Philippine Tatler – August 2019

T

o theordinarypublicinternationallaw

maysoundtechnicalandintimidating,

butforacademics,scholars,lawyers,

andjudgeswhodevotetheirlivesto

studyingandinterpretingthelaw,it

is a fascinatingsubjectespeciallysinceit marriesthe

theoreticalandthepractical—theidealwiththerealities

ontheground.Afterall,internationallawbothinforms

andconstrainsinternationalrelations,diplomacy,foreign

policy,wars,nationalsecurity,trade,thearbitrationof

disputes,andhumanrights.

Withtheaimto highlightthesignificanceof internationallaw,the

Philippineswillhostthe7thBiennialConferenceof AsianSociety

of InternationalLaw(AsianSIL)at NovotelManilaAranetaCenter,

QuezonCityfrom 22 to 23August.Thethemeforthisyearis “Rethinking

InternationalLaw:FindingCommonSolutionsto Contemporary

CivilisationalIssuesfromanAsianPerspective.”

Approximately 500 delegatesfromAsiaandaroundtheworldare

expectedto attendthisprestigiousconference,withjudgesfromthehighest

internationaltribunals,suchastheInternationalCourtof Justice,aswell

asleadinginternationalscholarsandexpertsfromallovertheworldas

plenaryandpanelspeakers

Hostingtheeventis a hugerecognitionandfeatforthecountry.

AsianSILpresidentHarryRoque,a professorof internationallaw,human

rightslawyer,andformerpresidentialspokesperson,is proudthatthe

nationis hostingsucha prestigiouseventforthefirsttime,signallingits role

asa leadingforcein thefieldof internationallawin theregion.

“Thishostingwillnotonlyshowourcommitmentto theruleof lawbut

it willalsohighlightinternationallaw’simportancein everydaylife,”he

elaborates.Accordingto Roque,thetheme—addressingcivilisationalissues

fromanAsianperspective—willreiteratehowinternationallaw“prescribes

forbehaviourthatis beneficialto humanbeings.”Headds:“International

lawis a normativeconductthatcanbethetoolto surmountchallenges

aheadof usincludingviolationsof theruleof warfare,threatsto civilisation

owing to climate change, maintaining law and order, threats to peace and

the realities of territorial disputes.”

These issues, says Roque, challenge not only the existence of Asia, but

also the population of the entire planet. “It is important that we fall back

onto the rule of law to push for what’s beneficial to all and to frown on

conduct that is harmful for the future.” n

For more information, go to asiansilconf2019.com

Reinforcing the Philippines’ role in

the shaping of international law in

the region, the 7th Biennial

Conference of the Asian Society

of International Law is

expected to be a platform for

leading experts to discuss Asian

legal perspectives

Governed

by Reason

HONOURABLE MENTIONS AsianSIL president Harry Roque;

(bottom) 7th AsianSIL Biennial Conference logo

PhotogrAP

hy: r

Amon m

Ang

ILA

Asian Society of International Law / tatler focus