2025 ASIL Abroad - Singapore

The Arc and Future of International Criminal Law – From the Rome Statute to the Crimes against Humanity Treaty

More than twenty years after the entry force of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Statute on 1 July 2002, the UN General Assembly Sixth Committee decided by consensus in November 2024 to launch the process to negotiate an international convention on crimes against humanity, based on the draft Articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Humanity adopted in 2019 by the UN International Law Commission (ILC). The purposes of the panel will be to explore the articulation of the draft Treaty with existing instruments such as the ICC Statute, or its articulation with other ILC’s current work on Immunity of States Officials. The interventions will also aim to critically explore the pending issues raised by the current ILC draft Articles on gender-based violence, enforced disappearance – in light of the 2006 UN Convention on enforced disappearance of persons – or the rules governing the establishment of domestic criminal jurisdiction.

Investment Arbitration Today

The Panel will bring together arbitrators, professors, and practitioners with diverse backgrounds to explore the current developments and future direction of investment arbitration, focusing on key challenges and emerging trends that are shaping today’s practice. In light of the ongoing discussions on ISDS reform, the panel will examine recent developments in both the procedural and substantive aspects of the ISDS mechanism, including initiatives led by UNCITRAL Working Group III, such as the proposed multilateral reform framework and the idea of establishing an Advisory Centre. Moreover, the panel will look into new types of investment disputes that are gaining attention, as technological and environmental developments continue to influence global investment patterns. The panel will further reflect on regional perspectives, especially from Asia-Pacific jurisdictions, where concerns over procedural fairness and the accessibility of the ISDS system remain important. Finally, the panel will consider how geopolitical factors, including treaty withdrawals, sanctions, and changes in investor behavior driven by ESG-related regulations, are affecting dispute resolution strategies.

Sinking Ground: Legal Responses to Sea Level Rise and Coastal Development

In 2025, the International Law Commission (ILC) finalized a landmark Study Group report addressing the legal implications of sea-level rise across three central dimensions: the law of the sea, the maintenance of statehood, and the protection of affected populations. This panel will explore each of these dimensions, highlighting areas of convergence within the Study Group while also engaging with the diverse perspectives offered by Member States in the UN Sixth Committee. With regard to the law of the sea, the discussion will examine the preservation of existing maritime zones, emphasizing the widely supported principle that the loss of land does not extinguish maritime entitlements and reaffirming that legal certainty derives from maintaining fixed baselines. Turning to statehood, panelists will consider real-world scenarios—such as the potential uninhabitability of small island States—and evaluate how international law can adapt to ensure continuity of statehood in the face of rising seas. The conversation will address legal pathways such as treaty-based solutions, virtual statehood, and relocation mechanisms, focusing on their feasibility and implications for sovereignty and self-determination. The panel will also delve into the human dimensions of sea-level rise, examining cases like the relocation of the Gardi Sugdub community in Panama to illuminate gaps in the legal framework concerning displacement, statelessness, and protection of affected populations. Throughout the discussion, panelists will consider how principles of equity, solidarity, and non-refoulement may inform the development of international norms and practices. Finally, the panel will reflect on potential next steps, including the possibility of a legally binding instrument and strategies to enhance international cooperation through the UN General Assembly. This timely discussion offers a critical opportunity to assess how international law can evolve to meet one of the most pressing global challenges of our time.

Artificial Intelligence, Commerce, and Intellectual Property: Navigating a Changing Landscape

This panel, Artificial Intelligence, Commerce, and Intellectual Property: Navigating a Changing Landscape, explores the evolving intersection of AI technologies with commercial practices and intellectual property law. As AI systems increasingly generate, replicate, and influence creative and commercial outputs, legal frameworks are being tested and reshaped. Panelists will examine emerging challenges and opportunities in protecting IP rights, fostering innovation, and ensuring ethical and legal compliance in a rapidly shifting technological and regulatory environment.

Global Climate Action in the Trump 2.0 Era

One of the first announcements Donald Trump made upon his inauguration as the 47th president on January 20, 2025, was the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. Less than 2 months later, the United States withdrew from the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), affecting over US$3 billion of American commitments (mostly commercial loans) in Indonesia and Vietnam. These actions have threatened the pace and ambition of state and corporate action on climate change globally. This panel seeks to critically examine the setbacks and challenges of global climate action in the wake of Trump’s second presidency but also to highlight success stories and continuing efforts to galvanize the use of the law to combat climate change.

Compulsory Mediation for International Disputes

At the global level, soft law-making bodies such as UNCITRAL have generally left open the question of mediation program design to be inclusive of compulsory or voluntary modalities. In international dispute settlement, mediation may be made compulsory under certain treaty regimes. This includes, for example, the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea mediation of maritime boundary disputes (Article 298, annex V) or the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Article 84). Bilateral Investment Treaties likewise have increasingly included provisions for compulsory mediation. UNCITRAL’s working group III, in considering reforms to the ISDS system, has highlighted that a potential area of reform is the strengthening of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, including recourse to investor-State mediation. The Singapore Convention, while not mandating mediation itself, supports the enforcement of international mediated agreements. Compulsory mediation reflects a distinct approach to state responsibility for reaching agreement with associated benefits and drawbacks. This panel will reflect on the development of compulsory mediation for international disputes, highlighting challenges and lessons learned.

Crafting Law After Crisis: The WHO Pandemic Agreement in Perspective

International law must be capable of responding to imminent global challenges, particularly those that cross borders and demand collective action. The COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most significant crises humankind has faced in recent years, revealed critical gaps in preparedness and global cooperation. As part of the international response, states embarked on negotiations for a legally binding instrument to better prevent, prepare for, and respond to future pandemics under the umbrella of the WHO.

This process was not without its challenges. These included significant time pressure, limited expertise in crafting global health law treaties, and parallel processes, such as the concurrent negotiation of amendments to the International Health Regulations. Delegations also faced pressure from non-state actors, mistrust among states stemming from unequal access to medical countermeasures during the pandemic, a complex geopolitical context, and the need to incorporate an interdisciplinary approach.

This panel will address some of the key challenges faced by WHO member states in negotiating this legally binding instrument. The focus will be to delineate the principal solutions that delegations reached within the limited time available to deliver a treaty outcome. The panel will also reflect on what lessons the Pandemic Agreement process offers for the negotiation of future treaties in times of crisis.

Food, Water, and Energy: Security, Sustainability, and Sovereignty

Food, water, and energy have been described as forming “a nexus at the heart of sustainable development.” They represent three of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), and SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy)) and their sustainable use is undeniably interconnected; agriculture and energy generation are both large consumers of the world’s water resources, and at the same time, the world’s demand for food, water and energy continue to grow rapidly, with states being concerned to ensure that they have security with respect to food, water, and energy.  These developments create tensions and pose challenges for governments who need to find ways to manage the competing imperatives of meeting the increased demands of the present generation for these resources, but also ensuring their sustainable use so as to ensure they are also able to accommodate future needs. Against this background, this panel will seek to answer many complex questions. To what extent do traditional policy settings and approaches to regulation hinder the ability of States to confront these challenges? Can policymakers and lawyers learn from other disciplines on the subject of managing scarce food, water and energy resources? Are issues of food, water and energy resource management best regulated at the domestic level, or is there scope for the development of an international legal framework? Are there regulatory approaches which are capable of addressing these issues in a holistic and integrated way, or do any such attempts founder on the rocks of the fragmentation of international law? How are these resource constraints and the need of states for food, water and energy security reshaping global power dynamics and challenging sovereignty? These and many other issues will be the subject of discussion.

International Courts and Tribunals - International Adjudication in Ascendance?

International courts and tribunals appear to be playing an increasingly prominent role in shaping the global legal order, yet their authority and effectiveness are continually tested by shifting geopolitical realities and questions of legitimacy. This panel will convene leading experts and judges to critically examine the evolving landscape of international dispute resolution as it pertains to states, corporations, and individuals.

In particular, the panelists will draw on their diverse expertise and recent casework to consider whether there is a genuine trend toward the judicial resolution of international disputes and assess the extent to which international adjudication is serving as an effective means of resolving such disputes. Panelists will also explore the impact of recent geopolitical developments on the authority and utility of international adjudicatory bodies, as well as the interplay between national sovereignty, nationalism, and international legal norms. The session will also be an opportunity to exchange ideas on the possible ways in which legal professionals and academics can contribute to the development of a more robust and responsive international legal system, and thereby strengthen the ability of international courts and tribunals to address emerging global crises such as climate change and cyber operations, as well as the persistent ones of genocide and war crimes.

The Changing Boundaries of Jus ad Bellum and Jus in Bello: A Focus on Cyber Warfare

This panel will explore the evolving boundaries of the application of jus ad bellum and jus in bello to the cyber realm. These bodies of law—initially developed for application to traditional inter-state war and traditional battlefields—are now recognized as an important part of the international legal framework regulating cyberattacks and cyber activities with a connection to armed conflict. But debates and uncertainties remain, both with respect to the particular types of cyberactivity covered by jus ad bellum and jus in bello, as well as the relevance of traditional doctrines and definitions to such activities. In the modern cyber age, such questions are of as much practical importance to businesses and civilians as to traditional militaries and government bodies, all of whom are actors to whom the rules and protections afforded by these bodies of law will apply. 

The panel will thus discuss contemporary challenges in applying jus ad bellum and jus in bello to the cyber realm, with a focus on identifying gaps in the application of law and proposed approaches for addressing those gaps.  Specific topics that we expect panelists to address include civilian participation in conflict through cyber means, the threshold for whether certain cyber activities qualify as a “use of force” or “armed attack” within the meaning of the U.N. Charter, circumstances in which cyber activities may amount to belligerent reprisals, and the weaponization of digital information technology. The panel will bring together both practitioners and scholars for their perspectives.

Multilateralism Under Strain: Diplomacy in a Divided World

The post-Cold War order is over. But what comes next is unclear. The U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres has described the present political moment as a "purgatory of polarity." In this changing world, commitment to international law is receding and the effectiveness of international institutions is eroding. These trends are driven, first, by the abdication of leadership by the founders of the post-World War II order, and second, by the decline of popular trust in global governance. This panel explores these realities and discusses how the international legal order can be reinvigorated to provide guardrails to protect against further instability and conflict.

Next Frontiers of International Law: Deep Seabed Mining, Outer Space, and Cyber Governance

Whether at sea, in space, or in cyberspace, domains “beyond” state frontiers are increasingly testing the boundaries of public international law. Deep seabed mining advances toward commercial exploitation while a finalized international regulatory regime is still pending, prompting questions about environmental protection, equitable distribution of benefits, and the role of the International Seabed Authority.  Outer space exploration advances toward resource extraction, which is seen as in tension with the non-appropriation principle of the Outer Space Treaty. Cyber governance has seen fragmentation through competing assertions of digital sovereignty and extraterritorial jurisdiction, illustrated by the different regulatory models in the US, Europe, and China.  All three domains present stress tests to traditional notions of public international law because of their existence beyond territorial borders, the involvement of both state and private actors in setting governing frameworks, and competing economic incentives from the potential of extracting key resources.

Despite these commonalities, the three domains also feature diverging governance structures, emerging trends, and developments, each illustrating the different paths and possibilities in which international law can evolve. So, what traditions and transitions in international law can we discern from a comparative assessment of deep seabed mining, outer space, and cyber governance? Drawing from their respective fields, panelists will explore the existing legal frameworks, assess predominant or emerging approaches, and explore proposed ways forward of regulating domains beyond frontiers.

Reciprocal Tariff Policy and New Rules for Global Trade

Since returning to office in 2025, President Donald Trump has renewed efforts to reshape global trade through his “Reciprocal Tariff Policy,” which ties U.S. tariffs to those imposed by its trading partners. While promoted as a fairness-based approach, the policy has created significant disruption to the rules-based multilateral trading system, especially the World Trade Organization (WTO).

This panel will explore the legal and policy dimensions of the new tariff strategy. What are the core features of the policy? How does it align—or conflict—with existing WTO rules, particularly the principles of Most-Favored-Nation treatment and binding commitments? What legal justifications has the U.S. offered, and how are other countries responding?

Beyond legality, the panel will assess the broader economic and geopolitical consequences of this shift. Is the world heading toward deeper trade fragmentation? What are the implications for developing economies and open trading nations?

Southeast Asia, in particular, stands at a crossroads. As a region reliant on both Chinese and American markets, how should ASEAN economies position themselves in response to growing unilateralism? Should they invest more in regional trade integration, seek to strengthen WTO reform, or pursue other strategies?

Featuring leading experts from government, academia, and legal practice, this panel will provide a timely and multifaceted discussion on the future of trade governance in an increasingly transactional world. The session aims to equip participants with a clearer understanding of what the “new rules” of global trade may look like—and how countries can respond.

Technology and Human Rights: Between Individual Autonomy, Technological Sovereignty, and International Regulation

The digital revolution is reshaping the international human rights landscape—with profound  challenges for the existing legal framework. At the heart of this transformation are questions about the extraterritorial application of human rights obligations in the digital sphere, jurisdictional complexities in cyberspace, and the accountability of transnational technology corporations under international law.

Technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, surveillance systems, and digital platforms are transforming how rights are exercised and protected. The inherently cross-border nature of digital technologies offers significant potential to enhance access to information, healthcare, education, participation, and privacy protection. At the same time, these technologies are reshaping how abuses occur, exacerbating risks of human rights violations, including privacy breaches, algorithmic discrimination, and the transnational spread of disinformation. Both the opportunities and the challenges fuel the regulatory instinct of states seeking to reclaim technological and digital sovereignty.

Few binding international legal instruments are dedicated to human rights in the digital space. Soft-law instruments developed by international organizations, such as the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, seek to fill regulatory gaps. This panel will explore how international human rights law—rooted in instruments such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)—addresses the implications of emerging technologies. It will examine whether existing treaty obligations adequately regulate state and corporate conduct in the digital sphere, or whether the evolving technological landscape requires the development of new international norms and standards, such as those in the UN Global Digital Compact and various regional frameworks.

By situating the discussion within broader debates on technological sovereignty, cross-border data governance, and the human rights responsibilities of non-state actors, the panel will assess how international law can evolve to safeguard fundamental rights while fostering inclusive and accountable technological progress. The session will identify pathways toward a human-centric approach to global digital governance that upholds human dignity, equality, and accountability in an era of rapid technological change.

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