Centre for International Law

CIL is pleased to announce that one of its Researchers, Ms. Harpreet Kaur Dhillon, is the recipient of the first prize in an essay competition jointly organised by the Singapore branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and Thirty Nine Essex Street Chambers. The competition targets young practitioners working or resident in Singapore, giving them an opportunity to air their views on a critical issue which has arisen in the developing field of international arbitration. The topic for 2013 was "A regulatory regime for arbitrators and increased arbitral accountability: ideas to reinvigorate arbitration or stifle it?" The results of the competition were announced at a CIArb event on 30 May 2013 at the Ritz Carlton, Singapore, by Minister of State Ms. Indranee Rajah, who was the Guest of Honour and presented the prizes to the recipients. For more information, click here.

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CIL was one of the co-sponsors of the 37th Annual Conference of the Center for Oceans Law and Policy (COLP) on "Global Challenges and Freedom of Navigation" from 1-3 May 2013 in Seoul, Korea, which was organized by the COLP at the University of Virginia and the Korea Maritime Institute. Professor Tommy Koh, Chairman of CIL's Governing Board, gave the Welcome Address (delivered by CIL Director Robert Beckman). CIL sent a 5-member delegation including CIL Director Prof Beckman to attend the Conference. There were seven Panels on Counter-Piracy Operations, Transnational Threats, Developments in the Arctic Ocean, Deep Seabed Mining Update, Energy Security and Sealanes, Balancing Marine Environment and Freedom of Navigation and Marine Data Collection. For more information, Prof Koh's Welcome Address and to download presentations delivered by the CIL team, please click here.

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Senior Principal Research Fellow Mr. Christopher Thomas, QC, was invited to participate in a panel discussion on 27 March 2013 organised by the Thailand Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the Royal Thai Embassy in Brussels and the Mission of Thailand to the European Union, on the issue of investor-state dispute settlement under the current EU investment regime. The purpose of the session was to assist Thai government officials in their understanding of the kind of protection offered and reciprocally demanded in the present model of investment protection advocated by the EU and the significance of the option of investor-state dispute settlement in arbitrating disputes which may arise. For more information, click here.

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A 20-member delegation from Office of the Council of State of Thailand headed by Deputy Secretary-General Mr Chukiert Ratanachaichan visited CIL on 23 April 2013. The Office of the Council of State is a department under the Prime Minister of Thailand that provides legal advice to Thai State Agencies. The purpose of the visit was to get a better understanding of the CIL Documents Database and to explore cooperation opportunities between the two institutions. The session began with welcome remarks from CIL’s Deputy Director, Dr. R. Navin, and continued with a presentation on the CIL Documents Database by CIL Research Associate, Ms. Ranyta Yusran, and CIL’s Communication Consultant, Ms. Anita Perera.

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The second installment in the 2013 CIL Fireside Chat Series focused on the topic of "The Practice of International Law by Government Officials". Hosted by Prof S Jayakumar and Prof Tommy Koh, the event featured Minister K. Shanmugam, Minister of Law and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pang Khang Chau, Director-General of the International Affairs Division (IAD) of the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) and Hui Choon Kuen, Director of the Legal Services Department (LSD) of the Ministry of Defence.  For more information, click here.

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The 3rd Annual Singapore International Investment Arbitration Conference was held on 12 December 2012 at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore. Attended by over 100 delegates, it followed upon the success of two preceding international investment arbitration conferences organised by CIL in 2010 and 2011. The theme of the Conference, "Can Investment Treaty Arbitration be Improved", was explored in four sessions over the course of one day. The panel sitting in each session was composed of leading academics and well-regarded private practitioners in the field of investment treaty arbitration. CIL has prepared a Report on the Proceedings of the Conference, highlighting the relevant issues raised in each session, and the discussion it generated. Download the report in PDF format. CIL is now working towards the next Singapore International Investment Arbitration Conference to be held at the end of 2013.

The CIL Fireside Chat Series continues in 2013 with an installment on "The South China Sea Disputes: A Role for International Law?", which was held on 22 February 2013 at the NUS Bukit Timah Campus. Hosted by Prof S. Jayakumar and Prof Tommy Koh, this inaugural session of the CIL Fireside Chat Series for 2013 featured an international law expert, CIL Director Professor Robert Beckman and an international relations expert, Mr. Lye Liang Fook, Research Fellow at the East Asian Institute (EAI) and formerly from the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The discussion explored the advantages and limitations of using international law to settle contentious and intractable disputes between States. For more information, please click here. More information on the CIL Fireside Chat Series 2013 can be found here.

CIL and British Institute of International & Comparative Law (the Institute) are engaged on a joint project to carry out training and research on treaty law and practice. The Project began with an International Workshop on Treaty Law and Practice, held in Singapore in January 2012 (more information here). Based on the discussions at the Workshop, CIL and the Institute issued a Workshop Report (download in PDF) which provides a summary of the proceedings and discussions at the Workshop as well as a set of recommendations designed to improve treaty practices in the region. To download the Executive Summary, click here. In addition, CIL and the Institute jointly compiled the most important constitutional, legislative and other official provisions relevant to treaty practice of a selection of States and international organizations, which is available here. The two institutes are now working together to publish a book on treaty practice and further regional workshops are also planned.

The Centre for International Law's 3rd Annual Singapore International Investment Arbitration Conference was held on 12 December 2012 at the Shangri-La, Singapore (view full programme). This is the 3rd in a successful run of Arbitration Conferences that the Centre for International Law has organized, bringing together new and experienced practitioners in the field of investment arbitration to share their expertise and insight. The panelist line-up consisted of expert practitioners, scholars, arbitrators and government officials, all with a keen understanding, and a wealth of experience, in this area of practice. For more information about the conference, please click here.

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