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 Blogs
by Robert Beckman, Trung Nguyen and Joel Ong Jie Hao
At its thirty-third biennial meeting on 6 December 2023, the Assembly of the International Maritime Organization (‘IMO’) adopted Resolution A.1192(33) urging Member States and all relevant stakeholders to promote actions to prevent illegal operations in the maritime sector by the ‘dark fleet’ or ‘shadow fleet’ (‘the 2023 Resolution’). Read on ...
Artificial Intelligence And Article 33.4 VCLT
by Tarcisio Gazzini
Artificial intelligence (AI) is set to radically change legal education and the legal profession. Suffice it to mention the administration of justice through machines. This comment focuses on a much more specific issue, namely the interpretation of multilingual treaties. Article 33.4 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, in particular, directs the interpreter in overcoming differences between equally authoritative texts. Read on ...
Does breaching UNCLOS invoke the right of self-defence?
by Shani Friedman
Since October 2023, as part of the Israeli-Hamas war following the October 7 massacre in Israel, the Houthis – an Iranian-backed Yemeni terrorist group – attacked commercial ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea in support of Hamas. The attacks range from non-violent boarding and rerouting of ships to using missiles and drones. Read on
China’s engagement with the ITLOS climate change advisory proceedings and its strategic formalism in international law
by Ryan Martínez Mitchell
Several months ago, Beijing decided to take a stand against the expansion of advisory opinion jurisdiction to the full International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), as well as the potential use of such jurisdiction to define climate change obligations under the law of the sea. Read on ...
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) is pleased to announce that the 2013 Rhodes Academy Submarine Cables Award is open for applications.
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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.
CIL Director Robert Beckman has been appointed as a member of the Management Committee for the newly set up Maritime Institute@NUS (MI@NUS) for a 2-year term commencing on 1 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.
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CIL continued its third year of association with the prestigious Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy which convenes annually in Rhodes, Greece, at the 17th Session this year, held from 1-20 July 2012.
At General Meeting of SIEL held during the SIEL 2012 conference in Singapore, Assoc Prof Michael Ewing-Chow, WTO Chair and Head, Trade/Investment Law & Policy, CIL, was elected to the Executive Council of SIEL. He will serve a term of 3 years from 13 July 2012.
The National University of Singapore (NUS) became the first University in the Asia-Pacific region to host the biennial conference of the Society of International Economic Law (SIEL) last week. SIEL is the leading global association of international economic law academics and practioners. Organised by the Centre for International Law (CIL) and hosted by the Faculty of Law (NUS Law), the conference took place at the Bukit Timah Campus from 12-14 July 2012. 272 delegates representing more than 150 institutions from over 50 countries took part.
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CIL Patron Prof S Jayakumar, CIL Director Robert Beckman and CIL Senior Research Fellow Youna Lyons participated in the 36th Annual Conference of the Center for Oceans Law and Policy (COLP) In Halifax, Nova Scotia, from 21-22 June 2012. Prof S Jayakumar delivered the Opening Address at the Conference with a paper entitled “The Continental Shelf Regime under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: Reflections after Thirty Years”. Prof Beckman made a presentation on the “Global Legal Regime on the Decommissioning of Offshore Installations and Structures” and Youna Lyons made a presentation on “Abandoned Offshore Installations in Southeast Asia and the Opportunity for ‘Rigs-to-Reefs’.”
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CIL hosted a visit by the Commission for External Relations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam on 6 June 2012.
CIL was pleased to host the visit of the students and lecturers from Atma Jaya University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on 15 June 2012.
TV coverage: Singapore to develop arbitration sector by Channel NewsAsia, 11 June 2012 Singapore to host world-class International Arbitration Academy in Channel NewsAsia Online, 11 June 2012 Shanmugam: Singapore will continue to develop the arbitration sector and be pro-arbitration in 938LIVE Online, 11 June 2012 Singapore to continue developing arbitration sector in Global Times Online, …
Media Coverage of the Singapore International Arbitration Academy 2012 Read More »
NUS & CIL will host the inaugural Singapore International Arbitration Academy from 26 November to 14 December 2012. The Singapore International Arbitration Academy is slated to become Asia’s premier arbitration training programme.
The National University of Singapore (NUS) is pleased to announce that Mr J. Christopher Thomas, Q.C. will join its Centre for International Law (CIL) as a Senior Principal Research Fellow and the NUS Faculty of Law as a Visiting Professor.
CIL has recently launched a new TREATY STATUS DATABASE to complement its documents database.
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CIL Director Robert Beckman took part in the first edition of Channel NewsAsia’s Perspectives programme at 8.00 PM on 29 April 2012. The panel discussed issues such as the rise of China and the South China Sea territorial disputes.
CIL Director Robert Beckman took part in the first edition of Channel NewsAsia’s Perspectives programme at 8.00 PM on 29 April 2012. Perspectives presents a panel of distinguished thinkers from Singapore’s top institutions and think tanks who are expected to gather every month to dissect current events with in-depth analyses. Hosted by Debra Soon, the Managing …
The Centre for International Law is pleased to announce the selection of the first batch of CIL Overseas Interns. Law Year 3 and Year 4 students Ms Sadhana Rai, Mr Alvin Yap, Ms Dharshini Prasad and Mr Ramu Nachiappan have been given the opportunity to intern with leading international institutions.
CIL was pleased to host the visit of Judge Rudiger Wolfrum, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Germany. Judge Wolfrum delivered a talk on the dispute concerning the delimitation of the maritime boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal on 17 April 2012 as part of the CIL Distinguished Speaker Series.
Submissions from both junior and senior scholars are invited. An abstract of 150 - 500 words should be sent (in .pdf or .doc format) to Angelina Fisher (FisherA@exchange.law.nyu.edu) by May 15, 2012.
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CIL held the 3rd Fireside Chat on "Territorial Disputes in Asia: Lessons from Pedra Branca" on 30 March 2012. The talk explored Singapore’s first experience in international litigation when Singapore and Malaysia agreed to submit their sovereignty dispute over Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
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CIL is pleased to announce the launch of the webpages of the Centre’s major research project: “ASEAN Integration through Law: The ASEAN Way in a Comparative Context” (ASEAN ITL). The ASEAN ITL research project examines the role of law and the rule of law in Asian legal integration.
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Professor S Jayakumar hosted the second CIL Fireside Chat on International Law and Diplomacy on Friday, 2 March 2012. The topic was on “The Land Reclamation Case: Lessons in Law and Diplomacy”.
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The second installment of CIL’s Fireside Chat Series on International Law and Diplomacy - "The Land Reclamation Case: Lessons in Law and Diplomacy" - took place on 2 March 2012.
The annual Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy will be held from 1-21 July 2012 in Rhodes, Greece. CIL continues its third year of association with the prestigious Academy in accordance with the CIL-Rhodes Academy MOU signed in 2009.
The Centre for International Law (CIL) and the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) jointly held a 3-day Workshop on Treaty Law and Practice from 16-19 January 2012.
The first in the Centre for International Law’s Fireside Chat Series on International Law and Diplomacy took place yesterday, 13 January 2012. Professor S. Jayakumar had a frank exchange with students on the topic "Diplomacy and International Law: A Singaporean Perspective".
The S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) of the Nanyang Technological University and the Centre for International Law (CIL) jointly hosted the 4th meeting of the Ocean Policy Institute Network in the East Asian Region (OPINEAR) in Singapore.
CIL is pleased to announced that a Global Associate of our Centre, Ambassador Kriangsak Kittichaisaree of Thailand, has been elected to the International Law Commission (ILC) of the United Nations for a 5-year term.
Assoc Prof Michael Ewing-Chow and Research Fellow Geraldine Fischer were consulted by Prof Sophia Listrani of Syiah Kuala University in Aceh about developing the first course on International Investment Law to be taught in English in Indonesia.
Mr Bilahari Kausikan, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore, delivered a motivating career talk on 19 October 2011 as a CIL Distinguished Speaker.
CIL is proud to announce that its own Head of Trade and Investment Law and Policy, Assoc Prof Michael Ewing-Chow, was selected to represent Singapore as a World Trade Organisation (WTO) chair, one of only 15 WTO chairs in the world.
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CIL welcomed its first United Nations Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe Fellow on the Law of the Sea, Ms Sri Asih Roza Nova of Indonesia, in September 2011. The Fellowship is intended to advance the proficiency and capability of government officials, research fellows or academics from developing countries who are involved in the law of the sea or ocean affairs.
CIL and the International Boundaries Research Unit (IBRU) of Durham University signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 19 September 2011. The MOU enabled CIL to bring IBRU’s celebrated training workshop on International Maritime Boundaries Delimitation to Asia and Singapore for the first time this year with another run planned for next year.
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We are pleased to announce that former Senior Minister Professor S Jayakumar, who has returned to the NUS Faculty of Law upon his retirement from politics, has agreed to provide guidance and advice to the Centre for International Law (CIL).
A conference report on the CIL Conference on Joint Development and the South China Sea is now ready for download in PDF format.
CIL continues its second year of association with the prestigious Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy. At this year’s Academy, CIL Director Prof Robert Beckman was once again invited to join the Faculty. He delivered seminars on the South China Sea claims, provisional measures in maritime delimitation, and submarine cables.
The first book ever published on Asia’s first regional human rights system, Dr Tan’s monograph provides a groundbreaking assessment of the progress in Southeast Asia on human rights beginning in the wake of the ‘Asian values’ debate of the 1990s and culminating in the establishment of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR).
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CIL organized a two day Conference on Joint Development and the South China Sea on the 16th and 17th of June 2011. The Conference brought together international legal experts on joint development and law of the sea, representatives from the oil and gas industry and Government Officials from the region to examine the law and policy issues relating to the joint development of oil and gas resources in areas of overlapping claims in the South China Sea.
CIL hosted a 2-day closed-door international conference on Joint Development and the South China Sea from 16-17 June 2011 at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel. Professor S. Jayakumar, the Patron of CIL, was the Guest-of-Honour.
CIL hosted the 2nd Singapore Conference on International Investment Arbitration on 31 May 2011. As with the inaugural conference in 2010, the second conference was organised to be back to back with the Singapore International Arbitration Forum.
CIL hosted the 2nd Singapore Conference on International Investment Arbitration on 31 May 2011. As with the inaugural conference in 2010, the second conference was organised to be back to back with the Singapore International Arbitration Forum.
On 25 April 2011, CIL Director Robert Beckman launched Gerd Droesse’s edited volume “Funds for Development: Multilateral Channels of Concessional Financing”. The book examines the concessional windows of the AfDB, ADB, CDB, IFAD, World Bank Group, and other multilateral development banks and financial institutions.
CIL has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the renowned Netherlands Institute for the Law of the Sea of Utrecht University (NILOS) effective from 1 April 2011.
CIL together with the Korean Society of International Law (KSIL) and the Society of International Law Singapore (SILS) organised a joint international conference on the topic of “Regional Cooperation: Looking Back and Moving Forward”.