THE Philippine government has named three former deans and a former ambassador as nominees to the International Bureau of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (IB-PCA), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced yesterday.
According to the PCA website, the International Bureau serves as the Secretariat of the arbitral tribunal. It provides administrative support to tribunals and commissions, serving as the official channel of communications and ensuring safe custody of documents.
The bureau likewise provides services such as financial administration, logistical and technical support for meetings and hearings, travel arrangements, and general secretarial and linguistic support.
It also provides administrative support to tribunals or commissions conducting PCA dispute settlement proceedings outside The Netherlands.
The DFA said Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo has submitted the names of former University of the Philippines College of Law Dean Raul Pangalangan, former Ateneo Ateneo Law School Dean Sedfrey Candelaria, former Ateneo School of Government Dean Antonio Gabriel La Viña, and Ambassador to The Netherlands Eduardo Malaya as nominees of the Philippines to the IB-PCA.
Pangalangan, who is a UP law professor, was a former judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC) from 2015 to 2021.
Candelaria, who is a law professor at the Ateneo de Manila University, is the head of the Office of the Research, Publications and Linkages Office of the Philippine Judicial Academy.
On the other hand, La Viña was a former member of the PCA Specialized Panel of Arbitrators and Experts (Environmental Disputes) from 2016 to 2022. He is currently the associate director for Climate Policy and International Relations of the Manila Observatory.
Malaya is a career diplomat and is currently serving as the Philippine Ambassador to The Netherlands. He is also serving as the acting president of the PCA Administrative Council for the 2023-2024 term.
Pursuant to the 1899 and 1907 Hague Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, the DFA said each member State may appoint up to four individuals who possess “exceptional expertise in international law” who will be included in the list of those who are available to serve as arbitrators under the auspices of the PCA for a term of six years.
“Additionally, the members of the court appointed by each member state shall comprise its national group, which grants them the privilege to nominate candidates for the International Court of Justice and propose candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize, in collaboration with the ICJ judges,” the DFA added.
The previous Philippine members to the PCA were retired Chief Justices Artemio Panganiban and Reynato Puno, and retired SC Associate Justice Jose Vitug.
125TH ANNIVERSARY
Meanwhile, the DFA said member states of the PCA will convene in June 2024 as part of the activities for the arbitral court’s 125th anniversary this year.
“The Congress will only be the third time in history when the members of the court of the PCA from the different member states will gather and chart the future of the organization,” the DFA said.
The first Congress was during the first Hague Peace Conference in 1899 and the second during the centennial of the PCA in 1999.
During the Administrative Council meeting held on December 18, 2023, Malaya cited the milestones achieved by the PCA in 2023, most notably the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of a resolution which recognized the “important contribution of the PCA to the peaceful settlement of disputes.”
The resolution, according to the DFA, was an initiative of the Philippine Embassy in The Hague and the Philippine Mission to the UN in New York, and was adopted by consensus, with sponsorship from 121 UN member States.
The PCA is the first and foremost permanent inter-governmental organization providing a forum for the resolution of international disputes through arbitration and other peaceful means.
It was the PCA in 2016 which rejected China’s massive claim in the South China Sea in an arbitration case brought by the Philippines during the term of the late president Benigno Aquino.
The Administrative Council provides general guidance on the work and general direction of the PCA, and supervises its administration, budget, and expenditure. It shapes the policy of the organization in consultation with the Secretary General.
