Researchers' Activities

On October 26, 2023, Dita led a session on “Interception,” covering maritime zones, jurisdiction at sea, and grounds for interception under international law. The following day, October 27, 2023, Dita covered “Search and Rescue (SAR) at Sea” module, focusing on the international legal framework and the three phases of emergency set out in the SAR Convention. On both days, Dita also facilitated simulation exercises involving scenarios of smuggling of migrants by sea.

For the full conference programme, click here. To view Prof Beckman’s PowerPoint slides, click here.

Investigative reports have exposed the tragic working conditions experienced by some fishers in Southeast Asia. These fishers often find themselves labouring nearly around the clock with minimal access to essential provisions like food, water, and medical care. The situation is exacerbated by instances where those in need of medical assistance are abandoned at sea. To make matters worse, fishers are susceptible to various forms of abuse, including physical and sexual, inflicted by the vessel’s master or fellow crew members. The inability to leave the vessel compounds the abuses endured by these individuals, particularly considering the prolonged durations fishing vessels spend at sea.

This event was co-organised by the Centre for Strategic Energy & Resources, an independent think-and-do tank and non-profit organisation that seeks to provide thought leadership on issues related to energy transition and sustainability. Denise presented as part of the session on “Global Perspectives on nuclear energy and its implications for Asia Pacific”.

More about the event at the link: https://www.ila-americanbranch.org/international-law-weekend/

The workshop was organised by the T.M.C Asser Institute, the University of Groningen and in close cooperation with the Centre for the Law of EU External relations (CLEER) on 20 October, Den Haag.

Click here for event information and here for the recording of the session.

His presentation was on “The Impact of the 2023 High Seas Treaty on Commercial Shipping”. For the abstract of this presentation and his PowerPoint slides, click here.

At this year’s event, Nilufer was one of the speakers for the opening fireside chat on “Building the Foundations for Turkey’s Future in International Arbitration and International Dispute Settlement”.

The event opened with a Keynote by ASEAN Secretary-General Dr Kao Kim Hourn, followed by panels on “Forces of Fragmentation”, ASEAN economic integration, regional flashpoints and “ASEAN in the age of multipolarity”.

Prof Beckman delivered the keynote speech in Session 1, which was entitled “South China Sea: International Law Perspectives”.

Many thanks to the Washington College of Law and  partner institutions for the collaboration; as well as the expert speakers and participants for their contributions to the robust and thought provoking dialogues. 

https://www.wcl.american.edu/impact/initiatives-programs/techlaw/events/second-annual-symposium-on-cyber-and-international-law-cyber-in-war-lesson-from-the-russia-ukraine-conflict/

more information here https://www.icj-cij.org/judicial-fellows-program

The full programme and informal documents prepared for the Sixth Intersessional Meeting of Working Group III are available here.

The panel was moderated by Professor N. Jansen Calamita, Head, Investment Law & Policy, at CIL. Discussants on the panel were Ms Young Shin Um, Senior Deputy Director, International Dispute Settlement Division, Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Korea, and Ms Lai Thị Vân Anh, Deputy Director General, Department of International Law of the Ministry of Justice of Viet Nam.

Dr. Davenport gave a lecture on “Deep seabed mining and submarine cables.” More information on this initiative is available here: https://www.isa.org.jm/deep-dive/

Her presentation is available here.

The webinar was livestreamed on Facebook, and the video recording of the event is available here.

The theme of the conference was ‘Future of Environmental Law in ASEAN and Beyond.’ On August 17^th, 2023, Dita presented on the topic of ‘Ocean Equity.’

On 9 August 2022, Dita delivered two presentations, covering the status of maritime boundaries in Southeast Asia, the ongoing requests for advisory opinions on sea level rise, and UNCLOS dispute settlement mechanisms in the Southeast Asian context.

TRILA Team co-organised the Junior Scholar Workshop at the University of Indonesia, Faculty of Law.

Dr. Davenport presented on “UNCLOS, IMO and Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships,” in Plenary Session 3 on Maritime Autonomous Surface Vessels.

Railla Puno delivered a presentation online based on working paper “Oceans and Climate Change: Synergy and Conflict in International Law”

The theme of this year’s MILOPS was ‘Cooperating to Defend the Rules-Based International Order in the Indo-Pacific.’

The conference, hosted by the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network (APLN) and Verification Research, Training, and Information Centre (VERTIC), focused on managing and mitigating incidents and escalation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Dita Liliansa delivered a presentation titled ‘Regional Cooperation on Fishing Vessel Safety in Southeast Asia” at the 2023 International Marine Economy and Maritime Services Forum in Ningbo, China (17-19 July 2023).

On 11 July 2022, Senior Research Fellow Charalampos Giannakopoulos participated in the conference “International Trade and Business Law: Present and a Decade Ahead”, which was organised by the University of Law, Viet Nam National University.

The 26^th Rhodes Academy was attended by 48 students from 29 countries from all regions of the world, including participants from four countries in Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Singapore. CIL sponsored the participation of Taufik Rachmat Nugraha of Indonesia, who is currently an ASEAN Visiting Fellow at CIL.

The only Singaporean participant at the 26^th Academy, Amanda Chong from the Attorney-General’s Chambers, who did Singapore proud by receiving an award for being the top student in the written examination. The top student in the oral examination was Ms. Aliki Gkana from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece.

28 June 2023: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited by Durham University to Speak at the IPDM Annual Conference on “Maritime Security in a Changing World”.

CIL Director Dr Nilufer Oral spoke on the role and relevance of the oceans in the global stocktake while Danielle Yeow, Lead Climate Change Law and Policy spoke on the current and future role of stakeholders in the global stocktake process. 

22-23 June 2023: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited by Durham University to Speak at the “The Global Stocktake and International Law Paradigm, Process and Ambition”.

This workshop, whose participants were mostly natural scientists, focused on four current issues and specific case studies on (1) marine plastics, (2) blue carbon, (3) shared fish stocks and fisheries refugia, and (4) marine protected areas, area-based management tools and endangered species. Each session had two specialised trainers: a scientist and a lawyer.

The Keynote focused on the Law-Science to policy interface to protect coral reef systems and emphasised the respective role of science and law to inform policy-making by governments and the importance of underused provisions of international law to protect the marine environment including coral reef systems and associated species. The presentation slides can be viewed here.

The lecture focused on the development of Seabed Mining under the Law of the Sea Convention 1982 Part XI ‘The Area’ and what ‘Space Mining’ can do based on The Area development to ensure the safety and security aspects of future space mining.

Dita Liliansa delivered a presentation titled “Indonesia’s Archipelagic State Concept: History and Development” at the Workshop on Land, Sea, and Archipelago: The Conflict in the South China Sea and New Directions in Geopolitics (Hybrid, 8 June 2023).

The podcast episode can be accessed at the following link: https://cimsec.org/sea-control-434-can-indonesia-stop-the-transit-of-aukus-subs-with-dita-liliansa/

Prof Robert Beckman participated in a Roundtable Discussion on “Securing Digital Connectivity” Global Issues: Global Approach” at the ATxSummit.

The aim is to accelerate genomic sequencing for infectious disease surveillance and public health utility across south and southeast Asia. CIL serves as a legal knowledge partner.

The Association is the first of its kind endeavour to create a regional network to advance collaboration, research, law and policy concerning health in Asia.

Government officials from Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam participated in the discussion, which was moderated by N. Jansen Calamita, Head, Investment Law & Policy, CIL. David Gaukrodger, Senior Legal Adviser, OECD Investment Division, and Professor Lauge Poulsen, Chair, OECD Project on Climate Change and Investment, took part in the discussion, which allowed participants to improve their understanding of regional interests, priorities and policies for the climate and investment. 

Railla Puno delivered a presentation based on working paper “Rights-based Approaches for Carbon Dioxide Removal: Asia in Focus” at the 7^th edition of the Gonzaga in Florence Human Rights Conference with this year’s theme of Climate Change and Human Rights. The Conference was held in Florence, Italy from 24-25 May 2023 and was hosted by the University of Gonzaga School of Law.

The  meeting discussed, among others, the status and content of the law of countermeasures as applied in cyberspace.

The event was a side-line event of the 8^th International Maritime Security Conference 2023, jointly organised by S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) and the Australia National Centre for Ocean Resources & Security (ANCORS) on 5 May 2023 in Singapore.

5 May 2023: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the ASIL ICTIG Event on the Topic: “The Role of International Courts and Tribunals Amidst the Conflict in Ukraine: Avenues for Justice and Peace?”

Danielle Yeow, Lead Climate Law and Policy, attended a meeting of the UNFCCC RINGO Oceans Interest Group Quarterly Meeting on 4 May 2023 to discuss developments relating to climate change and oceans and preparations for the 58^th meeting of the Subsidiary Bodies to the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement.

Special Thanks

Amiel Valdez joined the 209 lawyers from 59 countries who served as judges in the recently concluded International Rounds of the 2023 Philip C Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, which was held in person in Washington, D.C., United States of America.

N. Jansen Calamita – After the Treaty is Signed: Do States Internalise Investment Treaty Commitments in Their Decision Making?

27 March 2023: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at the 2023 Regional Conference on Preserving Statehood and Protecting Persons: Legal Options and Institutional Responses to the Impacts of Sea-Level Rise, in the context of International Law organized by the Pacific Islands Forum which was held in Fiji from 27-30 March 2023.

The Climate Change Law and Policy team, in collaboration with Durham University’s Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy and the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative, made a joint submission to the Global Stocktake (GST) 2023 process under the Paris Agreement. This GST is a process for taking stock of the implementation of the Paris Agreement with the aim of assessing the world’s collective progress towards achieving the purpose of the Paris Agreement and its long-term goals. The first stocktake got underway at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26) and will conclude at COP28 in 2023.