On 9 June 2026, ELI will convene a Forum on Legal Resilience and the Rule of Law, bringing together leading practitioners, policymakers, and academics to reflect on current challenges and future directions.

Across jurisdictions, legal systems are increasingly confronted with periods of structural stress. Rapid geopolitical developments, institutional change, and growing pressures on established legal frameworks are testing the stability of both domestic legal systems and the international legal order. In this context, courts and legal institutions play a vital role in safeguarding the rule of law, ensuring the continuity of adjudication, and maintaining public confidence in legal processes.

At the same time, the effective functioning of the international legal order depends on sustained respect for international law and on the capacity of legal institutions to interpret and apply it consistently. The central question, therefore, is not only how legal principles are articulated, but how legal systems remain institutionally resilient and capable of upholding the rule of law in times of uncertainty and pressure. Here, resilience is understood as the ability of legal institutions to withstand stress, adapt where necessary, and preserve constitutional and legal integrity over time.

The Forum aims to foster a structured exchange among senior judicial, academic, and institutional actors on the pressures currently affecting the resilience of legal systems and the international legal order. Discussions will focus on identifying and analysing key emerging challenges, including:

 

• pressures affecting the continuity and effectiveness of adjudication

 

• risks to judicial independence and institutional stability

 

• tensions between domestic legal orders and the evolving international legal framework

 

• the capacity of legal institutions to maintain authority and public trust in periods of geopolitical or institutional uncertainty

 

The list of participants is available here.