In 2013 (19-20 September), the Pontifical Council for the Family and The Union of Catholic Jurists cohosted an International Conference, in Rome, entitled The Rights of the Family and the Challenges of the Contemporary World.
At this conference, Professor Jane Adolphe of Ave Maria School of Law, co-hosted the session on The Family from the International Political Perspective and later presented its outcome action points to the plenary session. One of which was the establishment of a website presence to compile, store, and share resources with other non-governmental organizations, and activists working within international and regional human rights systems on issues pertaining to family, life, and religious freedom.
A website was launched under the auspices of The International Center on Law, Life, Faith and Family (ICOLF) the following year, at the United Nations in New York, during the Twentieth Anniversary of the International Year of Family, in 2014.
From 2014 to 2021, ICOLF slowly developed into an international forum for Catholic jurists and scholars to study pertinent issues of the day touching on law, life, faith, and family:
- persecution and genocide of Christians;
- the nature and meaning of equality and non-discrimination;
- the global compacts on migration and refugees;
- the nature and meaning of international human rights; and
- Clerical sexual misconduct.
Over the years, numerous international expert meetings and strategy sessions have been held at Ave Maria School Law in Naples, Florida or at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University, in Warsaw. Outcome initiatives have included the publication of books and the creation of expert coalitions and related initiatives.
In 2021, the name of ICOLF was changed to The International Catholic Jurists Forum (ICJF) to better reflect its principal work of providing a meeting place for Catholic jurists and scholars from around the globe.