Researchers' Activities

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Law and Policy Programme and WTO Chair, NUS was invited by the Government of Myanmar and UNESCAP to advise Myanmar on its Investment Laws and Policies. Prof Ewing-Chow spent a week in Myanmar from 18 to 24 November understanding the needs of the various stakeholders while outlining the parameters and issues relating to foreign investments. His participation was highlighted in an article published by The New Light of Myanmar (download a copy in PDF) on 22 November 2012.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Law and Policy Programme and WTO Chair, NUS was invited by the WTO as a regional expert for the WTO Regional Trade Policy Course for Asia Pacific officials at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) in New Delhi, India. Prof Ewing-Chow taught “The WTO Dispute Settlement System” with Chibole Waikole, WTO Legal Affairs Officer and Alan Yanovich, Counselor, WTO Appellate Body Secretariat from 5-8 November 2012. Prof Ewing-Chow also shared his completed research on the use by Asian Developing Countries of the WTO Dispute Settlement System co-authored with CIL Student Research Assistant Alex Goh.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, WTO Chair and Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Programme, was invited to teach at the IEEM Academy of International Investment and Trade Law in Macau on “Asian Developments in Investment Agreements”.

At General Meeting of SIEL held during the SIEL 2012 conference in Singapore, A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, WTO Chair and Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Programme, was elected to the Executive Council of SIEL. He will serve a term of 3 years from 13 July 2012. SIEL is the leading forum for International Economic Law scholarship.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, WTO Chair and Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Programme, hosted WTO Chairs Dialogue during SIEL 2012 on the Future of the WTO calling for more transparency mechanisms as the way to address the slow progress in Doha negotiations. He suggested that the WTO was more than just legislation and litigation and more mechanisms for explanation could assist in trade liberalization as well. Patrick Low, Chief Economist of the WTO chaired the session.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, WTO Chair and Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Programme was invited to attend the WTO Chairs Annual Meeting at the WTO in Geneva on 25 & 26 June where he presented his paper on “From Self-Sufficiency to Collective Food Security: A Case-study on Rice”. He was then invited to attend the GTAP meeting on 27 June and the WTO Legal Affairs Division’s 30th Anniversary on 28 June.

Research Fellow Dr Lin Lin and Research Associates Ranyta Yusran and Sanjay Pala Krishnan participated in the 9th Asian Law Institute (ASLI) Conference held at the NUS Bukit Timah Campus from 31 May to 1 June 2012. In the first panel on Corporate Law & Governance, Dr Lin Lin presented on “The Evolution of Partnerships and Partnership Law in China: From the Perspective of Asset Partitioning”. Ranyta Yusran opened the first panel on International & Comparative Law by discussing “ASEAN Treaty Practice: Mapping out the Unknown”. Sanjay Pala Krishnan focused on the “Comparative Implementation of Global Conventions on International Maritime Crimes”. To access more information about the ASLI Conference 2012, click here.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, WTO Chair and Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Programme, was invited to participate in the WTO/ICTSD/ACWL Dialogue on Managing Trade Disputes in Geneva. He spoke in two sessions – “Managing Litigation – The Need for Inter-Agency Coordination” and “How to Actively Build Legal Capacity”.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, WTO Chair and Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Programme, was invited to participate in the WTO/ICTSD/ACWL Workshop on Strengthening Legal Capacity in Developing Countries: Specialised Training on WTO in Geneva where he presented a paper on “The Use of the WTO DSM by Asian Developing Countries”.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Law & Policy Programme, and Adjunct Senior Research Fellow Geraldine Fischer were invited by UNESCAP, the Thai Department of Trade Negotiations, the International Institute for Trade and Development and the WTO, as expert trainers on Investment and Services negotiations. The “Capacity building programme on Trade in Services and Investment Liberalization Negotiations” was held in Bangkok from 27-30 March 2012. 50 Thai officials and officials from the CLMV countries also participated in this programme.