In 1904 the Institute of International Law was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of its action in favour of arbitration among States, a peaceful means of settling disputes.

There was no presentation speech at the Nobel Award Ceremony in 1904, which is why below the translations as published on the website of the Nobel Prize have been provided of the welcome speech by Mr. Irgens, the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, during the official opening of the 27th session of the Institute of International Law held at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Kristiania (today Oslo), Norway (August 1912) and the speech by Mr. Hagerup, the President of the Institute in 1912. The original text of both speeches (in French) can be found in the Yearbook of the Institute of International Law, Session of Kristiania, Volume 25, 1912, at pp. 539 – 555.

Welcome by Johannes Irgens, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs (1912)

Speech by Mr. Hagerup, President of the Institute of International Law (1912)

The Institute has been nominated on 59 occasions for the Nobel Prize and participates on a regular basis in the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, which ‘aggregates panel discussions among Nobel peace Laureates and representatives of the leading international organizations, media, business and government in open forums’.

A video has been made of the members of the Institute the day after the closure of the session of Kristiania in Norway:

 

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