The ACIL was established under its present name in 1998. Since 2008 it is the Center of Excellence for Public International Law of the Faculty of Law of the University of Amsterdam. Its main research programme 'The International Rule of Law', has been recognized by the University and the Faculty as thematic research focal point. The ACIL's mission is:

to facilitate and support fundamental and applied legal research into the role of public authority in a diversity of legal systems and the interaction of those legal systems in exercising public authority in the global order

In pursuit of its mission, the ACIL undertakes amongst others:

• to create a stimulating academic research environment for its members;
• to collaborate with other national and foreign research institutes and individual researchers;
• to organise regular research meetings and conferences in order to support an exchange of views on individual and collective research interests;
• to support and facilitate efforts to seek and obtain external funding for researchers and research projects.

The ACIL is a dynamic research institute with a broad scope of legal research activities, good access to a variety of international and European networks and proximity to major legal institutions in The Hague such as the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, the International Criminal Court and other international institutions.

The ACIL currently brings together around 50 researchers in the fields of public international law, including international criminal law.

The ACIL, in cooperation with the Department of Public International Law and European Law and the Amsterdam International Law Clinic (AILC), offers legal services in public international law. Existing and potential clients include law firms, national or international (non-) governmental organisations, companies, and individuals.