On 12 February 2019, the IILJ welcomed Dr Fang Liu, Secretary-General of the ICAO, for a visit to NYU School of Law. J. E. Alvarez (Herbert and Rose Rubin Professor of International Law) and David Malone (UN Under-Secretary General, Rector of the United Nations University, and Senior Fellow of the IILJ) held an open conversation with Dr. Liu, which was well-attended, especially by students in our International Law courses (who asked excellent questions about aviation law!).
Speaker Bio: Dr. Fang Liu is the Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). She was first appointed for a three-year term starting August 2015, and has recently been reappointed for a consecutive three-year term until July 2021. Prior to her appointment as Secretary General, Dr. Liu served as the Director of ICAO’s Bureau of Administration and Services (ADB). During her tenure, she contributed extensively to ICAO’s Senior Management Group and also participated in the High-Level Committee on Management within the United Nations common system. She transformed the administration of ICAO by enhancing efficiencies, improving governance, and providing effective management and support in areas such as human resources, language services, and conference and information technology services.
Prior to joining ICAO, Dr. Liu served the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC), where she successively held the posts of Legal Counsel, Deputy Director, Director and Deputy Director General, Department of International Affairs and Cooperation. She was responsible for China’s international air transport policy and regulations, bilateral and multilateral relations with international and regional organizations including ICAO, the World Trade Organization, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the European Union, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Dr. Liu was also chief negotiator for the Chinese government for bilateral and multilateral air transport agreements with foreign countries. During her career with the CAAC, Dr. Liu was elected chair of the Aviation Group of the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and was nominated by China to sit on the Air Transport Regulation Panel in ICAO. She also served as an expert on mediation and dispute resolution.
Dr. Liu earned a PhD in international law at Wuhan University, China, and a Master’s degree in air and space law at Leiden University, the Netherlands. She was the Director of the Association of Air Law of China and of the Association of Private International Law of China, and has published articles and delivered lectures on a wide range of topics in international air transport regulation and air law. She speaks Chinese and English and has knowledge of French.