## 30th Anniversary Conference of the IMF Administrative Tribunal — International Administrative Law in Changing and Challenging Times

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**Canonical URL:** [30th Anniversary Conference of the IMF Administrative Tribunal — International Administrative Law in Changing and Challenging Times](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/imfat/2025-10-28-conference-progr-imfat-30th-anniv-tokbcorr2.pdf)

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### Opening Session and Welcoming Addresses
- 8:15 am – 9:00 am: Registration
- 9:00 am – 9:40 am: Welcoming Address and Opening Speeches
  - Judge Nassib G. Ziadé, President of the IMF Administrative Tribunal (IMFAT), President of the United Nations Appeals Tribunal (UNAT)
  - Mélida Hodgson, President of the American Society of International Law (ASIL)
  - Nicola Bonucci, Vice-President of the Société française pour le droit international (SFDI), Chair of the Advisory Board of the European Space Agency (ESA)
  - Judge Femi Elias, Judge ad hoc, International Court of Justice, President of the OPEC Fund Administrative Tribunal, and Chairman of the Administrative Tribunal of the Islamic Development Bank

### Session 1 — The Sources of International Administrative Law
- 9:40 am – 10:25 am; continued 10:40 am – 11:45 am
- Moderator: Professor John Crook, international arbitrator, former Judge of the NATO Administrative Tribunal (NATOAT)
- Rapporteur: Anna Holloway, Senior Legal Counsel, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
- Topic 1: What law or laws are applied by IATs?
  - Speakers: Judge Maria Vicien Milburn (EBRDAT, IDBAT, IMFAT) and Me Rémi Cèbe (Partner at Sicault & Cèbe, A.A.R.P.I., Lecturer at Université Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas)
- Topic 2: Administrative practice as a source of international administrative law (IAL) before IATs
  - Speakers: Brian Patterson, Deputy General Counsel, Legal Department, IMF; Judge Raul Pangalangan, President of the Administrative Tribunal of the Asian Development Bank, Judge of the World Bank Administrative Tribunal (WBAT), former Judge at the International Criminal Court
- Topic 3: Precedent and international administrative tribunals (“IATs”)
  - Speakers: Mercedes Carrillo, Secretary, Administrative Tribunal of the Organization of American States (OASAT); Paul Jean Le Cannu, Registrar, IMFAT
- Topic 4: The International Law Commission’s work on the settlement of disputes to which international organizations are parties – an overview
  - Speaker: Professor August Reinisch, University of Vienna, Special Rapporteur of the International Law Commission of the United Nations on “the settlement of disputes to which international organizations are parties”
- 10:25 am – 10:40 am: Coffee Break

### Session 2 — Recent Developments in International Administrative Law
- 11:45 am – 12:30 pm; continued 2:00 pm – 3:05 pm
- Moderator: Judge Deborah Thomas-Felix, Judge of the IMFAT
- Rapporteur: Véronique Truchon-Lachapelle, Legal Officer, UNAT
- Topic 1: Evolutions and possible reforms in international administrative law
  - Key questions posed for debate:
    - Should IATs be granted jurisdiction not only over challenges to individual decisions but also regulatory decisions?
    - Should IATs, as tribunals of last resort, consider having an appeals system?
  - Speakers on jurisdiction over regulatory decisions: Judge Joan Powers (EBRDAT, GAVI Appeals Tribunal, Chair of the Appeal Board of the World Intellectual Property Organization) and Judge Thomas Laker (WBAT, NATOAT, ATCE, EBRDAT)
  - Speakers on appeals system: Juliet E. Johnson, Registrar, UNAT; Judge Celia Goldman, Judge of ESMAT, former Registrar of the IMFAT
- Lunch: 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm
- Topic: Extension of IAT jurisdiction to procurement and other subject matters
  - Speakers: Judge Pablo Sandonato de León, President of the OASAT; Jodi Glasow, Executive Secretary, World Bank Sanctions Board
- Topic 2: Emerging trends and human rights before IATs — Retreat or expansion: To what extent do litigants and judges rely on human rights law in IAL litigation?
  - Speakers: Judge Kieran Bradley (IMFAT, IDBAT, ESMAT); Judge Paul Lemmens, Chair of the ATCE
- 3:05 pm – 3:20 pm: Coffee break

### Session 3 — Immunities of International Organizations, Independence of IATs, and Selection of IAT Members
- 3:20 pm – 4:35 pm
- Moderator: Judge Andrew Nyirenda, Judge of the IMFAT
- Rapporteur: Salim S. Sleiman, International Law Fellow, ASIL
- Keynote speaker: Judge Nassib G. Ziadé, President of the IMFAT and the UNAT
- Commentators:
  - Prof. Peter Bekker, Partner at Dentons, New York; Chair of International Law at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy, University of Dundee, UK
  - Kathryn Nelson-Indre, Chair of the Staff Association Committee, IMF
  - Yan Liu, General Counsel and Director, Legal Department, IMF
- Q&A on immunities, tribunal independence, and member selection

### Closing Remarks and Reception
- 4:35 pm – 4:55 pm: Closing Remarks
  - Professor Sean Murphy, George Washington University Law School, Honorary Vice-President of ASIL
  - Professor Edith Brown Weiss, Georgetown University Law School, former Judge of the IMFAT and former President of IDBAT, former Chair of the World Bank Inspection Panel, and former President of ASIL
- 5:00 pm: Reception

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/imfat/2025-10-28-conference-progr-imfat-30th-anniv-tokbcorr2.pdf_