CIL Insider Special Issue - Asian SIL 

On 7–9 August 2023, a team of CIL researchers participated in the 9th Biennial Conference of the Asian Society of International Law (AsianSIL) co-organised by the Asian Society of International Law, Universitas Indonesia, Universitas Jenderal Ahmad Yani, and the CIL Teaching and Research of International Law in Asia (TRILA) team (for the Junior Scholar Workshop segment).

The Conference consisted of two (2) events:

• Junior Scholar Workshop, which was held at the Faculty of Law campus of Universitas Indonesia in Depok City on 07 August 2023; and
• Main Conference, which was held in the historic city of Bandung, Indonesia from 08 to 09 August 2023.

Twelve (12) junior scholars presented their research papers before a panel of nine (9) senior scholars during the workshop. Meanwhile, one hundred and four (104) participants joined the main conference in Bandung.

Professor Tony Anghie, Secretary-General of the Asian SIL and Head of the TRILA Programme, and Mr Amiel Ian Valdez, member of the Asian SIL Secretariat and Research Fellow for the TRILA Programme, played an active role in co-organizing both the workshop and conference. Professor Anghie spoke at the opening session of the workshop, and served as a Commentator at the workshop’s panel on Investment, Economy, and International Law. He also delivered remarks at the opening and closing ceremonies of the main conference.

Other than his role as one of the organisers of the event, Amiel Valdez served as a panelist at the closing session of the workshop wherein he shared his thoughts on writing and publishing as a junior scholar himself.

During the workshop, Ms Yvette Foo presented her research paper titled “Reactionary Regionalism”: ASEAN’s Increased Economic Cooperation and Integration in Response to Financial Crises”. The paper provided a panoramic overview of ASEAN’s economic integration following the (1) 1997/8 Asian Financial Crisis; (2) 2008/9 Global Financial Crisis; and (3) current geoeconomic and political instability, to showcase the organization’s increased readiness to integration through regional initiatives following each crisis.

At the same workshop, Ms Kriti Sharma presented her research paper on “Misappropriation of Traditional Medicinal Knowledge by the Pharmaceutical Industry: Critique of Compensation Practices”. The paper argued for incorporation of good compensation practices demonstrated through four case studies in devising fair and equitable benefit sharing agreements between Indigenous Peoples and Big Pharma. It further analyses and suggests changes that align the interests of Indigenous Peoples with a new intellectual property regime through the WIPO IGC’s Second Draft Instrument on protecting Traditional Knowledge.

In the main conference, Dr Charalampos Giannakopoulos presented ongoing research of the Investment Law and Policy team on the challenges and opportunities of adapting the design of structural, multilateral reforms to the existing system of investor-state dispute settlement so as to adequately meet regional concerns. The case of ASEAN and its member states was used as a case study during the presentation.

Likewise in the main conference, Dr Tara Davenport presented her work on advisory opinions and discretion of the courts at the panel organised by the Asian SIL Law of the Sea Interest Group, and joined the special panel of the AsianSIL Executive Council members on the topic concerning the role of international law today. Dr Davenport also moderated a panel on environmental law, and convened the members of the Law of the Sea Interest Group on the second day of the conference. Before the conference, Dr Davenport also served as a Commentator at the Junior Scholar Workshop panel on Oceans, Environment, and International Law.