CYIL vol. 14 (2023)

PREFACE

Dear Readers, I have great pleasure to introduce the fourteenth issue of the Czech Yearbook of Public & Private International Law (CYIL). Volume 14 appears, as usual, in the end of autumn, which is the typical time for the readers of this Yearbook who are interested in the developments in international law. The Czech Yearbook was established by the Czech Society of International Law in 2010. It was done thanks to the Board and the members of this association of Czech international lawyers, both academics and practitioners, who felt a lacuna of such a specialized journal or yearbook. Since 2014, the Czech Yearbook has been published by the international publishers, RW&W, Science & New Media, Passau-Berlin-Praha, which, in cooperation with Süd Ost Service, ensures its distribution in Germany and Western Europe. As you know, the CSIL publishes the Yearbook in both printed and electronic versions ( www.cyil.eu ). Since 2015, the Czech Yearbook has been included in the Czech index of scholarly peer-reviewed journals (RVVI) and in the SCOPUS international database. This growth of the Czech Yearbook ranks it among the larger publications of its kind in an international comparison. However, in spite of the significant rise of publishing costs, we are proud to announce that this publication is still available for free for members of the Czech Society of International Law (included in the membership fee) and on sale for a very reasonable price. In 2023, we commemorate, inter alia, 150 th anniversary of two important private learned institutions dealing not only with research but also non-official codification of international law. First of them, the International Law Association (ILA), was established in Brussels in 1873. It is a non-for-profit organization for the study and development of public and private international law and the furtherance of international understanding and respect for international law. The objectives of the ILA are pursued through the substantive work of its international committees (currently 15). The membership (over 4500 members) is spread among more than 60 national branches across the world. One of them is the Czech Branch, as a successor of the Czechoslovak Branch, which has currently around 20 members. As the core substantive work of the ILA stays with the international committees (Czech members are involved in some of them), the domestic activities of the Czech Branch have been always linked with those of the Czech Society of International Law. Therefore, and in view of enlarging its membership and facilitating its financing, the Czech Branch of ILA has entered into the CSIL as its Working Group. However, it is still one of the internationally respected ILA branches. The aim of the board is to open the membership to new, younger scholars and practitioners in international law and to enhance the activities of members, in particular in various ILA international committees. The ILA, at 150, was also an occasion for many online events of the ILA throughout the year and, in particular, for the big international conference in Paris in June 2023, where the Czech Branch was also represented. The second organization, the Institute of International Law ( Institut de Droit International ) was founded in Ghent in 1873, even few months earlier than the ILA, by eleven highly renowned international lawyers. The Institute is a learned society, and its purpose is to promote the progress of international law. The Institute has received the Nobel Peace Prize in

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