The fifth edition of the annual ASEAN Law Academy Advanced Programme (previously known as the ASEAN Law Academy) runs between 30 January to 22 February 2023 via Zoom.
The Academy is a flagship training programme of the Centre for International Law (CIL). It is a cross-disciplinary master’s level intensive programme for policymakers, practitioners, and academics working in the fields of politics and governance, economics, and law. It is founded on twelve years of research at CIL on ASEAN legal integration and institution building, including the ASEAN Integration through Law book series published by Cambridge University Press.
Co-directed by Professor Joseph Weiler (New York University and National University of Singapore) and Dr Tan Hsien-Li (National University of Singapore), the modules are created and taught by an international faculty of experts from practice and academia and provides participants with a deeper understanding of ASEAN institutions and key developments in ASEAN’s economic integration, foreign affairs and legal framework.
Given the contemporary geopolitical changes in the region, the 2023 Academy will relate relevant content and perspectives while staying true to the core syllabus of ASEAN integration.
Programme
The main lecture series for the Changemaker and Full Educator Programmes runs from 8–22 February 2023. Lectures and seminars will be conducted through Zoom three days a week from 3–6pm (UTC+8), save for the ASEAN Investment Law Specialisation which will run from 1–4pm (UTC+8). The Focused Educator sessions will be conducted between 30 January and 3 February 2023 through Zoom. Click here for the programme.
Changemaker Programme (9 days)
The Changemakers of ASEAN are policymakers in governments and regional institutions of Southeast Asia and partner countries, as well as practitioners in the private sector and civil society. The Academy enables Changemakers to keep abreast of ASEAN developments, engage in specialised content and practicums on key topics and interact with influential ASEAN researchers and educators. The Changemaker Programme is taught over 9 days between 8–22 February 2023. See the programme dates here.
Singapore-registered legal practitioners are able to obtain CPD points for specific modules in the Changemaker Programme which are accredited by the Singapore Institute of Legal Education. See below.
Educator Programme (13 days / 4 days)
Educators are fundamental to ASEAN: they are the professors and teachers of future generations who will be familiar with ASEAN and its institutions, and able to benefit fully from ASEAN integration. The Academy’s Educator Programme has received acclaim from senior faculty as well as aspiring academics, especially those from the faculties of economics, law, and political science. This year, there are two options for participation in the Educator Programme:
- Full programme: 13-day programme (taught between 30 January–22 February 2023); comprising a 4-day focused syllabus for educators and academics and a workshop-style international academic conference, followed by 9 days reviewing the fundamentals of ASEAN and engaging in specialised content.
- Focused programme: 4-day programme (between 30 January–3 February 2023) consisting of only the syllabus for educators and academics, including the academic conference.
ASEAN Law Academy Conference
To participate in the ASEAN Law Academy Conference, participants must submit a short abstract (max 500 words) of the unpublished paper/work-in-progress they wish to present. Click here for the Call for Papers.
Specialisations
Participants in the Changemaker and Full Educator Programmes should choose one of the three specialisations offered in Week 3. Each specialisation will include lectures and practicum; participants will discuss realistic scenarios so as to deepen their grasp of the material. The organisers will endeavor to allocate to applicants their first choice of specialisation.
Three specialisations are offered:
- The ASEAN Free Trade Area and Rules of Origin
- ASEAN Investment Law
- ASEAN Foreign Relations and Regional Trade Arrangements
Who should attend?
|
Educator Programme |
Changemaker Programme |
|
|
Application
This programme is by selection only. Applicants should be fluent in English, and should fulfil at least one of the following requirements:
- Familiarity with at least one aspect of ASEAN cooperation in either a practitioner or academic setting, OR
- Comparative expertise in law, public policy, political science or economics in one or more Southeast Asian countries, OR
- Has completed the ASEAN Law Academy Foundation Programme, OR
- Has attended the 2018, 2019, 2021, or 2022 Academy.
Course fees
|
Changemaker Programme |
Week 2-4 (9 days) |
SGD 1,300 |
|
Educator Programme (Full) |
Week 1-4 (13 days) |
SGD 1,600 |
|
Educator Programme (Focused) |
Week 1 only (4 days) |
SGD 500 |
|
Specialisation Week only (for returning Academy participants only) |
Week 3 only (3 days) |
SGD 500 |
The fees include course materials. The fees are inclusive of government taxes, exclusive of bank charges.
Scholarships
Limited scholarships are available for the Changemaker and Educator programmes. Please indicate on your application if you would like to be considered for a scholarship. The scholarship covers the programme fees of SGD 1,300, SGD 1,600, or SGD 500.
Please note that for the Educator Programme, scholarships are available only to participants whose papers are accepted for the ASEAN Law Academy Conference.
Interested applicants should complete the online application form on the CIL website by 19 December 2022
Programme Directors
Click here for the Trainers' Profiles
Professor Joseph Weiler
Professor JHH Weiler is University Professor at New York University, as well as holder of the European Union Jean Monnet Chair at New York University School of Law, Director of the Straus Institute for the Advanced Study of Law & Justice, and Co-Director of the Tikvah Center for Law & Jewish Civilization. He was until 2016 the President of the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, Italy. Professor Weiler serves as Editor-in-Chief of EJIL (European Journal of International Law) and ICON (International Journal of Constitutional Law). He is also Professor at the National University of Singapore; Honorary Professor at University College, London; Honorary Professor at the Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen; and Co-Director of the Academy of International Trade Law in Macao, China. Professor Weiler is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He holds degrees from Sussex (BA); Cambridge (LLB and LLM); and The Hague Academy of International Law (Diploma of International Law). He earned his PhD in European Law at the EUI, Florence.
Dr Tan Hsien-Li
Dr Tan Hsien-Li is the Co-Director of ASEAN Law and Policy at the Centre for International Law (CIL) and Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore (NUS). Dr Tan has held fellowships at the European University Institute, Florence, and the Jean Monnet Center for International and Regional Economic Law and Justice, NYU School of Law. She was also the AsianSIL Research Fellow at NUS and the Ushiba Memorial ASEAN Fellow in Tokyo. Dr Tan has published The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (2011), Promoting Compliance: The Role of Dispute Settlement and Monitoring Mechanisms in ASEAN Instruments (2016, co-authored) and Can ASEAN Take Human Rights Seriously (2019, co-authored) (all published by Cambridge University Press). She is co-Editor of the Asian Journal of International Law.
Trainers
- Professor Simon Chesterman, National University of Singapore
- Dr Chia Siow Yue, Economic Consultant, Singapore
- Professor Cho Sungjoon, Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology, United States of America
- Mr Stefano Inama, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Switzerland
- Professor Tommy Koh, Centre for International Law, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore
- Professor Juergen Kurtz, European University Institute, Italy
- Ms Natalie Morris-Sharma, International Affairs Division, Attorney-General's Chambers, Singapore
- Professor Paruedee Nguitragool (syllabus design for ASEAN Foreign Relations specialisation), Chiang Mai University, Thailand
- Professor M Ramesh, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore
- Professor Juergen Rueland, University of Freiburg, Germany
CPDScholarships
SILE CPD ACCREDITATION (Scholarships available)
21.5 Public CPD Points
Area: Others/Multi-disciplinary
Training Level: Intermediate
Apply for CPD modules and scholarships here.
The following modules in the Changemaker Programme have received accreditation from the Singapore Institute of Legal Education. Singapore-registered legal practitioners are able to obtain CPD points in fulfilment of the Continuing Professional Development Requirements. For this pilot run, specific CPD scholarships are available, covering registration fees and course materials.
Participants who wish to obtain CPD Points are reminded that they must comply strictly with the Attendance Policy set out in the CPD Guidelines. For this activity, this includes logging in at the start of the webinar and logging out at the conclusion of the webinar on each day of the activity, and not being away from any part of the webinar for more than 15 minutes on each day of the activity. Participants who do not comply with the Attendance Policy on any particular day of the activity will not be able to obtain CPD Points for that day of the activity. Please refer to http://www.sileCPDcentre.sg for more information.
|
Date |
Module |
Fee |
||
|
9 Feb |
Health Policy Design in Asia 3 Public CPD Points |
SGD 200 |
||
|
10 Feb |
Overview of the ASEAN Economic Community Progress and Evaluating the AEC Blueprint 2025 2.5 Public CPD Points |
SGD 200 |
||
|
15 -17 Feb |
ASEAN Investment Law by Professors Juergen Kurtz and Cho Sungjoon 8.5 Public CPD Points |
ASEAN Free Trade Area and Rules of Origin 8.5 Public CPD Points |
ASEAN’s Foreign Relations / ASEAN’s Regional Trade Arrangements 8.5 Public CPD Points |
SGD 500 |
|
20 Feb |
Compliance and Monitoring 2.5 Public CPD Points |
SGD 200 |
||
|
21 – 22 Feb |
Compliance, Monitoring and Dispute Settlement 5 Public CPD Points |
SGD 350 |
||
On the importance of ASEAN
“Unlike the protectionist trend elsewhere, ASEAN remains committed to free trade, regional integration and open economies…RCEP (The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership of ASEAN and six other economies) will be one of the biggest free trade areas in the world.”
- Ambassador Tommy Koh, Chairman of the CIL Governing Board and Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore
“I have witnessed how the interests and concerns of Member States are amplified internationally when ASEAN speaks with one voice. ASEAN is also capable of summoning a spirit of unity which is unparalleled. Even when faced with the thorniest of issues, leaders and officials work tirelessly to find common ground, and achieve agreement by consensus. This is not a trivial undertaking, given the diversity of the region we sit in.”
- Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore
“ASEAN itself manifests what could be achieved – with the requisite political will and diplomatic persistence – to fundamentally transform a region from one marked by conflict and trust deficit to one of stability and strategic trust.”
- Dr Marty Natalegawa, Foreign Minister of Indonesia (2009-14) and author of Does ASEAN Matter? A view from within (2018)
ApplyNow
Feedback from participants of the ASEAN Law Academy Advanced Programme
“I've acquired understanding about our region and international public law which I'd not been familiar with before the program. From the perspective of a practitioner, I found the program very interesting, I learned a lot not only from the professors of NUS but also my colleagues, the participants.”
“The Academy provided me not only precious knowledge on ASEAN Law but also networking of ASEAN scholars in this field. I am revising my teaching curriculum on International Trade Law with a focus on ASEAN perspective based on what I have learned from the Academy.”
“As I venture forth into a career which deals with the ASEAN region, I can guarantee that the scholarship slot given to me will not go to waste. Please extend my thanks to everyone in NUS who has been instrumental in holding this informative and inspiring endeavour.”