In turbulent times we might notice it more, but international law is always in motion. This is because international law cannot be separated from its practice. Practice reifies and animates international law, shaping what it means, how it is applied, and how effectively it achieves the diverse goals of those who invoke it. Thinking about international law as the product of action requires attentiveness to the dynamics of change—how, by whom, and under what conditions change occurs. It recognizes that international law is constantly constituted and reconstituted by an increasing number of participants, in formal and informal ways, inside and outside institutions, through claims, contestation, interaction, argument, and the leveraging of power, authority, and legitimacy. And it appreciates that international law is a result of the choices made by all of us in our professional and personal capacities and that we have responsibilities that stem therefrom.

Attended by more than 1,300 persons, the Society's 112th Annual Meeting considered international law in practice. It opened with Judge Joan Donoghue of the International Court of Justice delivering the twentieth annual Grotius Lecture on the topic “International Adjudication: Peaks, Valleys, and Rolling Hills.” Dapo Akande of the University of Oxford provided the response. At the Society's third Annual Assembly, memorial tributes were made to M. Cherif Bassiouni by Leila Sadat and to ASIL past president David D. Caron by past president Charles N. Brower. The keynote address was delivered by Sir Christopher Greenwood, formerly a judge of the International Court of Justice and currently a member of the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal, on the theme “The Practice of International Law: Threats, Challenges, and Opportunities.” Also at the Assembly, the Society's presidency passed from Lucinda Low to Sean Murphy. The Annual Meeting included an address by former Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice Stephen J. Rapp on “International Criminal Justice from the Ground Up” and the sixth annual Charles N. Brower Lecture on International Arbitration delivered by Meg Kinnear, the secretary-general of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, on “Policy and Progress: Seeking Consensus in ISDS Rules Reform.” A closing plenary was held on “The Future of Multilateralism.”

The Meeting's more than forty substantive panels considered “International Law in Practice” across areas within international law. In keeping with the wide reach of international law and its practice, topics included, among many others: the use of force against non-state actors, the Global Compact on Refugees, building victim-led coalitions in the pursuit of accountability, human rights and finance, addressing twenty-first century misinformation campaigns, criminalization and international human rights, rising sea levels and disappearing territories, the Security Council's “Women, Peace, and Security” agenda, and revisiting the multilateral trading system. The 240 speakers comprised the highest number and percentage of women (55 percent) and people of color (25 percent) at an Annual Meeting, and, in keeping with the theme, there was significant participation from private practice, corporations, government, international institutions, and non-governmental organizations. We are particularly grateful to the members of the Annual Meeting Committee, themselves a reflection of the diversity and scope of the profession, who contributed their expertise and time to developing and perfecting these panels, and to ASIL's staff, who worked tirelessly to make what is an exceedingly complex operation such a success.

We hope that the Annual Meeting provided a greater understanding of the complex operation of international law. By appreciating how the international system works in practice, we can more effectively and insightfully advise, advocate, teach, and make informed decisions. We are thankful to the contributors to these Proceedings for creating a permanent record of the discussions that took place.