DFA, IBP host Forum with ICJ Judge

ICJ Judge Iwasawa Yuji (sixth from left), flanked by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary J. Eduardo Malaya (fifth from left) and IBP's National President Atty. Domingo Egon Cayosa (fifth from right), is the speaker of the forum “The Future of the International Court of Justice: Prospects and Challenges” held on 21 August 2019 at the University of the Philippines-College of Law BGC Campus. Joining Judge Iwasawa, Undersecratery Malaya and Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) President Atty. Cayosa Cayosa in the photo are (from left) Atty. Aris Gulapa, IBP Governor Doroteo Lorenzo Aguila, Atty. Eleazar Calasan, and Atty. Eric Alajar; and (from right) Atty. Andre Palacios, IBP Governor James Jayson J. Jorvina, IBP Governor Baby Ruth F. Torre and Senator Aquilino 'Koko' Pimentel. (DFA-OSCR Photo by Nilo K. Palaya)

TAGUIG CITY 08 September 2019- The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) hosted a Forum with International Court of Justice (ICJ) Judge Iwasawa Yuji entitled “The Future of the International Court of Justice: Prospects and Challenges” on 21 August 2019 at the University of the Philippines, College of Law, BGC Campus.

In his keynote address, Judge Iwasawa talked about the operations of and recent developments in the ICJ, as well as its attendant challenges and prospects, as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN) in settling legal disputes and in giving advisory opinions on legal questions from authorized UN organs and specialized agencies.

He also emphasized the need for geographical diversity among counsels appearing before the ICJ, noting that Asian lawyers have developed ample expertise and can argue before the court, in addition to the counsels based in Europe and the U.S. who appear regularly there.

Meanwhile, IBP President Atty. Domingo Cayosa underscored in his remarks the importance of international law to the legal profession, and expressed IBP’s desire to further collaborate with DFA on mutually beneficial projects.

For his part, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Administration J. Eduardo Malaya cited the role of international law as an indispensable guide in the conduct of foreign policy and recounted the remarkable contributions of the Philippines to the progressive development of international law, notably as one of the 50 original signatories of the UN Charter.

Some 400 participants were present at the Forum composed of IBP Governors, national and chapter officers, law professors and law students from Metro Manila-based law schools, as well as Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Chairperson Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.

Judge Iwasawa was in Manila ahead of his participation in the 7th Biennial Conference of the Asian Society of International Law held on 22-23 August 2019, co-hosted by the DFA, Philippine Society of International Law (PSIL) and University of the Philippines Law Center Institute of International Legal Studies (UPLC-IILS). END

International Court of Justice (ICJ) incumbent President Judge Iwasawa Yuji talks about the operations of and recent developments in the ICJ before 400 participants in the forum co-organized by Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) at the University of the Philippines-College of Law BGC Campus. (DFA-OSCR Photo by Nilo K. Palaya)