Join Singapore Management University's Centre for Commercial Law in Asia and the National University of Singapore's Centre for International Law for a Distinguished Lecture delivered by Judge Tomas Heidar President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). The lecture will be on the subject of two recent advisory opinions delivered by ITLOS and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the international obligations of states regarding climate change.

One of the most distinguished features of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is its compulsory dispute settlement mechanism. It provides, inter alia, for the choice of four different means or forums, three of which have been used so far, namely ITLOS, the ICJ and Annex VII arbitration. Obviously, the existence of multiple judicial bodies entails the risk of inconsistent jurisprudence, or judicial fragmentation, but the system has also the potential to be complementary.

This lecture will address potential examples of inconsistent jurisprudence as well as examples of cross-referencing of jurisprudence in the law of the sea. It will conclude with a discussion on judicial complementarity between ITLOS and the ICJ with reference to their recent advisory opinions on climate change.

This Lecture will be co-hosted by Associate Professor Nengye Liu (Yong Pung How School of Law, Director Singapore Sustainable Futures Initiative) and Assistant Professor Tara Davenport (co-head of Oceans Law and Policy at NUS Centre for International Law).