Researchers' Activities

The Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA) organized a Conference on the South China Sea: Recent Developments and Implications Towards Peaceful Dispute Resolution on 12 to 13 December 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. CIL Director Robert Beckman presented his paper on “The UNCLOS Dispute Settlement Mechanisms and the South China Sea Disputes” in Session 3 on “The Way Forward: Options and Their Implications.” To download his paper in PDF format, click here. To download his PowerPoint presentation in PDF format, click here.

The US National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) and Indonesia’s Habibie Centre organized a Conference on Marine Energy Resources in Asia to launch NBR’s Research Project on Marine Energy Resources in Asia. CIL Research Associate Tara Davenport presented her paper on “Joint Development in Asia: Some Valuable Lessons Learned.” For a copy of her PowerPoint Presentation in PDF format, click here.

The Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS) of the Faculty of Law, University of Wollongong, Australia hosted the sixth Law of the Sea Institute (LOSI) Conference “The Limits of Maritime Jurisdiction” on 28 November to 2 December 2011 in Wollongong, Australia. The LOSI Conference was sponsored by LOSI, which is based at the School of Law, University of California, Berkeley, USA, and the Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute (KORDI), South Korea. CIL Director Robert Beckman gave a presentation on “Maritime Security and Jurisdiction over Pirates and Maritime Terrorists.” CIL Research Associate Tara Davenport was among five panelists who received the 2011 LOSI Research Competition Award for Early Career Researchers and presented on “The Negotiation of Maritime Boundaries in the East China Sea: Legal and Practical Issues.” CIL Research Associate Leo Bernard also attended the Conference. To download Director Beckman’s PowerPoint Presentation in PDF format, click here. To download Tara Davenport’s PowerPoint Presentation in PDF format, click here.

Adjunct Senior Research Fellow Youna Lyons has been invited by the Republic of Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment, on 23 November 2011, to make a presentation on the use of dispersants in response to oil spills under international law, at the Seminar on Registration Arrangements of Dispersant For Oil Spill Response at Sea organized in Bali. To download a copy of the presentation in PDF format, click here.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Law & Policy Programm and WTO Chair, NUS was invited by Baker & McKenzie, Hong Kong to speak on ASEAN IIAs on 22 November 2011. Prof Ewing-Chow shared with the partners and legal associates of Baker & McKenzie, Hong Kong as well as Beijing, Shanghai and Ho Chi Minh through a videoconference link about “ASEAN & Asian International Investment Agreements (IIA): Protecting FDI from Regulatory Changes”.

CIL Research Associate Leonardo Bernard participated in the 2nd Indonesian Centre for International Law Studies (CILS) Conference 2011 on ‘The ASEAN’s Role in Sustainable Development’ in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The Conference was jointly organized by the Law Faculties of University of Indonesia and University of Gajah Mada. Mr Bernard was one of the Speakers in a Panel that focus on delimitation in the North Malacca Strait, where he talked about the legal history of the continental shelf and EEZ, as well as possible legal solution for delimitation between Indonesia and Malaysia in the North Malacca Strait. For PDF version of his presentation, click here. For a PDF version of the draft paper written by Mr Bernard titled ‘Whose Side Is It On? The Boundary Dispute in the North Malacca Strait’, click here.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Law & Policy Programme and WTO Chair, NUS was invited by UNCTAD for the UNCTAD – City University of Hong Kong “Contemporary Issues in Investment Arbitration: Challenges and Opportunities for Asia’s Growth & Development” Conference from 21-22 November 2011. Prof Ewing-Chow spoke about “Trends and developments in FDI flows and in International Investment Agreements (IIAs): Asia from Capital Importers to Capital Exporters” and “ASEAN IIAs and Regulatory Space” both of which are based on research in collaboration with Adjunct Senior Research Fellow Geraldine Fischer. Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General, UNCTAD opened the conference.

CIL Director Robert Beckman participated in the International Conference on ‘Cooperation for the Safety of Navigation in East Asia: Legal Arrangements and Political Implications’ in Haikou, China. The Conference was organized by the National Institute for South China Sea Studies. Professor Beckman was one of the Panellists on the panel focusing on Navigation in the South China Sea, where he talked about the use of Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) in the South China Sea. For a PDF version of the draft paper that he presented, click here.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Law & 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 Jung Aegyoung, WTO Legal Affairs Officer from 14-16 November 2011. Prof Ewing-Chow also shared his new research on the use by Asian Developing Countries of the WTO Dispute Settlement System which arose out of a collaboration with Mr Akshay Kolse-Patil.

A/P Michael Ewing-Chow, Head of CIL’s Trade and Investment Law & Policy Programme and WTO Chair, NUS was invited by School of Law& Silk Road Institute for International and Comparative Law of Xi’an Jiao Tong University to their conference “CHINA IN THE WTO AT 10TH” form 3rd – 9th November 2011. Prof Ewing-Chow gave lectures on “Trade in Services” and “The Growing Centrality of China in East Asia’s Production Processes” to over 90 officials, lawyers and students attending the event. For a photo from the event, click here.