Researchers' Activities

CIL Practice Fellow Emily Choo attended the inaugural KLRCA Summer Academy on International Investment Law and Dispute Settlement, which was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 25-29 July 2016. The Summer Academy was organised by the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration in partnership with Clifford Chance. The 5-day programme comprised lectures, interactive training and practical exercises on topical issues in investment law. Around 50 government officials, academics, members of the judiciary and private practitioners from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong and France attended the Summer Academy. [View image]

On 20 July 2016, CIL Director Lucy Reed participated in the Panel Discussion on The Rule of Law and Dispute Resolution held in Singapore. The panel discussion, which was accompanied by a performance by the Temple Church Boys’ Choir from London, was moderated by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and was jointly organised by The Honourable Societies of Inner and Middle Temple, The Temple Church and Singapore Academy of Law. To view the eBrochure, please click here. [View photo]

CIL Practice Fellow Emily Choo was invited to present her paper on “The Impact of Non-State Actors’ Intervention in Investor-State Arbitration” at the ILA British Branch Spring Conference on Non-State Actors and Changing Relations in International Law, which was held at the Lancaster University, United Kingdom on 8-9 April 2016. The conference was organised by the Lancaster University Law School and the International Law Association British Branch. Emily spoke about the impact of non-state actors on the development of investment law through their intervention in investor-state arbitration.

On 15 November 2016, Research Associate Professor (CIL) N. Jansen Calamita, Head of CIL’s Investment Law and Policy Programme, gave a keynote presentation at the Asian Business Law Institute’s Asia Pacific Arbitration Conference 2016 titled ‘The Rise of Investment Treaty and Investor State Arbitration Practices in Asia’. Among other issues, he addressed the current state-of-play of investment treaty making and investor-state arbitration in Asia, including the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement, as well as the status of ongoing negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

On 1 November 2016, Research Associate Professor (CIL) N. Jansen Calamita, Head of CIL’s Investment Law and Policy Programme, was an invited speaker at the ‘International Symposium on China and Development of International Dispute Resolution System in the Context of “the Belt and Road” Construction’ at the Silk Road Institute for International and Comparative law at Xi’an Jiaotong University School of Law in Xi’an, China. His presentation, entitled ‘Building Legal Infrastructure for International Arbitration’, addressed the importance of a consistent, internationalised commercial arbitration framework across the range of states being considered for inclusion in China’s One Belt, One Road initiative.

CIL Research Fellow Junianto James Losari attended the Southeast Asia Law Scholars Colloquium held by Universitas Indonesia in Jakarta, Indonesia on 22 October 2015. James presented a paper that he co-wrote with A/P Michael Ewing-Chow titled “Multiple Authorisation: The Complexity of Desentralisasi in Indonesia and the Potential Contribution of IIAs in Resolving Confusion”. James discussed the problems posed by the desentralisasi system on foreign investors in Indonesia. Subsequently, he suggested ways to alleviate the problems by utilising Indonesia’s existing IIAs to discipline the regional governments. To view his presentation, click here.

CIL Research Associate Mark Huber attended the Centre for International Dispute Settlement’s International Conference on “International Dispute Settlement on the Crossroads of Public and Private International Law”, in Geneva, Switzerland on 25 September 2015. The conference discussed the public and private paradigms in investment treaty arbitration, the intersection between the trade and investment regimes, and conflicts, coordination and international responsibility in international arbitration and domestic litigation.

CIL Research Associate Mark Huber attended the British Institute of International and Comparative Law Investment Treaty Forum’s Twenty-fifth ITF Public Conference, “The ICSID Convention at 50”, in London, England on 18 September 2015. This meeting of the Investment Treaty Forum, organised in partnership with the ICSID Secretariat, discussed the history of the ICSID Convention, the legal issues raised in its interpretation and application, and its continuing role in the investment treaty regime.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Dr Hao Duy Phan and CIL Research Fellow Ranyta Yusran attended the 11th Annual Conference of the European Society of International Law in Oslo, Norway from 10-12 September 2015. The Conference was hosted by the PluriCourts Centre for the Study of the Legitimate Roles of the Judiciary in the Global Order, University of Oslo.

CIL Practice Fellow Ms Harpreet Kaur Dhillon was invited to act as one of four instructors in a workshop in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, from 6 to 8 July 2015 on ‘Public Policy and Investor State Dispute Settlement’, jointly organised by Myanmar’s Attorney-General’s Office and the International Commission of Jurists (Myanmar). It was attended by more than 60 government officials from across Myanmar, and presided over by Myanmar’s Attorney-General and Director-General. She taught in two 90-minute sessions on defences in investment treaty law, paying close attention to Myanmar’s existing investment treaties. She also developed, led and participated in exercises based on a simulation of an investor-state dispute that arises between Myanmar and investors of an ASEAN neighbour. To download Harpreet Kaur Dhillon’s PowerPoint Presentation, click here.

On 3-5 June 2015, the Asian Society of International Law (AsianSIL), together with the Ministry of Justice of Thailand and the Thailand Institute of Justice, held the AsianSIL Inter-Sessional Conference on ‘The Rule of Law and Development Nexus: A New Deal for Asia?’ in Bangkok, Thailand. A/P Michael Ewing-Chow was invited to speak on a panel on ‘International Law and ASEAN Integration’ and delivered his presentation entitled ‘Outcomes and Costs – Towards A Just Peace’. CIL Research Fellow Leonardo Bernard, CIL Research Fellow Ranyta Yusran and CIL Research Associate Chang Ya Lan also attended the conference. To download A/P Michael Ewing-Chow’s presentation, click here.

Universitas Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) invited A/P Michael Ewing-Chow to speak at the ASEAN Economic Community Forum, which was held on 21-22 May 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In the panel on ‘Full Integration into the Global Community: RCEP’, Michael delivered his presentation, ‘RCEP = ASEAN Plus Six Is the Whole Greater than the Sum of the Parts?’. He discussed the current context of the trade and investment landscape in RCEP negotiating countries. He also talked about the potential gains if RCEP could be concluded and the challenges that the negotiating parties will face during the negotiation based on the gap between some of the ASEAN and its Dialogue Partners as evidenced by the existing ASEAN+1 FTAs.

CIL Practice Fellow Ms Harpreet Kaur Dhillon was invited to speak at the 4th Conference for the Postgraduate and Early Professionals/Academics Network of the Society of International Economic Law on 16 and 17 April 2015 at the University of Milan in Milan, Italy. Harpreet delivered a paper on its Investment Dispute Settlement panel titled “The Makings of the Modern Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) Provision: the Case-Study of Singapore”, examining and critiquing the evolution of the ISDS provision in Singapore’s international investment agreements. More than 80 participants from around the world attended the Conference. To download her presentation, click here.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Dr Hao Duy Phan, CIL Research Fellows Leonardo Bernard and Junianto James Losari and CIL Research Associate Harpreet Kaur Dhillon participated in the World Congress on International Law, held in New Delhi, India, from 9 to 11 January 2015. Organised by the Indian Society of International Law, the programme covered a wide range of areas in international law and practice. CIL researchers were invited to speak on panels addressing the law of the sea and international investment, trade and dispute resolution. To download their presentations, click here.

Senior Principal Research Fellow Christopher Thomas QC gave a speech at the 2014 Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) Congress on “Investment treaty arbitration: Just another form of commercial arbitration?” as part of the Closing Plenary Session on “Investment Treaty Arbitration in Asia: The meeting of international commercial arbitration and public international law”.

Senior Principal Research Fellow Christopher Thomas QC taught a two-day intensive training course for Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) officials on dispute settlement under international investment agreements. This was the second part to a three-day intensive course taught in November 2013.

CIL Head of Trade and Investment Law and Policy Professor Michael Ewing-Chow was invited to the Global Georgetown Alumni Academic Program on 11 December 2014 in Singapore to share his views on the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. He suggested that the slow progress must be understood in the context of the differences between the negotiating states, including the rule of law and the economic and social issues within each state. Further, the negotiating states also have different offensive and defensive interests. For example, the United States has an offensive interest in ensuring a better Intellectual Property (IP) regime, while Australia has the opposite. Similarly, Australia, Canada and New Zealand have an offensive interest in agriculture, while Japan seeks to protect this sector. These differences alone pose challenges for the negotiating countries in striking an agreement that can accommodate all their interests. In addition, he shared his view that it is likely that Multinational Companies (MNCs) who operate Global Value Chains (GVCs) will play a greater role in driving the negotiations. Another interesting interplay to watch will be China’s role, as it has announced its interest in joining the TPP.

CIL Head of Trade Law and Policy Associate Professor Michael Ewing-Chow and CIL Research Fellow Ranyta Yusran participated in the Legitimacy of International Trade Tribunals Meeting in Geneva on 17-18 October 2014, where they presented their paper on the ASEAN trade dispute settlement mechanism. The meeting was organised by PluriCourts of University of Oslo, Norway as the first editorial meeting for a book on international trade tribunals. Other contributors came from Europe, the United States, Canada, Africa and Latin America. Please click on the following links for their working paper and presentation titled ‘If You Build It, They Still Will Not Come: ASEAN Trade Dispute Settlement Mechanism’.

CIL Head of Trade and Investment Law and Policy Professor Michael Ewing-Chow conducted a training session (organised by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) for Pacific Island (PACER-Plus) countries’ government officials on Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) and alternative mechanisms to ISDS in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). He discussed several alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in FTAs, including commercial arbitration, domestic courts, as well as the development of dispute management systems. This was done as part of the preparation for the PACER-Plus negotiations with Australia and New Zealand.

CIL Director Robert Beckman and CIL Research Fellow Leonardo Bernard participated in the Workshop on the Future of the Seas in East Asia, held in Jakarta, Indonesia on 5-6 October 2014. The Workshop was organised by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta. Professor Beckman was part of the panel on ‘Addressing the Challenges: Managing Disputes’, where he presented the legal perspective of the disputes in the East and South China Sea. To access his presentation, click here.

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.

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.]

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 Director Robert Beckman chaired a panel on Boundary Disputes Involving Oil & Gas Fields at the Oil & Gas Asia Dispute Resolution Conference at the Shangri-la Hotel in Jakarta on 5 June 2013. The conference was organized by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC). The other members of the panel were Will Thomas of the Paris Office of Eversheds, Dominic Roughton of the Tokyo office of Herbert Smith Freehills, and Wesley Harris of the Malaysian office of Royal Dutch Shell.

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 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.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, WTO Chair and Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Programme chaired Dialogue on Improving the Investor State Dispute System. Meg Kinnear, Secretary General, ICSID, Roberto Echandi, Director, Investment Programme, WTI, Anna Joubin-Brett, Partner, Foley Hoag and Chris Thomas Q.C., CIL Senior Principal Research Fellow, participated in the Dialogue. Ideas about how capacity could be built in developing countries and how fact finding could be improved during the arbitration process as were canvassed. Participants were also keen to encourage conflict management and mediation and conciliation as an alternative to immediate litigation.

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.

CIL Director Robert Beckman made a presentation on 24 October 2012 at the Workshop on ASEAN Enhanced Dispute Settlement Mechanisms at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. Prof Beckman’s presentation was on “Dispute Settlement Mechanisms and Compliance with ASEAN Agreements”. Prof Beckman also participated in a panel discussion at the Workshop on the ASEAN Dispute Settlement Mechanisms. For the PowerPoint Presentation, click here.

CIL Research Associate Leonardo Bernard participated in the 2nd MIMA South China Sea Conference: Geo Strategic Developments and Prospects for Dispute Management in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at 4-5 September 2012. The Conference highlighted the recent South China Sea developments and their implications on the position of the claimants and extra-regional powers in working for peaceful resolution of disputes in the South China Sea.

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”.

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.

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.

CIL Patron Professor S Jayakumar delivered an address on “Conflict Resolution: The Need for a New International Paradigm” (download in PDF) at the International Conference on Global Movement of Moderates in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Law & Policy Programme, was invited by the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration to present a paper titled “Investment Agreements: Protecting Against Regime Change” at the Asia Pacific Regional Arbitration Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.