Researchers' Activities

CIL Practice Fellow Emily Choo was invited to present her paper, ‘The Impact of Amicus Curiae Submissions in Investment Treaty Arbitration’ at the 2015 Taipei International Conference on Arbitration and Mediation from 6-7 September 2015. The conference was attended by about 60 practitioners and academics from more than eight countries across Asia and Europe. Emily spoke about the investment arbitration tribunals’ treatment of amicus curiae participation in investment arbitration proceedings. Her paper is the latest comprehensive study of this particular area and her study of the cases shows that there are three main approaches that such tribunals have taken. She concluded her presentation by examining the precedential value of these earlier investment arbitration cases for the ongoing Philip Morris v Uruguay proceedings. To download her presentation, please click here.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Youna Lyons was invited to present the lessons learned and recommendations that arose from the NUS Workshop on the Prospects for Large-Scale Artificial Reefs in Southeast Asia, at the Indonesia Decommissioning Conference on 13-14 August 2015 in Bandung, Indonesia. To download her presentation, click here.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Dr Hao Duy Phan and CIL Research Fellow Dr Sun Zhen were invited to speak at the China-ASEAN Forum on Law, Policy and Management of the Sea on 4 August 2015 in Guiyang, Guizhou, China. Hao Duy Phan delivered a presentation on ‘ASEAN Cooperation on Maritime Security’ (download in PDF). Sun Zhen made a presentation on ‘Regional Sea Cooperation in East Asia’ (download in PDF). The Forum was co-organised by the Ocean University of China and the Guiyang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and sponsored by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China. More than 50 participants from China, ASEAN Member States and other states attended the Forum.

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.

CIL Practice Fellow Emily Choo attended the Pearl River Delta Academy of International Trade and Investment Law, which was held in Macau and Shenzhen from 6 July 2015 to 17 July 2015. The Academy was organised by the Institute of European Studies in Macau and the Peking University School of Transnational Law and covered WTO law, international investment law, international trade and other areas of international law. The two-week Academy brought together postgraduate students from various disciplines to be trained by a faculty comprising leading academics from various fields.

CIL Research Fellow Junianto James Losari was invited to speak at the Art of Negotiating Trade and Investment Agreements Workshop: Taking Into Account the Global Tobacco Treaty. The workshop was held in Chiang Mai, Thailand on 25-26 June 2015. It was attended by academics and government officials from the Ministry of Health in the region. James spoke about the ‘Investment Framework from the ASEAN Perspective’ and its implication on tobacco control measures taken by ASEAN Members. He highlighted the importance of ASEAN Members to terminate their intra-ASEAN BITs, which do not provide enough policy space for States to take tobacco control measures without incurring liability. On the other hand, the newer generation International Investment Agreements, such as the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement and other ASEAN + Dialogue Partner(s) Investment Agreements contain general exceptions clauses that allow States to take measures to protect its public health, including tobacco control measures without incurring any liability. However, ASEAN Members must carefully formulate their measures to fulfil the requirements of such clauses.

Assoc Prof Michael Ewing-Chow was invited by the International Institute for Trade and Development (Thailand) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand to speak at a seminar on International Investment Agreements (IIAs) towards Global Sustainability. The two-day seminar was held on 25-26 June 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand. In addition to explaining the general framework of IIAs and its recent development, Michael also discussed shareholder recovery in investment claims and advised on options for IIA and BITs clauses.

CIL was a sponsoring organisation at the 39th Annual Conference of the Center for Oceans Law and Policy (COLP) of the University of Virginia, which was held in Shanghai, China from 24-26 June 2015. The title of the Conference was ‘International Marine Economy: Law and Policy’. CIL Director Robert Beckman chaired a panel on grey areas in international boundary delimitation. CIL sponsored the participation of four speakers: CIL International Advisory Panel Member Arif Havas Oegroseno, Dr Clive Schofield, CIL Non-Resident Fellow Captain Ashley Roach and CIL Research Fellow Leonardo Bernard. CIL Research Fellow Zhen Sun also attended the conference. To download Capt. Roach’s presentation, click here. To download Dr Schofield’s presentation, click here.

CIL Director Professor Robert Beckman, CIL Non-Resident Fellow Captain Ashley Roach, and Research Fellows Leo Bernard and Dr Zhen Sun participated in the 2015 International Symposium on Global Commons and the Law of the Sea in Hangzhou, China on 22-23 June 2015. The Symposium was co-organised by the Centre for Ocean Law and Governance, Guanghua Law School and Collaborative Innovation Centre for the Belt and Road Initiative, Zhejiang University. Professor Beckman delivered a presentation on ‘The Development of the Polar Code and Challenges to Its Implementation’, while Captain Roach presented on ‘Evolution of Soviet Maritime Navigation Policy and China’s Far Seas Operations’. Research Fellows Leo Bernard and Dr Zhen Sun also served as discussants for two panels. To download Professor Beckman’s and Dr Sun’s presentation, click here. To download Capt. Roach’s presentation, click here.

On 12 June 2015, the Symposium for the Commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Rhodes Academy on Oceans Law and Policy was held at the United Nations in New York. Hosted by the Permanent Mission of Iceland to the UN, the Symposium featured Judge Tomas Heidar and several other Rhodes Alumni, who presented on current law of the sea issues. Most of the Symposium’s 70 participants had attended the Meeting of States Parties to the Law of the Sea Convention that took place the previous week. CIL, one of the sponsoring organisations of the Rhodes Academy, was represented at the Symposium by CIL Research Fellow (Non-Resident) Tara Davenport at which she gave a presentation on ‘Submarine Cables in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction’. To view her presentation, click here.