Researchers' Activities

CIL staff organised and participated in the ‘International Conference on Transboundary Pollution: Evolving Issues of International Law and Policy’. The conference was held at the Orchard Hotel, Singapore. Prof Tommy Koh and Prof S Jayakumar served as co-chairs of the conference. CIL Director Robert Beckman presented a paper on ‘State Responsibility for Transboundary Marine Pollution’, CIL Senior Research Fellow Youna Lyons presented a paper on ‘Transboundary Pollution from Offshore Activities: A Study of the Montara Offshore Oil Spill’, and Prof Alan Tan presented a paper on ‘Co-operative and Unilateral Mechanisms to Combat Forest Fires and Transboundary Haze’ in Southeast Asia. CIL Senior Research Fellow Hao Duy Phan played a major role in organising the Conference. CIL Research Staff Members Hao Duy Phan, Monique Page, Leonardo Bernard, Ranyta Yusran and Zhen Sun served as rapporteurs of the Conference, while Yvette Anthony served as Master of Ceremony. For more information on the Conference, please click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman and CIL Research Associate Monique Page attended a CSCAP Experts Group Meeting on Security of Vital Undersea Communications Infrastructure on Monday 17 February in Jakarta. On Tuesday 18 February they will be attending a meeting of the CSCAP Study Group on Maritime Security. CSCAP is Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP). The Study Group is co-chaired by CSCAP Singapore, CSCAP Indonesia and CSCAP New Zealand. Prof Beckman will be making presentations at both of the meetings. For a copy of his presentation at the CSCAP Experts Group Meeting, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman visited the International Boundaries Research Unit (IBRU) of Durham University in order to discuss continued links between IBRU and CIL. While at the University, Prof Beckman also met with members of the Faculty of Law.

On 5 April 2013 CIL research staff had a roundtable discussion on the South China Sea Disputes with research staff of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) at their offices in Washington. The CIL delegation included CIL Director Robert Beckman, CIL researchers Tara Davenport and Leo Bernard, and Ambassador Arif Havas Oegroseno of Indonesia, a member of CIL International Advisory Panel. Prof Beckman began the discussion with a brief presentation, and it was followed by a general discussion. The CIL researchers were in Washington DC to attend the Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law. The roundtable discussion was arranged by Murray Hiebert, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow in the Southeast Asia Program at CSIS.

CIL Director Robert Beckman made a presentation titled “Role of ASEAN and the Philippines v China Case” on 4 April 2013 at the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law in Washington DC. Prof Beckman served on a Panel on Legal Solutions to Maritime Disputes in Asia, and he spoke about the South China Sea Disputes. The other members of the panel were Rosalyn Higgins, past President of the International Court of Justice; Loretta Malintoppi, Eversheds LLP Paris; and Galo Carrera Hurtado, Member of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. The Panel was chaired by Prof Nilufer Oral of the Faculty of Law of Istanbul Bilgi University. For a copy of Prof Beckman’s PowerPoint slides in PDF format, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman participated in the Five Universities Conference 2013 organised by the LKY School of Public Policy. He made a presentation on ‘Dispute Settlement Mechanisms and the South China Sea Disputes’.

CIL Director Robert Beckman participated in a Roundtable on Maritime Security in East Asia.The Roundtable was organised by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) and the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) and held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Singapore. Prof Beckman made a presentation on ‘International Law & Maritime Security in East Asia’.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Youna Lyons played a key role as CIL’s point person in organising a marine science, engineering, law and policy workshop entitled ‘Rigs-to-Reefs Prospects for Large Scale Artificial Reefs in Tropical Southeast Asian Seas’. The Workshop was organised jointly by CIL, the NUS Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI) and the NUS Centre for Offshore Engineering (CORE). CIL Director Robert Beckman made a presentation on ‘The International Legal Regime Governing the Disposal and Re-Use of Offshore Platforms’. Youna Lyons made a presentation on ‘Rigs-to-Reef in Southeast Asia: Legal and Policy Issues’. For more information and their presentations, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman participated in the 5th International Workshop on the South China Sea in Hanoi, Vietnam. The Workshop was organised by the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and its title was ‘The South China Sea: Cooperation for Regional Security and Development’. Prof Beckman presented a paper entitled ‘Disputed Areas in the South China Sea’. For a copy of his presentation, click here. For a copy of his draft paper, click here.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Youna Lyons was invited as a speaker to the 2013 APAC Offshore Decommissioning Training Workshop organized by DecomWorld. She was a member of the regulatory panel and made a presentation on the international legal framework for rigs-to-reefs (download in PDF format) and on International law on offshore decommissioning in Southeast Asia (download in PDF format).