Researchers' Activities

CIL Head of Trade and Investment Law and Policy Professor Michael Ewing-Chow, assisted by CIL Research Associate Junianto James Losari, taught at the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs Training on Competition Law Policy and Intellectual Property Rights, which was organised by Drew & Napier and attended by twenty-seven government officials from around the world. Professor Ewing-Chow taught ‘Intellectual Property (IP), Technology, Investments & International Economic Law’ where participants learned about policy considerations that may affect States’ interests when entering into negotiations of IP provisions. Through the use of negotiation exercises using hypothetical fact patterns, the participants were tasked with reaching acceptable compromises relating to pharmaceutical products, tobacco plain packaging regulations and other public concerns pertaining to international IP and competition law regimes. For a photo from the event, click here.

CIL Research Fellow Ranyta Yusran participated in the 2014 International Law Association (ILA) Regional Conference on ‘Towards a Universal Justice? Putting International Courts and Jurisdiction into Perspective’ at the Lisbon University Law School, Portugal, from 11-12 September 2014. Ms Yusran presented a paper that she co-authored with CIL Head of Trade Law and Policy Associate Professor Michael Ewing-Chow entitled ‘If You Build It, They Still Will Not Come: ASEAN Dispute Settlement and Intra-ASEAN Disputes’ in Session 4 of the Conference concerning Dispute Settlement. The Conference was organised by the Lisbon University Law School and the Portuguese branch of the ILA and was attended by legal academics and practitioners from all over Europe. This is CIL’s second participation in ILA regional conferences. For a copy of her presentation, click here.

CIL Research Associate Junianto James Losari attended a meeting held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia to discuss Indonesia’s review of the investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms included in its existing bilateral investment treaties and make recommendations for future investment agreements. The meeting, held on 14-16 August 2014 in Jakarta, was attended by government officials from various ministries and institutions in Indonesia.

CIL Director Professor Robert Beckman and CIL Senior Research Fellow Dr. Hao Duy Phan were invited to participate in the Conference on ‘Legal Issues regarding China’s Placement of the Oil Rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 in Viet Nam’s Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf’ in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. The Conference was organised jointly by the Ho Chi Minh City University of Law and the Viet Nam Lawyers Association. Professor Beckman made a presentation on the Dispute Settlement regime under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and Implications for the Disputes between Viet Nam and China. To download Professor Beckman’s presentation, click here.

CIL’s Head of Trade and Investment Law and Policy, Prof. Michael Ewing-Chow and CIL’s RA Junianto James Losari were invited by the DC Bar’s International Dispute Resolution Committee to attend a lunchtime panel discussion on “Changes in the System of Investor-State Dispute Settlement: Viewpoints from the Americas” that was held on 10 April 2014 at the office of Arnold & Porter LLP in Washington DC. The panelists (Anna Joubin-Bret, Jonathan S. Kallmer, and Omar Garcia-Bolivar) presented their findings of the current state of development in investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) in both North America and South America. Michael and James were invited to share their views on the developments in Asia and in particular ASEAN and Asia. During the discussion that was moderated by Jean Kalicki, various innovations were mentioned on how countries sought to improve the current legal frameworks. These innovations are to be implemented both at domestic and international levels and could be considered as fresh ideas for currently ongoing IIAs negotiations, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Michael said that the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (ACIA) has introduced several innovations, making it a more balanced agreement both in terms of investor protection and preserving the governments’ policy space. Separately, James queried whether there was any plans to consolidate agreements in the Americas, given that Asia has plans to do so under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiation.

CIL Research Associate Yvette Anthony assisted Senior Principal Research Fellow Christopher Thomas QC in teaching a three-day intensive training course for Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) officials on dispute settlement under international investment agreements.

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.

Senior Principal Research Fellow Mr. Christopher Thomas, QC, was invited by Thailand’s Department of International Economic Affairs to participate in a panel discussion on 27 March 2013 organised by the Thailand Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the Royal Thai Embassy in Brussels and the Mission of Thailand to the European Union, on the issue of investor-state dispute settlement under the current EU investment regime. Fellow panellists were Ms. Eugenia Costanza Laurenza of FratiniVergano Brussels and Professor Jayavadh Bunnag of International Legal Counsellors Thailand Ltd, and the session was moderated by Dr. Vilawan Mangklatanakul, Director in the International Law Development Division in Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The purpose of the session was to assist Thai government officials in their understanding of the kind of protection offered and reciprocally demanded in the present model of investment protection advocated by the EU and the significance of the option of investor-state dispute settlement in arbitrating disputes which may arise.

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’.

On 8 December 2013, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) and its Center for World Trade Studies held a seminar with the theme of “Promoting Fair Trade to Achieve Sustainable Development through Doha Agenda”, a part of its three-day event, the 1st Model World Trade Organization (WTO). CIL Associate Junianto James Losari, representing Prof. Michael Ewing-Chow as the WTO Chair at NUS, delivered a talk on Diplomacy in World Trade Organization. In his talk, James explained about the dynamic of negotiations during the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali. With the consensus decision-making mechanism, every Member has an equal vote. With the number of developing countries outweighing the number of developed countries, it would be naive to argue that the WTO remains a club of rich nations or developed countries. He further observed the various advantages of having the Bali Package agreed by all WTO Members by also looking at the counterfactual. Besides James, Bapak Riza Noer Arfani, MA (WTO Chair at UGM) also delivered a talk on “Sustainable Development through Trade” which continues on exploring the results of the Bali Package and its impacts for developing countries.