On 13–15 May 2004 the Inaugural Conference of the European Society of International Law took place in Florence, Italy. It brought together international lawyers from various parts of Europe and the world with an aim to discuss “International Law in Europe: Between Tradition and Renewal”. Volume 6 of the Baltic Yearbook publishes keynote speeches and selected papers of the historical proceedings leading to the foundation of the European Society of International Law. As the presentations and discussions showed in Florence, the question of the role that Europe and European international lawyers have played in the development of the discipline is complicated. This volume captures some of the complexity and demonstrates the wealth of the issues on the agenda of an international lawyer in Europe. As noted by Bruno Simma , the first President of the Society, the European Society of International Law was born in view of “the desirability of creating a forum designed to foster greater interaction among European international lawyers. Current developments in a wide range of areas served to highlight the need for more concerted attention to the development of shared positions within Europe.”