On September 4th , 2018, it was the second training day of the first week of fourth training session of the China-AALCO Exchange and Research Program on international law. Professor Liu Daqun, Vice President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, entitled ‘The History of International Law and the International Criminal Court ’, gave the participants a wonderful speech on the history of the development of international law and the operation mechanism of the International Criminal Court. Professor Nie Jianqiang attended and presided over this speech.

In the morning course, Judge Liu Daqun first showed that Asian and African countries have made significant contributions to the development of international law. He introduced the development of the legal system during the Warring States Period of China, the Indian Monroe Code, the influence of Alexander VI's rule on the development history of society and international law at that time, and encouraged the participants to study international law in an objective and comprehensive manner. Later, started with Columbus’ discover of the American continent, opening up of the European era of exploration and colonial overseas territories, he introduced the Treaty of Tordesillas, the Peaceful Treaty of Westphalia, the Utrecht Contract, the Vienna Conference, the Hague Peace Conference, the League of Nations and the United Nations in chronicle order.. Judge Liu Daqun not only introduced the process and main content of the conclusion of the treaty or the meeting, but also encouraged students to think in the form of interactive questions and answers. The atmosphere of classroom was extremely active.

During the lectures given by Judge Liu Daqun, the participants raised questions and and express their opinions.about the interests of the countries directly influenced by the Westphalian Peace Treaty, the changes and influences on the balance of international power in the peaceful rise of the country, the similarity between the rise of Japan and the rise of the UK, and whether it is reasonable to say that ‘the weak country has no diplomacy’ and how the weak countries maintain their own interests in the international community.

In the afternoon discussion, in order to let the trainees understand the development process of the international criminal trial institution, Judge Liu Daqun gave a general introduction to several major international courts such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Judge Liu Daqun summed up the common principles of these courts into four points: the courts only deal with individual criminal liability issues, not the state; the head of state cannot have the right of immunity; only for serious crimes that violate jus cogens, not general crimes; Immediately afterwards, Judge Liu Daqun reviewed the historical history of the two military courts in the Nuremberg trial and the Tokyo trial. He pointed out that the legacy of the Nuremberg trial and the Tokyo trial laid the theoretical and practical foundation for the development of international criminal law and international humanitarian law.

In addition, as the focus of today's curriculum, Judge Liu Daqun gave an in-depth explanation of the conditions, background and principles of the establishment of ICTY, ICTR and the International Criminal Court (ICC). He emphasized that as an ad hoc tribunal of the United Nations, ICTY and ICTR have inherited and developed the legal results of the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, while also advancing the applicable rules of customary international law, especially in the interpretation of the 1949 Geneva Convention. In addition, Judge Liu Daqun also conducted a heated discussion on the problems existing in the practice of the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court by means of mapping, and encouraged the participants to maintain independent thinking and critical thinking when looking at issues.

Judge Liu Daqun not only paid attention to the historical context, but also was good at interspersed with small stories and combined with his own work practices. The classroom atmosphere was quite active. After the course, the participants had a better understanding of the origin and development of the international criminal trial institution.