Tinkering with the Machinery of Death
The death penalty is being reassessed in the three industrialised countries that continue to impose it: the United States, Japan, and Singapore. In centuries past, the death penalty was a spectacle for the masses. Four hundred years ago, those involved in the Gunpowder Plot — still merrily celebrated as Guy Fawkes Night — failed in their attempt to assassinate […] more…
Crimean War 2.0: Ukraine and International Law
Tomorrow, the people of Crimea will vote in a referendum on whether the peninsula should secede from Ukraine and unite with Russia. No one seriously doubts what the result will be. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approach to democracy is much like Alice in Wonderland’s Queen of Hearts: he prefers verdicts to be known in advance. […] more…
The International Court of Justice in Asia: Interpreting the Temple of Preah Vihear Case
[Asian Journal of International Law] This article examines the 2013 decision by the International Court of Justice interpreting its 1962 judgment in the Temple of Preah Vihear case between Cambodia and Thailand. The more recent decision is situated in relation to the Court’s evolving role in Asia. Only eight Asian states have accepted the compulsory […] more…
Protecting and Sharing Personal Data
[Straits Times] By the time Singapore’s Do-Not-Call (DNC) Registry came into effect earlier this month, more than 400,000 numbers had already been entered online, by SMS, and by phone. Many Singaporeans, it is clear, are not particularly interested in unsolicited offers of investment advice, “exclusive” property offers, and so on. But the reaction to the […] more…
Data Protection Law in Singapore: Privacy and Sovereignty in an Interconnected World
[Academy Publishing] The adoption of the Personal Data Protection Act has transformed the legal regime for data protection in Singapore. This book explains the history and evolution of data protection in Singapore, highlights issues that will need to be worked out in practice as the new law is implemented, and derives lessons that may be […] more…
Who Rules the World?
[Oxford Handbook of International Organizations] Have you ever wondered how the leaders of international organizations are chosen? The methods range from quasi-democracy through unilateralism to the random progression of alphabetical order by member state. This essay surveys the different procedures by which international organizations appoint their executive heads — whether designated president, secretary-general, managing director, […] more…
International Law and the Rise of Asia
The judgment by the International Court of Justice earlier this month on a border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia demonstrated the importance of international law to Asia. But how important is Asia to international law? Asian countries are significantly under-represented in the institutions of global governance. Historically, the countries of the region have also played […] more…
International Criminal Law with Asian Characteristics?
[Columbia Journal of Asian Law] The history of international criminal law has been, for the most part, a European tale. Though it was American insistence that prevented the summary execution of hundreds or thousands of German officers after the Second World War — an approach favoured by Churchill and seriously contemplated by Stalin — the […] more…
Syria Deal No Utopia for International Law
Two cheers for international law! A month ago, when I first contemplated writing a piece for The Straits Times on Syria and international law, I was preparing for war. As someone who teaches international law, I must periodically explain to my students why countries like the United States occasionally break the law. Until a few […] more…
Taking ASEAN Seriously
If ASEAN is ever going to play a meaningful role in dealing with regional crises like haze, its members need to agree to carry out their obligations — and show that they have done so. THIS FRIDAY, Singapore celebrates its 48th National Day with the traditional parade and grumbling over songs. The day before, Singapore […] more…
US Intelligence, Inc.
[Project Syndicate] Among the stories and rumors prompted by Edward J. Snowden’s leaking of classified material – whistleblowing or treason, depending on where you stand – the revelations that may actually lead to a policy change concern the extent to which private companies now carry out intelligence collection and analysis in the United States. Around a […] more…
Getting Used to a Surveillance Society
Outrage at the United States National Security Agency’s collection of data misses the point: The focus should be on how the data is being used. HOW should we balance liberty and security? The answer is simple: We shouldn’t. The metaphor of a “balance” between liberty and security offers an attractive way to view the […] more…
Lee Kuan Yew the Lawyer
On 4 June 2013, the National University of Singapore conferred an honorary degree of doctor of laws on Singapore’s founding prime minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew. I was asked to serve as the public orator, describing some of Mr Lee’s achievements in support of the award. But what was there to say about Lee Kuan Yew […] more…
A Chat Room of One’s Own
[Straits Times] The Internet has had a greater impact on access to information than any development in human history, with the possible exception of the invention of writing. We are more connected and better informed than ever before. So why does it often feel like what takes place on the Internet is so dumb? Two […] more…
Why Study?
With the release of A-level results earlier this month, students across Singapore — and their parents — are contemplating the next step in their education. Nearly 30 percent of the cohort will go to one of Singapore’s five autonomous universities, a number set to grow to 40 percent by 2020. With a further 10 percent […] more…
Climate Change: What Do We Owe the Future?
The bushfires that continue to ravage Victoria and New South Wales this Australia Day have added another nail in the climate change sceptics’ coffin: the temperature on the ground was literally off the charts. Previously capped at 50 degrees centigrade, Australia’s meteorologists recently had to add two new colours — deep purple and pink — […] more…
After Privacy: The Rise of Facebook, The Fall of WikiLeaks, and Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Act 2012
[Singapore Journal of Legal Studies] This article discusses the changing ways in which information is produced, stored, and shared—exemplified by the rise of social-networking sites like Facebook and controversies over the activities of WikiLeaks—and the implications for privacy and data protection. Legal protections of privacy have always been reactive, but the coherence of any legal […] more…
How Best to Protect Kids Online
[Straits Times] How many “friends” does your child have online? Who reads her blog or sees the pictures she uploads? And what survey forms is she filling in to win a chance at a prize? Some parents will know some of the answers to some of these questions. But it is highly unlikely that any […] more…
Snowplough Parenting
Next week around 12,000 Singaporeans enter our university system. These students are privileged in many senses of the word. But their entry to university may have been helped by factors that will ultimately limit their ability to succeed. For many students, the path to university was made easier by hyper-attentive parents and an army of […] more…
Who Killed Privacy?
[Straits Times] It is more than a decade since the former CEO of Sun Microsystems infamously declared that privacy was dead, urging the reporters who had asked him about the subject to “get over it”. That was before the launch of Facebook, Google’s Street View, the iPhone, and a proliferation of other tools that many […] more…
Academic Freedom in New Haven and Singapore
On April 5, Yale faculty will vote on a resolution challenging the Yale-NUS College, the liberal arts programme that will admit its first students in August 2013. The resolution reflects three distinct concerns about the joint venture. The first is an internal matter to Yale and relates to the decision not to seek a formal vote […] more…
Singapore and the Rule of Law
The rule of law is like oxygen: easily taken for granted, but quickly noticed when it is absent. If you have it, the rule of law makes organised society possible. If you lack the rule of law, it is a recipe for disorder and corruption. An extreme example of the absence of the rule of […] more…
Books, articles, career advice and more
Simon Chesterman is David Marshall Professor and Vice Provost at the National University of Singapore, where is he also Dean of NUS College. From 2012–2022, he was Dean of the Faculty of Law. This site has information about his books and articles, courses that he teaches, and career advice. more…
Lawyers, Guns, and Money: The Governance of Business Activities in Conflict Zones
[Chicago Journal of International Law] This paper argues that the norms governing businesses in conflict zones are both understudied and undervalued. Understudied because the focus is generally on human rights of universal application, rather than the narrower regime of international humanitarian law (IHL). Undervalued because IHL may provide a more certain foundation for real norms […] more…
One Nation Under Surveillance
[OUP] What limits, if any, should be placed on a government’s efforts to spy on its citizens in the name of national security? Spying on foreigners has long been regarded as an unseemly but necessary enterprise. Spying on one’s own citizens in a democracy, by contrast, has historically been subject to various forms of legal […] more…
A Little Less Privacy, a Bit More Security
The European Union has announced that it will overhaul its data protection rules in 2011. Later this month, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Commerce Department will release their own reports on online privacy. Meanwhile, as part of the much-hyped efforts to prepare for “cyberwar,” the U.S. National Security Agency is strengthening ties with organizations […] more…
Private Security, Public Order: The Outsourcing of Public Services and Its Limits
Private actors are increasingly taking on roles traditionally arrogated to the state. Both in the industrialized North and the developing South, functions essential to external and internal security and to the satisfaction of basic human needs are routinely contracted out to non-state agents. In the area of privatization of security functions, attention by academics and […] more…
Does ASEAN Exist? The Association of Southeast Asian Nations as an International Legal Person
[Singapore Year Book of International Law] The ASEAN Charter, which entered into force on 15 December 2008, asserts in Article 3 that ASEAN “as an inter-governmental organisation, is hereby conferred legal personality”. This essay examines the legal status of the Association, as well as the political question of whether the whole is greater than (or […] more…
Globalization Rules: Accountability, Power, and the Prospects for Global Administrative Law
[Global Governance] From urban protesters against the World Trade Organization to African nations barred from importing generic HIV drugs, globalization is seen as either capitalism red in tooth and claw or a new and more efficient form of colonialism. But a body of rules is emerging that may both constrain and improve the decisions of […] more…
Law and Practice of the United Nations
A unique new course book demonstrating the interaction of law and politics in United Nations practice. Law and Practice of the United Nations: Documents and Commentary presents primary materials with expert commentary, demonstrating the interaction between law and practice in the UN organization, and also discusses the possibilities and limitations of multilateral institutions in general. […] more…
From Mercenaries to Market
Frequently characterized as either mercenaries in modern guise or the market’s response to a security vacuum, private military companies are commercial firms offering military services ranging from combat and military training and advice to logistical support. They play an increasingly important role in armed conflicts, UN peace operations, and providing security in unstable states. Executive […] more…
Secretary or General?
The Secretary-General of the United Nations is a unique figure in world politics. At once civil servant and the world’s diplomat, lackey of the UN Security Council and commander-in-chief of up to a hundred thousand peacekeepers, he or she depends on states for both the legitimacy and resources that enable the United Nations to function. […] more…
After Mass Crime
International interventions in the aftermath of mass violence tend to focus on justice and reconciliation processes, elections and institution-building. The frame of reference is at the level of the state, although the experience of mass crime by a population is also at the level of the community and individuals. Insufficient attention has been paid to […] more…
Shared Secrets
Is collective security possible when the evaluation of and response to threats depend on access to intelligence that cannot be shared openly? Shared Secrets: Intelligence and Collective Security examines the role national intelligence does and could play in addressing threats to international peace and security, with particular reference to the contemporary threats of terrorism and […] more…
Making States Work
In the wealth of literature on state failure, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the question of what constitutes state success and what enables a state to succeed. This book – a joint project of the International Peace Academy and the United Nations University – examines the strategies and tactics of international actors, local […] more…
You, The People: The United Nations, Transitional Administration, and State-Building
Transitional administrations represent the most complex operations attempted by the United Nations. The missions in Kosovo (1999-) and East Timor (1999-2002) are commonly seen as unique in the history of the United Nations. But they may also be seen as the latest in a series of operations that have involved the United Nations in ‘state-building’ […] more…
Are Sanctions Meant to Work?
[Global Governance] Do sanctions work? The jury remains out on this question, but two preliminary issues bear further examination also. What are sanctions intended to achieve? And do states actually want sanctions to work? These essentially political questions depend on two discrete dynamics that are the subject of this article, which focuses on sanctions imposed […] more…
Just War or Just Peace?
The question of the legality of humanitarian intervention is, at first blush, a simple one. The Charter of the United Nations clearly prohibits the use of force, with the only exceptions being self-defence and enforcement actions authorized by the Security Council. There are, however, long-standing arguments that a right of unilateral intervention pre-existed the Charter. […] more…
Civilians in War
In World War I, only 5 percent of all casualties were civilian; in World War II, that number was 50 percent; and in conflicts in the 1990s, civilians accounted for up to 90 percent of those killed. Clearly, the 1949 Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilians, while recognizing the changing face of war, has […] more…
Last Rights: Euthanasia, the Sanctity of Life, and the Law in the Netherlands and the Northern Territory of Australia
[International and Comparative Law Quarterly] This article considers the legal status of end of life decisions at the close of the twentieth century. In particular, I consider the two major arguments against legalising active voluntary euthanasia: the ‘sanctity of life’ argument that intentionally killing an individual as part of his or her medical care is […] more…
Studying Law at University
Do you want to do well in Law from day one? Law is a challenging and competitive subject to study at university. You need to become familiar with its peculiar language and complicated practices as quickly as possible if you want to do well. Drawing on the experiences of hundreds of students, Studying Law at […] more…
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