Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) will be host to the first series of lectures in international law by a visiting expert funded and introduced by the Moragoda International Law Trust from August 19 to August 26, 2014.  The Moragoda Endowment Professor of International Law will deliver first lectures and hold Seminars on International Humanitarian Law, the subject of this year’s course selected by the KDU.

The first Professor will be Professor Terence Gill, Professor of Military Law at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, author of several works on Military Law and editor of manuals on the subject. Prof. Terry Gill is also the Director of the Research Programme “Role of Law in Armed Conflict and Peace Operations” within the Amsterdam Centre for International Law (ACIL), and Chairman of the Research Forum “LACPO” (Law of Armed Conflict & Peace Operations). He also holds positions in several international law societies.

Professor Gill expects not only to promote a deeper academic understanding of International Humanitarian Law, but will also encourage an interactive  approach to the subject, inviting his audience to discuss and debate principles, bringing into focus issues that are the subject of news in every part of the world today.

Meanwhile, Professor Gill has been invited to deliver a keynote address at the International Defence Seminar, an annual feature of the Defence University’s academic calendar, on 21 August 2014.