SOME 400 delegates from all over the world will converge in Manila for a landmark law conference on August 22 and 23, in what Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. described as the “most important international law event that will take place in the Philippines this year.”
The seventh Biennial Conference of the Asian Society of International Law will be held in the Philippines for the first time at the Novotel Hotel in Araneta Center, Quezon City. The conference will be hosted by the AsianSIL and copresented by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Philippine Society of International Law (PSIL), the University of the Philippines-College of Law and the UP Law Center, with the theme: “Rethinking International Law: Finding Common Solutions to Contemporary Civilizational Issues from an Asian Perspective.”
Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Treaties and Legal Affairs and PSIL Vice President J. Eduardo Malaya said, “the DFA is pleased to host and be associated with the forthcoming AsianSIL Biennial Conference, as it reaffirms the role of international law as a guide to Philippine foreign policy.”
Locsin will deliver the welcome remarks during the opening ceremonies on August 22, while Judge Yuji Iwasawa of the International Court of Justice will deliver the keynote address. According to the DFA, it will be the first time a sitting ICJ judge will visit the Philippines.
Legal ‘who’s who’
DISTINGUISHED legal personalities scheduled to speak at the opening ceremonies are Supreme Court Associate Justice Francis H. Jardeleza representing Chief Justice Lucas P. Bersamin, AsianSIL President Prof. Harry L. Roque Jr. and PSIL President Prof. Elizabeth Aguiling-Pangalangan.
Three publications will be launched at the conference: the newly revived Philippine Yearbook of International Law, Treaties: Guidance and Practices, and 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].” These books are all published from the UP Law Center.
On August 23, the conference will highlight a special plenary panel in honor of the late Supreme Court Associate Justice Florentino Feliciano, with the theme, “International Legal Scholarship and Judicial Theory: International Law as Shaped by Asian Judges and Lawyers—What Do We Bring to the Table?”
Justice Jardeleza will chair the special plenary, as notable legal luminaries who will speak will include former Judge and ICJ President Judge (ret.) Hisashi Owada, International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (Itlos) President Judge Jin-Hyun Paik, University of Denver-Strum College of Law Prof. Ved Nanda and University of New South Wales-Faculty of Law Prof.Natalie Klein.
More than 30 plenary and parallel sessions over the course of the two-day conference would engage the legal scholars on various topics, including Hague Conference on Private International Law Secretary-General Dr. Christophe Bernasconi and African-Asian Legal Consultative Organization Secretary-General Dr. Kennedy Gastorn, among others.
Supplementary activities
SIDE events are also slated as part of the conference, which are open to all interested lawyers and law students.
On August 21, the DFA and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines are scheduled to host a forum led by ICJ Judge Iwasawa, with the theme, “The Future of the International Court of Justice: Prospects and Challenges,” at the UP College of Law’s Bonifacio Global City (BGC) campus in Taguig City.
On August 22, the DFA and the Institute for Maritime Affairs and the Law of the Sea will hold a forum with Itlos Judge Paik entitled, “The Role of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in the Settlement of Disputes Related to the Law of the Sea: Current Trends and Other Developments,” also at the aforementioned venue.
The Junior Scholars Conference is also slated to precede the main conference on August 21 at the UP College of Law and UP Law Center in Diliman, Quezon City. Nearly 100 junior scholars from Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Africa and North America will participate in workshops designed to help them sharpen their academic craft.
The Philippines has seen a resurgence of interest in international law after the country demonstrated thought leadership in various international law tribunals and releasing significant scholarly publications. At the same time, Filipino students have bested other countries in several international law moot court competitions.
Information about the conference may be sourced at https://asiansilconf2019.com/.