27 May, 2008: Second Follow-Up Meeting on Private Actors and Self-Regulation

Over the course of two meetings of the HiiL Programmatic Steering Board which were held on 16 February 2007 and 21 April 2007, it was agreed that HiiL should explore possibilities for research in the area of private actors and internationalisation, with the theme of private regulation serving as a key focal point.

On the basis of a Concept Paper drafted by HiiL which was subsequently discussed during the first HiiL meeting on Private Actors and Self-regulation held on 22nd November 2007, several issues considered to be of significant interest to both practitioners and academics were identified including the relationship between formal national legal systems and informal regulatory systems, the creation of rights and obligations for third parties by self-regulatory regimes and the problems of enforcement and legitimacy of these private regulations.

Following the first meeting, HiiL re-worked the initial concept paper to include issues such as harmonisation trends, conflicts between private regulation and applicable national law, increasing tendencies towards multi-stakeholders initiatives in the Corporate Social Responsibility area, as well as issues that arise in the context of these developments, in particular questions related to the quality of private norms, their effectiveness, enforcement and the legitimacy of all these processes.

The main objective of this second meeting is to bring together a gathering of leading experts drawn from practice (including national governments and judges), academia (universities and research institutes), and  representatives of the private sector and non-governmental organizations, to discuss the issues raised in the attached concept paper. This will, undoubtedly, be conducive both to achieving a full understanding of the questions and problems surrounding private actors and  private regulation, as well as  reaching conclusions which are of interest to both practitioners and academics alike.

Location: Carlton Ambassador Hotel in the Hague

Please note that this event is invitee only.