ILI was founded in 1955 as part of Georgetown University to assist in the building of governmental and economic institutions and infrastructures in post-war Europe. Since that time, ILI has provided training and technical assistance to find practical solutions to the legal, economic and financial problems of developing countries and emerging economies. In 1983, ILI became an independent, non-political, non-profit 501(c)(3) educational institute serving a global constituency. ILI now stands as a leading authority and global provider of training and technical assistance relating to international legal, economic and financial issues.
ILI and its global affiliates have provided legal training to over 39,400 government officials, legal and business professionals, and scholars from 186 countries. ILI also provides technical expertise to developing nations in the design of their own laws and economic infrastructure in efforts to further promote good and efficient governance through the rule of law.
ILI presents approximately 40 - 50 core-training programs each year in our facility in Washington, DC. Another 7-15 specialized programs are conducted annually in the U.S. and abroad, at the request of foreign governments, the World Bank, or other sponsoring agencies. In recent years, ILI has presented programs in a wide variety of international settings including: China, Nigeria, Mexico, Singapore, Puerto Rico, Peru, Mauritius, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia, Uganda, Ukraine, Russia, Turkmenistan, Philippines and various locations throughout Europe.
ILI works closely with many governments across the globe including the US, where we have worked with US Dept. of State in the areas of publishing and training.
The ILl is an official training partner of the IFC [International Finance Corporation — World Bank] on private sector investments in large public works.
The ILI holds observer status at UNCITRAL - the United National United Nations Commission on International Trade Law; UNIDROIT - the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law; and the Hague Conference on Private International Law.
The International Law Institute is SAFEA Certified by China and is a founding member of the Belts and Roads International Law Association.
ILI is headquartered in Washington, DC, with independent regional centers in Kampala, Uganda; Abuja, Nigeria; Cairo, Egypt; Santiago, Chile; Istanbul, Turkey; a representatives office in Beijing, China; and is partnered with institutions and universities in India, China, Austria, Germany, Serbia, Mexico, and Italy to also train international officials.
OUR MISSION: "Fostering Prosperity through the Rule of Law"
ILI believes that economic growth and effective governance is achieved through a sound legal infrastructure. ILI's mission is to raise the levels of professional competence and capacity in all nations so that professionals may achieve practical solutions to common problems in ways that suit their nations' own needs.
Economic growth and social stability is achieved through the right combination of enlightened policies, capable administration, and an active private sector. The process includes developing a transparent, efficient, and stable legal system; sound financial institutions; and a core of trained, able individuals in various professions. The institutions that matter – good government, stable legal and judicial systems, transparent procurement policies and functioning capital markets – are fundamental, but ultimately they are only as effective as the people who create and manage them.
Through its commitment to fostering prosperity around the globe, ILI has been providing professional training and technical assistance to the individuals and institutions who manage these institutional systems.
SUPPORTING LOCAL AND REGIONAL INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Since its inception, ILI has been deeply involved in supporting the development of legal institutions around the world. Hundreds of law professors from several dozen countries have been hosted at ILI. In several cases, resident scholars at ILI returned home to significantly improve their home institutions or even develop new institutions. In one case, three Chinese legal scholars went on to contribute to the Law School at the Chinese University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) in Beijing after spending a semester studying ILI methodology and the curriculum of Georgetown University. Institutions as diverse as Transparency International (Berlin), the International Development Law Organization (Rome), the Center for Energy Petroleum and Minerals Law (Dundee) and several American institutions can all trace their roots back to ILI.
ILI has been requested to develop training institutes in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
EDUCATION
At the heart of the ILI training program are the seminars for participants from both the public and private sectors. The Washington-based courses cover a breadth of topics relating to national and international business, investment, and governance. These topics include procurement, privatization, arbitration and mediation, negotiating and implementing trade agreements, WTO: rights and obligations, project management, legislative drafting, judicial administration, corporate governance, bank restructuring, and borrowing & debt management. Of special interest to foreign lawyers and law students preparing for graduate legal study in the U.S, and others whose jobs require an understanding of the U.S. legal system, there are two courses offered every summer - Introduction to Legal English and Legal Writing, and Orientation to the U.S. Legal System. ILI offers tailored courses abroad, in addition to its standard offerings customized for particular national audiences.
TRAINING RESOURCES
ILI maintains a consortium of approximately 500 adjunct faculty from leading organizations from around the world. Faculty are derived from leading professors and academics from prestigious universities, partners from top global law firms, government sector specialists, senior executives from private sector international organizations and technical experts and consultants from donor organizations. The selection of ILI faculty resources are based on balancing scholarly training and global best practices with practical application and strategies derived from the foremost practitioners of those issues.
In addition to individuals experts as resources, ILI maintains strong relations with domestic and international organizations such as the American Bar Association, the International Judicial Academy, World Trade Organization, APEC, leading international law firms, the World Bank, etc.
ILI maintains a highly flexible and adaptive resource base to quickly commit to and expertly administer the needs of its clientele. ILI has a unique ability to structure teams to support training and projects from 1 day to 4 years, while maintaining continuity of deliverables. ILI believes that long term reliable partnerships are crucial to the sustainability, development and implementation of technical capacity training programs.
We believe our unique ability to introduce participants to important governmental, regulatory and multi-national organizations; to visit these sites and meet with their personnel will expose each participant a greater level of expertise and practical understanding of systems and management requirements as well as enhance the total experience of the training itself.
ADVISORS & TECHINCAL ASSISTANCE
ILI serves as an advisor to governments and multilateral organizations in many areas, including, among others: specific negotiations, problems, and special assignments (such as drafting of agreements, focused studies, revision of regulations, contract standardization, legislative drafting, procurement, and project management). ILI draws on its very large network of alumni, faculty, and advisors to dispatch teams well-suited to the particular challenge at hand, and is pleased to be able to offer tailored solutions in response to informal inquiries as well as solicitations of bids for consulting work. Among the literally hundreds of projects on which ILI has worked are: Central Banking Reform (China), Judicial Reform (Commonwealth of Independent States), Transportation Infrastructure to Support Trade (Ukraine), Administrative Law Reform (Ukraine), WTO Judicial Training (China), Legal Education (Russia), Procurement Reform (Honduras).
ILI proudly provides training in International Trade Agreements for the U. S. Department of State Foreign Service Institute since 2012.
ILI CENTERS OF EXPERTISE
PUBLISHERS
ILI publishes approximately 24 international legal and financial publications and scholarly reports.
NOTICE:
“ILI is an educational institution that seeks to inform and educate ILI participants regarding international best practice in law and policy, so as to enable them to draw comparisons to laws and practices in their own countries. ILI does not engage in legal practice, nor in political activities, provide political consulting services, or otherwise represent the interests of participants before the US government. Any interactions with US Government officials may not be used to seek in any way to influence or persuade officials to alter US laws or policy. That is not part of ILI’s educational mandate.”
The International Law Institute is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) research and educational institution