintaining an enduring relationship with Professor McLachlan in the future and wishes him all the best on his new appointment.