The United States of America was born on the 4th of July 1776. I wish America a happy 243rd Birthday on the 4th of July 2019. I have spent 21 years of my life in that country. As a result, I have developed very positive feelings for America. In this essay, I wish to answer …
A team of marine science and ocean law and policy researchers from the National University of Singapore has reviewed the status of research on marine plastics in Southeast Asia. The team includes CIL Senior Research Fellow Youna Lyons, Theresa Linting and Mei Lin Neo from St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory and the Tropical Marine …
A Review of Research on Marine Plastics in Southeast Asia: Who Does What? Read More »
Growing unease with the current functioning of the global regime of international investment agreements (IIA), together with today’s sustainable development imperative, the greater role of governments in the economy and the evolution of the investment landscape, has triggered a move towards reforming international investment rulemaking to make it better suited for today’s policy challenges. As …
Building on the growing awareness that applicable law determinations are one of the places where the balance between investor and state interests is struck in investment disputes, the article probes the capacity of applicable law provisions (ALPs) in investment treaties to contribute to its regulation. Based on a large scale survey of treaty texts (1000+ …
Applicable Law Provisions in Investment Treaties: Forever Midnight Clauses? Read More »
I will never forget the date, 14 June 1992, for as long as I live. On that day, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, popularly known as the Earth Summit, came to a successful conclusion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In March 1990, the UN elected me as Chairman of the Preparatory Committee …
Electronic commerce has brought about business and technological changes globally, and these global changes have given rise to major legal reforms across nations. In the fast-changing global digital economy, states need strategies to maintain competitiveness of their markets while simultaneously ensuring the secure and effective use of technologies involved in conducting electronic transactions. This paper …
This post analyses the doctrinal contributions of the ‘Norstar’ Judgement to both freedom of navigation (Article 87(1)(a) of UNCLOS) and exclusive flag state jurisdiction (Article 92(1) of UNCLOS). The post concludes with a brief discussion as to if and why the Tribunal may wish to clarify its position on these issues in any forthcoming M/T …
Freedom of Navigation Following the M/V “Norstar” Case Read More »
This paper explores a critical component of any liability and compensation regime, namely which actors, among the many involved in a particular activity, should ultimately be held liable for risks related to damage arising from a particular activity. The central question that this paper is concerned with is whether the current attribution of liability under …
This paper explores the various issues related to identifying claimants that have a sufficient legal interest to bring a claim for damage arising out of activities in the area beyond national jurisdiction (standing) and whether such claimants have access to a dispute settlement forum to adjudicate such claims, be it an international court, tribunal or …
Recent press reports indicate that the government of China has protested the transit of US, French and British naval vessels through the waters surrounding islands it occupies in the South China Sea and through the Taiwan Strait. As a result, commentators have called for the development of a rules-based order for naval operations in East …
Why China Stands to Gain from Freedom of Navigation Rights Read More »
