The European Society of International Law

What The European Society of International Law does

The European Society of International Law (ESIL/SEDI) is a non-profit professional society founded in 2004 that promotes the study of public international law and contributes to the rule of law in international relations. Headquartered at Villa Salviati in Florence under the operational support of the Academy of European Law at the European University Institute (EUI), ESIL serves as a pan-European and international network connecting scholars, researchers, practitioners, and early-career affiliates. Its offerings are organized around membership tiers (individual, institutional, lifetime), 23+ thematic Interest Groups, an Annual Conference series (20+ held, with the 2026 edition in Málaga and 2025 in Berlin), parallel Research Fora, an Oxford University Press book series, ESIL Proceedings and Reflections publications, an EJIL:Talk! blog, ESIL Prizes, and the Teaching Corner (including webinars and moot court resources).

Revenue is generated primarily through recurring annual membership subscriptions processed via the EUI ePayments system, with secondary income from conference registrations and publication-related activity. Distribution occurs through a multilingual website (English/French), YouTube, email newsletters, social media channels (LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Bluesky), and direct event delivery. Strategic partnerships with EUI/AEL (foundational), Oxford University Press, T.M.C. Asser Institute, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, The Hague Academy of International Law, and the European Journal of International Law underpin content production, scholarly legitimacy, and operational continuity.

ESIL does not disclose revenue, does not maintain a technology product surface beyond standard society tooling, and operates with an 11-50 employee footprint consistent with a lean secretariat supplemented by volunteer board members and editors. Its competitive position rests on community network effects, accumulated brand authority in European international law scholarship, and multi-touchpoint member engagement rather than proprietary technology.

Name

The European Society of International Law

Legal name

European Society of International Law | Société européenne de droit international

Website

https://esil-sedi.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The European Society of International Law (ESIL) is a non-profit professional society founded in 2004, headquartered in Florence under the Academy of European Law at the EUI. It serves scholars, researchers, practitioners, and early-career affiliates in international law through membership, 23+ Interest Groups, conferences, and Oxford University Press publications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association / Legal Academic Society

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), International Affairs (928120)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), International Affairs (9721), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Treaties, International Law & Boundary Affairs (BPAIAIAD)

Keywords

• International law society
• Academic membership association
• Legal scholarly conferences
• International law publications
• Professional interest groups

Headquarters

HQ city

Florence

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: ESIL operates primarily on membership fee revenue. Individual and institutional memberships are available, with annual renewal cycles. The membership campaign for 2026 is currently open, with payments processed through the EUI ePayments system.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The European Society of International Law (ESIL) is a non-profit professional society that provides paid individual and institutional memberships to scholars, researchers, and practitioners in public international law. It delivers value through 23+ thematic Interest Groups, an Annual Conference series, Research Fora, lectures, webinars, publications (Book Series with Oxford University Press, Proceedings, Reflections, Newsletters), and academic prizes that recognize scholarship in the field.

Product overview

The European Society of International Law (ESIL) is a scholarly society offering membership services, academic prizes, interest groups, and publications in public international law. The organization operates primarily as a membership-based professional association rather than a software product company. Its core offerings include: ESIL Membership for individuals and institutions, ESIL Prizes recognizing scholarly work, ESIL Interest Groups for specialized topics, and ESIL Publications including book series and proceedings. Supporting resources include the ESIL Teaching Corner for educational materials and syllabi, the ESIL Lecture Series with recorded presentations, ESIL Teaching Corner Webinars on pedagogical methods, and information on moot court competitions. Additionally, EJIL: Talk! provides a blog platform for international law commentary.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ESIL Membership
• ESIL Interest Groups
• ESIL Annual Conference
• ESIL Research Forum
• ESIL Book Series
• ESIL Reflections
• ESIL Proceedings
• ESIL Teaching Corner
• ESIL Lecture Series
• EJIL: Talk! Blog
• ESIL Prizes

Quantifiable outcome

• 23+ active Interest Groups covering all major areas of international law
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• American Society of International Law (ASIL)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2010ASIL co-organized the 2010 Geneva Joint Symposium with ESIL and the Latin American Society of International Law, along with the University of Geneva and Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. The symposium addressed diplomatic and judicial dispute settlement.
• Latin American Society of International Law (LASIL)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2010LASIL co-organized the 2010 Geneva Joint Symposium with ESIL and ASIL, along with the University of Geneva and Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. This was the first joint event of three societies of international law.
• University of Geneva / Graduate Institute of International and Development StudiesmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2010The University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute co-hosted the 2010 Geneva Joint Symposium with ASIL, ESIL, and LASIL. The Graduate Institute continues to be a key partner for ESIL events.
• Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (RWI)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 February 2005The RWI in Lund, Sweden organized the 2005 Lund Journals Meeting under the auspices of ESIL, bringing together representatives of European international law journals. The meeting established a network of journal editors and agreed on reciprocal linking between journals.
• Academy of European Law, European University Institute (EUI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Academy of European Law (AEL) of the European University Institute provides core administrative and operational support to ESIL. ESIL is headquartered at Villa Salviati, Via Bolognese 156, Florence, provided by the AEL/EUI. The EUI ePayments system handles membership fee processing. This is ESIL's foundational institutional partnership.
• Oxford University PresscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOxford University Press publishes the ESIL Book Series, the society's flagship publication program. The ESIL Book Series publishes high-quality volumes on international law themes, with the Board having broadened scope to include Interest Group events and other ESIL activities.
• T.M.C. Asser Institute (Netherlands)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstitutional member of ESIL. Co-organizes events with ESIL and hosts the ESIL Paper Series/Proceedings through its Asser Press. ESIL Teaching Corner webinars are hosted in collaboration. The Asser Institute serves as a key European partner for international law events and publications.
• Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (MPIL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstitutional member of ESIL. The MPIL in Heidelberg is one of the world's leading research institutes in international law, providing scholarly collaboration and co-hosting events with ESIL.
• The Hague Academy of International LawcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstitutional member of ESIL. The Hague Academy is a premier institution for international law education and hosts ESIL-related events. Co-organizes moot court competitions (e.g., Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court) and summer/winter courses with ESIL.
• European Journal of International Law (EJIL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerESIL is closely affiliated with the European Journal of International Law (EJIL), the leading peer-reviewed journal in the field. EJIL:Talk! is the blog of EJIL, publishing commentary and announcements for the ESIL community.
• Brill/Nijhoff PublishersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerInstitutional member of ESIL. Brill is a major academic publisher in international law, hosting ESIL-related content and promotional banners on the ESIL website.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Deutsche Gesellschaft f\u00fcr Internationales Recht (DGIR): DGIR is the German national society for international law, a long-standing peer that organizes national colloquia and represents German-speaking scholars. It is comparable to ESIL as a regional membership body for international law.

Direct peers

• International Law Association (ILA): The ILA, founded in 1873, is the oldest global professional association for international law, with branches and committees covering major subfields of the discipline. It overlaps heavily with ESIL in member base, conferences, and committee-driven research, making it a direct global peer.
• British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL): BIICL is a UK-based membership and research institute focused on international and comparative law, producing scholarship, events, and publications. Its membership model and academic-research focus are directly comparable to ESIL, with overlap in the European international law community.
• Latin American Society of International Law (LASIL / SEDI-LA): LASIL is the regional Latin American parallel to ESIL, co-organizing joint symposia with ESIL and ASIL on topics such as dispute settlement. It mirrors ESIL's mission and structure at the regional level.
• Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 fran\u00e7aise pour le droit international (SFDI): SFDI is the French national society of international law, hosting colloques and publishing scholarly works in public international law. It is the most direct French-language parallel to ESIL within Europe and competes with ESIL for francophone scholars and institutional members.
• American Society of International Law (ASIL): ASIL is the U.S. counterpart professional society for international law, offering membership, journals (AJIL), annual meetings, and interest groups. ESIL and ASIL have co-organized joint symposia, making them the closest direct peer and the obvious mirror organization for international law scholarship in the Americas.

Others

• European Journal of International Law (EJIL): EJIL is the leading peer-reviewed journal in European international law and is closely affiliated with ESIL. Its blog (EJIL:Talk!) and masthead membership reflect overlapping scholarly communities and partnership intensity, making it a content-side peer rather than a competing society.
• Hague Academy of International Law: The Hague Academy is a premier international law teaching institution offering summer and winter courses, closely connected to ESIL via institutional membership and joint programming. While not a membership society per se, it is a strongly comparable organization serving the same European international law community.
• T.M.C. Asser Institute: The T.M.C. Asser Institute is a Netherlands-based research center in international and European law, hosting the Asser Press and ESIL's paper series. While primarily a research institute rather than a membership society, it is a deeply intertwined peer in ESIL's publication and event ecosystem.
• Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (MPIL): MPIL is a leading international law research institute and an ESIL institutional member and co-host of events. It is comparable as a hub of scholarship in the field but operates as a research institute rather than a membership society.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/esil_sedi
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ESILchannel
• Facebookfacebook.com/100070963980840
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/esil

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The European Society of International Law