Researchers' Activities

Railla Puno delivered a presentation based on working paper “Rights-based Approaches for Carbon Dioxide Removal: Asia in Focus” at the 7^th edition of the Gonzaga in Florence Human Rights Conference with this year’s theme of Climate Change and Human Rights. The Conference was held in Florence, Italy from 24-25 May 2023 and was hosted by the University of Gonzaga School of Law.

The  meeting discussed, among others, the status and content of the law of countermeasures as applied in cyberspace.

The event was a side-line event of the 8^th International Maritime Security Conference 2023, jointly organised by S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) and the Australia National Centre for Ocean Resources & Security (ANCORS) on 5 May 2023 in Singapore.

5 May 2023: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the ASIL ICTIG Event on the Topic: “The Role of International Courts and Tribunals Amidst the Conflict in Ukraine: Avenues for Justice and Peace?”

Danielle Yeow, Lead Climate Law and Policy, attended a meeting of the UNFCCC RINGO Oceans Interest Group Quarterly Meeting on 4 May 2023 to discuss developments relating to climate change and oceans and preparations for the 58^th meeting of the Subsidiary Bodies to the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement.

Special Thanks

Amiel Valdez joined the 209 lawyers from 59 countries who served as judges in the recently concluded International Rounds of the 2023 Philip C Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, which was held in person in Washington, D.C., United States of America.

N. Jansen Calamita – After the Treaty is Signed: Do States Internalise Investment Treaty Commitments in Their Decision Making?

27 March 2023: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the 2023 Regional Conference on Preserving Statehood and Protecting Persons: Legal Options and Institutional Responses to the Impacts of Sea-Level Rise, in the context of International Law organized by the Pacific Islands Forum which was held in Fiji from 27-30 March 2023.

The Climate Change Law and Policy team, in collaboration with Durham University’s Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy and the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative, made a joint submission to the Global Stocktake (GST) 2023 process under the Paris Agreement. This GST is a process for taking stock of the implementation of the Paris Agreement with the aim of assessing the world’s collective progress towards achieving the purpose of the Paris Agreement and its long-term goals. The first stocktake got underway at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26) and will conclude at COP28 in 2023.

The details of the presentation are available at here. 

24 March 2023:  CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the III World Meeting for Societies of International Law Organized by the Peruvian Society of International Law

It is available in multiple platforms here LinkedIn | Youtube | Facebook | Spotify

In her presentation “SHARM EL-SHEIKH TO DUBAI – HOW GOES “THE FIGHT OF OUR LIVES”?”, Danielle shared her views on the key outcomes from COP27 and the developments since Sharm El-Sheikh .  She discussed their implications for governments, industry and civil society and shared her assessment of the current state of affairs in the “fight of our lives” and the road ahead to Dubai.

13 March 2023: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the GNLU-GMU Academy on Climate Change, Marine Biodiversity and Sustainable Shipping 2023

7 March 2023: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the Global Governance / Multilateralism Webinar Organized by ADI-ILA

Read the article here https://time.com/6258960/covid-19-origins-lab-leak-china-politics/

This is the third time that Amiel was invited to judge the Philippine qualifying rounds. Twelve (12) law schools participated in this year’s competition. The top three (3) winning teams – University of the Philippines (national champion), University of San Carlos (1st runner-up), and Ateneo de Manila University (2nd runner-up) will compete in the international rounds in Washington, DC, USA, this coming April 2023.

One necessary step to limit global warming is to phase out fossil fuel production, which can deprive the value of foreign investments and amount to breaches of investment treaties.

The lecture was part of the course ‘Sustainable Ocean Law and Governance,’ taught by Associate Professor Nengye Liu.

1 February 2023: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the Anthropocene Webinar Organized by ADI-ILA

The Stetson Moot, organised by the Institute of Biodiversity Law and Policy of Stetson University, is the world’s leading competition on global environmental law issues such as conservation and sustainability. This is the Stetson’s 27th year of hosting this competition. https://www.stetson.edu/law/international/iemcc/

The mandate of Working Group III is to develop reforms to the existing regime of investor-state dispute settlement. CIL has been an official observer to Working Group III since 2017, when the Working Group’s mandate began.

The purpose of this conference is to create a platform for scholars of law in Asia, particularly South and South-East Asia to showcase their research, engage with ideas and build professional networks. We believe that this will create opportunities for younger academics in Asia to further build their body of research by facilitating dialogue and research collaborations.

https://jgu.edu.in/international-conference-on-law-business-society/

They participated remotely in this three-day hybrid meeting which was held in Geneva, Switzerland from 19 to 21 December 2022.

The Global Ocean Regime Conference is an annual international conference to establish a network with experts in marine policy and the maritime laws including United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea around the world and to share knowledge and discuss about international trend on maritime territories, areas such as the continental shelf, High seas and so on.

The title of the presentation is “Is LOSC ready for new technology? Carbon Capture and Storage in the Asia-Pacific Region”. She explored the extent to which obligations to protect the marine environment under LOSC provide effective regulations for managing the risks posed by CCS, focusing on the Asia-Pacific Region.

The recording of the Dialogue is available at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGDrs4tWXd0.  Pls contact Danielle Yeow d.yeow@nus.edu.sg if interested in participating in future dialogue session.

Youna Lyons from CIL Ocean Law and Policy Programme was invited to speak to the Plastics Research Network (PlaReNet) Conference, which was held 6-7 December 2022 in a hybrid format; it was co-presented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) of the Philippines, and Embassy of Japan in Manila.

In this Episode, Dr Miguel Dorotan (Miriam College, Philippines) spoke with Amiel Valdez (NUS Centre for International Law), and Paolo Valenzuela (NUS Asia Research Institute) on how we should address the Philippine environmental security particularly in terms of mitigating the risks from climate change and rising sea levels. The speakers reflected on the standard of ‘environmental security’, the major outcomes of the recently concluded climate conference (COP 27) in Egypt, and the importance of diplomacy in tackling all these issues.

The International Organizations Partnership is a network of international organizations working towards the development of better international rule-making. Ayelet Berman spoke about how the international system could be reformed to respond faster and with greater agility to future pandemics.

Dr Dawoon Jung was invited to present on Marine Plastic Pollution at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) Alumni Anniversary Event via Zoom.

Danielle discussed the key outcomes at COP27 and shared her reflections on the implications of these developments. Recording accessible at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhrDBw5M8S8&list=PLX-_OXNM8JVl67CUuPX-TI6RArxqqYT9q

For his PowerPoint presentation, click Beckman Powerpoint Session 1 ARF Workshop 30 Nov.

30 November 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited by ILA Hellenic Branch to Speak at the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea @40

One of the key themes was marine pollution and addressing the problems of plastics and chemicals in the ocean. https://events.economist.com/world-ocean-summit-asia-pacific/downloadagenda/

24 November 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the International Order and Justice Lecture Series Organized by the Ghent University.

The dialogue brought together a select group of experts to discuss ways for states to implement their responsibilities in relation to nuclear weapons and/or radioactive materials in the maritime domain in the name of confidence building and risk reduction. The dialogue was guided by the BASIC-ICCS Nuclear Responsibilities Framework.

The panel features CIL Director Dr Nilufer Oral, Malcolm Dalesa (Vanuatu’s Climate Attache in New York),  Prof Payam Akhavan (Legal Counsel to COSIS) and Assoc Prof Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh (Lead Counsel to Vanuatu on the ICJ initiative).  The dialogue was moderated by CIL’s Danielle Yeow.

Prof Beckman made a presentation in Session 6 on Rules of the Road for Non-Traditional and Cross-Cutting Domains. His presentation was on “Aviation Safety in the South China Sea”. Prof Beckman has participated in 13 of the 14 annual conferences organized by the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam on the South China Sea. For a copy of Prof Beckman’s PowerPoint presentation, click: Beckman PowerPoint Da Nang Nov 2022 final.

In Session 5 Voices of the Next Generation, Dr Dawoon Jung presented on “Offshore Renewable Energy Operations and the Protection of the Marine Environment”. Her presentation explored the substantive regulation of environmental challenges caused by offshore renewable energy operations within the UNCLOS legal framework.

15-17 November 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the Seventh International Conference on the Law of the Sea Hosted by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea (MOFA)

Danielle Yeow presented on (a) the international climate change legal framework under the UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement and (b) Singapore’s progress under the UNFCCC including her national circumstances and impact of climate change in Singapore’s context.

Danielle Yeow discussed the “who, what and why” of collaboration and spoke on CIL’s collaborative capacity building initiatives with the UNFCC Secretariat and Durham University as well as upcoming collaborative research and other capacity building initiatives.

This global international symposium facilitated meaningful dialogue between COP delegates, observers and stakeholders, also keen students, with an interest in national and international law and governance related to climate change, including government representatives and leaders, leading international and domestic legal practitioners, and renowned legal experts.  https://www.climatelawgovernance.org/clgi-cop27/

10 November 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the International Symposium on ” Ocean Governance in the New Era: Current Challenges and the Law of the Sea” Organized by Global Governance Institution

They made a presentation titled Development of a Dynamic and Searchable Catalogue of Experts and Expertise in Research on Marine Plastic Pollution in ASEAN +3, which was jointly prepared by them and Cheng Ling Lim.

7-19 Nov 2022: Danielle Yeow attended the COP27 UN Climate Change meetings, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt as a virtual delegate.

At a panel on policy aspects of One Health, Ayelet Berman presented her thoughts on the role of voluntary licensing and technology transfer contracts in advancing equitable access to vaccines in developing countries.

Danielle Yeow  participated in a roundtable dialogue on 17 Nov 2022 on the theme of “Climate Change Disputes – International Arbitration perspectives and solutions”, where she discussed the progress of COP27 discussions, the scope for resolution of inter-state disputes under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, the factors that influence State Parties when engaging in climate related disputes, the ICC Task Force on Climate Change Related Disputes, and balancing climate commitments with investment treaty obligations. 

Youna made a presentation on Identifying Marine Sensitive Areas in the SCS under International Law where she emphasised the development and adoption of scientific and technical criteria under 15 instruments applicable in the South China Sea. She demonstrated their consistency and mutually-reinforcing content and application. The presentation can be downloaded here.

This virtual meeting is a process of preparing for the white paper output of an APEC OFWG project on microplastics in coastal aquaculture and food security. To contribute to this white paper, CIL researchers Youna and Yulu will collaborate and coordinate with Mei Lin, Adjunct Associate Professor Joseph Chun from Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law (APCEL), NUS, and Associate Professor ‪Karina Yew-Hoong Gin, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, NUS.

2-3 November 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the 2022 Yeosu Academy of the Law of the Sea

Danielle Yeow spoke on “The updated Singapore Green Plan 2p030 and Revised Carbon Tax Levels” (via remote participation).

28 October 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited by the Permanent Mission of Australia to the United Nation to Participate in an Informal Networking Breakfast.

25 October 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Participate in an Interactive Dialogue: Welcoming a New Legal Framework on Armed Conflict and the Environment

Nivedita presented as part of Working Group 3 on nuclear safety and regulation’s panel on international trade impacts. Her presentation was entitled “Governing the Dicephalus Beast – the Tale of Transportable Nuclear Power Plant” was co-authored with Senior Fellow Denise Cheong. Drawing on the research undertaken by the CIL Team, her presentation shared initial findings on legal and institutional issues relating to the governance of floating nuclear power plants (FNPPs), focusing primarily on the governance frameworks of both the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

The title of her presentation is “the Law of the Sea and Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS): focusing on the protection of the marine environment”.

22 October 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited by the American Branch of the International Law Association to Speak at the International Law Weekend

Prof Bodansky discussed various issues on climate litigation as well as potential future trends. He was then joined by panelists, Diane Tan (Deputy Director-General, International Affairs Division, Attorney-General’s Chambers) and Albert Massman (Partner, Debrauw Blackstone Westbroek) in a moderated dialogue which provided insights from a government and industry perspective. The dialogue was co-moderated by CIL’s Danielle Yeow and Tiong Teck Wee (Co-Head Sustainability & Responsible Business Practice and Partner, Commercial & Corporate Disputes Practice of Wong Partnership)

A programme organised by the Law Society of Singapore, 19 Oct 2022.

11 October 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the IMO-WMU Joint Academic Conference Title “Protecting the Ocean – Moving Forward at 50: London Convention & Stockholm Declaration”

17 October 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited by Berkeley Law to Give the Harry & Jane Scheiber Lecture in Ocean Law & Policy.

… and is part of its Climate Change Law and Ocean Law Network

Danielle Yeow was invited to attend the ASEAN Defence Meetings Meeting -Plus Chemical, Biological and Radiological Conference

Youna Lyons, Cheng Ling Lim and Yulu Liu were invited to present on the ongoing project to develop a regional research network in the region of East Asian Seas, at the the 4^th Meeting of the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) Working Group on Marine Litter. The meeting was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, 10-11 October 2022 in a hybrid format and it was attended by delegations of COBSEA member states and observers.

6 Oct Danielle Yeow moderated at the seminar on The United Nations Climate Regime Thirty Years On — A Retrospective and Assessment by Professor Daniel Bodansky

4 Oct Moderated roundtable dialogue, CIL-DU-UNFCCC workshop on climate change, oceans and the global stocktake 

3 October 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at a Panel at Oslo 3^rd International Environmental Law Conference.

EPISODE SUMMARY

The law of the sea convention adopted by the UN in 1982 defines the economic and political sea boundaries critical to small island states, but the rights it guarantees are threatened by rising sea levels. In this episode, we talk to Dr. Nilufar Oral, Director of the Center for International Law at the National University of Singapore and Co-Chair of the UN’s sea level rise study group, on how vulnerable states are advocating for updated protections.

SCF

24 September 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral Was Invited to Deliver a Keynote Speech at IFLOS Maritime Talks 2022.

The online conference was organized by the Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and the Faculty of Law of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) of Indonesia and held via zoom.

The title of the conference was “International Symposium on Ocean Governance, Environmental Rights and Sustainable Development in the Anthropocene”.

21 September 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral Was Invited to Participate in the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) Informal, Focused Consultation on Legal Matters

Yulu Liu and Cheng Ling Lim and Youna Lyons from CIL Ocean Law and Policy Programme presented at the 7th International Marine Debris Conference (7IMDC), held in Busan South Korea, 18-23 September 2022. 

Danielle Yeow spoke at the ICRC-CIL-SRC 1st Singapore International Humanitarian Law Roundtable on Technologies of Warfare and International Humanitarian Law (biological weapons)

12-16 September 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral Was Invited to Speak at the ITLOS Workshop for Legal Advisors in Hamburg

8 September 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the Asia-Pacific Online Session on International Humanitarian Law Session – ARMED CONFLICT AND THE PROTECTION OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT Organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross

It was held over two days on Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 September as an online meeting. Day Two of the Seminar was moderated by Gillian Grant, the Chair of the Legal Committee of the IMO. Prof Beckman spoke in Panel 5: Operating MASS: Legal issues related to communication and enforcement.

7 September 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral and Prof Patricia Galvao Teles were Invited to Give a Presentation on the Work of the International Law Commission to Participants at the Centre for Studies & Research Program at The Hague Academy.

The Programme, co-organised by the Republic of Singapore Navy and S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, introduced various aspects of maritime security for maritime practitioners. The course’s participants are navies, coastguards, and other maritime practitioners from around the world. Prof. Beckman delivered a lecture about the international law of the sea while Dr. Dang presented about Vietnam’s measures against IUU Fishing.

Youna Lyons was invited to observe the 49th GESAMP annual session held at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) headquarters in London, United Kingdom, from 5 to 9 September 2022, on the delegation of Advisory Committee on the Protection of the Sea Advisory Committee (ACOPS).

Yulu Liu also attended the workshop of GESAMP WG 40 (as a representative of ACOPS) to develop a risk assessment framework for land and sea-based sources of marine litter and microplastics, which was held in Busan, South Korea from 26-30 October.

The Workshop introduced the results of the Common Fisheries Resources Analysis of skipjack tuna in the South China Sea, a joint research initiative implemented by scientists from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Viet Nam with support from the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.

Independent Global Stocktake

1 Sept 2022 | Speaker, “Path to 1.5 degrees – Implementation and Implication”, AGC Academy to Legal Branch officers

Senior Research Fellow Dr. Tara Davenport was invited to participate (online) in the Expert Group Meeting on Enforcement Related Issues in Deep Sea Mining organized by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the Secretariat of the International Seabed Authority (ISA)

Convened by Manila Observatory in partnership with Samdhana Institute and Chiang Mai University on 22-25 August 2022

The Fellowship, organised by the Cybersecurity Agency of Singapore and the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, is the flagship programme under the UN-Singapore Cyber Programme. 

The Workshop was organised by the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies and S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.

Senior Research Fellow Dr. Tara Davenport was invited to give a lecture on ‘Cyberspace and International Law’ at the 2022 inaugural UN-Singapore Cyber Fellowship Programme from 1 – 6 August 2022 in Singapore.

CIL Research Associate Brian Chang and former Research Assistant Tensin Studer presented a conference paper on “What Investor-State Mediation Can Learn from UNCLOS Conciliation: Lessons from the Timor Sea Conciliation” at the Junior Scholars Workshop of the Asian Society for International Law (AsianSIL)’s 2022 Regional Conference in Nepal, co-organised by CIL’s Teaching and Researching International Law in Asia (TRILA) team. 

The Workshop is a part of this year’s Nepal Regional Conference by Asian Society of International Law.

The Conference was organised by the United Nations Environment Programme, Viet Nam Administration of Seas and Islands – Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Australian Centre for Ocean Resources and Security – University of Wollongong, Centre for International Law of Sea and Maritime Law – National University of Viet Nam in Hanoi.

Dr Oral was invited to present a paper at a conference on Sea Level Rise and International Law: Assessing its Impacts on the Americas during the 73rd Session of the International Law Commission (ILC).

Prof Beckman was one of 10 speakers in Session III. In his presentation he argued the COC should contain a “non-prejudice” clause similar to that in Article VII of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. He argued that such a clause would enable the parties to cooperate on matters of common interest without being seen as either acquiescing to or recognizing the legitimacy of the sovereignty and maritime claims of other States or as renouncing or giving up their own sovereignty claims and maritime claims in the South China Sea.

The global community has failed to stop biodiversity loss, and people do not realise the impact of this persistent trend, warns veteran diplomat, law professor and environmentalist Tommy Koh.

Senior Research Fellow Dr. Tara Davenport gave an online lecture on 19 July 2022 submarine cables and pipelines at the Kadir Has International Law of the Sea Academy held in Turkey from 18 to 29 July 2022.

The workshop is part of one of Ateneo Law School’s longest traditions, i.e., the Introduction to Law (ITL) programme for incoming law students.

Senior Research Fellow Dr. Tara Davenport presented at the 2022 IUCN Academy of Environmental Law Colloquium on ‘Common Heritage of Humankind (CHH) as a basis for Environmental Governance’ on 13 July 2022.