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.
Click here for more information.
Click here for more information.
Click here for more information.
Click here for more information.
The International Conference on "Transboundary Pollution: Evolving Issues of International Law and Policy" took place on 27 – 28 February 2014 at Orchard Hotel, Singapore. The Conference was organized by the Centre for International Law (CIL) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and was chaired by Professor S Jayakumar and Professor Tommy Koh.
CIL Deputy Director Dr Navin met with Prof Dr H Faisal Santiago and his team from Universitas Borobudur on 17 February 2013.
CIL congratulates its researchers Dr Hao Duy Phan and Ms Ranyta Yusran for their promotion to Senior Research Fellow and Research Fellow respectively (effective 1 January 2014).
Click https://cil.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Mapping-way-out-of-South-China-Sea-rows-Straits-Times-18-Feb-2014.pdf
We are pleased to announce that CIL contributed a chapter to the World Trade Organisation's 'WTO Chairs Book': Connecting to Global Markets.
Researchers from CIL had a rare opportunity to meet with and discuss ocean governance, policy and legal issues with Mr Michael Lodge, Deputy to the Secretary-General and Legal Counsel of the International Seabed Authority, on 23 January 2014.
The annual Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy will be held from 29 June – 18 July 2014 in Rhodes, Greece. CIL continues its fifth year of association with the prestigious Academy and has been a full member of the Academy since last year. CIL Director Robert C Beckman has been a member of the Rhodes Academy faculty since 2009 and currently serves as one of the Academy's six directors. For more information on the Academy, click here.
The annual Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy will be held from 29 June - 18 July 2014 in Rhodes, Greece. CIL continues its fifth year of association with the prestigious Academy and has been a full member of the Academy since last year.
CIL was honoured to host a visit by Mr Michael Lodge, Deputy to the Secretary-General and Legal Counsel for the International Seabed Authority (ISA).
We are pleased to announce that an Associate of CIL, Mr Diego German Mejia-Lemos, was awarded the NUS President’s Graduate Fellowship in January 2014.
CIL is pleased to announce a successful run of the 2013 Singapore International Arbitration Academy from 22 November to 3 December 2013 at the NUS Bukit Timah Campus and the Supreme Court of Singapore.
CIL is proud to announce that "Submarine Cables: The Handbook of Law and Policy" is now available. The book is edited by Douglas Burnett, the legal advisor of the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC), and two CIL staff members, Robert Beckman and Tara Davenport.
On 3 December 2013, 150 government lawyers, private practitioners, academics and students assembled in the Auditorium of the Supreme Court of Singapore to consider the topic of "Investment Treaty Arbitration in Asia: What Lies Ahead?".
Sir Christopher Greenwood CMG QC, Judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), delivered a public lecture on 29 November 2013 on the timely topic, "The ICJ: A World Court for a New World".
Dr Peter Maurer, the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), delivered a public lecture entitled “Global Humanitarian Action Today: The Red Cross Perspective” on 20 November 2013 at Orchard Parade Hotel. The talk, co-organised by the Centre for International Law, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Singapore Red Cross was …
Click here for more information.
Jointly organised by the Centre for International Law (CIL), Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI), and the Centre for Offshore Engineering (CORE), this multi-disciplinary workshop on the prospects for Rigs-to-Reefs in Southeast Asia for fisheries, marine tourism and biodiversity took place on 12-13 November 2013.
Click here for more information.
he final session of the 2013 CIL Fireside Chat Series took place on 8 November 2013 and considered "Syria and International Law".
Click here for more information.
Organised by the NUS Centre for International Law (CIL), together with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Singapore Cooperation Programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Second Singapore Trade Dialogue on 30 October 2013 gathered more than 55 participants, including senior officials from the WTO, government officials and trade and investment policy experts from Asia Pacific.
Professor S Jayakumar and Professor Tommy Koh hosted the penultimate session of the 2013 CIL Fireside Chat Series on 11 October 2013. Four distinguished panelists gave their views on the topic "ASEAN and Human Rights”.
CIL would like to congratulate our hardworking administrators Ms Sadhna Rai and Ms Jocelyn Cruz on their elevation to Executive & Professional status.
CIL extends its congratulations to Mr Chan Sek Keong, the former Chief Justice of Singapore, on his appointment as NUS Faculty of Law's first Distinguished Fellow.
CIL's publication "Beyond Territorial Disputes in the South China Sea: Legal Frameworks for Joint Development of Hydrocarbon Resources" was launched by the Chairman of CIL's International Advisory Panel Professor S Jayakumar on 27 September 2013.
CIL congratulates its Chairman, Professor Tommy Koh, on being named as the 2014 Great Negotiator by the Program on Negotiation, an inter-university consortium comprising Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University and the Future of Diplomacy Project at Harvard Kennedy School.
On 25-27 September 2013, the Centre for International Law (CIL) and the International Boundaries Research Unit (IBRU) of Durham University organised the third annual run of the International Maritime Boundary Delimitation Workshop in Singapore.
The third installment of the 2013 CIL Fireside Chat Series on International Law & Diplomacy, focusing on "International Humanitarian Law: A Singapore Perspective", took place on 6 September 2013.
CIL Research Associate, Junianto James Losari, participated at the International Law Association Regional Conference 2013 held in Cape Sounion, Greece, on 29-31 August 2013. The conference was hosted by the Hellenic Branch of the ILA and was held at the premise of the European Public Law Organization. This year’s conference took the theme Imperium Juris: …
Participation at International Law Association Regional Conference 2013, Greece Read More »
Academics and officials from Thaksin University, Thailand, visited CIL on 28 August 2013. CIL Deputy Director, Dr R. Navin, received the delegation and briefed them about NUS, CIL and its activities.
On behalf of CIL, IPS and ST Press, CIL Deputy Director Dr R. Navin hosted the launch of the book "Malaysia and Singapore: The Land Reclamation Case – From Dispute to Settlement", by authors Ambassador-at-Large Professor Tommy Koh, Dr Cheong Koon Hean, CEO of Housing Development Board (HDB), and Judicial Commissioner Lionel Yee, and jointly published by the Centre for International Law, The Straits Times Press and the Institute of Policy Studies at NUS on 5 August 2013.
The Centre for International Law recently concluded the third Plenary of the ASEAN Integration Through Law Project with the theme "The ASEAN Way in a Comparative Context: Plenary on the Rule of Law in the ASEAN Community" on 25 August 2013.
Click here for more information.
CIL and the Faculty of Law for the first time co-organised an International Law Week (ILW) at the Bukit Timah Campus from 23 to 27 Aug 2013.
CIL is pleased to announce its partnership with Malaysia’s CIMB ASEAN Research Institute (CARI) to research into and present a report on lifting the barriers for ASEAN’s aviation industry. The report, authored by Prof. Alan Tan, Head of CIL’s Air Law and Policy programme, is to be presented at the inaugural Network ASEAN Forum (NAF) …
CIL Partners with Malaysia’s CARI for Aviation Research Read More »
On Thursday 15 August 2013, Professors Joseph Weiler and Michael Ewing-Chow, CIL colleagues and some of the World Trade Law class from the Faculty of Law visited PSA International and were shown around the Port of Singapore.
The Centre for International Law (CIL) and Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH) organised the 2nd Plenary of the ASEAN Integration Through Law Project on 29 July 2013 in Jakarta, Indonesia. This session focused on the theme "ASEAN Governance, Management and External Relations" which is deemed to be critical for the success of the ASEAN integration efforts.
CIL Researchers Ms. Ranyta Yusran and Ms. Harpreet Kaur Dhillon attended the Hague Academy of International Law’s Summer Programme on Public International Law, held at the Peace Palace from 8 July 2013 to 26 July 2013.
CIL is pleased to announce that our Research Fellow Dr. Hao Duy Phan has won the Best Oralist Award at the 18th session of the Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy, which took place from 30 June -20 July 2013 in Rhodes, Greece.
CIL launched the findings of one of its flagship research projects "ASEAN Integration Through Law: The ASEAN Way in a Comparative Context" on 4 July 2013. This Plenary on "The General Architecture of ASEAN" focused on the political and economic aspirations of ASEAN and the domestic and regional institutions which play a part in the region's community-building.
Students from the Graduate School of Politics, Government and Communication, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), South Korea, visited CIL on 26 June 2013.
Click here for more information.
Mr Youri van Logchem, a PhD Fellow at the Netherlands Institute for the Law of the Sea (NILOS), received the 2013 ICPC-Rhodes Academy Writing Competition on Submarine Cables and International Law award from the Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy and the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC).
Click here for more information.
CIL hosted a visit by Mr Evan Rogerson, Director of Agriculture and Commodities Division of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on 19 June 2013.
The NUS Centre for International Law is pleased to announce that it has been accepted as a full sponsor of the Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy.
CIL is pleased to announce that one of its Researchers, Ms. Harpreet Kaur Dhillon, is the recipient of the first prize in an essay competition jointly organised by the Singapore branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and Thirty Nine Essex Street Chambers. The competition targets young practitioners working or resident in Singapore, giving them an opportunity to air their views on a critical issue which has arisen in the developing field of international arbitration.
CIL hosted a visit by the students and lecturers of Udayana University, Faculty of Law, Bali, Indonesia on 23 May 2013.
Senior Principal Research Fellow Mr. Christopher Thomas, QC, was invited by Thailand’s Department of International Economic Affairs to participate in a panel discussion on 27 March 2013 organised by the Thailand Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the Royal Thai Embassy in Brussels and the Mission of Thailand to the European Union, on the issue of investor-state dispute settlement under the current EU investment regime.
A 20-member delegation from Office of the Council of State of Thailand headed by Deputy Secretary-General Mr Chukiert Ratanachaichan visited CIL on 23 April 2013.
Click here for more information.
Prof Surya Subedi, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Cambodia, visited CIL on 8 April 2013.
Click here for more information.
The January 2013 edition of the prestigious American Journal of International Law (AJIL) features an Agora on the South China Sea Disputes. One of the articles in the Agora is by CIL Director, Professor Beckman, entitled "The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Maritime Disputes in the South China Sea".
The second installment in the 2013 CIL Fireside Chat Series focused on the topic of "The Practice of International Law by Government Officials".
CIL was honoured to welcome members of its International Advisory Panel (IAP) from 17-19 February 2013.
CIL has prepared a Report on the Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Singapore International Investment Arbitration Conference, highlighting the relevant issues raised in each session, and the discussion it generated.
Assoc Prof Michael Ewing-Chow, Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Programme was interviewed on Laos' competitiveness in the global economy with Haslinda Amin on Bloomberg Television's "On The Move Asia".
Assoc Prof Michael Ewing-Chow, Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Programme was interviewed on Laos’ competitiveness in the global economy with Haslinda Amin on Bloomberg Television’s “On The Move Asia” on 8 February 2013.
The CIL Fireside Chat Series continues in 2013 with an installment on "The South China Sea Disputes: A Role for International Law?".
CIL would like to extend its congratulations and best wishes to the newly-appointed Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court, Mr Lionel Yee SC. The appointment which begins on 1 February 2013 was announced by the Prime Minister’s Office. Mr Yee is currently the Second Solicitor-General at the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC). Early this year, he was …
Mr Lionel Yee appointed Judicial Commissioner of Supreme Court Read More »
CIL and British Institute of International & Comparative Law (the Institute) are engaged on a joint project to carry out training and research on treaty law and practice.Based on the discussions at the Workshop, CIL and the Institute issued a Workshop Report which provides a summary of the proceedings and discussions at the Workshop as well as a set of recommendations designed to improve treaty practices in the region.
CIL congratulates Mr. Lionel Yee, Second Solicitor-General and the former Director-General of the International Affairs Division of the Attorney-General’s Chambers, on his appointment as Senior Counsel. Mr Yee has been a friend and supporter of CIL since it was established at NUS in 2009.
Click here for more information.
The Centre for International Law's 3rd Annual Singapore International Investment Arbitration Conference was held on 12 December 2012 at the Shangri-La, Singapore. This is the 3rd in a successful run of Arbitration Conferences that the Centre for International Law has organized.
Click here for more information.
Click here for more information.
On 23 November 2012, CIL Director Prof Robert Beckman met with H. E. Mr Bagas Hapsoro, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Community and Corporate Affairs, with their respective staff to discuss future cooperation and collaboration with the ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC).
The inaugural Singapore International Arbitration Academy was launched on Monday, 26 November 2012 as the National University of Singapore's Centre for International Law (CIL) opened its doors to private sector and public sector lawyers and officials from Singapore, the ASEAN member states, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, New Zealand, Spain, and Tanzania.
Click here for more information.
CIL and the Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI), also an NUS research centre, together signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) on 7 November 2012. This unprecedented collaboration with UTP of Malaysia is designed to foster joint and multi-disciplinary research encompassing engineering, marine sciences and ocean law and policy.
Click here for more information.
The International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) is pleased to announce that the 2013 Rhodes Academy Submarine Cables Award is open for applications.
Click here for more information.
CIL is pleased to announce the publication of Piracy and International Maritime Crimes in ASEAN: Prospects for cooperation, the first book in the NUS Centre for International Law Series published by Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., The book is edited by CIL Director Prof Robert Beckman and Captain J Ashley Roach, JAGC , United States Navy (ret’d), both renowned experts in the field of maritime security.
CIL celebrated the third anniversary of its official launch on 30 October 2012 with a lively seminar by CIL's overseas interns who had returned from their attachments to international institutions and monitoring missions in Geneva, Phnom Penh and Bangkok. Director of CIL Robert Beckman welcomed the participants and hosted a tea reception following the seminar.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has recognized CIL’s home, the NUS Bukit Timah Campus, with the URA Architectural Heritage Award (AHA).
The Corruption and Economic Crime Branch of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), based in Vienna, Austria, is seeking interns for up to 6 months.
The final session of the CIL Fireside Chat Series for 2012 was held on 12 October 2012. It brought together leading international lawyers and diplomats to share their experiences as Singapore’s negotiators for key bilateral and multilateral agreements. The discussion provided a unique insight into how Singapore, as a small State, advances its national interests in bilateral or multilateral negotiations and can play a role in the development of international law.
CIL was pleased to a host a visit to the Centre by Andrew Cayley QC, the United Nations Chief International Co-Prosecutor of the ECCC, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal on 5 October 2012.
CIL’s 3rd Annual Singapore International Arbitration Conference, which will be held in conjunction with the Centre’s inaugural run of the Singapore International Arbitration Academy (SIAA), has been accredited with 5.5. CPD points by the Singapore Institute of Legal Education (SILE).
CIL was proud to once again partner with the International Boundaries Research Unit (IBRU) of Durham University to organise the second Maritime Boundary Delimitation Workshop in Southeast Asia. The Workshop was held on 26-28 September 2012 at the NUS Bukit Timah Campus.
CIL hosted a visit by Mr David Unterhalter SC, Chairman of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), on 19 September 2012.
CIL is pleased to announce that Prof Stuart Kaye, Dean of the University of Western Australia (UWA) Law School, visited the Centre on 30 August 2012.
This penultimate session of the CIL Fireside Chat Series for 2012, brought together diplomats who have represented Singapore at the UN and a leading expert on the UN to share their perspectives on how the UN operates and how Singapore, as a small state, can influence decision making at this complex body.