Tan Hsien-Li

@TanHsienLi1

About/Bio

Tan Hsien-Li is Associate Professor at NUS Law School where she teaches ASEAN Law and Policy and Constitutional and Administrative Law. She is concurrently Co-Head of the ASEAN Law and Policy Programme at the university-level research institute, Centre for International Law. She is also Co-Editor of the Asian Journal of International Law and Co-Series Editor of the ASEAN Integration Through Law Book Series published by Cambridge University Press. Tan’s cross-disciplinary research lies at the intersection of international law, international relations, and political economy. In addition to ASEAN integration and human rights, Tan’s current research on “Geoeconomic, Geostrategic, Geopolitical Shifts and the Global South’s Usage of International Law” investigates how smaller powers shape the contemporary international legal order. Tan has authored/co-authored 3 books published by Cambridge University Press and published in leading journals such as the European Journal of International Law, Michigan Journal of International Law, and Human Rights Law Review. Tan’s research has substantive policy and strategic impact. She is the Co-Director of the ASEAN Law and Policy Academy and engages with agencies from ASEAN Member States and its Dialogue Partners. For her contributions to ASEAN Community-building, Dr Tan was awarded the Pingat Kepujian (Commendation Medal) in 2023. Tan is also a well-regarded pedagogue by her tertiary-level and public officer students. She has held fellowships at the European University Institute, Florence and NYU Law School. She was previously the AsianSIL Research Fellow at the NUS Law School and the Ushiba Memorial ASEAN Fellow in Tokyo.

Recently Published

No Longer Hard Law’s ‘Poor Relative’: The Growing Respect for Soft, Non-Binding Legal Instruments in the International Order

In the rich scholarship on and practice of hard and soft laws in the international order, hard law (specifically legally-binding treaties) is often perceived more favourably than soft, non-binding legal instruments, given the former’s precise wording and enforceable obligations compared with the latter’s aspirational remit and assumed transitional status towards hard law. Preference for hard law persists despite…

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