On September 14th 2022, the FGV Centre of Excellence on EU-South America School on Global Governance, co-funded by the European Commission, had the privilege to host Professor Achilles Skordas from the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law and the University of Bristol for a lecture at the EU-South America School on Global Governance. The lecture focused on the topic of "International Dispute Settlement and the Preservation of Peace: The Role of the International Court of Justice in the 21st Century."

Professor Achilles Skordas, a renowned scholar in the field, holds a magna cum laude doctorate in law from Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main (1985). He serves as a senior research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg and is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Bristol.

The lecture was conducted in a hybrid format, with in-person attendance prioritised for students of the EU-South America School on Global Governance. However, a limited number of spots were also made available to the general public via Zoom.

During his lecture on "International Dispute Settlement and the Preservation of Peace: The Role of the International Court of Justice in the 21st Century," Professor Skordas provided an opportunity for students to delve into the diplomatic and historical background of international disputes and their policy implications. He discussed the new challenges for maintaining peace that have emerged in the 21st century and examined the multifunctional role of the International Court of Justice in addressing these challenges.

The lecture sparked engaging debates, particularly regarding the geopolitical context of recent cases heard before the ICJ, such as Ukraine vs. Russia, Gambia vs. Myanmar, and Qatar vs. UAE. The students highly praised the lecture for its thought-provoking content and valuable insights.