Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The Philippine delegation to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, the Netherlands continued on Wednesday (July 8) its first round of arguments in its case against China over the West Philippine Sea.
Related: PH begins arguments in The Hague
According to Malacañang, the Philippines’ lawyers explained to the judges that the case does not fall under specific exemptions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which would preclude the tribunal from exercising jurisdiction over the case.
During the morning session (4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. PHT), Professor Philippe Sands of University College London addressed questions propounded by a member of the tribunal, during the previous day’s proceedings.
International law practitioners Lawrence Martin and Paul Reichler, and former International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) ad hoc judge Bernard Oxman took turns presenting arguments explaining why the Philippines’ claims fall squarely within the jurisdiction of the tribunal.
During the afternoon hearing (8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. PHT), Professor Alan Boyle of the University of Edinburgh presented to the judges the Philippines’ environmental and fishing claims against China. Sands closed the first round of arguments by summarizing the submissions of the Philippines presented in the course of the hearings.
China has refused to accept the arbitration and participate in the proceedings. It prefers to conduct bilateral talks with the Philippines. “Nonetheless, the Arbitral Tribunal has noted that it remains open to China to participate in the proceedings at any time,” the PCA said.
Just the beginning
Maritime law expert Jay Batongbacal told CNN Philippines in an exclusive interview that it may take up to three months for the five-member tribunal to decide on its jurisdiction over the case.
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“I’m pretty sure it will take its time to write out its decision because the Philippine case is actually rather complicated, and it has presented many claims based on the statement and notification of claims — there’s at least 13 different claims there,” he said.
“We’re probably looking at say, three months. One month would be very fast, but to be safe, probably at least three months. It would be nice if they do so in less time but we shouldn’t be surprised if it takes a little bit longer.”
