International law is not only a matter for lawyers. It is present all around us, in all we do, at the shops or in the food we eat, when we phone someone up, use our ID card to take a long weekend trip abroad or when we surf the internet.

This year, the idea behind the Directorate of International Law's annual event is to raise awareness of the role of public international law in our daily lives and the benefits it brings. We have chosen to do this by creating a fun and original programme involving a variety of events.

This year's International Law Day will take place on 14 December 2015 from 1pm to 6.30pm in the Rathaus and other venues in the Old Town of Bern. The programme will be followed by a drinks reception.

To open the event, Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter will talk about the practical relevance of international regulations in the everyday lives of people in Switzerland.

The audience will then be invited to view a number of exhibitions and visit a range of places in Bern. Organised by the DIL units, each of these exhibitions and venues reflects an aspect of the work carried out in the many areas of international law: human rights, humanitarian law, trade agreements and customs, intellectual property and the protection of endangered species, to name just a few.

The day will conclude with some major players from Swiss business (Freitag, Lufthansa Group, Chocolats Camille Bloch) discussing the international aspects of their work, moderated by Susanne Brunner, radio journalist with the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation.

You will find the programme (available in FR/DE) below.