3 September 2010 | CIL-Supported Event
NUS Faculty of Law Distinguished Speaker Series: Is There a Role For Law in a World Ruled by Power?
Introduction
Professor Koh addressed a question often asked by international lawyers and political scientists. Is there a role for international law if the Realists are right in stating that we live in a world ruled by power? Prof Koh argued that there is indeed a role for international law even in a world ruled by power.
About the Speaker
Professor Tommy Koh is currently Ambassador-At-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the National Heritage Board and of the Centre for International Law, National Unviersity of Singapore. He is also Special Adviser to the Institute of Policy Studies. He is on secondment from the Faculty of Law of the National University of Singapore. He is the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Law Faculty of NUS.
Prof Koh was the Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Singapore from 1971 to 1974. He was Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, New York from 1968 to 1971 (concurrently accredited as High Commissioner to Canada) and again from 1974 to 1984 (concurrently accredited as High Commissioner to Canada and Ambassador to Mexico). He was Ambassador to the United States of America from 1984 to 1990. He was President of the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea from 1981 to 1982. He was Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for and the Main Committee of the UN Conference on Environment and Development from 1990 to 1992. He was the founding Chairman of the National Arts Council from 1991 to 1996, Director of the Institute of Policy Studies from 1990 to February 1997 and from December 2000 to July 2004. From February 1997 to October 2000, he served as the founding Executive Director of the Asia-Europe Foundation. He was also Singapore’s Chief Negotiator for the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (2000 to 2003). He is the agent of Singapore in two legal disputes between Singapore and Malaysia. He chairs three committees for the National University of Singapore relating to law, Asia research and environmental management.
Prof Koh was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General as his Special Envoy to lead a mission to the Russian Federation, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia in August/September 1993. Prof Koh was a member of three WTO dispute panels, two of which as Chairman.
Prof Koh received a First Class Honours degree in Law from the National University of Singapore, has a Masters degree in Law from Harvard University and a post-graduate Diploma in Criminology from Cambridge University. He was conferred a full professorship in 1977. In 1984, Prof Koh was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws by Yale University. He has also received awards from Columbia University, Stanford University, Georgetown University, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and Curtin University. On 22 September 2002, Prof Koh was conferred an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws by Monash University. He has taught at various universities in the United States and China.
