Researchers' Activities

5 May 2023: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the ASIL ICTIG Event on the Topic: “The Role of International Courts and Tribunals Amidst the Conflict in Ukraine: Avenues for Justice and Peace?”

27 March 2023: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the 2023 Regional Conference on Preserving Statehood and Protecting Persons: Legal Options and Institutional Responses to the Impacts of Sea-Level Rise, in the context of International Law organized by the Pacific Islands Forum which was held in Fiji from 27-30 March 2023.

24 March 2023:  CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the III World Meeting for Societies of International Law Organized by the Peruvian Society of International Law

13 March 2023: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the GNLU-GMU Academy on Climate Change, Marine Biodiversity and Sustainable Shipping 2023

7 March 2023: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the Global Governance / Multilateralism Webinar Organized by ADI-ILA

1 February 2023: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the Anthropocene Webinar Organized by ADI-ILA

The Global Ocean Regime Conference is an annual international conference to establish a network with experts in marine policy and the maritime laws including United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea around the world and to share knowledge and discuss about international trend on maritime territories, areas such as the continental shelf, High seas and so on.

30 November 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited by ILA Hellenic Branch to Speak at the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea @40

24 November 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the International Order and Justice Lecture Series Organized by the Ghent University.

15-17 November 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the Seventh International Conference on the Law of the Sea Hosted by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea (MOFA)

10 November 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the International Symposium on ” Ocean Governance in the New Era: Current Challenges and the Law of the Sea” Organized by Global Governance Institution

2-3 November 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the 2022 Yeosu Academy of the Law of the Sea

28 October 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited by the Permanent Mission of Australia to the United Nation to Participate in an Informal Networking Breakfast.

25 October 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Participate in an Interactive Dialogue: Welcoming a New Legal Framework on Armed Conflict and the Environment

22 October 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited by the American Branch of the International Law Association to Speak at the International Law Weekend

11 October 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the IMO-WMU Joint Academic Conference Title “Protecting the Ocean – Moving Forward at 50: London Convention & Stockholm Declaration”

17 October 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited by Berkeley Law to Give the Harry & Jane Scheiber Lecture in Ocean Law & Policy.

3 October 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at a Panel at Oslo 3^rd International Environmental Law Conference.

24 September 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral Was Invited to Deliver a Keynote Speech at IFLOS Maritime Talks 2022.

21 September 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral Was Invited to Participate in the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) Informal, Focused Consultation on Legal Matters

12-16 September 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral Was Invited to Speak at the ITLOS Workshop for Legal Advisors in Hamburg

8 September 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the Asia-Pacific Online Session on International Humanitarian Law Session – ARMED CONFLICT AND THE PROTECTION OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT Organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross

7 September 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral and Prof Patricia Galvao Teles were Invited to Give a Presentation on the Work of the International Law Commission to Participants at the Centre for Studies & Research Program at The Hague Academy.

Dr Oral was invited to present a paper at a conference on Sea Level Rise and International Law: Assessing its Impacts on the Americas during the 73rd Session of the International Law Commission (ILC).

The title of Dr Nilufer’s lecture is “Climate Change and Sea Level Rise: The Activities of the ILC”

Dr Nilufer Oral spoke at the session on Climate Change and Ocean Governance focusing on “Challenges of Sea Level Rise for the Law of the Sea and the Work of the International Law Commission”

Dr Oral moderated at the session: International Law and Current Challenges: Sea-Level Rise on 22 June 2022. She was also one of the panellists at the session: Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction on 23 June 2022.

Dr Nilufer Oral was one of the panellists at the session “Bringing Climate Change Before International Courts and Tribunals”

Dr Oral spoke at Side Event 7: The Role of Global Networks Of Legal Experts And Practitioners To Assist In Designing And Implementing Legal Responses To Address The Triple Planetary Crisis.

Dr Oral spoke at the session on “Rising Sea Levels: The Role of International Organizations”.

Dr Nilufer Oral spoke at the session on “International Marine Environment Pollution as Security Threat/Sea Level Rise and International Security Implication”

The fluidity and complexity of modern-day maritime security challenges require a deep understanding of the law of the sea, maritime law, as well as of national policies

and regulations before responding to them. The newly emerging challenges and transformed threats which include, maritime terrorism, drug trafficking, migrant smuggling, and use of unmanned vessels, are largely unregulated in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea1982, which has led to the adoption of various international conventions and protocols.

The IMLI Course on International Maritime Security Law covers the various critical maritime security threats to the international rule of law at sea and the freedom of navigation. The Course addresses in detail the gravity of these threats and the existing international laws and State practices deterring the same.

The Course focuses on the current legal developments ensuring the safe navigation of ships, protection of offshore installations and coasts of maritime States. It also covers the contribution of international organizations, especially IMO, and the role of regional cooperation in overcoming such threats. The Course looks into the special status of warships and examine the juris prudential contribution of international courts and tribunals.

Dr Nilufer Oral spoke on the topic on “International Marine Environment Pollution as Security Threat/Sea Level Rise and International Security Implication”

The International Conference on Environmental Law, Governance, and Sustainable Development provides a timely opportunity to critically investigate practical, philosophical, and methodological approaches for addressing longstanding barriers to the effective design and implementation of environmental law.

This Conference brings together governments, business leaders, environmental educators, academics, and practitioners to exchange knowledge experience and learn from each other on how to strengthen the implementation and application of the international environmental rule of law in Africa and beyond.

The theme for this year’s conference was “Climate Change, Energy Transition and Looking Beyond the Earth’s Future: The Role of Stakeholders in Sustaining International Environmental Rule of Law”. Dr Nilufer Oral was one of the keynote speakers for the conference.

International Law Academy British Branch Spring Conference 2022 On 28-29 April 2022

The conference will consider legal problems likely to emerge from ongoing changes resulting from climate change and its consequences, as set out in the 2021 IPCC report.

Panels comprising a mixture of invited and selected speakers will be convened on the following themes:

• Impact of rising sea levels on migration and statehood
• Climate change and international trade and investment law

• Human rights and climate change
• Litigating on climate change.

Dr Nilufer Oral spoke on the work of the International Law Commission on sea level rise in relation to international Law.

You can read more about the conference and the programme at the link: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/events/20220428-international-law-association-british-branch-spring-conference-2022

Dr Nilufer Oral was invited to give a lecture as part of the Doctoral School Lectures of the University of Milano-Bicocca on rising sea level and international law. This year’s overall theme was “Climate change and law”.

The lectures were targeted at PhD students undertaking a research in law, but are open also to undergraduate students, PhD candidates from other fields and other members of the University’s academic community.

Dr Nilufer Oral was invited by Seoul International Law Academy to give a lecture at their International Law Seminar Series, usually held biweekly to cover current issues in international law. Dr Oral give a lecture titled “Climate Change and the Law of the Sea”. The other panellists in the session were:

Prof Hyun Jung KIM (Yonsei University)

Dr Young Kil PARK (Korea Maritime Institute)

Mr Yuchan OH (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

15 February 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited as a Panelist to Beyond UNEP’s 50th Anniversary: Attaining the SDGs A Symposium in Conjunction with the 5th UN Environment Assembly & UNEP@50 Honoring the Memory of Prof. Charles Okidi Odidi

10 February 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited as a Speaker to the Two-day Symposium for the Oxford Handbook on Women and International Law Hosted by the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg

2 February 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Lecture at the LinCEJ Seminar Series of the Lincoln University Law School (UK) on Sea Level Rise and the Work of the International Law Commission

1 February 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited as a Panelist to Webinar on “Successes and Failures of UNCLOS” Hosted by Volterra Fietta Law Firm.

This was the inaugural seminar in Volterra Fietta’s seminar series to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (referred to as UNCLOS).

22 December 2021: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Give a Lecture at the Marine Law and Policy Research Centre of the Istanbul Bilgi University, Titled “International Law Consequences of Climate Change and Sea Level Rise”

More about the event at: International Law Consequences of Climate Change and Sea Level Rise, 22 December 2021 | Marine Law and Policy Research Center (bilgi.edu.tr)

13 December 2021: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the Event

“Looking Ahead to the CBD COP15: Opportunities and Challenges Posed by Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs)” Organized in Conjunction with the Asian Environmental Law Congress

The IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL), in partnership with the Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law (APCEL) and the Centre for International Law (CIL) at the National University of Singapore are pleased to organize this webinar on ‘Sharing lessons and progress in identifying Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures’.

Background

At the fourteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP CBD 14) in 2018, Parties adopted Decision 14/8 on ‘protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures’ (OECMs), containing scientific and technical advice for OECMs. The decision defines an ‘other effective area-based conservation measure´ as:

“a geographically defined area other than a Protected Area, which is governed and managed in ways that achieve positive and sustained long-term outcomes for the in situ conservation of biodiversity, with associated ecosystem functions and services and where applicable, cultural, spiritual, socio–economic, and other locally relevant values.“

OECMs are expected to complement protected areas across landscapes and seascapes and enable the improved recognition and support for areas that are effectively and equitably managed as well as to achieve the long-term in situ conservation of biodiversity. OECMs are also referenced in Target 3 of the latest draft of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework . It is expected that many CBD Parties will consider OECMs in addition to protected areas to achieve this target, if it is agreed by CBD COP15 in Kunming, China, in 2022. This raises the need to advance the discussion about the legal and regulatory framework for OECMs to ensure that they deliver the outcomes required by CBD parties.

Aims and Objectives

This webinar aimed to generate knowledge sharing and discussion about the legal and policy basis and aspects of OECMs, addressed how laws and policies enable the recognition of OECMs, the associated challenges, and how they addressed to enable the long-term conservation of biodiversity within OECMs. The objectives included the introduction of the CBD guidance for OECMs, a number of country case studies and the facilitation of a discussion among participants to develop an understanding of the opportunities and challenges posed by OECMs, the diverse approaches that may be considered for developing the legal and policy frameworks to support their recognition and their role in delivering biodiversity outcomes in the long-term.

More about the event at: https://law.nus.edu.sg/apcel/events/oecm13dec21/

8-9 December 2021: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Moderate at the Informal Intersessional BBNJ High Seas Treaty Dialogues

Day 1 of the December High Seas Treaty Dialogues picked up on October discussions related to Implementation, Compliance and Dispute Settlement, it also focused on the relationship between the Institutional Arrangements under the future BBNJ agreement and relevant legal instruments frameworks and relevant global, regional, subregional and sectoral bodies. Day 2, which is moderated by Dr Nilufer Oral, focused on Marine Genetic Resources, including questions on the Sharing of Benefits and Transfer of Marine Technology.

8 December 2021: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to be a Panellist at the Book Launch Event of Caroline Foster’s New Book “Global Regulatory Standards in Environmental and Health Disputes: Due Regard, Due Diligence and Regulatory Coherence”

Global regulatory standards are emerging from the environmental and health jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice, the World Trade Organization, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and investor-state dispute settlement. Most prominent are the three standards of regulatory coherence, due regard for the rights of others, and due diligence in the prevention of harm. These global regulatory standards are a phenomenon of our times, representing a new contribution to the ordering of the relationship between domestic and international law, and a revised conception of sovereignty in an increasingly pluralistic global legal era.

However, the legitimacy of the resulting ‘standards-enriched’ international law remains open to question. International courts and tribunals should not be the only fora in which these standards are elaborated, and many challenges and opportunities lie ahead in the ongoing development of global regulatory standards. Debate over whether regulatory coherence should go beyond reasonableness and rationality requirements and require proportionality stricto sensu in the relationship between regulatory measures and their objectives is central. Due regard, the most novel of the emerging standards, may help protect international law’s legitimacy claims in the interim. Meanwhile, all actors should attend to the integration rather than the fragmentation of international law, and to changes in the status of private actors.

The session was chaired by Christina Voigt and panellists include Dr Nilufer Oral, Gleider Hernandez and Geir Ulfstein.

8 December 2021: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to give a lecture at Maastricht University Law School on the topic “Peremptory Norms of International Law and the Environment”

The event was chaired by Dr Craig Eggett.

More on the lecture at the link: Jus Cogens and Environmental Law – events – Maastricht University

10 December 2021: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at 2nd World Environmental Law Congress – High-level Judicial Segment on A Critical Decade for Environmental Law

This hybrid event reaffirmed, further developed, and advanced the 2016 IUCN World Declaration on the Environmental Rule of Law and the 2018 Brasilia Judicial Declaration on Water Justice, in light of the Marseille Manifesto and outcomes of the 2021 IUCN World Conservation Congress (September 2021), the recognition of a right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment by the United Nations Human Rights Council (October 2021), the Kunming Declaration of CBD COP 15 (October 2021), and the outcomes of UNFCCC COP26 in Glasgow (November 2021).

The High-Level Judicial Event included discussions on the following topics:

• Climate Change, Biodiversity and the Environmental Rule of Law
• The Water Crisis and the 2018 Brasília Declaration of Judges on Water Justice
• Judicial Education on Climate Change and Biodiversity Law

Dr Nilufer Oral spoke at the session: Judges and the Oceans Crisis

More about the event at the link: https://www.iucn.org/commissions/world-commission-environmental-law/events-wcel/upcoming-events/role-judges-environmental-law-2030-and-beyond

1 December 2021: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the Sixth International Conference on the Law of the Sea Hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea and organized by Korea Society of International Law (KSIL) and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the Sixth International Conference on the Law of the Sea from November 30 to December 1, 2021 together with the Korean Society of International Law and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). 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) and to provide a venue for the judiciary and academia to share their invaluable insights on ways to develop the law of the sea.

This year, the conference was held under the theme of “Law of the Sea for the Next Generation: Challenges from New Technologies and Environmental Crises.” As Special Rapporteur Georg Nolte has duly put in his report to the International Law Commission in 2008, treaties change over time to adapt themselves to new situations and even evolve in some cases to meet the needs of the international community. UNCLOS is no exception. The convention, also referred to as “the Ocean Charter,” covered every aspect of the ocean, at least by the standards at the time of its conclusion. However, it has confronted a number of unexpected challenges during the last four decades. New marine technologies such as uncrewed maritime vehicles or autonomous maritime weapons have opened up new ways to explore the sea and conduct maritime activities, the strategic and legal implications of which were not accounted for when the states struck the deal for the convention. Also, environmental crises like global heating have shaken the very foundation of the convention, such as baselines or jurisdictional zones. The objective of this year’s conference was to deliberate on how the law of the sea has evolved in the course of addressing challenges since the conclusion of UNCLOS and whether such evolution has been a step in the right direction to ensure a healthy and resilient ocean for our future generation.

Dr Oral spoke at the session: “UNCLOS as the Nexus of Marine Protection Norms”

More information about the conference at this link: International Conference on the Law of the Sea | ICLS

26 November 2021: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was One of the Speakers at the Roundtable Discussion on the Outcomes of COP26 and the Road Ahead to COP27 and the Global Stocktake

This session provided a brief overview of developments during the Glasgow Climate Summit, and the speakers addressed the question of “where next” in terms of preparation for COP27 and the Global Stocktake.

The speakers were:

Dan Bodansky – Professor of Law, Arizona State University

David Freestone – Professor of Law, George Washington University

Saleemul Huq – Director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD)

Selam Kidane Ababe – Climate Change Legal Adviser and PhD Candidate

Stephen Minas – Associate Professor of Law, Peking University

Petra Minnerop – Associate Professor of International Law, Durham Law School

Nilüfer Oral – Director of the Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore

Lavanya Rajamani – Professor of International Environmental Law, University of Oxford

Linda Siegele – Climate Change Legal Adviser and Phd Candidate

Amir Sokolowski – Associate Director, Carbon Disclosure Project, CDP

Christina Voigt – Professor of Law, University of Oslo

25 November 2021: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral Was Invited to Speak at the Climate Change and Law Seminar Organized by the Kadir Has University.

24 November 2021: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Moderate at the Detroits Straits International Symposium on 24 November 2021

Straits (Détroits) spaces are particularly salient given the growing importance of the maritime economy, an intensification of human migration and the pressing need to adopt ecological approaches for the management of seas, oceans or coastlines. Reconciling environmental, technical, sociological, maritime, logistical or legal issues, particularly those that arise in areas of cooperation, tensions and conflicts, demands strongly interdisciplinary approaches. In particular, such studies must integrate the operational expertise of actors who contribute to the management of straits. The Symposium, compared different straits and high-lights the diversity of practices and disciplines underpinning this emerging field, will reveal the richness and innovative nature of the straits research context. This inaugural meeting was expected to spur the development of new collaborations apt to favour the production of empirical and operationally grounded studies employing novel methodologies

8 November 2021: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the Launch of the “Research Handbook on Ocean Acidification Law and Policy”.

The Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations, together with the Marine & Environmental Law Institute of Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University, Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore, and the University of Sydney, have the honor to invite you to a panel and book launch for the Research Handbook on Ocean Acidification Law and Policy Edited by David L. VanderZwaag, Nilüfer Oral, Tim Stephens.

CONCEPT

The United Nations General Assembly has recognized and reaffirmed that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time, including the adverse impacts on the ocean. In addition to sea level rise and ocean warming, ocean acidification is a threat to the health of the oceans and the millions who depend upon its resources for their livelihoods. Ocean acidification as a term was first coined in 2003 and is a phenomena that has only recently come to the attention of scientists and the international community.

The Research Handbook on Ocean Acidification Law and Policy (Edgar Elgar 2021), edited by three recognized experts in the fields of climate change and the law of the sea, is the first book to undertake scholarly legal analysis of the different aspects of ocean acidification. The Research Handbook investigates the limitations and opportunities for addressing ocean acidification under global governance frameworks, including multilateral environmental agreements, law of the sea and human rights instruments, and also describes regional and national approaches and challenges in responding to ocean acidification.

The book launch took place as States met at COP26/CMA 3 in Glasgow at a critical time.

The panel discussed challenges for climate change and the ocean and possible ways forward.

Panelists:

David Vanderzwaag, Professor of Law and Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Ocean Law and Governance, Marine and Environmental Law Institute, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, Canada,

Nilufer Oral, Director, Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore and United Nations International Law Commission member

Tim Stephens, Professor of International Law and Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law, University of Sydney Law School, Australia

Clement Yow Mulalap, Legal Adviser, Permanent Mission of the Federated States of Micronesia to the United Nations