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Profile
A/Prof. Ayelet Berman is Lead of CIL’s Global Health Law and Governance Program. The Global Health Program focuses on research, teaching, capacity building and convening experts and stakeholders in the field. Previously she was Senior Research Fellow in the International Investment Law & Policy Group and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the NUS Faculty of Law.
Other past academic appointments include Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Trade and Economic Integration at the Graduate Institute in Geneva and Visiting Professor at the University of Lausanne. Prior to entering academia, Dr Berman practiced law in the field of World Trade Organization (WTO) litigation at Sidley LLP (Geneva), and regulatory and commercial law at Herzog, Fox & Neeman (Tel Aviv).
Publications
Ayelet has published widely on global health law, global regulation and governance, international trade and investment law. She’s published in peer-reviewed journals such as the American Journal of International Law (Unbound), the International Journal of Constitutional Law and the European Journal of International Law. In 2022, she published two books: Rethinking Stakeholder Participation in Global Governance: Challenges and Reforms in Financial and Health Institutions (Oxford University Press, 2022) (ed. with Joost Pauwelyn and others) and Investment Treaties and the Rule of Law Promise: The Asian Experience (Cambridge University Press, 2022) (ed. with Jansen Calamita). Her commentary on the international legal response to Covid-19 was regularly featured in the South China Morning Post during the pandemic. For a list of publications, see below.
Professional Service and Leadership
Ayelet holds diverse professional leadership and service positions. She is the elected co-chair of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) International Organizations Interest Group. She is a member of the International Law Associations’ Steering Committee on One Health. She is a member of the Global Health Security Agenda Legal Preparedness Action Package. She has also provided expert advice to the WHO International Negotiating Body (INB) on the pandemic treaty on legal aspects of the proposed treaty. She is a member of the academic friends of the OECD Partnership for Effective International Rule-Making by International Organisations. She was an executive board member of Tradelab, a network of International Economic Law clinics.
Speaking Engagements
Ayelet regularly presents her work or is invited to speak or moderate panels at conferences or events in her areas of expertise. For a list of selected speaking events see the “conference presentations” list below.
Teaching
Ayelet teaches or has taught in the fields of global health law, global regulation and governance, and international investment and trade law. She founded the NUS law school branch of TradeLab and co-ran the International Economic Law clinic.
Notable Awards
Ayelet’s PhD dissertation was awarded the 2015 SNIS Award for Best PhD in International Studies.
Education
Ayelet holds a PhD in International Law (summa cum laude ‘with congratulations of the committee’) and a DEA in International Law from the Graduate Institute/University of Geneva, and an LLB (magna cum laude) from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She was a research assistant to Justice Miryam Ben-Porat (dec.) of the Israeli Supreme Court.
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Research Interests
- Global Governance Law
- International Rule-Making, International Standard-Setting
- Global Health Law
- Non-State Actors in International Law
- International Investment Law
- International Trade Law
- Domestic Implementation of International Law
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Selected Publications
- Ayelet Berman, Equitable Access Contracts: Building Blocks of a Future Global Vaccine Strategy, EJIL: Talk! (21 December 2022)
- White Paper: One Health, International Law Association (ILA) 150th Anniversary, 2023 (with Hélène De Pooter, Gian Luca Burci and others)
- Investment Treaties and the Rule of Law Promise: The Asian Experience (with Jansen Calamita) (Cambridge University Press, 2022)
- Rethinking Participation in Global Governance: Challenges and Reforms in Global Health and Global Finance (with Joost Pauwelyn, Tim Büthe and Martino Maggetti) (Oxford University Press, 2022)
- Global Governance: The World Health Organization and the Need for Post-COVID-19 Reform Addressing Challenges to Public Health and Society Through Global Collaboration (with Leila Sadat, Frederick Abbott and others), Submitted to the World Health Organization’s Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response for consideration here.
- Ayelet Berman, Closing the Compliance Gap: From Soft to Hard Monitoring Mechanisms under the International Health Regulations, 20(3) Wash. U. Glob. Stud. L. Rev. (2021)
- Ayelet Berman and Fong Han Tan, When Crisis Meets Preparation and Discipline: Singapore’s Successful Response to COVID-19, 20(3) Wash. U. Glob. Stud. L. Rev. (2021)
- ‘Between Participation and Capture: The World Health Organization (WHO) Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors’ 32(1) European Journal of International Law (2021)
- The World Health Organization (WHO) and COVID-19: How Much Legal Authority Does the WHO really Have to Manage the Pandemic? in CIL Blog (2020)
- ‘Accordion Governance‘ 13(3) Vienna Journal of International Constitutional Law (2019)
- ‘The Rise of Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships‘ in Proceedings of the ASIL Annual Meeting 2017
- ‘Industry, Capture and Transnational Standard-Setting’ in 111 American Journal of International Law (AJIL) Unbound (2017):112-118
- ‘Taking Foreign Interests into Account: Rulemaking in the U.S. and EU’ in 15 (1) International Journal of Constitutional Law (2017): 235-256
- ‘Emergency Action by the WTO Director General: Global Administrative Law and the WTO’s Initial Response to the 2008-2009 Financial Crisis’ , 6 (2) International Organizations Law Review (2009): 499-512 (with Joost Pauwelyn)
- Informal International Law-Making: Case Studies, Ayelet Berman et. al. (eds) TOAEP 2012
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Conference Presentations
Selected Speaking Engagements (since 2015)
2022
- Speaker, Agility in International Organizations, OECD 9th Annual Meeting of the International Organizations Partnership, 5-6 December 2022
- Moderator and Speaker, Advancing Global Equitable Access to Vaccines: Intellectual Property, Technology Transfer and Contracts (CIL, 2 December 2022)
- Speaker, Equitable Access to Vaccines: The Role of Voluntary Licenses and Technology Transfer Agreements, World One Health Congress (7-11 November, Singapore)
- Expert, World Health Organizations International Negotiation Body (INB), informal consultations on legal aspects of the pandemic treaty (21 September 2022)
- Speaker, “The international Law and Governance of One Health”, Global Health Security Conference (28 June – 1 July, Singapore)
- Welcoming Remarks, American Society of International Law (ASIL) International Organizations Interest Group and ASIL International Law and Technology, The International Law of Data Protection and the Responsibilities of International Courts and Organizations (15 June 2022)
- Moderator, One Health and International Law (8 March 2022)
- Speaker, International Organizations and the Future of Global Health Law (19 February 2022)
- Speaker, Investment Treaties and the Rule of Law Promise, NYU Law U.S.-Asia Institute (9 February 2022)
2021
- Opening remarks and convener, What Actors Coexist with International Organizations in Global Governance and How can these Actors Coordinate, OECD-ASIL event (The Next Frontier for More effective Multilateralism: Reinforcing the Resilience, Innovation and Coherence of International Rulemaking) (13 Sept 2021)
- Panellist and convener, NUS, University of Washington, and Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law event launching the report ‘Global Governance: The World Health Organization and the Need for Post-COVID-19 Reform Addressing Challenges to Public Health and Society Through Global Collaboration’ (25 August 2021)
- Invited speaker, The COVID-19 Pandemic and International Law, NUS CIL International Law Year in Review (25 June 2021)
- Panellist and convener, Global Health Governance Reform: Asia Perspectives, co-sponsored by CIL and NYU U.S.-Asia Law Institute (14 April 2021)
- Moderator and convener, Global Access to COVID-19 Vaccines, event co-sponsored by NUS CIL and the Swiss Embassy to Singapore (10 March 2021)
- Invited Speaker, OECD Technical meeting of the Partnership of international organisations for effective international rulemaking “The IO Partnership : current work and future ambitions” (29 April 2021)
- Moderator and convener, ASIL International Organizations Works in Progress Workshop (15 February 2021)
2020
- Panelist, ‘The Likely Trajectory of Global Governance after the U.S. Elections: A Comparative Perspective’, McDonnell International Scholars Academy, Washington University in St. Louis (23 November 2020)
- Panelist, ‘United we Stand: Exploring New Collaboration Architectures in Uncertain Times’, OECD Government After Shock Global Forum (18 November 2020)
- Moderator, ‘Business Engagement in Global Governance: Boon or Peril?’International Law Association American Branch, International Law Weekend (22-24 October 2020)
- Introductory remarks, ‘COVID-19: A New Surveillance Era?’, ASIL and CIL co-sponsored event as part of the CIL Covid-19 and International Law e-conference series (27 July 2020)
- Moderator, ‘Between Participation and Capture in International Rule-Making’, American Society of International Law Annual Meeting (June 2020)
- Panelist, ‘Emergency Powers of International Organizations’, OECD Partnership for Effective Rulemaking by International Organizations (June 2020)
- Discussant, Charles Roger’s Book ‘The Origin of Informality’ (Oxford University Press), Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies GLOBE Webinar (28 May 2020)
- Panelist, ‘Global Health Governance in the Time of COVID19’, CIL Covid-19 and International Law e-conference series (29 April 2020)
2019
- ‘Democracy and Participation in International Organization: The World Health Organization Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors’, 30th European Journal of International Law Symposium on International Law and Democracy Revisited, NYU School of Law (18-20 September 2019)
- Panel Moderator, ’Investment Treaties, National Governance and the Rule of Law Promise’, Asian Society of International Law 7th Biennial Conference (22-23 August 2019)
- “Preventing Undue Influence in International Rule-Making”, 8th Annual Junior Faculty Forum for International Law, NUS, Singapore (12-14 August 2019)
2018
- “International Investment Treaties and Domestic Governance”, ASIL Research Forum, UCLA School of Law (8-9 November 2018)
- Invited speaker, “Trade, Public Policy and Health Workshop”, RegNet School of Regulation and Global Governance, Australian National University, Canberra (5-6 June 2018)
- “International Trade Law”, Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs Course (2018)
- Panel moderator, “The Internalization of Investment Treaties”, Investment Treaties and National Governance panel, 15th Asian Law Institute (ASLI) Conference, Seoul National University (10-11 May 2018)
- Invited speaker, Better International Rules for Inclusive Globalization, 5th Annual Meeting of International Organizations (OECD) (12 April 2018)
- “Accordion Governance”, Global Networks and Power, International Studies Association Annual Conference, San Francisco (April 2018)
2017
- Invited discussant, Fragmentation and Harmonization in International Law panel, ASIL Research Forum, St. Louis (26-28 October 2017)
- Invited panelist, The Path to Practice in International Law, ASIL Research Forum, St. Louis (26-28 October 2017)
- “Accordion Governance”, ASIL Research Forum, St. Louis (26-28 October 2017)
- Invited panelist, Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships in International Law, American Society of International Law (ASIL), Annual Conference (April 2017)
2016
- Invited speaker, “The Practices of International Organizations to Engage Stakeholders—Contribution of Stakeholder Engagement to Good Regulatory Practices”, OECD, International Organizations: Their Role in International Regulatory Cooperation meeting (15 April 2016)
- “Stakeholder Participation in International Governance: 2nd Generation Legitimacy Challenges”, American Society of International Law (ASIL) Research Forum, Washington D.C., (23-24 October 2015)
- “Taking Foreign Interests into Account: Rulemaking in the U.S. and EU”, International Society of Public Law (ICON-S) Annual Conference, NYU School of Law (1-3 July 2015)
- Invited panelist, “The Stagnation of International Law”, American Society of International Law (ASIL), Annual Conference (April 2015)
