Researchers' Activities

CIL Research Fellow, Dawoon Jung, presented online at the 5th International Conference on Ocean Law and Policy – Policy, Law, Economy, and Risks of Offshore Wind Power Energy on 11 Dec 2020.

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.

Dita was a member of the delegation for the Advisory Committee on Protection of the Sea (ACOPS), a Non-Governmental Organisations in a Consultative Status with the IMO.

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.

Dita was a member of the delegation for the Advisory Committee on Protection of the Sea (ACOPS), a Non-Governmental Organisations in a Consultative Status with the IMO.

Senior research fellows Youna Lyons and Vu Hai Dang took part in the online 4th Meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Expert Group on Marine Litter and Microplastics (AHEG) as observers. The meeting was hosted by UNEP in Nairobi, Kenya, from 9 to 13 November 2020. Participants to this intergovernmental meeting included 200+ representatives from States, international organisations and NGOs. This is the last AHEG meeting before the 5th UN Environment Assembly (UNEA 5), scheduled to take place in February 2021. The meeting discussed the implementation of UNEA Resolutions 3/7 and 4/6 on marine litter and microplastic, which require the AHEG to assess existing measures to combat plastic pollution and submit potential response options to UNEA 5.

At the end of the meeting, delegates agreed that existing measures in dealing with plastic pollution are not sufficient and a range of response options will be submitted to UNEA 5 for consideration, including the development of a new global instrument to facilitate actions against plastics.

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.

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.

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’.

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.

Senior research fellows Youna Lyons and Vu Hai Dang were invited to participate in the Asia-Pacific Regional Consultation Meeting under the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Expert Group (AHEG) on marine litter and microplastics established by the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA). The consultation meeting was held online from 26 to 27 August 2020 and hosted by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the government of Japan. At the meeting, about 100 representatives from the AHEG Asia-Pacific Group Member States, UNEP and NGOs exchanged views on existing measures and potential options to deal with the marine plastic pollution issue.

On 6 August 2020, the Embassy of Vietnam in Singapore held a ceremony to officially present the decision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam to nominate Emeritus Professor Robert Beckman, Head of Ocean Law and Policy of CIL, as an Arbitrator under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Her Excellency Tao Thi Thanh Huong, Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary of Vietnam to Singapore, along with all Heads of Section of the Embassy, attended the event.

At the ceremony, Ambassador Huong presented the decision to Professor Beckman, emphasising that this is the first time in history that Vietnam has nominated a foreign national to this important position. This proves not only the recognition of the knowledge and experience of the nominee but also his impartiality to and support of the peaceful resolution of disputes based on international law.

Dr Nilüfer Oral, CIL Director, and Robert Beckman, Head, CIL Ocean Law & Policy, were invited to attend the online Adoption Ceremony of the Model Agreement between Singapore and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on 11 June 2020. Disputes referred to the ITLOS can now be heard in Singapore under the agreement signed by Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam and ITLOS President, Judge Jin-Hyun Paik.

Dr Tara Davenport, CIL Senior Research Fellow, participated at the ASEAN Regional Forum Workshop on Dispute Resolution and Law of the Sea held in Dili, Timor-Leste from 27 to 28 February 2020. The workshop was hosted by Timor-Leste and co-chaired by Malaysia and Australia. Dr Davenport presented on ‘Compulsory Conciliation under UNCLOS: Prospects for Future Use‘ and also moderated a panel on resolving disputes in relation to maritime boundaries.

Youna Lyons, Senior Research Fellow in the Ocean Law and Policy Programme of CIL, participated in the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) Meeting on the assessment on sources, pathways and hazards of litter including plastic litter and microplastics pollution. She was nominated by Singapore government and confirmed by UNEP as an expert in the SAC. The meeting took place on 25–27 February 2020 in Nairobi, Kenya.

The main purpose of the meeting was the drafting of an assessment on sources, pathways and hazards of marine litter and microplastic and its presence in the rivers and oceans, scientific knowledge about adverse effects on ecosystems, potential adverse on human health and environmentally sound technology innovations. This report will be presented at Lisbon UN Ocean Conference in June 2020 and submitted to inform UNEA 5 in 2021.

Senior Research Fellow Youna Lyons participated in the Expert Workshop organised by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity to Identify Options for Modifying the Description of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) and Describing New EBSAs. She was appointed by Singapore government to attend this workshop, which took place on 3–5 February 2020 in Brussels, Belgium. The workshop report will provide a basis for preparation of a proposal by the Secretariat on the topic of the Expert Workshop, for submission to the next meeting of the scientific body, SBSTTA.

Senior Research Fellow Vu Hai Dang participated in the workshop by China-Southeast Asia Research Center (CSARC) on Regional Cooperation on Marine Environmental Protection in the South China Sea in Bali, Indonesia. Dr Vu Hai Dang presented on sensitive and protected marine areas under international law and the value of MPA network in the South China Sea. In particular, he spoke on CIL’s research on area-based management tools in the South China Sea: map of sensitive marine and coastal areas in the South China under international law, ‘Moving from MPAs to Area-based Management Measures in the South China Sea’, ‘National MPA Laws in the South China Sea: A Comparison and Suggestions for MPA Law Reform in China’.

Senior Research Fellows Youna Lyons and Tara Davenport participated in a workshop on Informal-Law Making in the Law of the Sea organised by Professor Natalie Klein at the University of New South Wales from 9 to 10 December 2019 in Sydney, Australia. The workshop is part of a long-term research project on informal law-making and law of the sea led by Professor Klein under an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship Grant. Ms Lyons presented on ‘IMO Measures to Limit Impact from International Shipping’ and Dr Davenport presented on ‘Formal and Informal Lawmaking by the International Seabed Authority’.

Research fellow Arron N Honniball presented a co-authored draft paper, ‘The Next Bastion in Combating IUU Fishing: The Role of Nationality Jurisdiction in CCAMLR & Beyond’, at the 12th Polar Law Symposium held at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (Hobart, Australia).

Senior Research Fellow Vu Hai Dang took part in the Third Meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Expert Group on Marine Litter and Microplastics in Bangkok, Thailand, on 18–22 November 2019. The meeting was organised by United Nations Environment Programme, and the agenda was the implementation of the Resolution 4/6 of the 4th United Nations Environment Assembly held in March 2019. At the meeting, Dr Vu Hai Dang introduced CIL’s research on marine plastics—in particular the report ‘A Review of Research on Marine Plastics in Southeast Asia: Who Does What’—to national delegates, NGOs and industry representatives.

CIL co-sponsored the International Conference on Legal, Scientific and Economic Aspects of Deep Seabed Mining held in Kingston, Jamaica from 14 to 16 November 2019. The conference was co-organised by the International Seabed Authority and the Center for Ocean Law and Policy (University of Virginia School of Law) and co-sponsored by Institute for China America Studies, Korean Maritime Institute and the World Maritime University.

CIL sponsored the participation of the following participants, who presented at the conference. 

• ‘The Role of the Seabed Disputes Chamber in Dispute Settlement Relating to Activities in the Area’ by Judge Albert Hoffmann of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
• ‘Environmental Issues’ by Dr Philomene Verlaan, visiting oceanographer at the University of Hawaii and Trustee of the Advisory Committee on Protection of the Sea
• ‘Possible Forums for Liability Claims Arising from Deep Seabed Mining: Problems and Prospects’ by Dr Tara Davenport, Senior Research Fellow at CIL

Senior Research Fellow Youna Lyons was invited to speak at the 2nd ASEAN Regional Forum Workshop on Implementing UNCLOS and Other International Instruments to Address Emerging Maritime Issues in Hanoi on 13–14 November 2019. She gave two presentations during the session on degradation of the marine environment and impacts on sustainable management and conservation of marine resources: 

• ‘The building of a regional node for the East Asian Seas and the global partnership on marine litter and microplastic’
• ‘Threatened and endangered species and the management of offshore and other marine activities’

Research fellow Arron N Honniball gave a presentation on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, titled ‘“End” IUU Fishing: Expanding Implementation to Achieve SDG Target 14.4’, at the second edition of the Asia Pacific Day for the Ocean. The event was hosted by UNESCAP and held at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok on 8 November 2019. Dr Honniball also moderated the session on sustainable fisheries.

Robert Beckman participated in the 11th South China Sea International Conference on Cooperation for Regional Security and Development, on 6–7 November 2019 in Hanoi, Vietnam. The main organiser was the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam. Associate Professor Beckman was a discussant in the Special Session on the 25th Anniversary of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. He was also a speaker in the concluding plenary session on strengthening the foundation for peace and a rules-based legal order.

Senior research fellows Youna Lyons and Vu Hai Dang presented at the 4th Fisheries Management and Management Environmental Protection Workshop organised by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute in Manila, Philippines, on 24 October 2019. The meeting discussed the establishment of a network of marine protected areas in the SCS.

At the workshop, Ms Lyons presented a mapping exercise of all marine protected areas and ecologically sensitive areas that have been established by coastal countries in the SCS, based on applicable international instruments and publicly available data from WDPA. Dr Dang presented options to support the development of a network of marine protected areas in the South China Sea.

Robert Beckman participated in the UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) Legal Expert Meeting on the Review of the Maritime Crime Manual for Criminal Justice Practitioners. The meeting was held in Mauritius on 16–18 October 2019. Assoc Prof Beckman led a discussion on the protection of submarine cables and participated in the discussions on stateless vessels, shiprider agreements and transnational maritime environmental crime.

On 7 October 2019 Robert Beckman participated in the Arctic Frontiers symposium organised by Arctic Frontiers in collaboration with the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Singapore, the National University of Singapore and Innovation Norway.

In a panel discussion on Resources of the North, Prof Beckman argued that since the Arctic is an ocean, the right to explore and exploit the natural resources in the Arctic Ocean is governed by the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The CIL Ocean Law and Policy Programme organised an informal roundtable discussion on the ‘Governance of and Research on Pollution from Marine Plastic in Southeast Asia’ on 25 September 2019 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Participants to the roundtable include representatives from Indonesia’s relevant government agencies, research institutions and academia from Indonesia, and representatives from permanent missions of ASEAN countries to ASEAN. CIL was represented by Youna Lyons, Dita Liliansa, Vanessa Lam and Vu Hai Dang. Participants shared their research on pollution from marine plastic. For more information on the event, click here.

On 23–25 September 2019 four researchers from the CIL Ocean Law and Policy Programme—Youna Lyons, Dita Liliansa, Vanessa Lam, and Vu Hai Dang—visited several divisions of the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. The aims of the visits were to share CIL’s research on the protection of the marine environment and, if possible, involve the Secretariat in a manuscript under development.

Inputs from the Secretariat helped to ensure CIL’s accurate interpretation of ASEAN instruments and processes on the protection and management of the marine environment.

Research Fellow Arron N Honniball gave a presentation on the progress of and challenges to ASEAN’s regional cooperation in maritime safety and security at the Third ASEAN-India Workshop on Blue Economy, held in Bangkok on 12 September 2019. In his presentation, Dr Honniball focussed on the jurisdictional rights and responsibilities of states concerning maritime safety and security as well as the opportunities and necessity of deeper cooperation to help maintain the blue economy.

Robert Beckman participated in the UNESCAP Roundtable on 22 August 2019 at the MPA Academy in Singapore, giving a presentation on ‘Tsunami Monitoring from Ships, Offshore Structures and Submarine Cables: Legal And Jurisdictional Issues’.

The Roundtable was organised by UNESCAP, the MPA, the IMO, the SSA and the Global Compact Network Singapore in collaboration with 14 other organisations. The title of Roundtable was Maritime Sector Strategies to Augment Tsunami Monitoring with Economic, Safety and Environmental Benefits. The Roundtable discussed the potential public sector–private sector partnerships to augment tsunami-warning systems by placing warning devices on offshore platforms, ships and submarine cables.

CIL researchers participated in the Asian Society of International Law conference in Manila on 21–23 August 2019.

At the Junior Scholars’ Conference, Dita Liliansa presented on ‘Protection of Sea Turtles in the Seas of Southeast Asia: An ASEAN Way?’, offering an ongoing investigation on the relationship between ASEAN law, policy and guidelines, and the development of international instruments in the context of the protection of sea turtles in Southeast Asia. Dr Arron Honniball presented on ‘The Role of Nationality Jurisdiction in Combating IUU Fishing: Recent Developments for the Asian Region’, addressing the evolution of the state of nationality in international fisheries law.

The panel on ASEAN Integration and International Law was filled by the CIL’s ASEAN team and chaired by Professor Damian Chalmers, Co-Director (Research) of CIL’s ASEAN Law and Policy Programme. The panellists presented the papers below.

• Dr Melissa Loja: ‘Regionalisation of Venture Capital Investments and the Compatibility of Regulatory Regimes in Southeast Asia: A Case Study of Fintech regulations in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines’
• Dr Heejin Kim: ‘The Laws and Politics of Data localization in Southeast Asia—Competing Regulatory Goals and Diverging Legal Development
• Loo Jing Xi Gloria: ‘Institutional Design and Models of Asian Capitalism’
• Dr Marija Jovanovic: ‘Trade-Labour Linkage: ‘From Social Clause Deniers to Trump as the Champion of Labour Rights in Free Trade Agreements and Back’

In addition, Professor Antony Anghie, Head of CIL’s Teaching and Researching International Law in Asia, convened a popular workshop on teaching and researching in international law. He also spoke on a book panel by the Oxford University Press and a forum on ‘Junior Scholars’ Guide to the Nuts and Bolts of How to Make It Past Rejection Slips’.

Research Fellow Arron N Honniball presented a paper at the conference on Governing Science at Sea: The Legal Framework for Marine Scientific Research, held in Busan, South Korea. The conference was organised by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology and the Law of the Sea Institute, UC Berkeley.

Dr Honniball presented his paper titled ‘Rights and Responsibilities for Marine Scientific Research by Private Entities on the High Seas’ in the first panel, which was tasked to explore the context for marine scientific research. The presentation was based on a paper co-authored by Dr Honniball and Associate Professor Robert Beckman.

Research Fellow Amber Rose Maggio participated in the International Conference on Regulatory Governance with the theme ‘Unpacking the Complexity of Regulatory Governance in a Globalising World’ at the Chinese University of Hong Kong on 4–6 July 2019. She presented her paper entitled ‘Climate Change Regulation, Shipping and the WTO: Conflicting Obligations?’ in a panel on challenges relating to transnational environmental regulation.  

At the 24th session of the Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy, Associate Professor Robert Beckman and Captain Ashley Roach (CIL Visiting Senior Principal Research Fellow) were lecturers, and Research Associate Dita Liliansa was a participant. 

Attended by 52 participants from different countries, the Rhodes Academy addressed the foundations and various topics of the law of the sea. The Rhodes Academy is a cooperative undertaking sponsored by the Center for Oceans Law and Policy (COLP) at the University of Virginia School of Law, CIL at the National University of Singapore, and other institutions.

On 17 and 18 June 2019, CIL Researchers Youna Lyons and Vanessa Lam participated in the Working Group on Marine Litter of the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) as observers and contributing experts. Ms Lyons also gave a presentation outlining the scope and findings of NUS research on the ‘Status of Research on Marine Plastics in Southeast Asia: Who Does What?’

Research Fellows Amber Rose Maggio and Dafina Atanasova participated in the 16th ASLI (Asian Law Institute) conference on ‘The Rule of Law and the Role of Law in Asia’. Dr Maggio gave a presentation on ‘Regional Cooperation for the Protection of the Marine Environment in Southeast Asia: Can Other Regions Provide Inspiration?’ She presented CIL’s work on this topic and some ideas about best practices and shared experiences.

Dr Atanasova presented her paper titled ‘Investment Treaties Viewed from Inside the Lion City’. The paper is part of the broader research project on ‘Investment Treaties and National Governance’ (headed by CIL Research Associate Professor Jansen Calamita), studying the extent to which the administrations of Asian states take investment treaties into account in their decision-making processes. Based on a series of interviews with government officials in Singapore and documentary research, the paper opens the ‘black box’ of the Lion City and looks at the impact of investment treaties on its governance. A unitary compact state, Singapore is considered to work as a well-oiled machine and provides a very fruitful terrain for testing some of the core tenets of arguments on investment treaties’ impacts on governance.

Research fellow Arron N Honniball was invited to sit on the Committee of Appointed Judges for the inaugural Netherlands Institute for the Law of the Sea (NILOS) Moot Court Competition, which was organised by Utrecht University. This competition is the first moot court that simulates proceedings under Part XV of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Judges graded the memorials submitted by the teams, which pleaded the Case Concerning Certain Activities in the DeGroot Sea before ITLOS. The final rounds of the competition took place on 22–24 May 2019.

CIL was an Associate Sponsor of the 43rd Annual Conference of the Center for Oceans Law & Policy (COLP) of the University of Virginia, which was held at World Maritime University in Malmo, Sweden, from 15 to 16 May 2019. The title of the conference was Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction: Intractable Challenges and Potential Solutions.

CIL sponsored the participation of four people at the conference. Ms Rena Lee, the President of the UN Intergovernmental Conference on BBNJ, was the keynote speaker. Associate Professor Robert Beckman served as a moderator in one of the sessions, and two of CIL’s external consultants, Captain J Ashley Roach and Professor Nilufer Oral, gave presentations. The Conference Programme and PowerPoint presentations are available on the COLP website.