#eyffinger

This past week’s experiences were very pertinent to my education. Whether it be practical, factual learning moments or more conceptual, abstract life lessons, this week proved that there is more to learning than taking notes in a lecture hall. Bertha von Suttner’s argument for a life long education, once more, came into practice this week. Yes, lectures were educational and important, but the other experiences and lessons learnt were equally so. In fact, I think they the two avenues worked together. By seeing what we learned in class first hand and hearing about things in a non-classroom setting, my experiences and education seemed intrinsically richer. Mainly, I learnt how civil society is intertwined with the International Criminal Court, how important it is to ask questions, and how truly rich in history the Peace Palace is.

  I thought one of the most educational moments this week was learning about civil society at the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC) and Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice. We met with an employee at each, and they were extremely knowledgeable, explaining their NGO’s functions and its relation to the ICC’s work. However, we didn’t just acquire information that one could find online or look up in a book. We were able to hear how they described their individual NGO and it’s vital role in the grand scheme of the decade old International Criminal Court (ICC). I learnt how truly essential civil society’s work is for the proper functioning of the ICC, and consequently more about how the ICC works. This more developed picture of International Law came to life when I was able to see the place where such work takes place and hear stories of how the CICC and Women’s Initiative employees were able to make an impact. It seems that, even if I could memorize all the facts about civil society’s works, read all the statistics online, and learn from 2nd hand sources, it wouldn’t have made it as real to me as it is now. Getting to meet people who do this sort of work makes it tangible by default, rather than some foreign concept that I’ll forget. This sort of education sticks.  Furthermore, hearing about the employee’s own personal experiences with their NGO’s and education was enlightening. In another practical sense, it made me think about my own future education and career choices. There’s definitely fulfillment in working with civil society due to the enormous impact one has on improving and affecting positive change in the world.

  Going to Loevestein was another extremely rewarding educational experience that couldn’t be replaced. Having Arthur Eyffinger show us around was absolutely fantastic. He’s truly a knowledgeable scholar exploding with a wealth of information about international law, history and the Netherlands.  On our train rides, boat rides, coffee breaks, bike rides, and final tour of the castle that served as Grotius’ previous prison, he would educate us conversationally or give little talks about a specific event in the past.  I learnt so much on the trip about the history and issues of international law: from Grotius’ incarceration to the current differences of the US and the Netherlands’ attitudes towards the world. It was really quite remarkable. I, also, learnt how important it is, outside of the classroom, to try and absorb as much information as possible by asking questions to those who are more knowledgeable than oneself.

  Additionally, the Peace Palace tour was particularly interesting. I could, most definitely, spend hours looking around or going on repetitive tours if such a thing were permitted. Beyond its exceptional beauty was poetic history of international law, collaboration for peace and a global movement that superseded countries’ pride to work towards the end of war. Such a goal has yet to be realized, but seeing the various countries’ contributions provided historical context of how deeply this movement was embraced. The unique stories of every piece, ranging from America’s gift of the statue to the Latin messages throughout, were mesmerizing and contextually rich with history. Perhaps it cheesy to summarize the experience by simply stating that seeing the Peace Palace put most of what we learnt in class together and made it truly profound, but, to an extent, it’s true. I think this is because there were only so many words to describe it and pictures only “speak 1000 words”. However, when I was completely surrounded by it, everything spoke volumes about the symbolism and history of this important monument in international criminal justice.

Today, the group went on a pilgrimage to the Peace Palace Library in Den Haag, Netherlands.  Though travel from Leiden to the PPL took over an hour, it was well worth the wait.  I was expecting an enormous collection of articles, books, and resources full of information on international law, but walking in to the humble building (humbled, of course, by the beautiful Peace Palace next door) totally turned my expectations upside-down.  Small, concise, and welcoming, the library only displayed a fraction of its total collection of knowledge.  After getting set up with a library card, I immediately found the philosophy section and choose a book that I would end up spending my afternoon with.  Stationed at one of the many computer terminals, I dug deeply into a chapter on Hugo Grotius and natural law in the book titled "The Natural Law Tradition and the Theory of International Relations" by E.B.F. Midgley.

This book caught my eye from the moment I read the title on the small shelf of the philosophy section.  Flipping to the table of contents, I noticed a chapter dedicated to several philosophers and issues, including a chapter on nuclear weapons treaties, and more fitting to this course, a chapter on Hugo Grotius.  I dove right into the section on Grotius and found out more than I had originally thought I would.  Instead of reading on Grotius' life, or the same old "He's the father of international law" business, I finally gained perspective on his philosophical writings.  In this section, the author compared Grotius' theory of natural law to that of St. Thomas Aquinas, and discussed how and why Grotius' theory eventually overtook Aquinas' as the figurehead of philosophical thought.  I learned that Grotius borrowed from many schools of thought on his theory of international law, some of which can sometimes be conflicting (Thomist, Scotian, intellectualist, voluntarist, stoic, and rationalist), but rejected Aristotle's teaching; this move is what separates him from other theorists of international law.  Natural law, according to Grotius in De jure belli ac pacis, is defined as 'in consequence of what is or is not in conformity with rational nature' (page 141) - this is different from past thoughts that nothing could change natural law except for God, a bold move for Grotius.  Why is learning this important?  As a student of philosophy, it sometimes helps to know how a philosopher's rational thinking can morph and change and transform, yet still transcend previous thoughts on different topics.  Learning more about Grotius' teachings (which outlive the mortal body) was a positive experience, and for me, a bit more substantive than only learning about the man he was while he lived.  Unfortunately, I was unable to check this work out from the library, but I did come home with a book titled "The 1907 Hague Peace Conference" by Arthur Eyffinger.  I could not imagine a better segue into the conclusion of this blog than a statement like the previous one.