Guide last updated by Clare Cowling, February 2023
This guide was created by Clare Cowling, IALS Archivist.
Email: ials.archives@sas.ac.uk
The records below, which hold references to slavery and the law, comprise material transferred to the Records of Legal Education Archives (now subsumed into the IALS Archives) by officers of the International Law Association. The following keywords were used to identify items: slave; slavery; trafficking. There may be more relevant material in the general correspondence, minute books and training records of the institution which was not picked up in word searches.
All the records listed below may be viewed by prior appointment in the IALS Library. Requests for an appointment to examine any of the records should be made to the Archivist (ials.archives@sas.ac.uk).
The PDF version of this guide is available here:
Administrative History
the International Law Association (ILA) was founded in Brussels in 1873 as an association 'to consist of Jurists, Economists, Legislators, Politicians and others taking an interest in the question of the reform and Codification of Public and Private International Law, the Settlement of Disputes by Arbitration, and the assimilation of the laws, practice and procedure of the Nations in reference to such laws' (afternoon sitting of the first conference of members, 19 November 1873: reference ILA 01/01). It was initially called the Association for the Reform and Codification of the Law of Nations, changing its title to the International Law Association in the early 20th century.
The Association was to consist of a Council of officers comprising a President, vice presidents, secretaries and other members of the Conference (called the Bureau), plus a series of local, departmental or provincial committees who were to report to the President. These committees have since expanded into International Committees. The ILA's activities are now organised by an Executive Council, assisted by the Headquarters Secretariat in London. Membership of the Association, at present about 4,200, is spread among branches throughout the world and ranges from lawyers in private practice, academia, industrial and financial spheres, and representatives of bodies such as shipping and arbitration organisations and chambers of commerce. The ILA has consultative status, as an international non-governmental organisation, with a number of the United Nations specialised agencies.
Selected items
Below are some selected items of ILA 01 Records of the Executive Council, 1873-2010.
For more detail, see the IALS Archives Collections.
| Reference | Title | Dates |
| ILA 01/07/01 | Three letters from Henry Dunant [to Henry Diedrich Jencken, Honorary General Secretary to the Association for the Reform and Codification of the Law of Nations between 1876 and 1881] re the formation of the Association for the Reform and Codification of the International Law; newsletters of the English branch of the Universal Alliance; proposal paper of the International Anti-Slavery Committee of the Universal Alliance; occasional bulletin of the Alliance (French language); pamphlet ‘International Society for the Protection of Prisoners of War: A lecture delivered at Brighton, on the 15th of September, 1873 … by Henry Dunant’. Also includes envelope addressed to Wyndham Anstis Bewes in which the material was found. | 1873-1910 |
Administrative background
The focal point of the ILA's activities is the series of Biennial Conferences. These conferences, of which 69 have so far been held in different locations throughout the world, provide a forum for the comprehensive discussion and endorsement of the work of the ILA's international committees.
| Reference | Title | Dates |
| ILA 02/08 |
Conference at London, 1879 Report of the Council for the year 1878-9 to the 7th Annual Conference (four copies) – includes: 'International Law Affecting the Slave Trade' by Joseph G. Alexander, LL.B. |
1879 |
| ILA 02/13 |
Conference at Liverpool, 1890 Paper presented at the 14th Conference: 'The Brussels Anti-Slavery Conference' by Joseph G. Alexander, L.L.B. (three copies). |
1890 |
| Reference | Title | Dates |
| ILA 03/02/03 |
Extradition Committee Warsaw Conference. Most material dates from 1928: volume with pasted in report of the Extradition Committee to the conference, and text of draft convention; pamphlet copies of the report (three copies, one French, two English with one annotated) and draft convention; loose leaf transcript of proceedings of the Extradition Section of the Conference (English and French). Included are letters between Sir Henry Chartres Biron, Herbert Francis Manisty and Francis Temple Grey. Also contains two copies of the International Convention for Suppression of the White Slave Traffic signed at Paris, May 4, 1910 (Treaty Series 1912, no. 20). 1 bound volume |
1910-1928 |
| ILA/03/03/05 |
Penal Law Committee Publications. Miscellaneous documents apparently accrued over the course of the Committee’s work. Includes:; page [from a Spanish language law journal] discussing the new Argentinian legislation on the white slave trade, with a letter about the response of the British government to the National Vigilance Association’s proposals for repatriation of foreign women forced into prostitution , 1913; typed extract of the Slave Trade Act 1824, referring to piracy (two copies); ‘Rédaction definitive de Mr. Givanovitch’, annotated carbon copy of a document apparently referring to a piece of legislation, actual or proposed, against the white slave trade; ‘Traite des femmes et des mineurs: Code penal du royaume d’Italie’, 1931. |
1913-1934 |
| ILA 03/03/07 |
Penal Law Committee Secondary material – 'Trafficking and slavery'. Publications apparently collected as reference material for the Committee:
|
1928-1936 |
| ILA 03/02/03 |
Extradition Committee Warsaw Conference/ Most material dates from 1928: volume with pasted in report of the extradition Committee to the conference, and text of draft convention; pamphlet copies of the report (three copies, one French, two English with one annotated) and draft convention; loose leaf transcript of proceedings of the Extradition Section of the Conference (English and French). Included are letters between Sie Henry Chartres Biron, Herbert Francis Manisty and Francis Temple Grey. Also contains two copies of the international Convention for Suppression of the White Slave Traffic signed at Paris, May 4, 1910 (Treaty Series 1912, no.20). 1 bound volume. |
1910-1928 |
| ILA 03/03/05 |
Penal Law Committee Publications. Miscellaneous documents apparently accrued over the course of the Committee's work. Includes: Page (from a Spanish language law journal) discussing the new Argentinian legislation on the white slave trade, with a letter about the response of the British government to the Natoinal Vigilance Association's proposals for the repatriation of foreign women forced into prostitution, 1913; types extract of the Slave Trade Act 1824, referring to piracy (two copies); 'Rédaction definitive de Mr. Givanovitch', annotated carbon copy of a document apparently referring to a piece of legislation, actual or proposed, against the white slave trade; 'Traite des femmes et des mineaurs: Code penal du royaume d'Italie', 1931.
|
1913-1934 |
| Reference | Title | Dates |
| ILA 06/27 | Pamphlets relating to issues of empire and colonialism:
|
1897-1937 |