The recording of the lecture was telecasted live on YouTube :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld_NIh5XS9o

CIL Research Associates Nivedita S and Manisha Regalla participated in a webinar on Environmental Governance in the Financial Sector held on 7 April 2021, organised by the Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law (APCEL).

Amiel Ian Valdez was invited to speak on 26 March 2021 before the lawyers and legal staff of the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Legal Affairs Service, and representatives of the DENR Climate Change Division and International Affairs Office. The event is part of the continuing legal education programme of the DENR for its staff.

Research Associate Chan Sze-Wei judged the inaugural Malaysia Model ASEAN Meeting (MYMAM).

As part of its 2021 Annual Meeting (March 24-26), the American Society of International Law invited members and colleagues from around the world to participate in a special series of sessions focusing on regional issues of international law and policy that will be affected by the new Biden-Harris Administration.

Annual Meeting Theme:

In these extraordinary times, dramatic shifts in global health, the global economy, and geopolitical power structures are forcing human beings to adapt and evolve. These shifts require us to revisit the operation of the legal, political, and conceptual structures of our international order, and to examine the possibility — and perhaps necessity — of creating new norms, tools, and paradigms.

Today’s health, economic, and racial justice crises are having a profound impact on the rule of law, human security, and the environment; human rights and gender equality; international business and trade; and virtually all other aspects of society. These effects are being exacerbated by the differing approaches that governments, international organizations, and private actors have taken toward international problem-solving. Although some may hope for a return to “normalcy” in all these areas, the current moment offers both the challenge and the opportunity to reconsider and potentially to reshape international law and international institutions.

The 2021 Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law provided a forum to think critically and creatively about all fields of international law. Sessions presented a broad range of perspectives on innovative ways to address emerging issues, to improve global governance, and to tackle international problems.

Session Tracks:

• International Human Rights, Humanitarian Law, and Criminal Justice
• Transnational Litigation, Arbitration, and Dispute Resolution
• International Trade, Investment, and Finance
• International Organizations, Global Governance, and Global Health
• Security, Foreign Relations, and Use of Force
• Environment, Sea, Space, and Sustainable Development

Dr Nilufer Oral spoke at the session titled “We Are All Climate Change Lawyers Now” on 25 March 2021. This session is part of the Environment, Sea, Space, and Sustainable Development Track at the ASIL 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting.

Panelists include:

• Carmen Gonzalez, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
• Sailesh Mehta, Red Lion Chambers
• Nilufer Oral, UN International Law Commission
• Hermann Ott, Client Earth
• Margaret Young, University of Melbourne Law School
• Rob Verchick, Loyola University New Orleans

This event was a timely discussion about the legally binding instrument on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) currently under negotiation at the UN and its security implications. In recent years, heavy high seas fishing and the race for deep-sea living resources have emerged as geopolitical concerns. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea provides no robust governance for these resources, raising the spectre of contested or depleted commons. As a new US administration eager to tackle challenges with more multilateralism settles into office, how will this new dimension to UNCLOS intersect with well-publicized concerns about Chinese fishing and genetic experiments? And how might the BBNJ treaty offer new tools for responsible oceans management and encourage more cooperative engagement among the great powers?

Other speakers at the conference include:

Dr. Catherine Blanchard, Lecturer, University of Utrecht

Dr. James Kraska, Charles H. Stockton Professor of International Maritime Law, U.S. Naval War College

The event is moderated by:

Mr. Cornell Overfield, Analyst, Strategy and Policy Analysis Program, CNA

A recording of the event can be accessed at the link:

https://vimeo.com/529164383

https://www.ejiltalk.org/pandemics-procedure-and-participation-hybrid-hearings-in-the-mauritius-maldives-maritime-boundary-dispute/

Jessup is the world’s largest moot court competition, with participants from roughly 700 law schools in 100 countries and jurisdictions.

Research fellow Arron N Honniball presented a draft paper, ‘Traditional Fishing Rights and a Customary Law Right of Access to Port: Arbitral Awards from Eritrea – Yemen to the South China Sea’.

Senior Research Fellow Denise Cheong and Research Associate Nivedita S participated in a webinar on ‘The Prospects for Small Modular Reactors in Southeast Asia’ organised by the Energy Studies Institute of the National University of Singapore on 25 February 2021.