Small States, International Law, and the Realisation of Rights Conference 2019

See programme notes, videos, and a report from the Small States, International Law and the Realisation of Rights Conference held in 2019.

14 November – 15 November 2019
WilmerHale, 49 Park Lane, London, W1K 1PS

Thursday 14 November 2019

9-9.30am: Registration and Coffee

9.30-9.45am: Welcome [Video]

Steven Finizo, Partner, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP, London
Dr Spyros Maniatis, Director, British Institute of International and Comparative Law, London
Kevin Bampton, Professor of Public Law and Head of the Law School, De Montfort University, Leicester

9.45-10.45am: Keynote

Chair: Dr Jean-Pierre Gauci, Arthur Watts Senior Research Fellow in Public International Law, BIICL, London
Dr Anne Gallagher, Director-General, Commonwealth Foundation, London—The Role of Small States in Shaping International Law in a Fractured and Uncertain World: Future Challenges and Opportunities

10.45-11.15am: Coffee Break

11.15am-12.45pm: How do Small States Influence Global Decision-Making? [Video]

Chair: Dr Radhika Kumar, Economist, Commonwealth Secretariat
Francoise Hendy, Chief Negotiator Trade, Barbados—Trade Negotiations, the Impact of Brexit on the Caribbean
Dr David Capie, Professor, Victoria University of Wellington (Political Science)—Disarmament Negotiations
Milton Paiva, Professor, Polytechnic Institute of Democracy and Development, Cape Verde—Cape Verde: Small Cape, Great Escape

12.45-13.30pm: Lunch

13.30-15.00pm: Not a Single Basket: Comparative Assessment of Small States' Approaches to International Law [Video]

Chair: Dr Nicole Pierce, De Montfort University & Deputy-Director, Institute of Small and Micro States
Daniel Stewart, Executive Director, Independent International Legal Advocates, New York—The Capacity Game—When to Decide to Carry the Torch
Discussant:Allison Nortje, former diplomat and member of the foreign service of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas—Small States and International Law

15.00-16.00pm: The Role of Civil Society [Video]

Chair: Dr Irene Antonopoulos, Senior Lecturer, De Montfort University, Leicester
Dr Naren Prasad, Senior Economist, International Labour Organisation, Geneva—International Labour Standards in Small States
Julian Aguon, Principal, Blue Ocean Law, Guam—Law as an Activism Tool

16.00-16.30pm: Coffee Break

16.30-17.45: The Emergence of a New Small State [Video]

Chair: Dr-Ing Katarina Adam, Professor, University of Applied Sciences, Berlin
Discussants:Dr Lauren Young, Policy Consultant and Professor, Yale Jackson Institute for Global Affairs
Noor Kadhim, Partner, Gardner Leader, London

17.45-18.15: Round-up and Preview [Video]

18.15-19.30: Drinks Reception

Friday, 15 November 2019

9.30-9.45am: Registration and Coffee

9.45-10.15: Keynote [Video]

Justice Ambeng Kandakasi, Deputy Chief, The National and Supreme Courts of Papua New Guinea—Strategy of Dispute Resolution of Small States

10.15-10.45: Discussion

Moderator: Dharshini Prasad, Senior Associate, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, London

10.45-11.15: Coffee Break

11.15-13.00: The Strategy of Dispute Resolution for Small States [Video]

Chair: Brandon Malone, Chairman, Scottish Arbitration Centre, Edinburgh
Dr Maja Menard, Attorney and Counsel to the Republic of Slovenia—Evolution of a Young Small State’s Dispute Settlement Strategy: Example of Slovenia
Julian Aguon, Principal, Blue Ocean Law, Guam—Which is the Best Dispute Resolution Strategy When?
Daphne Hong, Director-General, International Affairs Division, Attorney-General’s Chambers, Singapore—The Strategy of Dispute Resolution for Small States: Singapore

13.00-13.45: Lunch

13.45-15.30: Dispute Resolution Funding Models [Video]

Chair: Sir Franklin Berman KCMG QC, Barrister, Essex Court Chambers, London
Martin Polaine, Barrister, Brooke Chambers, London—Existing “Institutional Funding Models” for Small States
Manuel Gómez, Professor, Florida International University—Small but Meaningful: Exploring the Potential of Crowd-Litigation-Funding (CLF) for Disputes Involving Small States
Francis Greenway, Counsel, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, London—A Small States Dispute Resolution Fund?

15.30-16.00 Coffee Break

16.00-17.30 Climate Change Economics [Video]

Chair: Amanda Lee, Arbitrator, FCIArb, London
Steven Finizio, Partner, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, London—The Problem of Choice—Which Dispute Resolution Regime for Climate Change Issues?
Andrew Maclay, Partner, Forensic Risk Alliance, London—Damages Calculation of Environmental Degradation
Dr-Ing Katarina Adam, Professor, University of Applied Sciences, Berlin and Mathias Goldmann, VP Finance and Co-Founder, Constellation, San Francisco—Collection and Preservation of Legal Evidence With Blockchain Technology
Simon Milnes, Barrister, Twenty Essex, London—Human Rights and Climate Change

17.30-17.45: Closing Remarks [Video]