International Law in Unprecedented Times –
and Our Role in Shaping It

Charis Tan, Partner, Peter & Kim

Ms Charis Tan specialises in international commercial and investor-State arbitration and public international law.

She is admitted in three jurisdictions (Singapore; England & Wales; New York) and her experience includes investment and commercial arbitrations under the rules of major arbitration institutions, including ICSID, ICSID(AF), ICC, SIAC, HKIAC, KCAB and SCC, as well as ad hoc proceedings under UNCITRAL Rules. Charis is regularly engaged both as Counsel and Arbitrator.

Charis has acted for States in a variety of cases, including in high profile cases before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and investor-State proceedings. Among others, GAR reported that she represented Egypt in a trio of cases and defended Slovenia. She has also been appointed as Panellist and Arbitrator in World Trade Organization (WTO) proceedings.  

Charis is referred to as “formidable arbitration counsel”, with “great familiarity with the rules and personas involved” and “simply outstanding”, named by Who’s Who Legal, GAR, Chambers, Legal 500 and Lexology, among others. An initiative she spearheaded for Government officials won the FT Innovative Lawyers Award.

Charis is also author and editor of Investment Protection in Southeast Asia (2017), Jus Mundi’s Wiki Notes on Investment Law and Arbitration, and Practical Public International Law and its Implications for Businesses (2025).

Natalie Morris-Sharma,Senior Director and Senior State Counsel, Singapore’s Attorney-General’s Chambers

Ms Natalie Morris-Sharma is a Senior Director and Senior State Counsel in Singapore’s Attorney-General’s Chambers.  Her previous roles have included serving as Director at Singapore’s Ministry of Law, and as Legal Advisor to Singapore’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.

Natalie has participated in and led several bilateral and multilateral negotiations. She was Chairperson of the UNCITRAL Working Group that developed the Singapore Convention on Mediation. She is currently Rapporteur to the UNCITRAL Working Group on ISDS Reform.

She has published and spoken on various topics of international law, and has taught at the ASEAN Law Academy, The Hague Academy of International Law, the Paris Arbitration Academy, and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)-Nippon Foundation Programme, amongst others.

Sapna Jhangiani KC, Barrister, Blackstone Chambers

Ms Sapna Jhangiani KC is a barrister at Blackstone Chambers, based in Singapore, with over twenty-five years’ experience in appearing before courts and tribunals, and sitting as an arbitrator or mediator, in complex commercial disputes seated all over the world.

Sapna has practised in London, New York, Dubai and Singapore, and is called to the Bar in England & Wales, Singapore and the British Virgin Islands. She appears as an advocate in international arbitration, as well as in the Singapore Courts (through her sole proprietorship, Sapna Jhangiani).

Sapna holds an undergraduate degree from Oxford University, and a diploma in international commercial arbitration from Queen Mary University, London, in which she graduated with distinction.

Sapna is consistently ranked in the leading legal directories, and has been described as “excellent”, “tenacious”, “a charming advocate” and a “true all-rounder” with “excellent advocacy skills” and “excellent written advocacy”. She was recognised by Asian Legal Business as one of Asia’s top 15 female lawyers.

Sapna is a Chartered Arbitrator and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, as well as the past Chair of the Singapore branch of the Institute.

Alongside her independent practice as an advocate, arbitrator and mediator, she is a Judge in the Court of Appeal of the DIFC Courts.

Dr Stefanie Schacherer, Assistant Professor of Law, Singapore Management University

Dr Stefanie Schacherer is Assistant Professor of Law at the Singapore Management University. Prior to joining SMU, she was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore. Stefanie obtained her PhD in International Law from the University of Geneva and the University of Vienna. She holds an LL.M. from King’s College London, and a Master and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Geneva. Stefanie has published widely on sustainable development and international economic law. Her monograph titled Sustainable Development in EU Foreign Investment Law was published in 2021 with Brill Nijhoff. She is a member of the UNCITRAL Academic Forum on Investor-State Dispute Settlement and serves as an advisor to the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).