The year 2019 was a milestone year for alternative dispute resolution (“ADR“) in the Philippines. It saw the inaugural Philippine Arbitration Convention organized by the Philippine Institute of Arbitrators (“PIArb“) on 25 November 2019 (the “Arbitration Day“), the signing of the Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (the “Singapore Convention“), the implementation of…

Heading The July 2016 Award of the Tribunal in the South China Sea Arbitration (The Republic of the Philippines v The Peoples’ Republic of China) has been the subject of extensive interest and comment for its findings on rights and maritime entitlements, and the obligations of States under the United Nations Convention on the Law…

Introduction On 12 July 2016, a five-member arbitral tribunal (the Tribunal) constituted under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) issued its long-awaited award on the merits in an arbitration brought by the Philippines against China. The tribunal’s jurisdiction is derived from UNCLOS; all State parties to UNCLOS…