CIL Research Fellow Ms Ranyta Yusran participated in the AsianSIL Regional Conference – ‘International Law and a Dynamic Asia’ on 14-15 June 2016 in Hanoi, Viet Nam. The Conference was jointly organised by AsianSIL, the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam. At the Conference, Ranyta presented her paper on ‘The ASEAN Convention against Trafficking in Persons, Especially in Women and Children: Is It Up to the Task?’ in a panel on ‘ASEAN after 2015’, chaired by the dean of the NUS Law Faculty. Within the same panel, Asst Prof Tan Hsien-Li, CIL’s ASEAN Integration through Law Director, also presented her paper on ‘The ASEAN Community: Its Ambitions, Laws and Dispute Settlement Mechanisms’. To download Ranyta’s presentation, click here.

CIL Research Fellow Ranyta Yusran and CIL Research Associates Shaun Kang and Elsa Sardinha participated in the 13th Annual Asian Law Institute Conference – ‘Asian Perspectives on Legal Globalisation’ on 19-20 May 2016 in Beijing, China. The Conference was jointly organised by Peking University and the Asian Law Institute. At the Conference, Ranyta Yusran spoke at a panel on ‘International Law and Human Rights’ and delivered a presentation entitled ‘No Longer Taboo and Yet Still Awkward: Human Rights in ASEAN’. To download her presentation, click here. Shaun Kang and Elsa Sardinha spoke at a panel on ‘International Law and Globalisation’. Shaun delivered a presentation on ‘The Exodus of Rohingya People and Malaysia’s International Obligations towards Refugees’ and Elsa Sardinha delivered a presentation on ‘The Right to Regulate: Towards a New Regulatory Paradigm under Recent Free Trade Investment Chapters? A Dissection of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Canada-EU (CETA) and Singapore-EU (SEUFTA) Free Trade Agreements’. To download Shaun’s presentation, click here. To download Elsa’s presentation, click here.

On 18 May 2016, CIL Research Associate Hadyu Ikrami participated in the International Seminar on the Establishment of a Regional Convention against Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing (IUUF) and Its Related Crimes. The Seminar took place in Bali, Indonesia, and was organised by the Indonesian Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs. It was attended by approximately 120 participants from 13 countries. The speakers of the Seminar were representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), European Union (EU), Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC) of the West African Countries, as well as representatives of the governments of Thailand, Australia, the Philippines and the United States. Another speaker was a New Zealander official who delivered a presentation on how Interpol has assisted New Zealand in combatting IUU fishing.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Dr Tan Hsien-Li presented a paper and presentation on ‘The Legalization and Institutionalization of ASEAN: Conceptualizing a New Pattern in Asian Regionalism’ at a workshop on Regional and Constitutional Structures in Tension, which was held at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, from 4-5 April 2016. The workshop was organised by the University of Geneva, Global Studies Institute (supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation), iCourts of the University of Copenhagen, and the Institute for Global Law and Policy at Harvard Law School.

Following the 16th Meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on the Coastal and Marine Environment (AWGCME), CIL Director Robert Beckman, CIL Global Associate Captain J Ashley Roach and CIL Senior Research Fellow Youna Lyons were invited to address members of the AWGCME, together with invited representatives of Singapore government agencies, at a seminar held on 10 June 2015 in Singapore, on issues under UNCLOS and other international legal frameworks governing the protection of the coastal and marine environment. As the Designated Resource Persons at the seminar, Professor Beckman made a presentation on ‘Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs)’ (download in PDF), Captain Roach made a presentation on ‘Access-Benefit Sharing Scheme for Marine Genetic Resources in areas beyond National Jurisdiction’ (download in PDF) and Ms Lyons made a presentation on ‘Prioritisation and the Protection of Sea-Space’ (download in PDF). To view the Agenda, click here.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Dr Tan Hsien-Li presented a paper and presentation on ‘Reputational Risks in the Post-Charter ASEAN: Rules-based Reformation or Rhetorical Repetition’ at a symposium organised by the New Zealand Centre for Public Law and the International Law Association (New Zealand Branch), on International Organisations and the Rule of Law: Perils and Promise, which was held at the Victoria University of Wellington Faculty of Law from 7-8 December 2015.

CIL Research Fellow Junianto James Losari was invited to speak at the Asia FDI Forum on 5-6 November 2015 in Hong Kong. James presented his paper “Searching for An Ideal Investment Protection Regime for ASEAN+ Dialogue Partners in RCEP: Where Do We Begin?” in which he discussed the baseline study and the method he used to better advise Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiators in the negotiation of the RCEP’s investment chapter. The Forum was jointly organised by the Centre for Financial Regulation and the Economic Development and Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (Columbia University) and sponsored by Oxfam Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Faculty of Law). It was attended by legal scholars and practitioners, economists, officers of international organisations and NGOs in Asia Pacific. To view his presentation, click here.

CIL Research Fellow Junianto James Losari was invited to speak at the Art of Negotiating Trade and Investment Agreements Workshop: Taking Into Account the Global Tobacco Treaty. The workshop was held in Chiang Mai, Thailand on 25-26 June 2015. It was attended by academics and government officials from the Ministry of Health in the region. James spoke about the ‘Investment Framework from the ASEAN Perspective’ and its implication on tobacco control measures taken by ASEAN Members. He highlighted the importance of ASEAN Members to terminate their intra-ASEAN BITs, which do not provide enough policy space for States to take tobacco control measures without incurring liability. On the other hand, the newer generation International Investment Agreements, such as the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement and other ASEAN + Dialogue Partner(s) Investment Agreements contain general exceptions clauses that allow States to take measures to protect its public health, including tobacco control measures without incurring any liability. However, ASEAN Members must carefully formulate their measures to fulfil the requirements of such clauses.

On 3-5 June 2015, the Asian Society of International Law (AsianSIL), together with the Ministry of Justice of Thailand and the Thailand Institute of Justice, held the AsianSIL Inter-Sessional Conference on ‘The Rule of Law and Development Nexus: A New Deal for Asia?’ in Bangkok, Thailand. A/P Michael Ewing-Chow was invited to speak on a panel on ‘International Law and ASEAN Integration’ and delivered his presentation entitled ‘Outcomes and Costs – Towards A Just Peace’. CIL Research Fellow Leonardo Bernard, CIL Research Fellow Ranyta Yusran and CIL Research Associate Chang Ya Lan also attended the conference. To download A/P Michael Ewing-Chow’s presentation, click here.

CIL Researchers Leonardo Bernard, Harpreet Kaur Dillon, Hao Duy Phan, Sun Zhen and Ranyta Yusran participated in the 12th Annual Asian Law Institute Conference – “Law 2.0: New Challenges in Asia” on 21-22 May 2015 in Taipei, Taiwan. The Conference was jointly organised by the National University of Taiwan and the Asian Law Institute. At the Conference, CIL researchers made various presentations on different topics of international law and chaired different panels. Dr Zhen Sun and Mr Leonardo Bernard spoke at a panel on international law with a particular focus on the law of the sea. Dr Zhen Sun made a presentation on “A Hot Land in A Cold Place: Opportunities and Challenges for Singapore in the Arctic” (download in PDF) and Mr Leonardo Bernard made a presentation on “Historic Fishing Rights and the EEZ” (download in PDF). Dr Hao Duy Phan and Ms Harpreet Dhillon participated in two different panels on international law and spoke about “ASEAN’s Legal Personality and its Treaty-Making Power” (download in PDF) and “Consolidation of Claims Arising under an International Investment Agreement: What is at Stake?” (download in PDF) respectively. Ms Ranyta Yusran was a panellist at the panel on cross-border issues. She made a presentation on “Mapping the ASEAN Framework on Transnational Crime” (download in PDF).