Researchers' Activities

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

 

 

29 October 2021: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral Was Invited by the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) to a Virtual Informal Discussion on “Why it is Urgent to Register and Publish Maritime Zone Information in View of Rising Seas”

Climate change has proven to be a phenomenon that poses immeasurable risks and impacts to every nation on earth, affecting billions of people in a multitude of ways. While the effects of climate change are global, the impacts on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are particularly acute, especially on low-lying island nations who face the dangers of sea-level rise.

Pursuant to article 5 and article 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), with some exceptions, the outer limits of maritime zones are measured from the low-water lines along the coast as marked on large-scale charts officially recognized by the relevant coastal States (also known as normal baselines) or from straight baselines. Therefore, such baselines are important factors for establishing the maritime zones of a state.

Pursuant to UNCLOS, States are required to deposit charts or lists of geographical coordinates of points concerning baselines, outer limits of maritime zones and maritime boundaries with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. UNCLOS does not explicitly address the impact on baselines or outer limits of maritime zones from loss of land territory resulting from sea level rise. Shifting of the low-water line landward and variations of other features used to draw baselines could affect the area over which States have maritime entitlements, as well as the basis on which maritime boundaries were delimited. This, as stated in the Report of the Secretary-General on oceans and the law of the sea A/75/70, has potential consequences for coastal States’ sovereign rights and jurisdiction in those areas, including sovereign rights to explore, exploit and conserve living and non-living resources, as well as on the rights and freedoms of other States.

Based on considerations of stability and certainty of international law as well as equity and fairness, several island states have committed to keep maritime zones fixed once they are delineated in accordance with the UNCLOS.

In 2021, in their Declaration on Preserving Maritime Zones in the face of Climate-Change related Sea-level rise, the Leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) proclaimed that the maritime zones of PIF Members, as established and notified to the Secretary-General of the United Nations in accordance with UNCLOS, and the rights and entitlements that flow from them, shall continue to apply, without reduction, notwithstanding any physical changes connected to climate change-related sea-level rise.

Additionally, in the 2021 Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Leaders Declaration,

members of the alliance expressed their will to see the continuity of maritime zones and the rights and entitlements that flow from them without reduction once such maritime zones are established and notified to the UNSG, notwithstanding any physical changes connected to climate change-related sea-level rise.

Similarly, on its 78th Conference, the International Law Association (ILA) took the position that baselines determined in accordance with UNCLOS should not be required to be recalculated should sea-level change affect the geographical reality of the coastline in the interest of legal certainty and stability.

Noting the low number of Member States who have submitted deposits of maritime zone information, AALCO, PIF and AOSIS is seeking to discuss the importance of submitting such information as well as address the relationship between climate change-related sea-level rise and maritime zones.

Program

The discussion will address following issues:

1. Process in UNCLOS to deposit baselines/outer limits, and status of deposits
2. Legal implications of deposit, including updating
3. Potential issues with deposits
4. Contested outer limits
5. Adding observations to deposit
6. Overcoming technical barriers to deposit

Speakers:

• H.E. Walton A. Webson, Chair of AOSIS
• H.E. Roy S. Lee, Permanent Representative of AALCO to the United Nations
• Professor Bogdan Aurescu, Co-Chair, ILC Working Group on Sea-Level Rise and International Law, ILC member
• Professor Nilufer Oral, Co-Chair, Working Group on Sea-Level Rise and International Law, ILC Member
• Professor Charles Jalloh, ILC member
• Prof Clive Schofield, World Maritime University

28 October 2021: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral Was Invited to be the Moderator at the ASIL Webinar Titled “The Role of the Government Attorney in International Litigation”

The Government Attorneys Interest Group (GAIG) invited ASIL members and the public to an informative roundtable discussion on the role of the Government Attorney in litigation before international tribunals. This roundtable offered insight into the challenges faced by Government Attorneys as they prepared the State’s case before international courts and tribunals. Panellists shared their experiences in putting litigation teams together; provided insights on how the inter-agency coordination in Government operated; discussed how the State functioned as a “client” and the intercultural difficulties working with counsel from different legal traditions; and finally, what the “new normal” would be in litigation before international tribunals. The webinar ended with a Q&A among the panellists and participants.

Moderator

• Dr Nilufer Oral (Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore)

Speakers:

• Sir Michael Wood (Twenty Essex Chambers)
• Ms Carolina Valdivia Torres (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chile)
• Ms Yukiko Takashiba (Seinan Gakuin University)
• Mr Toby Landau, QC (Duxton Hill Chambers)

The recording of the webinar can be accessed at the link: www.asil.org/events

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.