Int’l workshop to highlight legal matters related to PCA’s rulings

HCM City (VNA) – More than 200 delegates are expected to discuss legal issues relating to the rulings of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at an international workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on July 23.

The organising board said at a press conference on July 22 that there will be 20 speakers who are prestigious researchers in the fields of politics, international law and marine law from Russia, Japan, the Philippines, Australia, Belgium and Vietnam.

The workshop will have three sessions, focusing on the settlement of disputes via jurisdiction according to UNCLOS regulations and by arbitration procedures established at Appendix VII of the UNCLOS, as well as the influence of the Philippines’ lawsuit against China on countries in the region and the world.

According to Rector of the HCM City University of Law Mai Hong Quy and head of the organising board, the participants are expected to concentrate on legal matters relating to the process, procedures, authority, and the value of the ruling of the PCA in the Philippines’ lawsuit against China on July 12.

Participants will weigh the impacts in terms of politics, law and international relations of the ruling on countries in the region and around the world, as well as the mechanism to enforce the ruling based on the rule of law, he said.

The HCM City University of Law and the Vietnam Lawyers Association will take this occasion to announce the establishment of the research and training centre on maritime law, he added.

Regarding the PCA’s ruling, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Le Hai Binh on July 12 confirmed that Vietnam welcomes the PCA’s ruling and the country will issue a statement on the ruling’s content.

“Vietnam once again reiterates its consistent stance on this lawsuit as it was fully shown in the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s Declaration on December 5, 2014 sent to the arbitration tribunal,” he noted.

“In that spirit, Vietnam strongly supports settling disputes in the East Sea through peaceful measures, including diplomatic and legal processes without the use or threat to use force, as in line with regulations of international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS, maintaining peace and stability in the region, security, safety and freedom of navigation in and overflight over the East Sea, and respecting the law-abiding principle in seas and oceans,” Binh said.

“On this occasion, Vietnam once again affirms its sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes, the sovereignty over internal waters and territorial waters, the sovereign right and jurisdiction over Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf as defined in line with the 1982 UNCLOS.”

Vietnam upholds all of its legitimate rights and interests regarding the geographical structures belonging to Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes, he added.-VNA