4 Filipinos named Permanent Court of Arbitration members

Four Filipino international law experts have been appointed to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced. 

In a statement Thursday, the DFA said Dr. Raul Pangalangan, Prof. Sedfrey Candelaria, Dr. Antonio Gabriel M. La Viña, and Philippine Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya are now part of the permanent inter-governmental organization that resolves international disputes. 

Pangalangan, Professor of Law at the University of the Philippines, is a former Judge of the International Criminal Court (2015-2021).

Candelaria, a Professor of Law at the Ateneo de Manila University, is the chief of Office of the Research, Publications and Linkages Office of the Philippine Judicial Academy.

La Vina is a former Member of the PCA Specialized Panel of Arbitrators and Experts (Environmental Disputes) from 2016-2022 and is currently Associate Director for Climate Policy and International Relations of the Manila Observatory.

Malaya is the Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands and the Acting President of the PCA Administrative Council for the term 2023-2024.

DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo submitted their names to the body.

Under the 1899 and 1907 Hague Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, each Member State may appoint up to four individuals who possess exceptional expertise in international law who will be included in the list of those who are available to serve as arbitrators under the auspices of the PCA for a term of six years. 

The previous Philippine Members of the PCA were Chief Justice (ret) Artemio Panganiban, Chief Justice (ret.) Reynato Puno, Justice (ret.) Jose Vitug and Pangalangan.

The PCA is the first and foremost permanent inter-governmental organization providing a forum for the resolution of international disputes through arbitration and other peaceful means. —LDF, GMA Integrated News