The International Association of Legal Science (IALS) was established in July 1950 with a view to promoting the development of legal science throughout the world by using, in particular, comparative methods.
From July 1950 to March 1955, the Association was known as the International Committee of Comparative Law (ICCL). Consequently, the documents published by the Association or under its auspices prior to March 1955 appeared under that name. Since 1955, the International Committee of Comparative Law has acted as the Executive Committee of the Association.
The Association operates under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialised agency of the United Nations (UNESCO) and of the International Social Science Council, of which it is a founding member.