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 ...
Each year, the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) and the Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy (Rhodes Academy) sponsor the Rhodes Academy-ICPC Submarine Cables Writing Award for a deserving paper addressing submarine cables and their relationship with the law of the sea. Applicants to, and graduates of, the Rhodes Academy are eligible to compete …
COVID-19 and Shipping: New Global Regulations and a New Normal by Robert Beckman COVID-19 has caused many serious problems for the global supply chain and the world’s economy. Fortunately, although maritime trade has slowed, it has continued. The Singapore port and many other major ports have remained in operation, and have allowed visits by commercial …
COVID-19 and Shipping: New Global Regulations and a New Normal by Robert Beckman Read More »
Reproduced from the Business Times For Business Times – Dr Tan Hsien-Li, Co-Director (Teaching) for CIL’s ASEAN Law and Policy Programme, reflects on ASEAN’s collective response to public health crises. As the COVID-19 crisis was intensifying in the region in February and March, commentators from the media and academia noted that ASEAN was slow to …
Digital Trade in the Time of COVID-19 by Neha Mishra The COVID-19 outbreak has caused a systemic shock to global trade. The World Trade Organization (WTO ) has predicted that global trade will fall between 13% and 32% in 2020. In a period of few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has already significantly disrupted global supply …
Neha Mishra writes about Digital Trade in the Time of COVID-19 Read More »
The World Health Organization and COVID-19: How Much Legal Authority Does the WHO Really Have to Manage the Pandemic? by Ayelet Berman 1. Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has placed the World Health Organization (WHO) in the defendant’s seat. It has been accused—mostly by the US but also by other countries—of having been unduly influenced by …
The Centre for International Law (CIL) became a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) International Nuclear Security Education Network (INSEN) in February 2020. INSEN is a partnership through which the IAEA, educational and research institutions, as well as other stakeholders cooperate to promote sustainable nuclear security education. It aims to enhance global nuclear …
A reflection on shipping and pandemics: From 14th century quarantines to the 2005 International Health Regulations by Nilüfer Oral The globalization of trade is not a new phenomenon, with historic examples as the silk route between the 2nd and 14th centuries. It should not be surprising that global trade and increased human mobility also brought …
Professor Antony Anghie, CIL Head of TRILA (Teaching and Researching International Law in Asia), was elected on 27 August 2019 as a member of the Institut de Droit International (Institute of International Law). The Institute is comprised of the world’s leading international lawyers, and considered the most authoritative academy of international law. The Institut de …
Professor Antony Anghie Is Elected to Institut de Droit International Read More »
The annual Rosalyn Higgins Prize awards EUR 1000 of Brill book vouchers and a LPICT subscription to the author of the best article on the law and practice of the International Court of Justice, either focussing on the ICJ or with the ICJ as one of the dispute settlement mechanisms under consideration. The winning article …
The international investment law clinic run by Research Associate Professor (CIL) Jansen Calamita and Dr Ayelet Berman was happy to host NUS law alumnus Mr Darren Tay, winner of the World Championship of Public Speaking and Managing Director of Public Speaking Academy. Mr Tay spoke with the students about the development of skills for effective …
Our Director, Professor Lucy Reed, will be stepping down at the end of her term in June 2019. Before joining CIL and the NUS Faculty of Law, she led the international arbitration group of the international law firm Freshfields, practised in the Legal Adviser’s Office of the US Department of State, and served as the …
CIL Director Professor Lucy Reed to Step Down in June 2019 Read More »
CIL warmly welcomes Ms Christine Tham, who joins the Centre on 20 March 2018 as Events Management Executive.
CIL warmly welcomes Mr Eugenio Gomez-Chico, who joins the Centre on 19 March 2018 as Research Associate in the Investment Law and Policy team.
The National University of Singapore (NUS), through the Centre for International Law (CIL), is delighted to co-operate with the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to hold the seventh session of the International Nuclear Law Essentials (INLE) Course. This international nuclear law course is being held for the …
Professor Tommy Koh, CIL Chairman and Rector of the Tembusu College, gave the opening speech at and moderated the Tembusu Forum ‘ASEAN at 50: Success or a disappointment?’, which was organised by the Tembusu College at NUS on 12 September 2017. Professor Tommy Koh said that one of the biggest successes achieved by the regional …
Professor Tommy Koh at Tembusu Forum on ASEAN at 50 Read More »
Please join me in extending a warm welcome to our new colleague, Mr John Roy Robert G REAL, who will be joining us from 16 October 2017 as a Research Assistant. Robert will be assisting Professor Tony Anghie with the Centre’s new Teaching of International Law in Asia Programme. Robert’s email address is ciljrrgr@nus.edu.sg and contact number …
CIL is pleased to welcome Dr Marija Jovanovic as Research Fellow with the ASEAN Law and Policy team. Marija received a doctorate from the Law Faculty, the University of Oxford in 2016 for the thesis examining the role of human rights law in addressing human trafficking. She previously completed a MPhil in Law with Distinction …
CIL is pleased to welcome Ms Melissa Loja as Research Associate with the ASEAN Law and Policy team. Melissa Loja is a PhD student at the Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong, where she also earned her LLM. Her doctoral dissertation is about linguistic and procedural indicators that non-state actors, as law applying authorities, …
CIL participated in the 6th Biennial Conference of the Asian Society of International Law (AsianSIL) on 25–26 August 2017 in Seoul, Korea. The conference was organised by the AsianSIL, the Korea Chapter of the AsianSIL, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea. The theme of the conference was ‘Asia and International …
CIL made a significant contribution to the 22nd Annual Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy, which was held in Rhodes, Greece, from 2 July to 21 July, 2017. As one of the five sponsoring organisations of the Rhodes Academy, CIL sponsored five participants to attend the 2017 Academy. The five participants sponsored by CIL …
CIL-Sponsored Participants Win Prizes at the 2017 Rhodes Academy Read More »
CIL is pleased to welcome Dr Heejin Kim who will be joining us on 3 August 2017 as Postdoctoral Fellow on the ASEAN Law and Policy team. Heejin’s email address is cilkh@nus.edu.sg. Dr Heejin Kim is an ASEAN Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for International Law. She obtained her LL.M and J.S.D from Yale Law …
CIL is pleased to welcome Ms Angela Lim as Personal Assistant to Director. Angela served as the Secretary to the Director at NUS Alumni Office from 2003-2009 before she joined the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), Asia-Pacific as an Administrative Manager where she was also involved in organizing conferences and master classes …
CIL is pleased to welcome Dr Ayelet Berman as Senior Research Fellow with the Investment Law and Policy team. Before joining CIL, Ayelet was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Trade and Economic Integration at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the NUS Faculty …
A conference report on the CIL International Conference on High Seas Governance is now ready for download in PDF format. CIL Report HS Governance Conference 12 May Final For more information about the conference and conference presentations, please click here.
CIL is seeking students to serve as Student Research Assistants for two different projects. Shortlisted applicants will be called for an interview. For more information and for application procedure, please click here.
CIL is pleased to welcome Ms Dafina Atanasova as Research Associate with the Investment Law and Policy team. Dafina Atanasova holds an LLM in International Business Law from King’s College London, a master’s degree from the University of Versailles and a bachelor’s degree from Paris 2 University, Panthéon-Assas. She is currently completing her PhD at …
The Centre for International Law held its inaugural staff retreat on 31 March 2017, Friday. The retreat was opened by CIL’s Director Professor Lucy Reed and attended by close to 30 members of the CIL family. The discussions focused on the Centre’s future plans and work programmes in its core areas of research, namely Oceans …
CIL is pleased to welcome Miss Loo Jing Xi, Gloria as Research Associate with the ASEAN Law and Policy team at the Centre for International Law. Gloria Loo graduated in 2016 with an LLM (specialising in International & Comparative Law) from the National University of Singapore. At the graduate level, she studied a range of …
CIL is pleased to welcome Miss Soh Gek Han as Publications Manager at the Centre for International Law. Gek Han graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor degree in history and has worked in academic publishing since. She was previously the copyeditor of the Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography.
CIL is pleased to welcome Miss Millicent McCreath as Research Associate with the Ocean Law and Policy team at the Centre for International Law. Millicent graduated in 2015 with an LLM in Law of the Sea from the University of Tromsø, Norway’s Arctic University. While at Tromsø, Millicent specialised in polar law and the protection …
On 20 January 2017, CIL Governing Board Chairman Prof Tommy Koh delivered a speech at the SBF-Amcham Post-US Election Seminar, held at Keppel Towers, Singapore. To view Prof Koh’s speech in PDF, click here.
On 18 January 2017, CIL Governing Board Chairman Prof Tommy Koh delivered a speech at the occasion of the Conferment of the JC Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development on Dr Cheong Koon Hean, held at the Fullerton Hotel, Singapore. To view Prof Koh’s speech in PDF, click here.
The Centre for International Law (CIL) organised the 18th session of the Fireside Chat Series on International Law and Diplomacy on Friday, 10 February 2017. The hosts, Professor S Jayakumar and Professor Tommy Koh, and two guests, Professor Robert Beckman and Dr Hao Duy Phan, spoke about the conciliation between Timor-Leste and Australia under the …
The Centre for International Law (CIL) organised a Conference on ‘The South China Sea Award: The Legal Dimension’ on 5-6 January 2017 at the Regent Hotel, Singapore. The Conference brought together the world’s leading law of the sea experts to discuss the legal reasoning and findings in the Award on issues such as jurisdiction, historic …
CIL International Conference: The South China Sea Award: The Legal Dimension Read More »
CIL is pleased to welcome Miss Ashley Yeo Hwee Tian as the Assistant Manager for Finance at the Centre for International Law. Ashley graduated from Nanyang Technological University with a Bachelor degree in Accountancy and worked at Deloitte Singapore for two years before leaving as an Audit Senior.
CIL is pleased to welcome Mr Jan Jakub Solski as a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for International Law from December 2016 to July 2017. Jan Jakub Solski is a PhD Research Fellow at the K.G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea, University of Tromsø – the Arctic University of Norway. Jan holds …
CIL is pleased to welcome Ms Xu Muzi as a Research Assistant at the Centre for International Law. Muzi graduated with an LL.B. (Hons.) from the University of Southampton, United Kingdom. She specialised in private shipping law (Admiralty Law, Carriage of Goods by Sea and commercial shipping law). She has completed internships and vacation programs …
On 2 December 2016, the Centre for International Law (CIL), ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC), and the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) successfully co-organised a Workshop on Treaty Management in International Organisations: Lessons Learnt and ASEAN Practice. The Workshop, which took place in the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, was attended by nearly 70 representatives of the …
The Centre for International Law is pleased to announce the successful conclusion to the Singapore International Arbitration Academy 2016, which took place on 2 to 8 November 2016. Fifty government officials, legal academics and private practitioners were put through an intense and stimulating 7-day programme which blended together theory with substantive and procedural law of …
Successful conclusion to the Singapore International Arbitration Academy 2016 Read More »
CIL has moved to a new office location on the NUS Bukit Timah Campus. Our new office address is: Centre for International Law (CIL) National University of Singapore, Bukit Timah Campus 469A Bukit Timah Road, Tower Block, #09-01 Singapore 259770. Our office numbers remain unchanged. You may contact us at +65 6516 4101 (telephone) and …
CIL Research Fellow, Ms. Denise Cheong; ESI Research Fellow, Dr Monique Taylor; and CIL Research Associate, Ms. S Nivedita who are part of the ESI-CIL Nuclear Governance Project’s multidisciplinary team attended this year’s International School of Nuclear Law (ISNL). ISNL, in continuing its unique contribution to the field of nuclear law, held its 2016 summer …
The Centre for International Law (CIL), the Law of the Sea Institute, Berkeley (LOSI) and the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) hosted an international conference on Marine Environmental Protection in Asia: Regional Implementation of IMO Conventions, on 30 – 31 August 2016 at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore. H.E. Mr Kitack …
CIL is delighted to welcome Mr. N. Jansen Calamita as the Centre’s Principal Research Fellow. He will also be appointed as Research Associate Professor at the NUS Faculty of Law with effect from 1 January 2017. Prior to taking up an academic career, Mr. Calamita served in the Office of the Legal Adviser in the …
On 14 July 2016, two days after the Arbitral Tribunal established under Annex VII of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in the Philippines v. China case rendered its Final Award, CIL held a Fireside Chat session to examine the decision. Hosted by Professor S Jayakumar and Professor Tommy Koh, …
CIL Fireside Chat on the Award on Merits of the Arbitral Tribunal Read More »
CIL is delighted to welcome Professor Gunther Handl as a Senior Project Consultant under the ESI-CIL Nuclear Governance Project, which is a research project being undertaken by CIL and the Energy Studies Institute (ESI) with funding from Singapore’s National Research Foundation, as part of the Singapore Government’s Nuclear Policy Research Programme. Professor Handl is the …
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The Centre for International Law (CIL) of the National University of Singapore (NUS) together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) jointly organised the IAEA Sub-Regional Workshop on Nuclear Law for Member States in the Asia and Pacific Region from 13th to 17th June 2016 at University Town …
CIL is delighted to welcome Nivedita as a Research Associate under the ESI-CIL Nuclear Governance Project, which is a research grant secured by CIL and the Energy Studies Institute (ESI) from the National Research Foundation as part of the Singapore Government’s Nuclear Policy Research Programme. Nivedita holds an Advanced Masters of Law in Public International …
CIL is delighted to welcome Anthony Wetherall as a Senior Research Fellow under the ESI-CIL Nuclear Governance Project, which is a research grant secured by CIL and the Energy Studies Institute (ESI) from the National Research Foundation as part of the Singapore Government’s Nuclear Policy Research Programme. Anthony has some fifteen years of nuclear law …
CIL is pleased to announce that H.E. Arif Havas Oegroseno, a member of CIL’s International Advisory Panel and Deputy Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Resources of Indonesia, has been nominated as a judge to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) by the government of the Republic of Indonesia. ITLOS is …
H.E. Arif Havas Oegroseno Nominated as Judge to ITLOS Read More »
Having completed the first drafts of papers in its project exploring the concept of a multilateral appellate mechanism for investor-State dispute settlement; and in light of the public release of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, and the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement – both of which include the EU’s proposed new first instance …
Report on the CIL Investment Treaty Appellate Mechanism Research Project Workshop Read More »