“At each stage in human history, more complex levels of integration become not only possible, but necessary… The demands of the present moment are pushing existing structures for facilitating deliberations among nations, as well as systems of conflict resolution beyond their capacity…” – A Governance Befitting, BIC

While significant progress has been made toward advancing global order, “…recent events demonstrate that current arrangements are no longer sufficient … Integration and coordination must… be extended further…” (A Governance Befitting, BIC) This webinar examines the implications of the emergence of regional centres associated with global institutions in expanding state engagement in global law making. Drawing on findings from her most recent book, Forming Transnational Dispute Settlement Norms: Soft Law and the Role of UNCITRAL’s Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific (Edward Elgar, 2021), this webinar explores the role of decentralized law making in the East Asian region and prospects for deepening global cooperation.

Presenter:

Shahla Ali is Professor and Associate Dean (International) & Director of the Program in Arbitration and Dispute Resolution at the Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong. Her work centers on questions of governance, development and cross-border dispute resolution in the Asia Pacific region. She serves as a bilingual arbitrator (English/Chinese) with the UN Ombuds office and arbitral institutions in the US and East Asia. Her recent books including Forming Transnational Dispute Settlement Norms (Elgar, 2021) Court Mediation Reform (Elgar, 2018), Governing Disasters (Cambridge, 2016), Consumer Financial Dispute Resolution in a Comparative Context (Cambridge, 2013) and Resolving Disputes in the Asia Pacific (Routledge, 2010) have contributed to the emergence of a growing body of work examining comparative dispute resolution systems from an interdisciplinary perspective. She has been engaged in dispute resolution reform at the regional and global levels including with USAID, IFC/World Bank and the United Nations on issues pertaining to access to justice, peace process negotiation training, financial dispute resolution and land use conflict resolution. Shahla holds a BA from Stanford University in International Relations and Chinese language and a JD and PhD in Jurisprudence and Social Policy from the University of California at Berkeley.