Researchers' Activities

CIL Director Robert Beckman, CIL Senior Research Fellow Dr Hao Duy Phan, CIL Research Fellows Dr Sun Zhen, Leonardo Bernard and Junianto James Losari attended the 109th Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) in Washington DC on 8-11 April 2015. Dr Hao Duy Phan also judged at the International Round of the 2015 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, which was held in conjunction with the ASIL Annual Meeting.

CIL Research Fellow Ranyta Yusran attended the 10th Anniversary Conference of the European Society of International Law (ESIL) in Vienna, Austria, on 4-6 September 2014. This year’s theme was ‘International Law and…’, which highlighted the interrelatedness of international law and other fields of study such as literature, political science, anthropology, feminism, etc. The Conference was attended by more than four hundred legal academics and practitioners from Europe, Central America, the United States, Canada, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Ms Yusran also attended the first ESIL interest group meeting on international courts and tribunals, which will be the theme of the next ESIL Conference.

CIL Director Robert Beckman gave a lecture in the Foreign Service Advance Programme organised by the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The lecture was on “Current Issues in International Law and Implications for Singapore”.

Senior Principal Research Fellow Christopher Thomas QC chaired a session at the Rule of Law Symposium 2014 on “The Importance of The Rule of Law in Promoting Development”. He is a co-editor of the Symposium proceedings under the general editorship of Sir Jeffrey Jowell. This was the second year that the Singapore Academy of Law organised this Symposium in collaboration with the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law.

CIL Director Robert Beckman and CIL Global Associate Tara Davenport attended the Singapore-US Strategic Dialogue 2014, which was held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington DC.

CIL Director Robert Beckman attended the 76th Biennial Conference of the International Law Association (ILa) and 108th Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) in Washington DC. The ASIL Annual Meeting and the ILA Biennial Conference were organised jointly and held together. The other CIL staff who attend the meetings were Michael Ewing-Chow, James Losari, Leonardo Bernard and Hao Duy Phan.

CIL Director Robert Beckman served as the coordinator and main lecturer in an International Law Course CIL conducted for government officials from more than 20 countries. The course was conducted under the auspices of the Singapore Cooperation Program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prof Beckman made presentations and led discussions in 14 sessions of 90 minutes each over the 5-day course. Assoc Prof Michael Ewing-Chow and Christopher Thomas also made presentations. CIL Research Fellow Ranyta Yusran played a major role in organising the course and the course materials. CIL Research Fellows Hao Duy Phan and Leonardo Bernard also led discussions at the course.

On 8-9 February 2014, CIL Research Associate Junianto James Losari judged three preliminary rounds and the final round of the 2014 Indonesian National Rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, held at Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH), Indonesia. Universitas Indonesia and UPH respectively came as the Champion and the Runner Up of the competition in which 17 universities participated. In April, the two teams along with Universitas Udayana (Exhibition Team) will compete in Washington DC, USA.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Dr Tan Hsien-Li presented her paper on “International Human Rights Law, Regional Mechanisms and ASEAN: Disconnected Paradigms” at the European University Institute’s Human Rights Day Colloquium held in Florence, Italy.

CIL researchers participated in the 4th Biennial Conference of the Asian Society of International Law in New Delhi, India on 14-16 November 2013. They presented their papers in a panel titled “ASEAN: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly”. CIL Research Fellow Dr Hao Duy PHAN opened the Panel with a discussion on ASEAN’s role on intra-regional security (download in PDF format) followed by a presentation from CIL Research Fellow Mr Leonardo BERNARD on the use of extra-ASEAN dispute settlement mechanisms for ASEAN disputes (download in PDF format). The third presentation was delivered by CIL Research Associate Ms Ranyta YUSRAN on ASEAN and human rights (download in PDF format). Finally, Professor Michael Ewing Chow, Head of Trade and Investment Law and Policy of CIL, concluded the panel with a presentation on the purpose-driven architecture of dispute settlement and suggestions to strengthen the architecture of ASEAN (download in PDF format). The Panel was chaired by Professor Simon Chesterman, Dean of NUS Law Faculty. [View photo from event.]

CIL Staff organised and participated in the first CIL Conference on Food Security and Trade. The conference was at Fort Canning Hotel, Singapore. The Conference brought together leading experts on international trade in agriculture to provide an analysis of the ways in which the current international trade system can affect food security. CIL Head of Trade and Investment Law and Policy, Prof Michael Ewing-Chow presented a paper on the relationship between self-sufficiency and food security ‘From Self-Sufficiency to Collective Food Security’ and CIL Senior Research Fellow, Melania Vilarasau Slade presented a paper on ‘The Role of International Law in Tackling the Resource Challenge’. Prof Michael Ewing-Chow and Melanie Vilarasau Slade led the organisation of the Conference. For more information about the Conference, click here.

On 22 – 25 October 2013, CIL Research Associates Mr. Junianto James LOSARI and Ms. Ranyta YUSRAN attended the 2013 Padjdjaran International Legal Conference Series, “Regional Perspectives on Law and Human Rights: Where are we not and where are we heading?” in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. The Conference was organised by the Law Faculty of Padjadjaran University and opened by the Dean of Universitas Padjadjaran. Mr. LOSARI presented his paper on “ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement: Will Indonesia’s BITs Obligations be Irrelevant?” and Ms. YUSRAN presented her paper on “Combating Trafficking in Women and Children in Southeast Asia: the ASEAN Framework”. The Conference was attended by participants coming from, among others, Japan, Australia, the United States, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Taiwan. To download Mr LOSARI’s paper, click here. To download his Power Point Slides in PDF format, click here. To download Ms YUSRAN’s Power Point Slides in PDF format, click here.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Dr Tan Hsien-Li was invited to share her expertise on ASEAN regional integration as part of the Singapore contingent led by Professor Tommy Koh at the 8th China-Singapore Forum held in Beijing, China. The meeting was comprised of senior officials and representatives from both countries at which they shared their nation-building experiences on such topics as urban growth, housing, income gaps, economic cooperation and wider regional cooperation initiatives.

Professor Joseph Weiler, Director of the CIL ASEAN Integration Through Law Project (NUS Law School and University Professor at the NYU School of Law) convened and chaired the discussions on International and ASEAN Law in the ASEAN 10 National Jurisdictions, Dispute Settlement Mechanisms and Human Rights at Plenary 3 of the ASEAN Integration Through Law Project: The Rule of Law in the ASEAN Community at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore. CIL Director Professor Robert Beckman and Research Fellows Dr Tan Hsien-Li, Mr Leonardo Bernard and Ms Ranyta Yusran shared their work on ASEAN dispute settlement mechanisms, international and ASEAN law in the domestic jurisdictions of ASEAN states and human rights. For more information, please click here.

CIL Researchers Ms. Ranyta Yusran and Ms. Harpreet Kaur Dhillon attended the Hague Academy of International Law’s Summer Programme on Public International Law, held at the Peace Palace from 8 July 2013 to 26 July 2013. They participated in a general course conducted by Professor James Crawford (Whewell Professor at the University of Cambridge) on the Practice and Process of the Law of Nations, and special courses conducted by Professor Lucius Caflisch (Member of the International Law Commission), Professor Eyal Benvenisti (Tel Aviv University), Professor Jean-Marc Sorel (Sorbonne Law School), Professor Robert Kolb (University of Geneva), Professor Anna Wyrozumska (University of Lodz), Professor Bruno Nascimbene (University of Milan) and Professor Ki Gab Park (Korea University). The Summer Programme was attended by more than 350 participants coming from over 90 Countries.

CIL Research Fellow Dr Hao Duy Phan and CIL Research Associate Junianto James Losari participated at the 10th Annual Asian Law Institute Conference – “Celebrating Diversity: 10 Years of ASLI” on 23-24 May 2013 in Bangalore, India. The Conference was jointly organized by the Asian Law Institute and the National Law School of India University. Dr Hao Duy Phan opened the first panel on International and Transnational Regulation by discussing the Protocol to the ASEAN Charter on Dispute Settlement Mechanisms and its significance in further institutionalizing ASEAN into a rules-based regional organization. Junianto James Losari presented a paper by Dr. Lin Lin and Prof. Michael Ewing-Chow on “The Doing Business Indicators in Singapore: Only that Which is Measured is Measured” at the Panel on Business Law which discussed about the significance of the Doing Business Project of the World Bank in influencing the Company Law reforms in Singapore. To download Dr Hao Duy Phan’s PowerPoint Presentation, click here. To download Junianto James Losari’s PowerPoint Presentation in PDF format, click here.

CIL Chairman Prof Tommy Koh delivered a speech at the 2nd APAC Water Summit. To download in PDF, click here.

CIL Chairman Professor Tommy Koh moderated a talk by H.E. Dr Tun Shin, Attorney-General of Myanmar, at the Supreme Court on 30 April 2013. Dr Tun Shin spoke on the topic “The Legal System and the Rule of Law in Myanmar”. To read Prof Koh’s introductory remarks, please click here.

CIL sponsored a Panel at the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) in Washington DC on 5 April 2013, titled “Challenges for ASEAN: The South China Sea, Investment Protection and Myanmar”. Prof Michael Ewing-Chow opened the Panel with discussion on ASEAN legalization, institutionalization and economic law issues facing ASEAN, followed by Ambassador Arif Havas Oegroseno who talked about ASEAN and the South China Sea disputes. CIL’s Research Fellow Tara Davenport then talked about the approach of ASEAN Member States in negotiating and settling maritime boundaries (download her presentation in PDF format). Finally, CIL’s Senior Research Fellow Dr Tan Hsien-Li closed the Panel with a discussion of ASEAN’s approach to the human rights situation in Myanmar. The Panel was chaired by Edmund Sim of Appleton & Luff, and co-sponsored by the ASIL Law in Pacific Rim Interest Group and the ASIL International Economic Law Interest Group.

CIL Chairman Prof Tommy Koh gave a talk on “Size is not Destiny” to the Forum of Small States at the Singapore Permanent Mission to the US, New York. To download the text of his talk in PDF format, click here.

CIL Deputy Director Dr Navin Rajagobal participated in the United Nations Regional Course on International Law held in Thailand in November 2012. For more information and photos, click here.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Law and Policy Programme and WTO Chair, NUS was invited to attend Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law (HiiL) Innovating Justice Forum 2012 from 1-2 November 2012. The forum focused on the issue of the rise of international rule making as a phenomenon and the problem of building trust in the rulemaking by transnational public and private networks. For more information on the Forum, visit the Forum website by clicking here.

CIL Chairman Prof Tommy Koh delivered a speech on “Japan’s Prospects and Challenges: A View from Southeast Asia” at the International House of Japan, on the occassion of its 60th anniversary celebrations in Tokyo, Japan. To download the speech in PDF format, click here.

Dr Navin Rajagobal, CIL Deputy Director, together with Prof M. Sornarajah, NUS Law School, and Mr Ken Aboud, Allen & Overy, judged the finals of the Singapore International Affairs Debate 2012 on 21 July 2011 between ACJC and HCJC at the NUS Bukit Timah Campus. The motion was “This House believes that Singapore’s foreign policy should better take into account the sensitivities and interests of our neighbours.” CIL’s patron, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law Mr. K. Shanmugam, was the Guest of Honour.

CIL Chairman Prof Tommy Koh delivered a lecture on “Law and Justice: An Asian Perspective” (view in PDF) at the 9th Asian Law Institute Conference at the NUS Law School, Singapore.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, Head, Trade/Investment Law & Policy, CIL, was invited to present his research into food security at the final meeting of the NYU-NYLS International Economic Law Working Group that took place in New York on 11 April 2012. Prof Ewing-Chow gave a presentation on “Food Security: From Self Sufficiency to Production Diversification and Regional Cooperation – A Case Study in Rice Security.” For more information on the Working Group, please click here. For a copy of the minutes of the meeting, please click here.

CIL Deputy Director Dr Navin Rajagobal participated in the 50th anniversary celebrations of the NUS Department of Political Science on 30 March 2012 at the Orchid Country Club. H.E. Ambassador Chan Heng Chee was the Guest-of-Honour.

CIL Research Fellow, Dr Tan Hsien-Li, along with CIL Research Associates Leonardo Bernard and Ranyta Yusran, participated in the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law in Washington DC, USA on 28-31 March 2012. During the meeting, Dr Tan did a book review for The Practice of International and National Courts and the (De-)Fragmentation of International Law (Edited by Ole Kristian Fauchald and Andr? Nollkaemper). She also covered the Plenary Session rounding up Day 1 ? Confronting Complexity in the Hague: The View from the Courts and Tribunals ? featuring the heads of the international tribunals (Brooks Daly, Permanent Court of Arbitration; Theodor Meron, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia; Sang-Hyun Song, International Criminal Court; Peter Tomka, International Court of Justice). To access Dr Tan’s coverage of the Plenary Session, please click here.

CIL Chairman Prof Tommy Koh outlines Asia’s challenges in the 21st century at the ADB Eminent Person’s Lecture. To download his speech in PDF, click here.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Dr Tan Hsien-Li presented her paper, co-written with CIL Research Associate Ranyta Yusran, on “The Impact of the Rome Statute in Southeast Asia and the Way Forward” at the Conference on “Justice for All? The International Criminal Court – A Conference: A Ten Year Review” at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.

Prof Walter Woon and Deputy Director Dr Navin Raj represented CIL at the inauguration of Malaysia’s International Centre for Law and Legal Studies (I-CeLLS) on 8 July 2011 in Putrajaya, which was graced by the Prime Minister of Malaysia Dato’ Sri Haji Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak. I-CeLLS is expected to provide a platform for experts from various backgrounds and disciplines, including private legal practitioners, academics, government lawyers and policy makers, to interact and address different aspects of key national, regional and international issues.

CIL Chairman Prof Tommy Koh’s keynote speech at Raffles Institution Tiltshift Summit held on 13 June 2011. For the PDF version of his speech, click here.

CIL Deputy Chairman Prof Walter Woon’s keynote speech at CIL-KSIL-SILS conference held on 20 April 2011. For the PDF version of his speech, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman participated in the First Meeting of the CSCAP Study Group on Cyber Security. The meeting was held at the Palm Garden Hotel IOI Resort City, Putrajaya, Malaysia and was attended by representatives from 13 CSCAP countries. At the meeting Prof Beckman made a presentation entitled “Legal Policy and Framework: Jurisdictional Challenges in Cyber Security.”

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Law & Policy Programme, advised the members of the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) on the legal implications and policy options for the food security agreement and its consistency with their existing trade obligations. Senior officials from the ASEAN+3 countries attended the meeting in Bangkok, Thailand. Assoc Prof Ewing-Chow was appointed as the Legal Expert to the APTERR project by the Asian Development Bank which has been tasked to assist APTERR with legal and economic issues. CIL Research Associate Ms Liu Gehuan worked with Assoc Prof Ewing-Chow on the legal opinion. In his presentation, Assoc Prof Ewing-Chow addressed legal issues relating to the origin of the rice, the stockpiling of the rice, and the distribution of the rice and the options to ensure APTERR members’ compliance with their obligations under the World Trade Organization, ASEAN FTA and other regional agreements. At the meeting, APTERR members discussed proposed guidelines for the implementation of the agreement to facilitate regional food security in rice.

CIL Director Robert Beckman met with a delegation from the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV). The delegation was headed by Mr Dang Dinh Quy, the Vice President (Research) of the DAV and the General Director of its Institute for Foreign Policy and Strategic Studies.

CIL Director Robert Beckman was a discussant at a Regional Workshop on Dealing with Energy Vulnerabilities: Case Studies of Cooperation and Collaboration in East Asia. The Workshop was organized by the RSIS Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies and held from 9-10 December 2010 at the Park Royal Hotel in Singapore.

CIL Director Robert Beckman participated in a Workshop on the Global Commons which was organized by the NATO Allied Command Transformation at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore.

CIL Chairman Prof Tommy Koh delivered the Third Linnaeus Lecture on the topic of “Biodiversity and Cities” (download PDF version) in Nagoya, Japan.

CIL Chairman Prof Tommy Koh delivered his remarks on “The Future of Global Governance” (download PDF version) at the RSIS Singapore Global Dialogue, Shangri-La Hotel.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Law & Policy Programme, and Research Associate Ms Liu Gehuan attended, as invited legal experts, the Working Meeting on the APTERR Agreement in Bangkok, Thailand.

CIL Director Robert Beckman conducted an “Introduction to International Law” course for the MFA Diplomatic Academy on 24-25 June 2010 (download photo). Participants included policy and legal officers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Trade & Industry, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Community Development, Youth & Sports, Singapore Police Force, Internal Security Department and Immigration & Checkpoints Authority. For more information on executive training programmes, email cil.info@nus.edu.sg.

CIL Chairman Prof Tommy Koh, Prof Walter Woon, Deputy Director Dr Navin Raj and Research Associate Ms Sari Aziz participated at the Indonesian Society of International Law (ISIL) 8th anniversary commemorative seminar “International Law as a Political Instrument?” in Jakarta, Indonesia (download conference eFlyer).

CIL’s Patron Senior Minister S. Jayakumar emphasised the importance of international law for small countries at the S Rajaratnam Lecture 2010 (download PDF version).

Deputy Director Dr Navin Raj and Research Associate Ms Liu Gehuan participated at the EU Centre’s Conference on “Networked Regionalism versus Institutional Regionalism” in Singapore.

CIL Chairman Prof Tommy Koh delivers a keynote address (download PDF version) at the EUC Conference on Networked Regionalism versus Institutional Regionalism, Singapore.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Law & Policy Programme, gave a Max Planck Lecture on ASEAN and Legalization at the Max Planck Institute of Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg.

CIL Chairman Prof Tommy Koh delivered a lecture on “The Principles of Good Governance” (download PDF version) at the Workshop on Good Governance at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangkok, Thailand.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Law & Policy Programme, – Emile Noel Fellow at the Jean Monnet Centre, NYU, US.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Law & Policy Programme, attended the Closing Dinner of the WTO Regional Trade Policy Course, Singapore.