In this episode, Mark Feldman and Stephen Minas discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on transnational arbitration, as well as broader developments in transnational dispute resolution (including arbitration, mediation and international commercial courts) at a time of both the claimed economic ‘decoupling’ between the United States and China and the promotion of ‘connectivity’ agendas such as China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

In this episode, Susan Finder and Stephen Minas discuss China’s highest court, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC), and key SPC developments in 2020: The SPC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, various aspects of judicial modernization, the China International Commercial Court within the SPC, and the SPC’s “Opinion on providing services and guarantees for the Belt & Road”. Susan Finder is Distinguished Scholar in Residence at STL and author of the Supreme People’s Court Monitor blog.

In this episode, Joy Xiang and Stephen Minas discuss intellectual property rights management for clean technologies, innovation in developed & developing countries, international cleantech cooperation under trade & climate change law, & the role of cleantech in building back better from the COVID-19 pandemic. They also discuss Professor Xiang’s proposals for strengthening cleantech cooperation. Joy Xiang is assistant professor at STL & a 2019/20 fellow at the Asian Law Institute, National University of Singapore.

In this episode, Liu Yue and Stephen Minas discuss refugee law and the process of seeking asylum in both developed and developing countries. Yue shares his experience working with refugees and asylum seekers in Bangkok, Thailand. The discussion also explores recent asylum cases concerning the US southern border, the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for refugees and asylum seekers and UNHCR reactions. Liu Yue is a C.V. Starr lecturer at STL and was a Volunteer Legal Advocate for urban refugees with Asylum Access Thailand in Bangkok prior to joining STL. He holds a a J.D. from University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and a B.A. in English from Fudan University.

Technology and changing business models are disrupting the legal profession, legal services and law schools. In this episode, Ray Campbell and Stephen Minas discuss the possibilities as well as limitations of LawTech and LegalTech innovations in the legal profession, such as online dispute resolution and the use of artificial intelligence in courts; regulatory change to encourage innovation; and the future of law schools. Professor Campbell is a scholar of civil procedure and professional responsibility at STL. His research concentrates on the intersection of law and commerce, with a special focus on the changing nature of the legal services marketplace in light of technological and economic innovations.

In the 1st STL Law & Sustainability Colloquium session, Christoph Schwarte reflected on how the pandemic may affect the international body of law related to climate change, and provided an overview on the specific challenges for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process. Christoph is executive director of Legal Response International (LRI) – a London based charity that provides free legal support to developing countries and civil society observer organisations in connection with the international climate change negotiations. The webinar was recorded on November 4th.

In this episode, Professor Rostam J. Neuwirth & Dr Stephen Minas discuss the ‘cooperation & dialogue platform’ of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China & South Africa) & legal developments in BRICS cooperation, such as the creation of the New Development Bank, as well as Prof. Neuwirth’s concept of ‘legal oxymora’. Rostam Neuwirth is the Head of the Department of Global Legal Studies at the University of Macau.

In the 2nd session of the STL Law & Sustainability Colloquium, Dr Nilüfer Oral discussed the existing frameworks in relation to protection of the marine environment under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and climate change under the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) regime. The discussion identified the gaps within each regime, the gaps between the two regimes and how synergies may be developed to address the important climate risks to the health of the ocean. Dr Oral is Director of the Centre of International Law (CIL) at the National University of Singapore and is a member of the UN International Law Commission and Co-chair of the Study Group on sea-level rise in relation to international law.

In the 1st episode of 2021, Peter Quayle and Stephen Minas discuss the establishment & early years of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the practice of institutional law at MDBs and other international organizations, & the role of international administrative tribunals. Peter Quayle is a Visiting Fellow at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, University of Cambridge & Visiting Professor of International Organizations Law at Peking University Law School. Previously, he was Chief Counsel & established the corporate law function at the AIIB. His current academic research focuses on the employment law of the international civil service.

In this episode, Dr Oriol Caudevilla discusses central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), how they are different to cryptocurrencies, the development of China’s digital yuan and its implications. Last April, the Chinese Government announced the starting of the tests of the country’s CBDC, DCEP (Digital Currency Electronic Payment) or Digital Yuan, in four major cities. In August, the Ministry of Commerce announced that a pilot run of the country’s CBDC would begin in several new areas, the Greater Bay Area among them, which includes Hong Kong and Macau. According to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) in early 2020, 80% of Central Banks in the world are currently working on CBDCs, but Asia seems to be the place where CBDCs arouse more interest. Dr Caudevilla is Chief Strategy Officer at ScallopX, Management Consultant at AirHelp and Advisor for a Hong Kong-based FinTech company, ixFintech, among other roles.

The Convention on Biological Diversity’s “2050 Vision” aims to achieve a world that is “living in harmony with nature”. Yet biodiversity is threatened globally to an extent never before witnessed in human history. Today, we sit on the brink of the possible realization of a significant shift in the operation of the convention: the projected conclusion of the CBD’s post-2020 framework when parties meet in Kunming, China for the 15th Conference of the Parties. Can this process move the CBD from an instrument of aspiration to one of action? Dr Michelle Lim is Senior Lecturer, Macquarie Law School and was a fellow on the IPBES Global Assessment.

Agriculture, forestry and land use are responsible for approximately 23% of global GHG emissions that contribute to climate change, representing a bigger share than other important sectors such as transportation. At the same time, agriculture is one of the sectors already more affected by changing climatic conditions. Agriculture has been included in international instruments and negotiations under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, but the translation of international targets to national policies and action is not without its challenges. This webinar explores interlinkages between agriculture and climate change, providing an overview of how international and national laws play a role in promoting more ‘climate-smart’ agriculture practices. Dr Fabiano de Andrade Correa is Lead Counsel on Peace, Justice and Governance with the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL) and teaches regularly in LUISS University’s Masters in Food Law, as well as guest lecturing at other universities.

In this episode, Professor Duncan Fairgrieve and Dr Stephen Minas discuss the global challenge of COVID-19 vaccination, the importance of public confidence in vaccines and the relationship between vaccine take-up and no-fault compensation schemes which assist the small minority of people who suffer serious adverse effects. Compensation schemes have been introduced in various countries and also under the international COVAX Facility, offering alternatives to litigation. Dr Fairgrieve is Professor of Comparative Law at Université Paris-Dauphine and Senior Research Fellow in Comparative Law and Director of the Product Liability Forum at the British Institute of International & Comparative Law (BIICL).

To meet the policy agenda of establishing an environmentally and climate-friendly energy system, several supporting mechanisms have been introduced under China’s Renewable Energy Law. A key feature of these mechanisms has been increased regulation and enforcement to ensure priority access of renewable energy to the grid, in pursuit of the goals to increase renewable share to 25% by 2030 and attain carbon neutrality by 2060. However, usage of electricity generated from renewables in China has been significantly curtailed, as such electricity is not adequately dispatched by grid operators. To address this, the electricity sector authorities have implemented several regulatory measures to facilitate renewable energy integration. In this episode, Dr Hao Zhang discusses these regulatory measures and their implementation. Dr Zhang is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he is the director of the LLM Programme in Energy and Environmental Law.

In this episode, Professor Emanuel V. Towfigh and Dr Stephen Minas discuss the German Law Journal (GLJ) as a window into transnational legal scholarship and publishing, including issues of democratising access to legal scholarship, open access, and data security of online publications. Emanuel V. Towfigh is Distinguished Scholar in Residence at STL, Chair in Public Law, Empirical Legal Research and Law & Economics at EBS Law School & Co-Editor in Chief of the GLJ.

This episode features a discussion on the book ‘Climate Change, Sustainable Development and Cleantech: A Pathway for Developing Countries’. The speakers are the book’s author, STL Associate Professor Joy Xiang, Rob Merges, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Professor of Law at UC Berkeley & Co-Founder, Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, Richard Wilder, General Counsel for the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) & STL Associate Professor Stephen Minas. The panellists discuss the state of cleantech transfer & capacity-building for developing countries, innovation, the role of IP law and the experience of similar issues in the pandemic context. We gratefully acknowledge the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology which hosted the event and made the recording available for this podcast.

In the 1st episode of our new series, Stephen Minas interviews Anirudh Sridhar, Centre for Policy Research, on climate laws beyond net-zero targets. They discuss what goes into making bottom-up, context-specific climate laws, the governance functions these laws perform and the links between climate policy, coal phasedown, infrastructure and manufacturing in developing countries. They also discuss the trend of upgrading existing laws to tackle climate change and CPR’s ongoing project on context-specific climate governance.

This episode features an interview with Asif Qureshi, Professor of Law at STL, on public international law in Northeast Asia and on law reform in national and international law, following the STL workshop on ‘Law Reforms Around the World’. Professor Qureshi also discusses the foundation and work of the Manchester Journal of International Economic Law.

The co-chairs of the recent ITA-ASIL Conference on “Reforming Arbitration Reform: Emerging Voices, New Strategies, Evolving Values”, Associate Professor Crina Baltag (Stockholm University) and Professor Mark Feldman (STL), speak with Stephen Minas about regionalism, sustainability, diversity and legitimacy in the reform of international commercial and investment arbitration.

Professor Ronán Long discusses the significance of the new international agreement under UNCLOS on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, including its potential to contribute to ocean governance and ecosystem restoration. Professor Long is Director of the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute at the World Maritime University.

This episode features the 1st part of a 2-part interview with Associate Professor Dai Xin from Peking University Law School. In this episode, Prof. Dai discusses his experience of graduating from law school into a financial crisis, offers advice for law students on resilience in challenging times and reflects on his journey into academia, models of legal academia and legal education in a context of rapid technological change.

DeepSeek has upended the global AI debate. In this episode, STL Associate Professor Gilad Abiri speaks with Stephen Minas to unpack what the release of the Chinese company’s R1 artificial intelligence model means for the future development of AI, the regulatory issues of open-source AI and tech competition between major economies.