HCCH Webinar Series on Private International Law Draws 600 from Around the Globe
Clockwise: Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr., Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Administration J. Eduardo Malaya, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Treaties and Legal Affairs Igor G. Bailen and Philippine Judicial Academy Chancellor retired Justice Adolfo S. Azcuna and during the webinar.
PASAY CITY 21 September 2020 – Nearly 600 government officials from the Philippines and Philippine embassies, missions and consulates abroad, as well as private legal practitioners, participated in the webinar series on The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), organized by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Office of Treaties and Legal Affairs, the Supreme Court of the Philippines, and the Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA).
Held from 16 to 18 September 2020, the webinar series featured Philippine experts and Competent Authorities, and legal experts from the HCCH Permanent Bureau, located in The Hague, the Kingdom of Netherlands. It provided a platform for Filipino private international law practitioners to discuss with the experts about the role of the HCCH Conventions in advancing Philippine legal practice.
The webinar series is also the first ever online Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE)-accredited seminar, allowing lawyer-participants to earn professional units for free, in line with PHILJA’s mandate as the training arm of the Supreme Court. The PHILJA is presently headed by PHILJA Chancellor retired Justice Adolfo S. Azcuna.
DFA Assistant Secretary for Treaties and Legal Affairs Igor G. Bailen, in his welcome remarks, recalled that the Philippines joined the 127-year old HCCH in 2010 driven by “the need to address the pressing concerns of many Filipinos abroad brought before Philippine embassies and consulates.” He commended Undersecretary for Administration J. Eduardo Malaya, who was OTLA Assistant Secretary at the time, for initiating the Philippines’ membership in the HCCH.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. underscored the importance of private international law, and, in his remarks, noted that “private international law is that branch of international law closest to real life and therefore real law. It is the most responsive to the needs of the international community where it matters that is to say day-to-day: in commerce and human relations.”
Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta expressed support for the webinar, noting that the discussions on the conventions and their effects and advantages “will throw into sharp focus the relevant issues in private international law that are applicable to our jurisdiction.”
HCCH representatives also oriented participants on the role of the HCCH and key HCCH conventions – led by HCCH Secretary General Christophe Bernasconi, First Secretary Philippe Lortie, Support Coordinator Jean-Marc Pellet, Senior Legal Officer Dr. Ning Zhao and Legal Officer Elizabeth Zorrilla.
Other presenters include DFA Undersecretary J. Eduardo Malaya, DFA Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Neil Frank Ferrer, Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez, Court of Appeals Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh, Intercountry Adoption Board Executive Director Bernadette B. Abejo, Atty. Tranquil Salvador III of the Supreme Court Rules Committee, HCCH expert and UP College of Law Professor Elizabeth Aguiling-Pangalangan, Integrated Bar of the Philippines President Atty. Domingo Egon Cayosa and Department of Justice Chief State Counsel George O. Ortha II.
The HCCH is an intergovernmental organization which works for the progressive unification of the rules of private international law. The Philippines became a member in 2010 and is presently a state party to four HCCH Conventions, namely the Adoption, Abduction, Apostille and Service Conventions. The DFA Office of Treaties and Legal Affairs serves as the HCCH’s National Organ, which coordinates with the HCCH’s Permanent Bureau and assists government agencies acting as Competent Authorities implementing these Conventions. END
