16 July 2013 - The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) jointly announce that the Arbitral Tribunal that has been appointed to hear the case brought by the Philippines against the People's Republic of China under Annex VII of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea was formally constituted and held its first meeting on July 11 at The Hague.

The arbitral proceedings are now officially under way.

At their first meeting on July 11, the President and Members of the Tribunal designated The Hague as the seat of the arbitration and the Permanent Court of Arbitration as the Registry for the proceedings. The Parties had previously been requested to submit their views on these two matters, and the Philippines consented to both.

Also at the July 11 meeting, the Arbitral Tribunal approved a draft set of Rules of Procedure to govern the proceedings, and sent it to the Parties for their comments, which were requested by 5 August 2013. This request also called for the Parties to propose a schedule for the submission of their written pleadings.

The Philippine Government and its Counsel are now studying the draft Rules of Procedure, and will submit comments and a proposed schedule for the written pleadings as requested by the Tribunal.

The Philippine Government is pleased that the Arbitral Tribunal is now formally constituted, and that the arbitration process has begun. The Department and the OSG have pledged their fullest cooperation with the Tribunal, in order to assure a fair, impartial and efficient process that produces a final and binding judgment in conformity with international law.

The Department will issue statements from time to time to keep the public informed about the progress of the arbitration. Information will also be made available to the public on the website of the Permanent Court of Arbitration:  www.pca-cpa.org. END