Researchers' Activities

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 Director Robert Beckman attended the 76th Biennial Conference of the International Law Association (ILa) and 108th Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) in Washington DC. The ASIL Annual Meeting and the ILA Biennial Conference were organised jointly and held together. The other CIL staff who attend the meetings were Michael Ewing-Chow, James Losari, Leonardo Bernard and Hao Duy Phan.

Professor Joseph Weiler, Director of the CIL ASEAN Integration Through Law Project (President of the European University Institute; NUS Law School; and University Professor at the NYU School of Law (on-leave)) convened and chaired the discussions on the ASEAN Economic Community at Plenary 4 of the ASEAN Integration Through Law Project: The ASEAN Economic Community at the Sofitel Plaza Hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam. CIL senior expert, Professor Michael-Ewing-Chow, shared his work on the ASEAN economic integration and investment regime. He also co-taught the Course Development Workshop on Investment during the event. This Plenary was hosted jointly with the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam. For more information, please click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman served as the coordinator and main lecturer in an International Law Course CIL conducted for government officials from more than 20 countries. The course was conducted under the auspices of the Singapore Cooperation Program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prof Beckman made presentations and led discussions in 14 sessions of 90 minutes each over the 5-day course. Assoc Prof Michael Ewing-Chow and Christopher Thomas also made presentations. CIL Research Fellow Ranyta Yusran played a major role in organising the course and the course materials. CIL Research Fellows Hao Duy Phan and Leonardo Bernard also led discussions at the course.

CIL Director Robert Beckman and CIL Research Associate Monique Page were invited to attend the annual meeting of the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Prof Beckman made a presentation on ‘UNCLOS and the 2012 OSPAR Guidelines on BEP in Cable Laying and Operation’.

CIL Director Robert Beckman participated in the Norway-Singapore Arctic Symposium at the Riverview Hotel on 14 March 2014. The symposium was organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the Norwegian Embassy and the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI). The keynote speaker was Else Berit Eikeland, Norway’s senior Arctic official in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prof Beckman made a presentation on “UNCLOS and Prevention of Pollution in the Arctic”. For a copy of his presentation, click here.

The International Economic Law and Policy (IELPO) LL.M Programme of the Universidad de Barcelona invited CIL Head of Trade and Investment Law and Policy Professor Michael Ewing-Chow for the second consecutive year to teach ‘Regionalism in Asia’ as part of their programme. The course was held on 10-11 March 2014 and focused on the unique features of Asian Regionalism, with an emphasis on the trade and investment aspects of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

CIL staff organised and participated in the ‘International Conference on Transboundary Pollution: Evolving Issues of International Law and Policy’. The conference was held at the Orchard Hotel, Singapore. Prof Tommy Koh and Prof S Jayakumar served as co-chairs of the conference. CIL Director Robert Beckman presented a paper on ‘State Responsibility for Transboundary Marine Pollution’, CIL Senior Research Fellow Youna Lyons presented a paper on ‘Transboundary Pollution from Offshore Activities: A Study of the Montara Offshore Oil Spill’, and Prof Alan Tan presented a paper on ‘Co-operative and Unilateral Mechanisms to Combat Forest Fires and Transboundary Haze’ in Southeast Asia. CIL Senior Research Fellow Hao Duy Phan played a major role in organising the Conference. CIL Research Staff Members Hao Duy Phan, Monique Page, Leonardo Bernard, Ranyta Yusran and Zhen Sun served as rapporteurs of the Conference, while Yvette Anthony served as Master of Ceremony. For more information on the Conference, please click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman and CIL Research Associate Monique Page attended a CSCAP Experts Group Meeting on Security of Vital Undersea Communications Infrastructure on Monday 17 February in Jakarta. On Tuesday 18 February they will be attending a meeting of the CSCAP Study Group on Maritime Security. CSCAP is Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP). The Study Group is co-chaired by CSCAP Singapore, CSCAP Indonesia and CSCAP New Zealand. Prof Beckman will be making presentations at both of the meetings. For a copy of his presentation at the CSCAP Experts Group Meeting, click here.

CIL Research Associate, Junianto James Losari spoke in the Plenary Discussion on Cooperative Ventures toward ASEAN Integration. The Plenary discussion was a part of the full day Business Law Convention held by De La Salle University College of Law in cooperation with the Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines on Doing Business in Free Trade Areas: Cooperative Ventures toward ASEAN Integration. The event, attended by almost 1,000 students, academia and business community, was meant to raise awareness about the upcoming ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015. For more information, click here.