In a first for an international court or tribunal, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) issued a unanimous advisory opinion on States’ obligations to protect and preserve the world’s oceans from climate change impacts on 21 May 2024 within the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). ITLOS found that GHG emissions absorbed by the oceans constitute marine pollution and that States are consequently required to take “ all necessary measures” in line with best available science to reduce their GHG emissions to the fullest possible extent in line with UNCLOS and other relevant international legal obligations.
Join our expert panellists as they share their insights on the key aspects of the AO, and the implications and significance of the AO for States, corporates and civil society. This webinar will be moderated by Ms. Danielle Yeow, Lead of the NUS Centre for International Law’s Climate Change Law and Policy Programme.
Speakers
Dr Nilüfer Oral Director, NUS Center for International Law
Dr Nilüfer Oral is Director of the Centre for International Law. Dr Oral has over 20 years of experience in the study, teaching and practice of international law. She has been a member of the Law Faculty at Istanbul Bilgi University since 1998. In 2016, she was elected by the UN General Assembly to the International Law Commission where she is co-chair of the study group on sea level rise in relation to international law. She has been nominated by Turkey to the International Law Commission (2022–2027). She has advised the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Turkey on matters related to the law of the sea and climate change, and served as a climate change negotiator between 2009 and 2016, and attended meetings held by the International Maritime Organization. She has also appeared before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
Dr Thi Lan Anh Nguyen, Associate Professor and Director General, East Asia Institute, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam
Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan Anh, Director General of the East Sea Institute, the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, is an expert in international law and the law of the sea. Her research area includes issues related to ocean law and policy, maritime boundary delimitation, maritime security and safety, Vietnam's foreign policy with a focus on the South China Sea. Prof. Lan Anh regularly offers legal and policy advice to the government agencies of Vietnam as well as international and regional organizations in different legal and foreign policy issues. Prof. Lan Anh also often participates as a resource person or leads Vietnamese delegations to participate in track 2 and 1.5 initiatives in the region and around the world. In addition to her portfolio at the East Sea Institute, Prof. Lan Anh is equally in charge of the Faculty of International Law of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam where she reads international law and law of the sea. Before her current post, Prof. Lan Anh served as Deputy Head of Mission of the Vietnam's Embassy in the United Kingdom.
Amanda Chong, Deputy Senior State Counsel, International Affairs Division, Attorney-General’s Chambers, Singapore
Amanda Chong is a Deputy Senior State Counsel at the International Affairs Division of the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Singapore. Her practice interests include the law of the sea and international environmental law. She worked on Singapore’s Written and Oral Statements on the Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in 2023. She was also a negotiator on the Singapore delegation from the first to final Intergovernmental Conference on the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) from 2018 to 2023. She has a BA Law from Cambridge University and an LLM from Harvard Law School.
Sophie Marjanac, Senior Lawyer/Lead Accountable Corporations, ClientEarth
Sophie Marjanac is an internationally recognised expert in climate change law and litigation, human rights and corporate management of environmental risk. She leads our Accountable Corporations Sub-Group, which focusses on strategic litigation and other legal interventions to drive companies towards operating within planetary boundaries. She was the lead lawyer in the ground-breaking Torres Strait Climate Case, which was the first climate case to be brought against the Australian Government on human rights grounds. She also leads the team’s work on corporate accountability and financial sector stewardship with large companies. She regularly comments on and writes about environmental and climate change law and litigation in a range of forums. Before coming to ClientEarth, Sophie was a senior lawyer in the environment and planning law practice of the Australian law firm, Clayton Utz. She also previously worked in indigenous land rights in the remote Torres Strait region. Sophie is qualified as a solicitor in the State of Victoria, Australia. She has a Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honors and a Bachelor of International Studies with Distinction from the University of New South Wales awarded in 2009.