DFA Co-Hosts Asia’s Most Significant International Law Conference
MANILA 30 August 2019 — “International law has benefitted from legal thinking rooted in the Asian experience, reflecting our pacific ways of accommodating each other where possible, and leaving each other alone when unable to,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. said during the opening ceremonies of the Asian Society for International Law (AsianSIL) 7th Biennial Conference on 22-23 August 2019 at the Novotel Araneta Center, Quezon City.
Reflecting on the Conference theme, “Finding Common Solutions to Contemporary Civilizational Issues from an Asian Perspective,” the Conference drew over 500 legal luminaries, eminent personalities, students of law, and other delegates from around the world. Over 30 panel sessions were held during the two-day Conference.
The Conference was co-hosted by the Department of Foreign Affairs-Office of Treaties and Legal Affairs, led by Undersecretary for Administration J. Eduardo Malaya, together with the Philippine Society of International Law (PSIL), headed by Professor Elizabeth Aguiling-Pangalangan, and the University of the Philippines Law Center-Institute of International Legal Studies, led by its Director Rommel J. Casis.
International Court of Justice (ICJ) Judge Yuji Iwasawa served as the Conference’s keynote speaker. Judge Iwasawa, a former academic and scholar, is the first sitting judge to visit the country in an official capacity.
In his Keynote Address, the ICJ Judge affirmed that “individuals have rights and duties under international law and are subjects of international law.” He then outlined significant developments in international law, such as the growing importance of domestic implementation and application of international law as mechanisms for enforcement.
Other Conference speakers include International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) President Dr. Jin-Hyun Paik, and Hague Convention on Private International Law (HCCH) Secretary-General Dr. Christophe Bernasconi, who met with key government and Supreme Court officials on the recent accession to the Apostille Convention and discussed the Philippine accession to the Service Convention and possibly, Evidence Convention and the Child Support Convention.
Also present during the forum were former ICJ President Judge (Ret.) Hisashi Owada, UN International Law Commission (ILC) Member and the youngest nominee to be elected to the UN ILC Dr. Aniruddha Rajput, and Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) Secretary-General Dr. Kennedy Gastorn. The Philippines re-joined the AALCO last July 2019.
At the sidelines of the Conference, three international law publications were launched: the revived “Philippine Yearbook of International Law,” “Treaties: Guidance and Practices,” and the “Enhancing International Legal Cooperation: Extradition, Mutual Legal Assistance, Transfer of Sentenced Persons, and Cooperation in Transnational Organized Crimes and Narcotic Drugs (Treaties, Laws and Procedures).”
The books –all published by the UP Law Center’s Information and Publication division – are products of collaboration between the DFA, through the Office of Treaties and Legal Affairs, and the UP Law Center.
Speaking during the Welcome Dinner hosted by the DFA, Undersecretary Malaya said the 7th Biennial is “a welcome platform where we can share the Philippine experience in international law as well as a chance to show the country’s contributions to the progressive development of international law. As a continent with a most varied and diverse population, culture, and system of law and government, all of us can gain much from occasions like this which enable us to interact freely, identify our differences, and work together so that we can move together forward, not only as neighbors but as brothers and sisters, towards the common goal of ensuring a better future for our region and our peoples.”
A working luncheon hosted by the Australian Embassy on 23 August 2019 was headlined by Australian Professor Natalie Klein from the University of New South Wales with a speech on “Public International Law and the South China Sea Dispute: A Third-Party View.”
AsianSIL Secretary-General Professor Antony Terence Anghie thanked the DFA in his closing remarks. “The Philippines has created a problem for the next host country – because they may not know how they can top the excellent experience in Manila.”
The AsianSIL is a region-wide forum for interaction among scholars and practitioners of public and private international law either based or interested in Asia. It is composed of national societies across Asia, including PSIL.
AsianSIL is currently led by former Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque, while Professor Elizabeth Aguiling-Pangalangan presently heads PSIL. END