‘Arbitration a good equality tool’

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines’ lead counsel in its maritime arbitration case against China underscored that arbitration gives weaker countries equal treatment with stronger nations.

At a forum held in New York on Oct. 30 with visiting legal advisers of ministries of foreign affairs and diplomats accredited to the United Nations on the occasion of the annual International Law Week, Paul Reichler said  arbitration gives politically, economically or militarily weaker countries “the rare opportunity to hope, through peaceful settlement and the rule of law, for equal treatment with stronger countries.”

The Philippines reiterated its call in the UN for the peaceful, rules-based settlement of maritime disputes throughout the world pursuant to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), especially in the West Philippine Sea where tensions have been rising for the last three years due to China’s naval posturing in pursuit of its nine-dash claim over the entire South China Sea.

In his welcome remarks, Ambassador Libran Cabactulan, Philippine permanent representative to the UN, said: “UNCLOS, our constitution for the oceans, is becoming more relevant than ever before, particularly for developing countries which are poised to explore and exploit their own exclusive economic zone, their own continental shelf, and even the deep seabed, for their development.”

Reichler enjoys a leading reputation as a preferred lawyer for sovereign states.

Cabactulan, who presided over the discussion, said Reichler is a top-ranked international lawyer with extensive experience representing sovereign countries before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

He was lawyer for Nicaragua in the landmark 1986 ICJ case, where the World Court ruled that the United States illegally used force – in violation of the UN Charter – against the Sandinista government of Nicaragua.

“But he has particular experience representing and advising states in land and maritime boundary disputes with neighboring states,” Cabactulan said.

Reichler presented an overview of UNCLOS’s compulsory arbitration process, interpreting issues of choice of procedure and jurisdiction through illustrative cases he previously worked on as counsel for sovereign states.