Permanent Court of Arbitration chief in Manila

MANILA, Philippines — Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo welcomed visiting Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Secretary General Marcin Czepelak yesterday, as the former cited the significant contributions of the United Nations-backed tribunal that ruled in favor of the Philippines against China’s claims in the South China Sea in 2016.

Czepelak’s visit, which forms part of the PCA’s activities this year on the occasion of its 125th anniversary, is the first official visit by the PCA chief to the country.

The visit is in line with the PCA’s customary visits to member-states in efforts to further promote its services in the peaceful resolution of international disputes.

In his courtesy call on Manalo at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Pasay City to kick off his visit to the country, Czepelak recognized the Philippines’ support for the international organization.

Manalo congratulated Czepelak on the PCA’s 125-year milestone.

“The Philippines appreciates the PCA’s significant contributions to the peaceful settlement of disputes and the development of international law,” Manalo said.

“The adoption via consensus by the UN General Assembly of a resolution in August last year welcoming the PCA’s 125th anniversary reflects the high regard that the international community has for the organization,” he added.

The Philippines was the penholder of the resolution which was co-sponsored by 122 UN member-states.

In addition to offering dispute resolution services, arbitration, conciliation, mediation, commissions of inquiry and other peaceful means of dispute resolution, the PCA outreach to the Philippines seeks to promote the organization as a center for legal scholarship and education, participating in and hosting seminars, workshops and conferences on international law and dispute resolution.

During his visit, Czepelak will meet with the country’s arbitration community in a forum hosted by the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center. He will speak before law practitioners, the academe and students at a forum at the Ateneo School of Law.

Czepelak is joined in his outreach visit to the Philippines by senior legal counsel Julian Bordacahar, the PCA representative in Argentina/Latin American region, and legal counsel Neil Nucup, the PCA representative in Vietnam/Southeast Asian region.

The PCA is the oldest existing international organization devoted to the peaceful settlement of disputes, having been established in 1899 by the Convention on the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes.