The Arbitral Tribunal Concludes Hearing on Jurisdiction and Admissibility

On Monday, 13 July 2015, the Arbitral Tribunal concluded the hearing on jurisdiction and admissibility in the arbitration instituted by the Republic of the Philippines against the People’s Republic of China under Annex VII to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the “Convention”).

The hearing, which commenced on 7 July 2015, took place in the Peace Palace, the headquarters of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the Netherlands.

The Philippines’ delegation comprised some sixty attendees, including the Solicitor General as Agent for the Philippines, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, the Secretary of Justice, the Secretary of National Defense, members of the Supreme Court, members of the House of Representatives, Ambassadors, government lawyers, officials, legal counsel, advisors and technical experts and assistants.

The Philippines’ Agent, Solicitor General Florin T. Hilbay, and the Philippines’ Secretary of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Albert Ferreros del Rosario delivered introductory remarks. Thereafter, the Philippines’ Counsel, Mr. Paul S. Reichler, Professor Philippe Sands QC, Mr. Lawrence H. Martin, Professor Bernard H. Oxman, and Professor Alan Boyle presented the Philippines’ legal arguments.

The Arbitral Tribunal had decided not to open the hearing to the public. However, after receiving written requests from interested States, and having sought the views of the Parties, the Arbitral Tribunal permitted the Governments of Malaysia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, the Kingdom of Thailand and Japan, to send small delegations to attend the hearing as observers.