Researchers' Activities

10 February 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited as a Speaker to the Two-day Symposium for the Oxford Handbook on Women and International Law Hosted by the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg

This webinar was organised by the U.S.-Asia Law Institute

Research Fellow Nivedita S attended the annual meeting of the OSPAR’s Radioactive Substances Committee (RSC) held from 8 to 10 February 2022. She was part of the delegation of the Advisory Committee on Protection of the Sea (ACOPS), a non-governmental organisation with observer status with the OSPAR Commission. Held virtually, the main focus of this meeting was to finalise the fifth periodic evaluation (5PE) and the Radioactive Substances Thematic Assessment for the Quality Status Report 2023. The purpose of such evaluations is to analyse the progress made by Contracting Parties to the OSPAR Convention towards the strategic objective of the OSPAR Radioactive Substances Strategy, which aims to reduce discharges of radioactive substances to the North-East Atlantic either to background values or near zero. Strategic issues that the RSC monitors include floating nuclear power stations. The International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Nuclear Association also attended as observers. For more information on RSC, see https://www.ospar.org/work-areas/rsc.

CIL Research Associate Maria Pia Benosa recently completed the inaugural course of the Basel Winter Arbitration School 2022 (Arbitration Lab) at the Law Faculty of the University of Basel from 6-11 February 2022. Joined by both in-person and online participants from over 15 countries, Arbitration Lab featured lectures on key areas relevant to ocean law and policy such as dispute resolution under Annex VII of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Human Rights at Sea Arbitration Initiative. Basel Arbitration Lab, which aims to provide an overarching platform for a wide range of arbitration practice areas, is a pioneering initiative of Prof. Anna Petrig (University of Basel) and Prof. Yarik Kryvoi (British Institute of International and Comparative Law).

Research Fellow Nivedita S and Research Associate Annabelle Teo participated in a webinar entitled “Safety, Security and Safeguards Interfaces and Challenges for Novel Advanced Reactors” organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on 3 February 2022. This was the second webinar in a series of webinars on the safety of Novel Advanced Reactors (NARs) (which includes marine-based small modular reactors), following the completion of a high-level mapping of the applicability of the IAEA Safety Standards to NARs.

Having found during the mapping exercise that the implementation of the safety requirements for NARs at the design stage has interfaces with security and safeguards considerations, the aim of the webinar was to discuss the various interfaces, challenges, synergies and conflicts for the safety, security and safeguards (3Ss) of NARs, taking into account their unique characteristics such as new fuel concepts and transportability. This discussion was timely given that many NARs are still at a conceptual or early design stage, thus presenting a unique opportunity for interested stakeholders to promote and pursue a holistic approach that integrates all 3Ss to support the development and deployment of NARs. Additionally, the webinar also provided an overview of the IAEA’s upcoming activities in this area. Details of the event and speakers are available in the webinar programme.

2 February 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Lecture at the LinCEJ Seminar Series of the Lincoln University Law School (UK) on Sea Level Rise and the Work of the International Law Commission

1 February 2022: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited as a Panelist to Webinar on “Successes and Failures of UNCLOS” Hosted by Volterra Fietta Law Firm.

This was the inaugural seminar in Volterra Fietta’s seminar series to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (referred to as UNCLOS).

Danielle delivered a guest lecture on 21 Jan 2022 at the NUS Climate Change Law and Policy module convened Visiting Prof Douglas Kysar. Danielle spoke on the negotiations process and her perspectives as a former legal advisor and climate change negotiator.

22 December 2021: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Give a Lecture at the Marine Law and Policy Research Centre of the Istanbul Bilgi University, Titled “International Law Consequences of Climate Change and Sea Level Rise”

More about the event at: International Law Consequences of Climate Change and Sea Level Rise, 22 December 2021 | Marine Law and Policy Research Center (bilgi.edu.tr)

CIL Research Associate Annabelle Teo participated in various events during the International Conference on the Safe and Secure Transport of Nuclear and Radioactive Materials, which was held virtually from 13 to 17 December 2021. The conference was organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and focused on issues relating to transport safety, transport security and the interface between them, with the objective of supporting Member States in further developing and strengthening their transport safety and security regulatory infrastructures.

Relevant topics covered over the course of the week include: (i) the main transport considerations and challenges for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in realising the prospect of global deployment of SMRs; (ii) the call for enhanced regional networks addressing transport safety and security in a coordinated manner, including within the Asia and Pacific Islands region; (iii) the exchange of good practices and experience, including presentations from ASEAN Member States such as Indonesia and Myanmar on the development of transport regulations and the exercise of regulatory oversight; and (iv) the IAEA’s past work and future plans to promote effective management of the transport safety-security interface. Details of the event and speakers are available in the conference programme.