Researchers' Activities

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

Recent scientific information presents an alarming diagnosis of the multiple adverse consequences of climate change on the ocean: levels of  ocean acidification not seen in millions of years, changes in ocean chemistry, warming temperatures and deoxygenation threating marine life, in particular coral reefs; and rapidly melting glaciers and ice sheets challenging the survival of some island States and threatening  existing maritime boundaries and entitlements.  

There are two different applicable international regimes, one for the ocean and the other for climate change.  Yet neither has a clear mandate for the ocean-climate nexus. The 1982 United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea, often referred to as the Constitution for the oceans, negotiated before climate change emerged on the international agenda, makes no reference to climate change. The 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, with a clear mandate for atmospheric climate change, limits the role of the ocean to serving as sink or reservoir for greenhouse gases.  The 2015 Paris Agreement added little more other than a preambular reference to ocean ecosystems.

The lecture delivered by Dr Oral examined how these two principal legal regimes can meet the test for international law in providing a dialectic and evolutive response to the pressing challenges of the climate-ocean nexus.

A copy of the presentation can be assessed at the link: https://www.lcil.cam.ac.uk/sites/www.law.cam.ac.uk/files/images/www.lcil.law.cam.ac.uk/Image/events/nilufer_oral_presentation_190221.pdf

A recording of the lecture is available at: https://www.lcil.cam.ac.uk/friday-lunchtime-lecture-series-recordings

The law of the sea is a scholarly discipline that straddles many aspects of general international law and of its specialized branches including environmental law, human rights law, the law of international courts and tribunals. The law of the sea is also an expanding field for practice, not limited to university research and teaching, but including advocacy in international and domestic courts, counselling for governments, international organizations governmental and non-governmental, and private entities, working as judges and registry member for international courts and arbitration tribunals.

UC Berkeley School of Law is pleased to invite Professor Tullio Treves to speak at this year’s Harry and Jane Scheiber Lecture Series. Prof Treves is Professor Emeritus at the State University of Milan and Public International Law Senior Consultant at Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP (Milan office). He served as Judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea from 1996 to 2011. Within the Tribunal, he was the President of the Seabed Disputes Chamber, including in the proceedings for the delivery, on 1 February 2011, of an Advisory Opinion upon the request of the Council of the International Seabed Authority. He has chaired the Tribunal’s Committee of the Whole for the drafting of the Rules of the Tribunal. From 1973 to 1982, he was a member of the Italian delegation to all sessions of the Third United Nations Conference on Law of the Sea.

Dr Nilufer Oral and Lt. Cmdr. Joel Coito were both invited to give their comments at the lecture titled “The Law of the Sea: A Multi-Faceted Discipline and a Promising Field for Practitioner”.

A recording of the Berkeley Law Scheiber Lecture on 4 Feb is now available on their website at: https://www.kaltura.com/index.php/extwidget/preview/partner_id/1368891/uiconf_id/41443412/entry_id/1_f6recvt2/embed/iframe?

The Trump presidency has had a consequential impact on the United States’ international relations and its role in international institutions. Hallmarks of President Trump’s Asia policy included labelling China as a hostile power, abandoning the Trans-Pacific Partnership, using trade sanctions even against allies such as Australia, Japan, and South Korea, and dallying with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Professors José E. Alvarez and Nilufer Oral discussed the impact Trump has had on U.S.-Asia relations and the constraints President Biden will face as he tries to strengthen ties with key Asian allies and partners while maintaining pressure on China.

A recording of the online event can be accessed at the link: https://usali.org/institute-news/event-recording-us-asia-relations-in-the-biden-administration

When the 1982 United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea was adopted, climate change was not an issue of concern for the international community. Consequently, the Convention does not make mention to climate change or its consequences. When the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was adopted a decade later, the adverse consequences of climate change on the ocean and marine environment were not fully understood. However, in recent years scientists have discovered that climate change is having significant adverse impacts on the ocean, such as ocean warming, deoxygenation, chemistry change, ocean acidification and sea level rise.

Dr Nilüfer Oral’s lecture examined the existing frameworks in relation to protection of the marine environment under the 1982 UNCLOS and climate change under the 1992 UNFCCC regime. The lecture will identify the gaps within each regime, the gaps between the two regimes and how synergies may be developed to address the important climate risks to the health of the ocean.

The session is moderated by Stephen Minas, Associate Professor at Peking University School of Transnational Law.

The Land-to-Ocean Leadership Programme is a three-year research and capacity-building programme sponsored by the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (SwAM) and the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure of Germany.

The Programme aims to promote land-to-ocean leadership opportunities in the broader context of implementing the Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in recognition of the interconnectivity of Land-to-Ocean-flows. In order to develop governance and sustainable management options that are practically oriented yet responsive to dynamic processes, the programme will foster a better understanding of the interconnected character of terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems flowing from source to sea.

The main purpose of this interactive seminar is to engage with a wider expert group to provide comments on the four PhD candidate research projects. A further objective is to provide an update on the progress made with their research programme to date. This event is organized by the World Maritime University and supported by the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management and the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure.

For more info on the seminar and the programme, please visit the website:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UEQ8aE1V8SW1u06LCPQ_RBfgXE7JidjM/view

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea held the Fifth International Conference on the Law of the Sea from December 3 to 4, 2020. The International Conference on the Law of the Sea has been held since 2016 to discuss the latest trends and progress in the research on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which regulates the peaceful usage of the sea and fair and effective utilization of its resources, and on the jurisprudence of relevant international organizations.

The theme for this year’s conference is Regional Cooperation and Marine Environmental Protection under the UNCLOS Regime. The first session of the conference covered the topic on “Duty of Cooperation under the UNCLOS Regime”. Dr Oral spoke on “The duty to cooperate under Part XII of UNCLOS and the protection and conservation of biological diversity beyond national jurisdiction”.

Other speakers who spoke alongside with Dr Oral include Amb. Markiyan Kulyk (ITLOS), Prof LEE Seok-Woo (Inha University), Judge Oscar Cabello Sarubbi (ITLOS) and Prof KIM Hyun Jung (Yonsei University).

This conference is co-organised with International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea and The Korean Society of International Law. For more information on the conference: https://www.icls.or.kr:43722/main/index.php

From 7 to 18 December 2020, The new United Nations Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, Marcos Orellana, will hold an institutional visit to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

In view of his upcoming visit to the IMO, the Special Rapporteur, Dr  Marcos A. Orellana, invited stakeholders of the mandate, including civil society organizations, defenders of human rights and academics, to an online, focused stakeholders’ consultation on the IMO and implications for toxics and human rights.

Dr Oral was one of the experts invited to participate in the consultation, which aimed to inform the Special Rapporteur’s in preparation of his visit. It assessed and analyzed the work of the IMO in order to identify current issues and areas of improvement, as well as good practices.

More info at: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Environment/ToxicWastes/Pages/SRToxicWastesIndex.aspx

Dr Oral spoke at the Fourth Brazilian Congress of the Law of the Sea (IV Congresso Brasileiro de Direito do Mar), which was held online from 26 to 28 November. The event was co-organised by the Center for Studies in Law of the Sea (CEDMAR) at University of São Paulo and the Brazilian Academy of International Law (ABDI).

Dr Oral spoke on THE CURRENT STATE OF NEGOTIATIONS ON MGRS FOR THE BBNJ AGREEMENT.

Dr Nilüfer Oral spoke at the online conference titled Pandemics and International Law: The Need for International Action, on 18 November. The event was  co-organised by Washington College of Law and its Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law; the Centre for International Law; the Vietnamese National University, Hanoi, School of Law; the Autonomous University of Lisbon; the Florida International University College of Law; and the WCL chapter of the International Law Student Association.

Dr Oral spoke alongside Professor Patrícia Galvão Teles, Professor Claudio Grossman, Professor Charles C Jalloh and Professor Nguyễn Hồng Thao. The event was moderated by Professor Claudia Martin.

On the occasion of the inter-sessional period in the negotiations of an international legally binding agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction – BBNJ, Dr Nilüfer Oral spoke at an online panel discussion on ‘A Dispute Settlement Mechanism for the BBNJ Instrument’. The event was organised by the Permanent Mission of Colombia to the United Nations and the Independent International Legal Advocates.

Dr Nilüfer Oral was invited to speak at the online closing address of the Public International Law Year in Review on 10 November. The event was co-organised by Essex Court Chambers, Essex Court Chambers Duxton (Singapore Group Practice), Fietta LLP, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP, and The Sydney Centre for International Law.

Dr Oral spoke on ongoing negotiations for a legally binding agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Other panellists were Sir Michael Wood, Rodman Bundy and Dr Emily Crawford. The event was moderated by Jackie McArthur and Ryce Lee. At the end of the webinar, Professor Vaughan Lowe QC of Essex Court Chambers, and the University of Oxford, rounded off the session by giving the closing remarks.

Dr Nilüfer Oral chaired the online Informal BBNJ Intersessional High Seas Treaty Dialogue on Marine Genetic Resources, with Ms Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, who is the ex-Director of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea under the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs. The topic of the November dialogue was marine genetic resources, and the event was co-hosted by the Kingdom of Belgium, the Principality of Monaco, the Republic of Costa Rica, in collaboration with the High Seas Alliance.

CIl Director Nilüfer Oral, Co-Chair of the International Law Commission (ILC) Study Group on Sea Level Rise in Relation to International Law with Professor Bogdan Aurescu, participated in an online informal interaction between ILC members and delegates of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Sixth Committee.

The session was chaired by Ambassador Milenko E Skoknic Tapia, Chair of the Sixth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly at its 75th session.

At the online side event of International Law Week, CIL Director Nilüfer Oral presented on sea-level rise and the law of the sea. Dr Oral and Professor Bogdan Aurescu, Co-Chairs of the International Law Commission’s Study Group on Sea-Level Rise in Relation to International Law, provided insights into the Study Group’s first issues paper published in February 2020, which covered issues of possible legal effects of sea-level rise on baselines and outer limits of maritime spaces measured from baselines, on the status of maritime features and on maritime delimitation effected either by treaty or adjudication. At the event, Dr Oral and Professor Aurescu spoke about how they approached the need to preserve legal stability, security, certainty and predictability.

CIL Director Nilüfer Oral spoke at an International Council of Environmental Law (ICEL) side-event briefing on strengthening cooperation for international environmental law on 27 October 2020. The event was cohosted by ICEL, the Permanent Missions of Costa Rica and France to the United Nations, the Observer Mission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to the United Nations, and the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL).

At the online event, distinguished scholars of international environmental law presented their expertise on options for opportune ‘next steps’ in the progressive development of international environmental law and organisation, to provide essential foundation for attaining the Sustainable Development Goals. Besides Dr Oral, other speakers included Professor Chikosa Banda from the University of Malawi, Professor Sergio Ugalde from the University for Peace (Costa Rica), Professor Christina Voigt from the University of Oslo, and Dr Lucien Chabason from the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations. The session was moderated by Professor Nicholas A Robinson from Pace University (New York).

The Norway-Singapore Science Week, which took place from 26 October to 6 November, is an important platform for developing and enhancing research and academic cooperation in key areas of interest to Norway and Singapore. During the Science Week, 70 professors, researchers, institution representatives and company executives presented and discussed research and technology development in the field of sustainable urban development, decarbonisation and ocean space.

A member of the organising committee, Professor Robert Beckman assisted in organising and co-chairing a webinar on Ocean Policy on 6 November 2020, Friday. The other co-chair was Professor Tore Henriksen, Director of the Norwegian Center for Law of the Sea, UiT, the Arctic University of Norway.

The Ocean Policy session covered two topics. The first topic, ‘Sea-Level Rise: Connecting Singapore to the Arctic’, was focussed on the impact of climate change in the Arctic on sea-level rise in Singapore and Southeast Asia. The speakers were Professor Benjamin Horton, Director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore; Dr Kristin Richter of Norwegian Research Center in Bergen, Norway; and CIL Director, Dr Nilüfer Oral. Dr Oral spoke about the implications of sea-level rise for international law and policy, in particular for maritime entitlements of States.

The second topic in the session was ‘Biodiversity in the Marine Environment of the Arctic’ and was focussed on the global challenges in protecting and preserving the marine environment. The speakers were Associate Professor Vito De Lucia of UiT, the Arctic University of Norway, and CIL Senior Research Fellow Youna Lyons. In her presentation, Youna Lyons compared the regimes governing the marine environment in the Arctic Ocean with those governing the marine environment in ASEAN and the South China Sea.

The webinar participants concluded that there was scope for continued collaboration in researching issues of common interest, given that Singapore is an Observer in the Arctic Council. A collaboration between the CIL and the Norwegian Center for Law of the Sea at UiT resulted in the co-edited book Governance of Arctic Shipping published in 2017.

CIL Director Nilüfer Oral was invited to speak at the 2020 Seoul Academy of International Law Lectures. Dr Oral delivered an online lecture on the law of the sea.

CIL Director Nilüfer Oral spoke on the panel on climate change and the law of the sea, at the American Bar International Law Association (ABILA) International Law Weekend. The panel explored how international law, especially the law of the sea, should account for sea-level rise, including regarding issues such as baselines and maritime entitlements, status of features, protection of the marine environment, and statehood of low-lying States and the rights of their nationals.

The panel was moderated by Aimee-Jane Lee from Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. Other speakers on the panel were Professor David Freestone from George Washington University, Ms Nicola Swan from Chapman Tripp, and Ambassador Nguyễn Hồng Thao from the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam.

At an online event titled ‘Legal Implications of Pandemics: A Ten-Month Assessment’ on 16 October 2020, CIL Director Nilüfer Oral presented the topic ‘Is There a Need for Convention?’ The event was co-organised by the Permanent Missions of Chile, Portugal, Sierra Leone, Turkey and Vietnam, and moderated by Ambassador Francisco Duarte Lopes, Permanent Representative of Portugal. Speakers were members of the International Law Commission, which besides Dr Oral, included Professor Patrícia Galvão Teles, Professor Claudio Grossman, Professor Charles C Jalloh and Ambassador Nguyễn Hồng Thao.

CIL Director Nilüfer Oral spoke on ‘International Law and IUU Fishing’ at a webinar on ‘Fishing on the High Seas and Marine Protected Areas’ on 13 October 2020. The webinar was organised by the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law, in partnership with the Inter-American Institute on Justice and Sustainability. Globally renowned experts at this webinar provide perspectives on cooperation and legal responses for enforcement of international marine protection in exclusive economic zones.

The challenges of international illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing on the high seas is one of the most urgent issues for the global community seeking to protect marine reserves and the integrity of exclusive economic zones. IUU fleets that cross protected boundaries create problems for environmental security, international governance, and the livelihoods of local communities that depend on their marine resources.

On 9 October 2020 CIL Director Nilüfer Oral spoke at an online conference, UN at 75: Effective Multilateralism and International Law, which was jointly organised by the Office of Legal Affairs of the United Nations and the German Federal Foreign Office. The conference examines the evolution of international law since the UN’s establishment in 1945, the achievements of the UN in advancing international law, and its future in supporting multilateralism.

Dr Oral presented on ‘United Nations in International Law at 75: The Role of the General Assembly and Its Subsidiary Organs (ILC, Sixth Committee) and the Importance of Academia’.

At the online UN side event The Role of the Ocean in Climate Change and Sea Level Rise on 8 October 2020, CIL Director Nilüfer Oral spoke on ‘Ocean Acidification: A Conundrum for International Law?’ The event was organised by NGO Sustainability Inc and co-hosted by the UN Permanent Missions of Kenya, Portugal and Sri Lanka, the UN Division of Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, and UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

On 1 October 2020, CIL Director Nilüfer Oral delivered an online lecture on sea-level rise and the law of the sea at the annual ITLOS-Nippon Capacity-Building and Training Programme. The programme helped participants, who were junior to mid-level government officials and researchers from mainly developing countries, to develop their legal skills and deepen their practical knowledge of dispute settlement in the law of the sea under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

CIL Director Nilüfer Oral was a panellist at the webinar ‘Galapagos at Risk: International Marine Protection, Challenges and Legal Options’ on 17 September 2020. The webinar was organised by the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law, in partnership with the Inter-American Institute on Justice and Sustainability. Globally renowned experts at this webinar provided perspectives on cooperation and legal responses for enforcement of international marine protection in exclusive economic zones.

CIL Director Nilüfer Oral presented a paper titled ‘First Issues Paper on Sea Level Rise in Relation to International Law: Key Issues and Gaps’ at the UN Diplomacy Clinic organised by New York University’s Law Faculty on 10 September 2020. Dr Oral is the Co-Chair of the International Law Commission’s Study Group on Sea Level Rise in Relation to International Law.

At the online regional conference on Securing the Limits of the Blue Pacific organised by Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) on 9–11 September 2020, CIL Director Nilüfer Oral presented a paper titled ‘Legal Options and Institutional Responses to the Impacts of Sea Level Rise on Maritime Zones in the Context of International Law’.

In her presentation, Dr Oral spoke of a platform that will allow PIF members to examine the leaders’ commitment to preserving members’ existing rights stemming from maritime zones in the face of sea level rise. The conference outcomes will form the basis of recommendations to leaders on various legal options and institutional responses, to guide the region towards a collective effort to securing the Blue Pacific.

On 13 February 2019, Director Lucy Reed participated in the conference on ‘ISDS Reform: Mapping the Way Forward’ organised by the Asian Academy of International Law (AAIL) and the Hong Kong SAR Department of Justice. The welcoming speakers included Ms Teresa Cheng GBS SC JP, the Hong Kong SAR Secretary for Justice. The conference featured four panels—Investment Mediation, Appeal Mechanism for ISDS Awards, Third Party Funding in ISDS and Appointment of Arbitrators—and an Oxford Union style Debate on whether a Permanent Investment Court is a possible solution to ISDS problems. In an innovative approach, each panel had the benefit of a detailed discussion paper by a young private or government practitioner.

Professor Reed spoke on the Investment Mediation panel, on the topic of how to incentivise host governments and investors to use investor-State mediation. Also on the panel were (as pictured) Dr Anthony Neoh (AAIL Chairman), Professor Jack Coe from Pepperdine Law School and Paul Starr from King & Wood Mallesons. The discussion paper was from David Ng of the Hong Kong SAR Department of Justice.

On 18 January, Director Lucy Reed delivered the keynote address at the inaugural Schiefelbein Global Dispute Resolution Conference at the Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law at Arizona State University. Mr Lester Schiefelbein, the former Vice-President of Lockheed Martin Space Systems and CEO of the Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center, and his family have endowed this new Global Dispute Resolution Program for annual conferences and scholarships.

The title of Professor Reed’s address was ‘Ultima Thule: Prospects for International Commercial Mediation’, connecting the topic to Ultima Thule, the 4.5 billion-year-old rock newly discovered in outer-outer space and photographed by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft. Pending formal posting on the Shiefelbein Dispute Resolution Program website, a working copy of the address can be downloaded here.

The conference included panels on ‘Technology in Arbitration and Arbitration in Technology’, ‘China’s Belt and Road: Impressive Scale and Unprecedented Risk’ and ‘Atmospheric Arbitration: Resolving Climate Change Related Disputes’, as well as a roundtable with corporate counsel from Baker Hughes/GE Oil & Gas, Raytheon Missile Systems, Avent Inc and the American Arbitration Association. It was a global event, featuring speakers from Washington DC, San Francisco, New York, Phoenix, Houston, Tucson, London, Shenzen, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, The Hague and Mexico City.

The conference was organised by Mr Lester Schiefelbein and Professors Victoria Sahani and Art Hinshaw of the Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law, pictured here with Professor Reed.

CIL Director Lucy Reed delivered a keynote address on 15 September 2018 at the Conference in Commemoration of Professor David D Caron held at the Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley. At the time of his tragic, premature death in February 2018, Professor Caron was sitting as a judge on the Iran-US Claims Tribunal, an ad hoc judge in two ICJ cases, and an arbitrator in several complex international arbitrations. He was formerly Dean of the Dickson Poon School of Law at Kings College London and a chaired professor of law at Berkeley. Professors Reed and Caron, who were friends for some 35 years, had both served as President of the American Society of International Law and Chair of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration.

The conference, entitled ‘The Elegance of International Law’, featured high-level panels focussed on Professor Caron’s main areas of interest: international dispute resolution, legitimacy of international law and institutions, and the law of the sea and international environmental law. In her keynote—‘The David Caron Rule of X’—Professor Reed described and developed a lecture Professor Caron gave at the opening of the year in September 2017 at MIDS (Masters in International Dispute Resolution) at the Graduate Institute in Geneva. This was a work in progress, in which Professor Caron focussed on the need for international arbitrators to exercise personal discipline to limit their caseloads to the number of arbitrations they can responsibly handle—namely, a personal ‘X’ number of arbitrations—and thereby facilitate the process of more appointments for a more diverse pool of arbitrators.

The conference papers will be published by the Berkeley Journal of International Law and the Ecology Law Quarterly.

CIL Director Lucy Reed spoke at the ‘Forum on the Belt and Road Legal Cooperation: Rules and Coordination’ in Beijing on 2–3 July 2018. The conference was co-hosted at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and the China Law Society, with the Chinese Foreign Minister HE Wang Yi giving the keynote speech. The legal focus—the so-called ‘soft connectivity’ of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)—was underscored by the identity of the co-sponsors: Chinese Society of International Law, China University of Political Science and Law, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing Law Society, and Department of Justice of the Government of Hong Kong SAR.

Professor Reed spoke on arbitration and mediation of investor-state disputes, on the panel ‘The BRI and International Dispute Settlement’. The other main panels addressed ‘The BRI and International Rule of Law’, ‘Rules, Treaties and Laws Supporting the BRI’, and ‘BRI Legal Exchange and Cooperation’. The conference had over 350 invited participants from Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, the Caribbean and South America.

CIL Director Professor Lucy Reed spoke at the international conference on ‘The Rise of International Commercial Courts’ at Qatar University on 13 May 2018. Professor Reed spoke about the Singapore International Commercial Court on a panel discussing comparative features of international commercial courts, including the Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre. The keynote speaker for the conference was Justice Ramesh Kannan of the Singapore High Court.

CIL Director Professor Lucy Reed spoke on the opening plenary panel of the bi-annual Congress of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) in Sydney, Australia. The panel theme was ‘Law-Making in International Arbitration: What Legitimacy Challenges Lie Ahead?’, and Professor Reed spoke on arbitration tribunals as lawmakers. Professor Stephan Schill of the University of Amsterdam moderated the panel, and the other panellists were Singapore Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, ICC Court of Arbitration President Alexis Moure, and Professor Thomas Schultz of Kings College London. All the papers will be published in the official ICCA Congress Series (Wolters Kluwer).

Professor Reed also spoke at the follow-on AMINZ-ICCA International Arbitration Day in Queenstown, New Zealand, where the theme was ‘Making Arbitration Work in a Changing World: A Pacific View’. She was the commentator on Daniel Kaldermis’s keynote lecture entitled ‘International Arbitration in a Brave New World’.

On 1 February 2018, CIL Director Professor Lucy Reed spoke at a programme at the Supreme Court entitled ‘The Singapore International Commercial Court’s potential to advance the rule of law’. The conference was sponsored by the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC), the Singapore International Law Association and Freshfields (Singapore). The speakers included two judges on the SICC, Justice Quentin Lowe and Sir Vivian Ramsey, as well as Mr Francis Xavier SC of Rajah & Tann, and Mr Nicholas Lingard and Mr Robert Kirkness of Freshfields. Professor Reed spoke on what characteristics make an international commercial court truly international.

CIL Director Professor Lucy Reed served as faculty at the 2017 Summer Institute of the ASEAN Human Rights Resource Centre (HRRC) held in Bali on 29–31 January 2018 (the volcano risk having postponed the original summer date). The chairman of the conference was HE Ambassador Ong Keng Yong, who is the chairman of HRRC and a member of the CIL Board of Directors. The theme of the conference was ‘Trade, Investment, and the Rule of Law in ASEAN’. Professor Reed spoke on ‘The Rule of Law and Dispute Resolution in ASEAN’ and moderated a panel on ‘Rights Dimensions in Trade and Investment in the ASEAN Community’.

The HRRC is a non-profit academic centre headquartered at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta, in partnership with 11 other academic institutions in 7 out of 10 ASEAN member states. Its mission is to support a rights-based approach to ASEAN integration through research, training and education, and its core thematic areas are rule of law, business and human rights, and the rights of vulnerable populations. The Summer Institute is the HRRC’s signature annual event, organised in collaboration with the WSD Handa Center for Human Rights and International Justice at Stanford University and Udayana University.

CIL Director Professor Lucy Reed represented the Centre at several events at the 2017 Seoul ADR Festival during the week of 6 November. At the joint programme of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and the Korea Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB) on ‘Multiple Proceedings in Multiple Fora: Strategies and Synergies’, Prof Reed delivered the keynote address and was a speaker on the panel on ‘Consolidation and Joinder under Arbitral Institutional Rules’. She also spoke on the panel on International Investment Dispute Settlement, addressing ‘Momentum on Procedural Reforms:  The Way Forward’. Prof Reed was interviewed at the Young Arbitration Practitioners’ Forum ‘Fireside Chat’ organised by Young SIAC and the Korean Council for International Arbitration, and served as faculty for the second annual Seoul Academy for International Arbitration.

CIL Director Lucy Reed, Head of International Dispute Resolution (Practice Skills) J Christopher Thomas QC, Head of Investment Law and Policy Jansen Calamita, Practice Fellow Emily Choo, and Global Associates Mark Feldman and Tara Davenport were part of the faculty of the 2017 Singapore International Arbitration Academy, which was organised by the CIL on 25 October 2017–2 November 2017. Ms Emily Choo was also team coach to one of the teams that took part in the Academy’s arbitration moot.

CIL Research Associates Millicent McCreath, Robert Real and Zoe Scanlon attended the Academy as participants and took part in the arbitration moot. Ms Zoe Scanlon was awarded a prize for excellence in advocacy.

Professor Reed, Mr Thomas, Research Associate Professor (CIL) Calamita and Ms Choo were speakers and moderators in the panel sessions in the CIL International Conference on Global Currents in International Investment Law on 2 November 2017.

On 23 October 2017, CIL Director Lucy Reed delivered the Seoul Arbitration Lecture 2017, sponsored by the Seoul International Dispute Resolution Centre. The lecture title was ‘Suite for ISDS: Mediation, Arbitration and Appellate Bodies’. She addressed the need for lawyers practising in the field of investment treaty arbitration to expand their repertoire or suite of skills to keep up with developments. On the one hand, it is important to be prepared for the new investment court system envisioned in the new EU-driven free trade agreements and, on the other hand, to play a more active role in furthering settlements of suitable disputes by mediated negotiations. The audience comprised over 100 Korean ministry representatives, practitioners and academics.

On 12 September 2017, CIL Director Professor Lucy Reed delivered the John E.C. Memorial Lecture at the McGill Faculty of Law in Montreal. The title of Lucy’s lecture was ‘International Dispute Resolution Courts: Retreat or Advance?’, and she focused on the recent progress of the Singapore International Commercial Court. Lucy was introduced by McGill Dean Robert Leckey and Mr Pierre-Olivier Savoie. Professor Fabien Gelinas and Mr Stephen Drymer of Woods led the discussion that followed the lecture.

CIL participated in the 6th Biennial Conference of the Asian Society of International Law (AsianSIL) on 25–26 August 2017 in Seoul, Korea. The conference was organised by the AsianSIL, the Korea Chapter of the AsianSIL, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea. The theme of the conference was ‘Asia and International Law in Times of Uncertainty’. CIL Director Professor Lucy Reed chaired the session on ‘New Proposals for Investment Dispute Resolution Mechanism’. Head of CIL’s Ocean Law and Policy Programme Associate Professor Robert Beckman chaired the session on ‘New Voices in International Law’, which featured presentations from two CIL Research Associates (see below). He also gave a presentation on the implications of the South China Sea arbitral award.

CIL Director, Professor Lucy Reed, represented the Centre and spoke at the inaugural colloquium on International Law of the Asian Academy of International Law (AAIL) in Hong Kong on 7-8 July 2017. The theme of the colloquium was ‘Common Future in Asia’, with panels on ‘One Country Two Systems: Interaction with International Law’, ‘Investment Collaboration: Opportunities and Challenges for Asia’, and ‘Interpretation of Treaties and UNCLOS: The Regime of Islands, Rocks and Offshore Archipelagos’. The welcome and keynote speakers included the new Hong Kong Chief Executive Mrs Carrie Lam, GBM, GBS; Mr Rimsky Yuen, GBM, SC, JP, Secretary for Justice of Hong Kong; Professor Teresa Cheng SC, Chairman of the AAIL; Dr Li Shishi, President of the Chinese Society of International Law; Professor Zhang Yuejiao, Former WTO Appellate Body Member and Chair; Mr Liu Zhenmin, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of China (by video); and Mr Xie Zhenhua, Special Representative for Climate Change Affairs of China.

Professor Lucy Reed, CIL Director, represented the Centre at the 111th Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law in Washington DC on 12–15 April 2017. Professor Reed was President of the American Society of International Law from 2008 to 2010. With the topical theme of ‘What International Law Values’, highlights of the meeting included: the Grotius Lecture by Harvard University Professor David Armitage entitled ‘Civil War Time: From Grotius to the Global War on Terror’; an interview by New York University Law School Professor Philip Alston of Hudson Medal Winner Professor Georges Abi-Saab; an Assembly address by Professor Philippe Sands on the origins of the ideas of ‘genocide’ and ‘crimes against humanity’ as illustrated in his new book East West Street; and a keynote address by the new General Counsel of the World Bank Group, Ms Sandie Okoro, on gender-based violence entitled ‘Seen and Not Heard’. NUS Law Faculty Dean and CIL Board Deputy Chairman, Professor Simon Chesterman, spoke on the panel on ‘Claims Against the United Nations: From Within and Without’. Ayelet Berman, soon to join CIL as a Senior Research Fellow, spoke on the panel on “The Rise of Multistakeholder Global Governance’. Professor Reed, Dean Chesterman and NUS Professor Tony Anghie attended the Colleague Societies Breakfast as representatives of the Asian Society of International Law. [Photos]

On 27 October 2016, CIL Director Lucy Reed delivered the 31st Queen Mary University–Freshfields Arbitration Lecture in London, on the topic of ‘Ab(use) of Due Process: Sword vs Shield’. Professor Reed, who for many years led the Freshfields International Arbitration Group, framed her topic with the example of Donald Trump impugning the US federal judge who is presiding over a case against Trump University, by claiming the Mexican heritage of the judge—who was born and raised in Indiana—is biased because of Trump’s plans to construct a wall at the Mexican border if he is elected President.

Professor Reed described a growing trend in international arbitration for the unreasonable invocation of procedural complaints ‘under the banner of due process’ as a ‘brazen strategy’ to seek to pressurise arbitral tribunals. Her thesis was that arbitral tribunals should not allow parties to conflate routine procedural complaints (however stridently or repeatedly articulated, as Trump has done in interviews) with genuine ‘due process’ violations which have the potential to undermine the legitimacy of the arbitral process.

Defining due process as ‘a person’s right not to be deprived as property or other rights without the opportunity to represent themselves before neutral judges’, Professor Reed outlined the historical evolution of the concept of due process as a shield for legitimacy in international arbitration, before providing some practical illustrations of the strategy of (ab)using due process as a sword to influence the outcome. She focused on the boundaries and grey areas between routine procedural complaints and true due process violations. She concluded by urging arbitrators to confront the strategy, to prevent toleration leading to normalisation.

Due process, in Professor Reed’s words, ‘is meant to be a shield against procedural unfairness’ and for a party to ‘gleefully use due process as a sword is to cheapen due process’. As she concluded: neither Zorro nor the Three Muskeeters should be welcome in international arbitration hearing rooms.

On 20 July 2016, CIL Director Lucy Reed participated in the Panel Discussion on The Rule of Law and Dispute Resolution held in Singapore. The panel discussion, which was accompanied by a performance by the Temple Church Boys’ Choir from London, was moderated by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and was jointly organised by The Honourable Societies of Inner and Middle Temple, The Temple Church and Singapore Academy of Law. To view the eBrochure, please click here. [View photo]

The Expert-Level Workshop on Addressing the Threats Posed by Sea Level Rise was meant for the UN Delegates and Staff to learn relevant background on an issue of significant concern for a growing number of Member States, including those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as communities in Small Island Developing States and coastal states.