Researchers' Activities

27 October 2021: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral Was Invited by The Permanent Missions of Sweden and Austria to the United Nations to the Annual Interactive Dialogue between the Sixth Committee and the International Law Commission

With the presence of the following Members of the ILC:

Concepción Escobar Hernández: Immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction

Pavel Šturma: Succession of States in respect of State responsibility

Nilüfer Oral: Sea-level rise in relation to international law

Patricia Galvão Teles: Protection of persons affected by sea-level rise

Moderated by Helmut Tichy, Legal Adviser of the Austrian Foreign Ministry

The interactive dialogue aims to provide a platform for an informal exchange and discussions between Members of the ILC and the 6th Committee, including visiting Legal Advisers from capitals. Members of the audience are encouraged to ask questions and make comments on the work of the ILC.

This year discussions will focus on the following topics:

Immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction:

The Commission had before it the eight report of the Special Rapporteur, which examined the relationship between the immunity of state officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction and international criminal tribunals. Additionally, a mechanism for the settlement of disputes between the forum State and the State of the official was considered. The Commission discussed the reports of the Special Rapporteur and of the Drafting Committee and provisionally adopted several draft articles.

Succession of States in respect of State responsibility:

This year the Commission had before it the fourth report of the Special Rapporteur. It contained a summary of the debate in 6th Committee in previous years, questions related to the impact of succession of States on forms of responsibility such as reparation and an outlook on the future programme of work on the topic.

Sea-level rise in relation to international law:

The consequences of sea-level rise raise a number of important questions relevant to international law. These issues relate to the legal implications of the inundation of coasts and islands upon their baselines and delimitation of maritime zones. The reconstituted Study Group held discussions on the topic and plans to address issues related statehood and the protection of persons affected by sea-level rise.

26 October 2021: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral Was One of the Invited Speakers at Freshfields’ Public International Law Seminar, Titled “Sea-level rise: what are the implications for international law?”

During this year’s Sixth Committee (Legal) of the United Nations General Assembly, Freshfields hosted its annual Public International Law Seminar. In keeping with Freshfields’ past events, a distinguished panel of speakers was invited to explore a topical question of international law of interest to States, international organisations and businesses, judges, practitioners, and academics.

The subject of this year’s seminar was ‘Sea-level rise: what are the implications for international law?’

Professor Nilüfer Oral (Member of the International Law Commission and Director of the Centre of International Law (CIL) at the National University of Singapore),

Daphne Hong (Director-General, International Affairs Division, Attorney-General’s Chambers of Singapore),

Professor Jean-Marc Thouvenin (Secretary-General of the Hague Academy of International Law and Professor agrégé at the University Paris Ouest Nanterre-La Defense), and

Alexandra van der Meulen (Counsel at Freshfields),

joined Will Thomas QC, head of Freshfields’ public international law group, in an hour-long interactive discussion.

The speakers covered a wide range of issues, including:

• What impact will sea-level rise have on existing maritime entitlements, features and boundaries?
• How will sea-level rise affect the statehood of vulnerable island States?
• Is existing international law ‘fit for purpose’ when it comes to addressing the potential impact of sea-level rise on the global community; or, is material change to the current legal regime necessary?
• What progress has the International Law Commission made in considering these issues?

What is the view of vulnerable, low-lying States?

Listen to Dr Nilüfer Oral as she speaks with Leigh Giangreco at BRILL’s Survival by Degrees on Climate Change, Oceans and Gender.

20 October 2021: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral Was Invited to Share Her Work on “Climate Change, Oceans and Gender” Through Humanities Matter by Brill Podcast.

Oceans are inextricably linked to the climate. Today, oceans are warming far more rapidly than they have in the past 65 million years, placing the spotlight on the important nexus between climate change and the ocean.

While there’s no doubt that climate change affects all people across the board, its effect is manifold among socioeconomically vulnerable communities, and among women in particular.

In the third episode of our new themed series Survival by Degrees, Prof. Nilufer Oral, Director of the Center for International Law, National University of Singapore, and member of the United Nations International Law Commission, took a closer look at the place of gender in relation to climate change and oceans, in the context of her work “Climate Change, Oceans and Gender”, published by Brill.

4 October 2021: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral Was Invited to Speak at Macquarie University’s Law and Nature Dialogue Webinar Series, Titled “Towards a New BBNJ Agreement: Negotiating a New Treaty for the Conservation of Marine Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction”

As a step to consolidate its status as a globally leading hub for biodiversity law and governance, the Centre for Environmental Law (CEL) at Macquarie University launched its first ever webinar series “Law & Nature Dialogue” earlier this year. It is planned to welcome a prominent speaker to share their expertise once a month during the semester. Dr Nilufer Oral was the invited speaker in October.

In her lecture, Nilufer discussed the history and current developments of the negotiation at the United Nations for a new international agreement for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. The lecture reviewed the key topics of marine genetic resources, areas-based management tools including marine protection areas, environmental impact assessment, capacity building, technology development and transfer, and other cross-cutting issues.

1 October 2021: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral Was Invited to Speak at the Webinar Organized by the University of Trento, Titled “Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise Legal Consequences from the Law of the Sea, Statehood and Affected Persons Perspectives”

The University of Trento, Faculty of Law hosted a webinar, entitled, Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise: Legal Consequences from the Law of the Sea, Statehood and Affected Persons Perspectives on 1 October 2021, via Zoom.

For more information see here and the programme.

3 October 2021: : CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral Was Invited to Speak at the Marmara Urban Forum (MARUF) at the Session “Habitat Matters: Preserving Biodiversity for Sustainable Ecosystems”

Marmara Urban Forum (MARUF) is a biennial international urban forum organized with the motto of “Cities Developing Solutions” by Marmara Municipalities Union (MMU), which is a local government association in the Marmara Region of Turkey with over 190 members. MARUF strives not only to discuss the challenges that cities face but also to seek solutions to them and multiply good practices at a global scale.

MARUF19, which was organized for the first time on 1-3 October 2019 in Istanbul, attracted over 5440 participants. With the contributions of 66 partners, 50 sessions were held, and different approaches on urban services and urban management were discussed by 250 speakers from 25 countries. MARUF19 hosted plenary sessions, parallel sessions, roundtable meetings, workshops, networking events, exhibitions, field trips, cultural events, booths, film screenings for 3 days.

This year, MARUF21 was organized as a “virtual event” on the theme of “Re-Think, Co-Act” and brought together urban thinkers around passionate debates on how to make cities more liveable, sustainable, resilient, creative, inclusive, innovative, and healthy. It gathered all stakeholders including professionals from cities, national, regional and local governments, private sector, NGOs, universities and other stakeholders that play a crucial role in the design, transformation and governance of cities.

The experts who spoke at this webinar included:

Steven Solomon, Principal Legal Officer, World Health Organization (WHO).

Moderator: Claudio Grossman, Member, United Nations International Law Commission (UN ILC). Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus R. Geraldson Scholar for International and Humanitarian Law, AUWCL.

Patrícia Galvão Teles, Member, United Nations International Law Commission (UN ILC). Professor, Autonomous University of Lisbon. Co-Director, Singapore CIL Academy International Law.

Nguyen Hong Thao, Member, United Nations International Law Commission (UN ILC). Professor Associate in Law, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and National University of Hanoi.

Charles Jalloh, Member, United Nations International Law Commission (UN ILC). Professor of Law, Florida International University.

Nilufer Oral, Member, United Nations International Law Commission (UN ILC). Director, Centre for Intl Law National University of Singapore (NUS).

 

A recording of the webinar can be accessed here: Event Recording

The other speaker at the webinar was Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, United Nations Office of Legal Affairs. Professor Dato’ Dr. Rahmat Mohamad, the Deputy Vice Chancellor and Professor of International Law and Human Rights (UiTM) moderated the webinar.

A recording of the webinar can be assessed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVmIh1HVdC8

The Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy is an international collegial institution dedicated to fostering a better understanding of the modern law of the sea. Through education on the principles of contemporary oceans law and policy, the Rhodes Academy seeks to promote adherence to the rule of law in the world’s oceans. Founded in 1995, the Academy held its inaugural session in the summer of 1996 and operates on an annual basis.

 

This year’s Rhodes Academy was conducted virtually from 4-14 July 2021. Dr Nilufer Oral was invited to give a lecture on “Climate Change and Law of the Sea” on 9 July 2021. There were 16 lectures plus three question and answer periods at this year’s academy.

 

Please click the link to find out more about the Rhodes Academy: https://marine.unh.edu/academics/rhodes-academy

Dr Nilüfer Oral was invited to speak at the Women and the International Law Webinar organized by the Minerva LAW Network. In this panel session, the current and former women of the International Law Commission discussed their experiences in the Commission and their work on the progressive development of international law and its codification.

Dr Nilüfer Oral was invited to Chair a Session at the 28^th ANZSIL Conference which was held from 30 June – 6 July 2021. This year’s theme for the Conference was “Inertia or Innovation? Reshaping International Law for a Complex Future”. Dr Nilüfer Oral chaired the session titled “Binding advisory opinions? Re-shaping procedure and substance in inter-state dispute settlement”

Dr Nilüfer Oral was invited by Kadir Has International Law of the Sea Academy to deliver the inaugural lecture on “Climate Change and an Evolving Law of the Sea”.

Dr Nilüfer Oral was invited by the European Society of International Law Interest Group (ESIL IG) to speak at the ESIL IG Law of the Sea Webinar Series: ‘Current Issues in the Law of the Sea’. Dr Nilufer Oral is the fourth speaker from this series and the topic she covered was “Sea Level Rise and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: Adapting to New Circumstances’.

 

CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was invited to participate in the Webinar “Work of the International Law Commission on Legal Effects of Climate Change”, organised by the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies (GGS), at KU Leuven. This webinar was part of the webinar series “Women in International Law”, which GGS has launched this year and the series aimed at both reflecting on the role of women in the development of international law and bringing female researchers and practitioners to the front seat of discussions, in their different fields of specialty.

Indian Society of International Law (ISIL) 19^th Summer Course on International Law was conducted from 14 – 25 June 2021. Dr Oral was invited to deliver a lecture on “Law of the Sea – I: Evolution of the Law of the Sea and Concept of Common Heritage of Mankind“.

CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was invited by the Permanent Missions of Côte d’Ivoire, Peru, Portugal, Romania and Turkey to a panel discussion on: “Sea Level Rise and Implications for International Law: A Dialogue with the ILC Study Group”.

Dr Nilüfer Oral Was Invited by the AEGEAN INSTITUTE OF THE LAW OF THE SEA AND MARITIME LAW to Speak at the E-Conference on World Oceans Day Titled “Peaceful Settlement of Disputes in the Oceans in the 21^st Century”. The Title of Dr Oral’s Presentation was “Sea-level Rise and Implications for Peaceful Settlement of Disputes”

Dr Nilüfer Oral was invited to speak at the launch of book title “Frontiers in International Environmental Law: Oceans and Climate Challenges – Essays in Honour of David Freestone”. As one of the contributors, Dr Nilufer Oral spoke on the topic “Sea level rise as a pressing concern of the international community and the work of the International Law Commission.” 

In celebration of World Environment Day 2021, the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL) hosted a series of webinars on environmental law solutions. The webinars took place from Monday 31 May through Friday 4 June. Dr Nilufer Oral was invited to speak at the session on 3 June 2021.

6 May 2021: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral Was Invited by the University of Essex to Participate at the Essex Public International Law Lecture: A Common But Differentiated Law of International Adjudication   About the lecture Against the ever increasing resort to international courts and tribunals in their multifarious configurations, the lecture addresses commonalities and differences between them. Based on the characterizing features of their discernible mandate, three major adjudicative clusters are portrayed. Namely, a) traditional inter-state and investor-state litigation; b) international human rights litigation; c) international criminal litigation. The law of international adjudication is divided up between procedural law stricto sensu – intended as the set of rules strictly governing the conduct of proceedings –, and the body of principles and tenets which provide for the contents and boundaries of the powers and duties concerning the adjudicative decision-making process – i.e., non- liquet, ne ultra/ne infra petita, jura novit curia.  While the commonalities of strictly procedural law throughout different forms of international adjudication are fall well into chartered territory, the lecture will focus on the different modulations of the latter set of principles in relation to each of the three mentioned adjudicative contexts.   About the speakers Professor Attila Tanzi Attila M. Tanzi is Chair of International Law at the University of Bologna and Associate Member of 3VB Chambers. His recent Concise Introduction to International Law (2019) and treaties on international law in Italian (6th ed. 2019), testify to his characterisation as a PIL generalist. His fields of specialization include international procedural law, environmental law, investment law, the law of the sea, jurisdictional immunities, and the law of international organisations. A Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, Conciliator at the OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration Chairman of the Implementation Committee of the of the UNECE 1992 Convention on Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes. He has been Visiting Professor at Queen Mary University of London, Université Paris II-Panthéon Assas, University of Vienna and Université Paris Nanterre and formerly visiting fellow, inter alia, at the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for International, European and Regulatory Procedural Law. He is going to give a special course at The Hague Academy of International Law on The Principle Iura Novit Curia in International Judicial and Arbitral Proceedings next summer. He serves as Counsel in inter-state litigation and as an arbitrator in investor-states disputes.   Dr Nilüfer Oral Nilüfer Oral is Director of the Centre of International Law (CIL) at the National University of Singapore and is a member of the law faculty at Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey. She is member of the UN International Law Commission and Co-chair of the Study Group on Sea-level rise in relation to international law. She served as climate change negotiator for the Turkish Ministry (2009 – 2016). She has also appeared before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Nilufer Oral is a Distinguished Fellow of the Law of the Sea Institute at Berkeley Law (University of California Law Berkeley); Senior Fellow of the National University of Singapore Law School; and Honorary Research Fellow at University of Dundee. She is a member of the IUCN-WCEL Steering Committee. She was elected to the IUCN Council 2012-2016 and served as the Co-chair of the WCEL Specialist Group on Oceans, Coasts and Coral Reefs. Dr. Oral is the series editor for the International Straits of the World publications (Brill); member of the Board of Editors of the European Society of International Law Series; Board of Editors of the International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law; Associate Editor of the Research Perspectives in the Law of the Sea (Brill); Board of Advisors for the International Law Studies Journal and International Advisory Board, and Chinese Journal of Environmental Law (Brill). She has published numerous articles edited several books, and has spoken at many international conferences.   About the Essex Public International Law Lecture Series The Essex Public International Law lecture series is founded, hosted and co-chaired by Dr Meagan Wong and Dr Emily Jones based in the School of Law. This is a weekly lecture series featuring judges of international courts and tribunals, leading academics, and practitioners of international law from governmental service, international organizations, and private practice from across the globe. The series prides itself on building on two important intellectual traditions of international law: formalism and international legal practice, and international legal theory including postcolonial and feminist perspectives.

COVID-19 has upended our reality in many ways, exposing systemic failures and highlighting injustices.  At the same time, it has provided an opening to consider new approaches. The International Law and COVID-19 Symposium, hosted by the University of Miami School of Law International and Graduate Law Programs and Human Rights Clinic, in collaboration with the Human Rights Society, Health Law Association, and University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review —will examine the impact of COVID-19 on international law.  In particular, the symposium will focus on intersections of COVID-19 with human rights and public health, including state obligations towards vulnerable populations, rights restrictions to protect public health, environmental aspects, reactions by international and regional human rights bodies, and public health responses.

 

A recording of this session, entitled “COVID-19 and Human Rights Law”, is available at:

https://echo360.org/media/122fa347-f362-48d5-a9ec-df08c5962ea3/public

The recording of the lecture was telecasted live on YouTube :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld_NIh5XS9o

As part of its 2021 Annual Meeting (March 24-26), the American Society of International Law invited members and colleagues from around the world to participate in a special series of sessions focusing on regional issues of international law and policy that will be affected by the new Biden-Harris Administration.

Annual Meeting Theme:

In these extraordinary times, dramatic shifts in global health, the global economy, and geopolitical power structures are forcing human beings to adapt and evolve. These shifts require us to revisit the operation of the legal, political, and conceptual structures of our international order, and to examine the possibility — and perhaps necessity — of creating new norms, tools, and paradigms.

Today’s health, economic, and racial justice crises are having a profound impact on the rule of law, human security, and the environment; human rights and gender equality; international business and trade; and virtually all other aspects of society. These effects are being exacerbated by the differing approaches that governments, international organizations, and private actors have taken toward international problem-solving. Although some may hope for a return to “normalcy” in all these areas, the current moment offers both the challenge and the opportunity to reconsider and potentially to reshape international law and international institutions.

The 2021 Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law provided a forum to think critically and creatively about all fields of international law. Sessions presented a broad range of perspectives on innovative ways to address emerging issues, to improve global governance, and to tackle international problems.

Session Tracks:

• International Human Rights, Humanitarian Law, and Criminal Justice
• Transnational Litigation, Arbitration, and Dispute Resolution
• International Trade, Investment, and Finance
• International Organizations, Global Governance, and Global Health
• Security, Foreign Relations, and Use of Force
• Environment, Sea, Space, and Sustainable Development

Dr Nilufer Oral spoke at the session titled “We Are All Climate Change Lawyers Now” on 25 March 2021. This session is part of the Environment, Sea, Space, and Sustainable Development Track at the ASIL 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting.

Panelists include:

• Carmen Gonzalez, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
• Sailesh Mehta, Red Lion Chambers
• Nilufer Oral, UN International Law Commission
• Hermann Ott, Client Earth
• Margaret Young, University of Melbourne Law School
• Rob Verchick, Loyola University New Orleans

This event was a timely discussion about the legally binding instrument on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) currently under negotiation at the UN and its security implications. In recent years, heavy high seas fishing and the race for deep-sea living resources have emerged as geopolitical concerns. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea provides no robust governance for these resources, raising the spectre of contested or depleted commons. As a new US administration eager to tackle challenges with more multilateralism settles into office, how will this new dimension to UNCLOS intersect with well-publicized concerns about Chinese fishing and genetic experiments? And how might the BBNJ treaty offer new tools for responsible oceans management and encourage more cooperative engagement among the great powers?

 

Other speakers at the conference include:

Dr. Catherine Blanchard, Lecturer, University of Utrecht

Dr. James Kraska, Charles H. Stockton Professor of International Maritime Law, U.S. Naval War College

 

The event is moderated by:

Mr. Cornell Overfield, Analyst, Strategy and Policy Analysis Program, CNA

 

A recording of the event can be accessed at the link:

https://vimeo.com/529164383