CIL Dialogues
An International Law Blog
CIL Dialogues is the re-imagination of the existing blog of the Centre for International Law (CIL) of the National University of Singapore (NUS). The editorial team’s approach to CIL Dialogues reflects two shared commitments. First, we share a generalist perspective of international law, viewed as raising shared foundational questions across specialised fields, institutions, regions, and inquiries. Secondly, we are appreciative that CIL Dialogues is not based in (the virtual space of), or associated with institutions in the ‘Western European and Others States Group’. The blog will therefore be interested in international law broadly conceived and seek to be attentive to regional perspectives to questions of universal and general relevance, particularly relating to Asia Pacific, as well as the views and voices that may have been traditionally excluded. More...
Featured Blog
Missed opportunities: WIPO Treaty falls short of protecting Traditional Knowledge
by Kriti Sharma
On May 24, 2024, twenty five years of negotiations culminated in the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Diplomatic Conference adopting its first treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and associated Traditional Knowledge (“the treaty”). Developed as a conciliatory effort of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (WIPO IGC), this instrument was drafted by former Chair Ian Goss in 2019. Read on ...
Featured Symposium
Gravity at the International Criminal Court
INTRODUCTORY BLOG
Published on 6 August 2024
Gravity at the International Criminal Court: An Introduction
by Priya Urs
I began thinking about the selectivity of the investigation and prosecution of international crimes in 2014, when I worked with the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission to strengthen its role in monitoring human rights violations across the country. In reality, the Commission was often dealing with allegations of international crimes. My colleagues at the Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law worked in not dissimilar contexts: Cambodia, Colombia, Mali, Sudan, South Sudan and other parts of the world where people had suffered or continued to suffer as a result of armed conflict or other forms of violence. It was impossible to ignore the contrast between the sheer geographical scope of allegations of relevant conduct and the relatively limited capacity for their investigation and prosecution, whether before international or national criminal courts.