CAHDI is a unique and inclusive forum where experiences and good practices regarding topical issues of public international law can be exchanged between participants from the Council of Europe member states, as well as from observer states, such as the USA, Australia, Belarus, Israel and New Zealand. At the current meeting, important international topics were discussed, such as the adoption of legal opinions, immunities of states and international organisations, peaceful settlement of disputes, functioning of the Council of Europe, functions of the Office of the Legal Adviser of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, functioning of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and important court cases involving issues of public international law, current issues relating to international treaties, including reservations, and international criminal law and international humanitarian law.

Mr Jörg Polakiewicz, Director of Legal Advice and Public International Law, presented the activities of the Council of Europe relevant to CAHDI. An exchange of views with H.E Joan E. Donoghue, President of the International Court of Justice, and Ambassador Mahmoud D. Hmoud, Chair of the International Law Commission, also took place at the meeting.

Director-General Marko Rakovec presented views regarding further CAHDI activities relating to non-legally binding agreements and suggested that a questionnaire on national procedures regarding the accepting of objections to reservations be drafted. He also reported on the event upon the publication of the report on the EU guidelines on the promotion of compliance with international humanitarian law and was pleased to announce a meeting of national committees on humanitarian law.

Within the discussion on peaceful settlement of disputes, Ms Mateja Štrumelj Piškur, Head of the Department for International Law, briefed the participants on the visit of the chair of the COJOUR-ICC working group and drew attention to the gender representation imbalance in the International Law Commission and among the judges of the International Court of Justice.