Researchers' Activities

CIL Director Robert Beckman participated in the Fourth International Workshop on the South China Sea organized by the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and the Vietnam Lawyers Association. The workshop was held from 18-21 November 2012 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and its theme was “The South China Sea: Cooperation for Regional Security and Development”. Prof Beckman presented a paper on “The Significance of the Status of Offshore Geographic Features to Maritime Claims in the South China Sea” (download paper here; download presentation in PDF format here). He also did an oral presentation on the implications for the South China Sea of the 19 November 2012 decision of the International Court of Justice in The Territorial and Maritime Dispute (Nicaragua v. Colombia) (download in PDF format).

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Law and Policy Programme and WTO Chair, NUS was invited by the WTO as a regional expert for the WTO Regional Trade Policy Course for Asia Pacific officials at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) in New Delhi, India. Prof Ewing-Chow taught “The WTO Dispute Settlement System” with Chibole Waikole, WTO Legal Affairs Officer and Alan Yanovich, Counselor, WTO Appellate Body Secretariat from 5-8 November 2012. Prof Ewing-Chow also shared his completed research on the use by Asian Developing Countries of the WTO Dispute Settlement System co-authored with CIL Student Research Assistant Alex Goh.

CIL Patron Prof S Jayakumar, Chairman of CIL’s International Advisory Panel (IAP), delivered the keynote address on “International Law and the South China Sea – Claims and Joint Development” at the Blue South China Sea, Green Joint Development Conference in Xiamen, China, on 3 November 2012. Prof Jayakumar was invited by the Xiamen University South China Sea Institute. For the text of the speech, click here.

From 2 to 5 November 2012 CIL Director Robert Beckman participated in three separate events during World Ocean Week (WOW) in Xiamen, China. On Friday 2 November, he attended the Blue Economy, Green Grow Technology-led Marine Economy Development Conference and made a presentation on “International Regulation of Low-carbon Marine Economy Development” at the Forum of Marine Science and Technology. On Saturday 3 November, he participated in the 1st Annual Meeting of the 3rd International Academic Advisory Committee of the Coastal and Ocean Management Institute of Xiamen University. On Sunday 4 November he attended the “Blue South China Sea: Green Joint Development” Conference organized by the programme on Oceans Law and Policy of the Xiamen University Law School. He made a presentation on “Identifying Areas for Joint Development and Cooperation in the South China Sea”. For his presentation at the Forum, click here. For his presentation at the Joint Development Conference, click here.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Law and Policy Programme and WTO Chair, NUS was invited to attend Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law (HiiL) Innovating Justice Forum 2012 from 1-2 November 2012. The forum focused on the issue of the rise of international rule making as a phenomenon and the problem of building trust in the rulemaking by transnational public and private networks. For more information on the Forum, visit the Forum website by clicking here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman and Senior Research Fellow Youna Lyons participated actively in the APAC decommissioning workshop organized by Decomworld in Singapore on 31st October-1st November 2012. Professor Beckman chaired the regulatory panel and made a presentation on the global legal regime on the decommissioning of offshore installations and structures.

CIL Director Robert Beckman made a presentation on 24 October 2012 at the Workshop on ASEAN Enhanced Dispute Settlement Mechanisms at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. Prof Beckman’s presentation was on “Dispute Settlement Mechanisms and Compliance with ASEAN Agreements”. Prof Beckman also participated in a panel discussion at the Workshop on the ASEAN Dispute Settlement Mechanisms. For the PowerPoint Presentation, click here.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Youna Lyons attended and made a presentation at the SCS-2012, 2nd Conference for Regional Cooperation in Ocean and Earth Science Research in the South China Sea: Sharing Knowledge, Resources and Technologies for a Sustainable South China Sea, jointly organized by the University of Malaya and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation Malaysia (MOSTI). This conference took place on 21-24 October in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Youna’s presentation was titled: ‘Documenting Biodiversity Research to Assist with the Implementation of International Instruments and the Protection of Marine Biodiversity’. To download a copy of Youna’s presentation in PDF format, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman made a presentation on 17 October 2012 at the Offshore Patrol & Security Asia Pacific Conference at the Renaissance Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Prof Beckman’s presentation was on “Territorial Disputes, Unresolved Maritime Boundaries & Maritime Security – Case Study: The South China Sea”. For the PowerPoint Presentation, click here.

CIL Chairman Prof Tommy Koh delivered a speech on “ASEAN-Japan Relations: A Singapore Perspective” at the GRIPS-ISEAS Joint Workshop 2012 at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, Japan. To download the speech in PDF format, click here.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, WTO Chair and Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Programme, and CIL Research Fellow Dr Tan Hsien-Li led a seminar on “The Role of the Rule of Law in ASEAN Integration” at the Academy of Global Governance, Executive Training Seminar Series on “Regional Integration Beyond the European Experience: Latin America and Asia”, European University Institute, Florence, Italy. For more information, click here.

CIL Chairman Prof Tommy Koh delivered a speech on “Japan’s Prospects and Challenges: A View from Southeast Asia” at the International House of Japan, on the occassion of its 60th anniversary celebrations in Tokyo, Japan. To download the speech in PDF format, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman delivered the Keynote Address at the 7th ABLOS Conference in Monaco on 1-5 October 2012. ABLOS is the Advisory Board on the Law of the Sea of the International Hydrographic Organization. The theme of the 7th ABLOS Conference was “UNCLOS in a Changing World”. Prof Beckman’s Keynote Address was on “Maritime Claims in the South China Sea: Issues & Challenges”. For the PowerPoint Presentation, click here.

CIL Research Associate Leonardo Bernard participated in the International Malaysia Law Conference with the theme “Asian Perspective, Global Viewpoints” from 26-28 September 2012 at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Malaysia. Leo presented a presentation titled “UNCLOS & the Legal Claims in the South China Sea”. The Conference was hosted by the Bar Council Malaysia. For the PowerPoint presentation, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman participated in an International Seminar on “Geographical Features in the East Asian Seas and the Law of the Sea” from 20-21 September 2012 at Academia Sinica in Taiwan. Prof Beckman presented a paper on the “Legal Status of Low-Tide Elevations and Submerged Features”. The seminar was co-hosted by the Society of Ieodo Research, Jeju, Korea and the Center for Asia-Pacific Area Studies, Academia Sinica. For the PowerPoint presentation, click here. For the draft paper, click here.

CIL Research Associate Leonardo Bernard participated in the 2nd MIMA South China Sea Conference: Geo Strategic Developments and Prospects for Dispute Management in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at 4-5 September 2012. The Conference highlighted the recent South China Sea developments and their implications on the position of the claimants and extra-regional powers in working for peaceful resolution of disputes in the South China Sea.

CIL Director Robert Beckman participated in a Conference on the Practices of the UNCLOS and the Resolution of South China Sea Disputes at the National Taiwan Normal University from 3-5 September 2012. Professor Beckman presented a paper on “Regional Cooperation to Combat Piracy & International Maritime Crimes”. For the draft paper, click here. For the PowerPoint presentation, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman participated in a seminar on Piracy & Maritime Security for the 21st Maritime Knowledge Shipping Session on 29 August 2012 at STI Capital Tower in Singapore. The session was jointly organised by the Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF) and General Insurance Association (GIA). Prof Beckman was one two speakers. He made a presentation on “Piracy & Armed Robbery Against Ships: An International Law Perspective” (download in PDF format).

CIL Director Robert Beckman participated in an International Symposium on “The East China Sean and the Law of the Sea: Defusing Tensions and Enhancing Cooperation” from 21-22 August at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China. Prof Beckman presented a paper on “Non-living Resources in Disputed Areas in the East China Sea: Law and Policy Issues concerning Provisional Arrangements under Articles 74 and 83” which he co-authored with CIL Research Fellow Tara Davenport. Prof Beckman also served as a moderator for one session and a discussant in another session. Prof Beckman also delivered a congratulatory address at a ceremony establishing the Zhejiang University Centre for Ocean Law and Governance. To download Prof Beckman’s presentation on “Non-Living Resources in the East China Sea: Law and Policy Issues Concerning Provisional Arrangements of a Practical Nature” in PDF format, click here. For the draft paper, click here.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Dr Tan Hsien-Li presented her study, co-authored with Professor Alison Duxbury of the Melbourne Law School at the University of Melbourne, on “ASEAN and Human Rights” for the ASEAN Integration Through Law Project, August Internal Workshop.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Dr Tan Hsien-Li presented her study, co-authored with CIL Research Associate Chan Sze Wei, on “Documentary Dynamic Analysis of the Evolution of the Objectives of ASEAN and the Means for Their Achievement” for the ASEAN Integration Through Law Project, August Internal Workshop.

CIL Director Robert Beckman delivered four lectures on the South China Sea at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV) in Hanoi on 9 and 10 August 2012. The lectures were part of a DAV training course for government officials on international law and policy. For more information on the DAV, see http://www.dav.edu.vn/en/

CIL Research Associate Leonardo Bernard participated in the 6th Summer Academy at the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea on 22 July – 18 August 2012, in Hamburg, Germany. Mr Bernard received a partial scholarship from the International Foundation for the Law of the Sea to participate in this year’s Summer Academy. Mr Bernard and his team also managed to win the moot court competition, where he had to argue a maritime boundary delimitation case in front of a panel of judges presided by Judge H. Turk. The award was presented by the Chair of the International Foundation for the Law of the Sea, Doris Konig, during the formal Senate Reception in the Town Hall of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. For more information, click here.

Dr Navin Rajagobal, CIL Deputy Director, together with Prof M. Sornarajah, NUS Law School, and Mr Ken Aboud, Allen & Overy, judged the finals of the Singapore International Affairs Debate 2012 on 21 July 2011 between ACJC and HCJC at the NUS Bukit Timah Campus. The motion was “This House believes that Singapore’s foreign policy should better take into account the sensitivities and interests of our neighbours.” CIL’s patron, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law Mr. K. Shanmugam, was the Guest of Honour.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, WTO Chair and Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Programme, was invited to teach at the IEEM Academy of International Investment and Trade Law in Macau on “Asian Developments in Investment Agreements”.

At General Meeting of SIEL held during the SIEL 2012 conference in Singapore, A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, WTO Chair and Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Programme, was elected to the Executive Council of SIEL. He will serve a term of 3 years from 13 July 2012. SIEL is the leading forum for International Economic Law scholarship.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, WTO Chair and Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Programme, hosted WTO Chairs Dialogue during SIEL 2012 on the Future of the WTO calling for more transparency mechanisms as the way to address the slow progress in Doha negotiations. He suggested that the WTO was more than just legislation and litigation and more mechanisms for explanation could assist in trade liberalization as well. Patrick Low, Chief Economist of the WTO chaired the session.

On Sunday 1st July at 10.30pm, CIL Director Robert Beckman participated in a panel discussion on the South China Sea disputes on World Insight, an in-depth news analysis program on the English language channel of China Central Television (CCTV). Prof Beckman participated from a studio in Singapore. The programme was broadcast live in Singapore.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, WTO Chair and Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Programme was invited to attend the WTO Chairs Annual Meeting at the WTO in Geneva on 25 & 26 June where he presented his paper on “From Self-Sufficiency to Collective Food Security: A Case-study on Rice”. He was then invited to attend the GTAP meeting on 27 June and the WTO Legal Affairs Division’s 30th Anniversary on 28 June.

CIL Patron Prof S Jayakumar, CIL Director Robert Beckman and CIL Senior Research Fellow Youna Lyons participated in the 36th Annual Conference of the Center for Oceans Law and Policy (COLP) In Halifax, Nova Scotia, from 21-22 June 2012. Prof S Jayakumar delivered the Opening Address at the Conference with a paper entitled “The Continental Shelf Regime under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: Reflections after Thirty Years”. CIL sponsored a panel at the Conference on the Decommissioning of Offshore Installations and Structures. Prof Beckman made a presentation on the “Global Legal Regime on the Decommissioning of Offshore Installations and Structures” (download PowerPoint presentation in PDF format; download Working Paper in PDF format) and Youna Lyons made a presentation on “Abandoned Offshore Installations in Southeast Asia and the Opportunity for ‘Rigs-to-Reefs'” (download in PDF format). For more information, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman and CIL Research Fellow Tara Davenport attended the CSIS Pacific Forum Workshop on “Maritime Security in Southeast Asia” in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 12 – 14 June 2012. The Workshop was co-organized by CSIS, the Malaysian Institute of Defense and Security (MiDAS) and the Malaysian International Affairs Forum (MIAF). Prof Beckman gave a presentation on “Resolution of Disputes in the South China Sea” (download in PDF). Tara Davenport gave a presentation on “Provisional Arrangements of a Practical Nature: Problems and Prospects in Southeast Asia” (download in PDF).

CIL Chairman Prof Tommy Koh delivered a lecture on “Law and Justice: An Asian Perspective” (view in PDF) at the 9th Asian Law Institute Conference at the NUS Law School, Singapore.

Research Fellow Dr Lin Lin and Research Associates Ranyta Yusran and Sanjay Pala Krishnan participated in the 9th Asian Law Institute (ASLI) Conference held at the NUS Bukit Timah Campus from 31 May to 1 June 2012. In the first panel on Corporate Law & Governance, Dr Lin Lin presented on “The Evolution of Partnerships and Partnership Law in China: From the Perspective of Asset Partitioning”. Ranyta Yusran opened the first panel on International & Comparative Law by discussing “ASEAN Treaty Practice: Mapping out the Unknown”. Sanjay Pala Krishnan focused on the “Comparative Implementation of Global Conventions on International Maritime Crimes”. To access more information about the ASLI Conference 2012, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman and CIL Researchers Tara Davenport and Leo Bernard participated at the 7th Annual International Conference of the Law of the Sea Institute (LOSI) on “Securing the Ocean for the Next Generation” on 21 May 2012 – 24 May 2012, Seoul, Korea. The LOSI Conference was jointly organized by LOSI at the University of California, Berkeley and the Korea Ocean Research & Development Institute (KORDI). Director Beckman and Tara Davenport co-authored a paper on “The EEZ Regime: Reflections After Thirty Years” which was presented by Director Beckman. CIL Research Associate Leo Bernard was among four panelists who received the 2012 LOSI Research Competition Award for Early Career Researchers and presented his paper on “The Effect of Fisheries on Maritime Boundary Delimitation”. To download Director Beckman’s PowerPoint Presentation, click here. To download Leo Bernard’s PowerPoint Presentation in PDF format, click here.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, WTO Chair and Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Programme, was invited to participate in the WTO/ICTSD/ACWL Dialogue on Managing Trade Disputes in Geneva. He spoke in two sessions – “Managing Litigation – The Need for Inter-Agency Coordination” and “How to Actively Build Legal Capacity”.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, WTO Chair and Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Programme, was invited to participate in the WTO/ICTSD/ACWL Workshop on Strengthening Legal Capacity in Developing Countries: Specialised Training on WTO in Geneva where he presented a paper on “The Use of the WTO DSM by Asian Developing Countries”.

CIL Director Robert Beckman took part in the first edition of Channel NewsAsia’s Perspectives programme at 8.00 PM on 29 April 2012. Perspectives presents a panel of distinguished thinkers from Singapore’s top institutions and think tanks who are expected to gather every month to dissect current events with in-depth analyses. Hosted by Debra Soon, the Managing Director of Channel NewsAsia, the inaugural panel comprising Tommy Koh, Robert Beckman, Gopinath Pillai and Wang Gungwu discussed issues such as the rise of China and the South China Sea territorial disputes. A recording of the programme and more information can be accessed here: http://www2.channelnewsasia.com/perspectives/

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Programme, was invited to speak at a Colloquium at the University of Freiburg, Germany on “The Theory of ASEAN Integration” on 27 April 2012 as part of the Southeast Asian Studies Programme at the University of Freiberg. For more information, please click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman presented a paper on 20 April 2012 at the Plenary Meeting of the Trilateral Commission in Tokyo, Japan. His paper was on “Geopolitics, International Law and the South China Sea”. For a copy of the paper, click here.

CIL Research Fellow Tara Davenport participated at the 2012 Annual Plenary Meeting of the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) on “A Sea Change: Securing Submarine Cables in the Modern World”, held in Lisbon, Portugal from 17 – 19 April 2012. She presented on “The Criminalization of Damage to Submarine Cables: Problems and Prospects”. For a copy of the PowerPoint Presentation, please click here.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, Head, Trade/Investment Law & Policy, CIL, was invited to present his research into food security at the final meeting of the NYU-NYLS International Economic Law Working Group that took place in New York on 11 April 2012. Prof Ewing-Chow gave a presentation on “Food Security: From Self Sufficiency to Production Diversification and Regional Cooperation – A Case Study in Rice Security.” For more information on the Working Group, please click here. For a copy of the minutes of the meeting, please click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman presented a paper on “Cooperation to Combat ‘Piracy’ in Southeast Asia” at an international seminar at Padjadjaran University in Bandung, Indonesia on 5 April 2012. The Seminar was organized by the Indonesian Centre for the Law of the Sea (ICLOS) at Padjadjaran University, the Netherlands Institute for the Law of the Sea (NILOS) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. The seminar was organized in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The other speakers were Dr Hasjim Djalal and Prof Etty Agoes of Indonesia and Prof A.H.A. Soons of NILOS and Martin Sebastian of the Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA). For a copy of the paper, click here. For a copy of the powerpoint presentation, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman and CIL Research Fellow Tara Davenport participated in a South China Sea Workshop on 2 April 2012 at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore. The workshop brought together representatives from think tanks in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.

CIL Deputy Director Dr Navin Rajagobal participated in the 50th anniversary celebrations of the NUS Department of Political Science on 30 March 2012 at the Orchid Country Club. H.E. Ambassador Chan Heng Chee was the Guest-of-Honour.

CIL Research Fellow, Dr Tan Hsien-Li, along with CIL Research Associates Leonardo Bernard and Ranyta Yusran, participated in the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law in Washington DC, USA on 28-31 March 2012. During the meeting, Dr Tan did a book review for The Practice of International and National Courts and the (De-)Fragmentation of International Law (Edited by Ole Kristian Fauchald and Andr? Nollkaemper). She also covered the Plenary Session rounding up Day 1 ? Confronting Complexity in the Hague: The View from the Courts and Tribunals ? featuring the heads of the international tribunals (Brooks Daly, Permanent Court of Arbitration; Theodor Meron, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia; Sang-Hyun Song, International Criminal Court; Peter Tomka, International Court of Justice). To access Dr Tan’s coverage of the Plenary Session, please click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman and CIL Senior Research Fellow Youna Lyons participated in a Workshop in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from 28-30 March 2012. The Workshop on Maritime Security in Southeast Asia: Maritime Safety and the Marine Environment was co-organized by the Pacific Forum, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Honolulu, and the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam. Prof Beckman gave a presentation in Session 1 on Legal Regimes and Marine Environmental Protection and Safety (download in PDF). Youna Lyons gave a presentation in Session 4 on Energy Extraction and Transportation (download in PDF).

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Law & Policy Programme, and Adjunct Senior Research Fellow Geraldine Fischer were invited by UNESCAP, the Thai Department of Trade Negotiations, the International Institute for Trade and Development and the WTO, as expert trainers on Investment and Services negotiations. The “Capacity building programme on Trade in Services and Investment Liberalization Negotiations” was held in Bangkok from 27-30 March 2012. 50 Thai officials and officials from the CLMV countries also participated in this programme.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Dr Tan Hsien-Li presented her paper on “The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights as a Tool for Social Justice” at the Conference on Regional Human Rights Systems – Tools for Social Justice? at the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights at the University of Utrecht in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

CIL Director Robert Beckman was invited to give a live studio interview for Channel News Asia’s newly launched “Think Tank” Segment on 12 March 2012. Prof Beckman shared his insights on the South China Sea disputes and his views on the prospects for resolution. The segment was aired live at 7:30 on 12 March 2012.

CIL Director Robert Beckman made a presentation on “Military Activities in the EEZ: Legal Issues” (download in PDF) at an international conference on “Security Environment of the Seas in East Asia: From the East and South China Seas – Power Shift and Response”. The conference was jointly organized by the Maritime Security Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) and the Ocean Policy Research Foundation (OPRF) of Japan. It was held at the Marina Mandarin Hotel from 28-29 February 2012. The other two speakers in the panel on EEZ activities were Dr. Moritaka Hayashi, Professor Emeritus, Waseda University, and Dr. Jin Yongming, Associate Professor, Director of Center for Oceans Law, Law Institute, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.