BEIJING - Asia should play a more active role in the formation and development of international law, said Judge Xue Hanqin, a member of The Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Xue, also the president of the Asian Society of International Law (AsianSIL), is in Beijing for the Society's third biennial conference. The theme is "Asia and International Law: A New Era".

With the rapid economic development taking place now, Asia is exerting more influence in world affairs, economically and politically, especially when the global economy is in the shroud of a debt crisis.

Asia as a region should enhance its voice in the field of international law, Xue said in an exclusive interview with China Daily - her first interview with mass media after taking the position in the ICJ.

Having practiced international law for decades in various positions in both Chinese and international organizations, Xue was elected judge of the ICJ last June, becoming the first-ever female Chinese judge in the Court.

Asian countries, especially developing economies, are confronted with tremendous tasks in economic and social development.

After World War II, China and India, together with other Asian and African countries, promoted Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence as the basic norm of international relations, which reflected the basic principles of international law enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.

"They play a major role in the establishment of the 'self-determination' and 'permanent sovereignty over natural resources', and establishment of a new international economic order," Xue said.

However, for many years the continent remained the only region where there was no regional international law society.

"That's why in 2007 the Asian Society of International Law was founded with the aim to strengthen teaching and dissemination of international law in the region and promote dialogue with other regions," Xue said.

AsianSIL holds its conference every two years, and it organizes regional and sub-regional seminars and conferences on international issues of common concern. It also focuses on the development of young scholars, Xue said.

There will be 14 topics for panel discussions at the conference covering a large range of issues on contemporary international law, such as human rights, climate change, the law of the sea, international criminal law and international trade and arbitration.

Scholars from all over the world, many from Asian countries, have been invited to the conference to share their views on these topics.

"AsianSIL is not an introversive society, but open to the world. And I would like to stress that this is not purely a regional organization, but a regional effort to address global issues," Xue said.

"In history, there were some debates over 'regional international law'. It has been denied and proved by practice that international law must be based on universal basis," she added.