3 ex-deans, envoy named nominees to PCA panel

THE Philippine government has named three former deans and a former ambassador as nominees to the International Bureau of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (IB-PCA), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced yesterday.

According to the PCA website, the International Bureau serves as the Secretariat of the arbitral tribunal. It provides administrative support to tribunals and commissions, serving as the official channel of communications and ensuring safe custody of documents.

The bureau likewise provides services such as financial administration, logistical and technical support for meetings and hearings, travel arrangements, and general secretarial and linguistic support.

It also provides administrative support to tribunals or commissions conducting PCA dispute settlement proceedings outside The Netherlands.

The DFA said Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo has submitted the names of former University of the Philippines College of Law Dean Raul Pangalangan, former Ateneo Ateneo Law School Dean Sedfrey Candelaria, former Ateneo School of Government Dean Antonio Gabriel La Viña, and Ambassador to The Netherlands Eduardo Malaya as nominees of the Philippines to the IB-PCA.

Pangalangan, who is a UP law professor, was a former judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC) from 2015 to 2021.

Candelaria, who is a law professor at the Ateneo de Manila University, is the head of the Office of the Research, Publications and Linkages Office of the Philippine Judicial Academy.

On the other hand, La Viña was a former member of the PCA Specialized Panel of Arbitrators and Experts (Environmental Disputes) from 2016 to 2022. He is currently the associate director for Climate Policy and International Relations of the Manila Observatory.

Malaya is a career diplomat and is currently serving as the Philippine Ambassador to The Netherlands. He is also serving as the acting president of the PCA Administrative Council for the 2023-2024 term.

Pursuant to the 1899 and 1907 Hague Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, the DFA said each member State may appoint up to four individuals who possess “exceptional expertise in international law” who