Researchers' Activities

CIL Senior Research Fellow Youna Lyons participated in the KIOST/JVDI 2017 Regional Conference on the Ocean Policy for the East Asia and the Pacific Islands in Nadi-Fiji on 16–18 Nov 2017. The theme was ‘SDG 14 and Ocean Issues for the Pacific Islands and the East Asia’. She presented on the topic of ‘UNCLOS as the Cornerstone in the Implementation of SDG 14: A Central, Integrative and Framing Role’.

CIL’s Investment Law and Policy Programme team organised the workshop on ‘Investment Treaties and National Governance’ on 16–17 November 2017, in the Asian context. The workshop had a selective call for papers, and participating researchers (mostly from the Asia-Pacific region) presented case studies assessing the impact of investment treaties on national governance in India, Indonesia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

The workshop brought together researchers to discuss and unpack the following questions in the Asian context. What impact do investment treaties have on national governance? Although a considerate amount of research has examined the impact of investment treaties on FDI, very little is known about their effects on national governance. Are governments aware of their investment treaty obligations? Do they internalize their obligations, and if yes, how? Do investment treaties lead to improvements in the rule of law and good governance, or do they undermine national policy autonomy?

CIL Director Professor Lucy Reed represented the Centre at several events at the 2017 Seoul ADR Festival during the week of 6 November. At the joint programme of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and the Korea Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB) on ‘Multiple Proceedings in Multiple Fora: Strategies and Synergies’, Prof Reed delivered the keynote address and was a speaker on the panel on ‘Consolidation and Joinder under Arbitral Institutional Rules’. She also spoke on the panel on International Investment Dispute Settlement, addressing ‘Momentum on Procedural Reforms:  The Way Forward’. Prof Reed was interviewed at the Young Arbitration Practitioners’ Forum ‘Fireside Chat’ organised by Young SIAC and the Korean Council for International Arbitration, and served as faculty for the second annual Seoul Academy for International Arbitration.

On 6 November 2017 the OECD’s Regulatory Policy Division’s ‘International Organizations Partnership for Effective International Rule-making’ convened a brainstorming session to discuss the partnership, bringing together the OECD, member states, international organisations and academics.

The partnership’s goal is to improve the quality, relevance and impact of international rule-making by international organisations. To advance these goals, the OECD has invited academics with in-depth knowledge and experience in the field of international rule-making, to collaborate with partnership. Dr Ayelet Berman has been invited to join this group of academics, called the ‘Academic Friends of the Partnership for Effective International Rulemaking’. She looks forward to contributing her knowledge and experience in fields such as informal international law-making, good regulatory practice, accountability and stakeholder engagement in international law-making. 

CIL Senior Research Fellow Dr Hao Duy Phan was invited to moderate a session in the Consultation on ‘A Rules-Based ASEAN: Legal Instruments and their Implementation’ on 1–2 November 2017 in Singapore. The event was jointly organised by the ASEAN Secretariat and the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies with the support of the ASEAN-US Partnership for Good Governance, Equitable and Sustainable Development, and Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit. CIL Associate Director Ms Sharon Seah Li-Lian, CIL Research Fellow Ms Ranyta Yusran, CIL Research Associate Mr Hadyu Ikrami and CIL Postdoctoral Fellows Dr Heejin Kim and Dr Marija Jovanovic also participated in the consultation.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Dr Hao Duy Phan was invited to speak at the 5th East Asia Maritime Security Forum on ‘Maritime Security and Cooperation: Opportunities and Challenges in Asia-Pacific and the Arctic’ on 26–27 October in Edmonton, Canada. Dr Hao Duy Phan delivered a presentation on ‘Addressing Maritime Security Challenges in the South China Sea: The Role of ASEAN’. The Forum was co-organized by the China National Institute for South China Sea Studies and the China Institute at the University of Alberta.

The Research Forum of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) took place at Washington University School of Law, St Louis on 26–28 October 2017. Following an anonymous and selective review process, academics, practitioners and government officials presented their papers in various sub-fields of international law. Speaking on the ‘International Governance’ panel, Dr Ayelet Berman presented her paper on ‘Accordion Governance’, which examines the establishment of international organisations, their displacement in favour of club governance, and the recent reversion towards bigger clubs. Dr Berman was also the moderator of and discussant on the panel ‘Fragmentation and Harmonization in International Law’. Further, as a panellist on ‘The Path to Practice in International Law’ panel, she spoke to students and new professionals interested in pursuing a career in international law.

CIL Director Lucy Reed, Head of International Dispute Resolution (Practice Skills) J Christopher Thomas QC, Head of Investment Law and Policy Jansen Calamita, Practice Fellow Emily Choo, and Global Associates Mark Feldman and Tara Davenport were part of the faculty of the 2017 Singapore International Arbitration Academy, which was organised by the CIL on 25 October 2017–2 November 2017. Ms Emily Choo was also team coach to one of the teams that took part in the Academy’s arbitration moot.

CIL Research Associates Millicent McCreath, Robert Real and Zoe Scanlon attended the Academy as participants and took part in the arbitration moot. Ms Zoe Scanlon was awarded a prize for excellence in advocacy.

Professor Reed, Mr Thomas, Research Associate Professor (CIL) Calamita and Ms Choo were speakers and moderators in the panel sessions in the CIL International Conference on Global Currents in International Investment Law on 2 November 2017.

On 23 October 2017, CIL Director Lucy Reed delivered the Seoul Arbitration Lecture 2017, sponsored by the Seoul International Dispute Resolution Centre. The lecture title was ‘Suite for ISDS: Mediation, Arbitration and Appellate Bodies’. She addressed the need for lawyers practising in the field of investment treaty arbitration to expand their repertoire or suite of skills to keep up with developments. On the one hand, it is important to be prepared for the new investment court system envisioned in the new EU-driven free trade agreements and, on the other hand, to play a more active role in furthering settlements of suitable disputes by mediated negotiations. The audience comprised over 100 Korean ministry representatives, practitioners and academics.

From 20 to 22 October, CIL Research Associate Zoe Scanlon participated in the 8th annual conference on ‘Global Commons and the Governance of Unappropriated Spaces’ organised by the German-Southeast Asian Centre of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance in Bangkok. Ms Scanlon presented an invited paper on ‘Maritime Activities Beyond National Jurisdiction: Governance and Enforcement Challenges’ on a panel addressing issues of governance of global commons in oceans.