Associate Professor Jean Ho has been appointed the Deputy Chair for Research of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Investor-State Dispute Settlement Academic Forum

NUS Law congratulates Associate Professor Jean Ho ’03 on her recent appointment as Deputy Chair for Research of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Investor-State Dispute Settlement Academic Forum. 

Established by the United Nations General Assembly, UNCITRAL plays an important role in developing that framework in pursuance of its mandate to further the progressive harmonisation and modernisation of the law of international trade by preparing and promoting the use and adoption of legislative and non-legislative instruments in several key areas of commercial law. The Academic Forum was established to inform and enrich the ongoing negotiations between the UNCITRAL Member States on the reform of Investor-State Dispute Settlement in Working Group III (https://uncitral.un.org/en/working_groups/3/investor-state).

The Academic Forum is governed by the Steering Committee headed by a Chair and three Deputy Chairs. The Chair and 2 other Deputy Chairs (Membership, Communications) are Professors Malcolm Langford (Oslo), Chi Manjiao (UIBE) and Daniel Behn (Liverpool) respectively. 

As the Deputy Chair for Research, Jean steers the Academic Forum’s research policy and trajectory, manages the peer-review and approval of concept papers, as well as oversees the research interests and participation of the Academic Forum’s 100-plus members, who range from eminent to emerging international economic law scholars. Notable members of the Academic Forum include Professor George Bermann (Columbia), Professor Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler (Geneva), Professor Stephan Schill (Amsterdam), and Professor Anne van Aaken (Hamburg).  

Working closely with the research committee, Jean is in the process of crafting a new research policy which will be presented to the entire Academic Forum. On the agenda is a drive to foster greater diversity among the active contributors to the Academic Forum, and in particular, to encourage greater participation from junior scholars as well as those from typically under-represented geographical regions such as Africa. The Academic Forum presents an unparalleled opportunity for scholars to witness and engage in the redesign and remaking of international law since reform proposals in concept papers emanating from the Academic Forum can and have been adopted by the UNCITRAL Member States. By cultivating authorship diversity, Jean is keen to ensure that the Academic Forum stands for inclusive and cutting-edge quality research and perspectives.

“I am grateful for the shared confidence in my ability to manage a substantial and complex portfolio. It takes a leap of faith to elect a critical international economic law scholar as the head of research when the Academic Forum’s approach to research since its establishment up to my appointment has been conservative. Additionally, I’m honoured to be the only female in a prominent leadership role in the Academic Forum.” Jean said.