Filipino ambassador now heads Permanent Court of Arbitration
THE Administrative Council of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) recently elected Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya as the acting president of the council starting 2023 until 2024.
The election of Malaya, who is Philippine ambassador to the Netherlands, was affirmed by acclamation during the council’s 208th session on December 12 at the Peace Palace in the Hague, upon the nomination of the Asia Group in the Administrative Council. It is the PCA’S governing body composed of representatives from 122 member-states.
In his remarks upon assumption, Malaya affirmed the Philippines’s commitment to contributing to the PCA’S important undertakings, as he pledged to work closely with the memberstates and PCA Secretary-general Marcin Czepelak.
He noted that “the PCA represents our great ideals of achieving justice and peace through law.” The next two years, he added, are auspicious for the PCA as it will commemorate its 125th-year milestone in 2024.
“It will be a time for a review and assessment on the status and prospects of our organization. In a world…deeply troubled by wars near and far…beset with climate change and other global challenges, it is also a time for reflection for us in the Administrative Council on how we, in our time, can ensure that the PCA remains dynamic, relevant and faithful to its original vision as a permanent institution of arbitration accessible to all and at all times, working for the maintenance of global peace,” the new PCA president pointed out.
Malaya is the first Filipino and second non-dutch national to serve at the PCA’S Administrative Council helm. The diplomat led the Philippine accession in 2010 to the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, which paved the way for the country’s membership in the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
Prior to being the Philippine ambassador to the Netherlands, Malaya was foreign affairs undersecretary (deputy minister, from 2019 to 2021), and has twice served as assistant secretary (director-general) for Treaties and Legal Affairs (2007 to 2011, and 2017 to 2019). He was the country’s envoy to Malaysia (2011 to 2017), and foreign affairs spokesperson (2009 to 2011).
He is also the author, main author and editor of nine books on international law, diplomacy and history; notably, Philippine Treaties in Force 2020 and Forging Partnerships: Philippine Defense Cooperation in Constitutional and International Laws. He is vice president of the Philippine Society of International Law, a member of the Philippine Yearbook of International Law editorial board, and in 2021 was elected to the Asian Society of International Law executive council.
The PCA is one of the world’s foremost dispute settlement tribunals, alongside the International Court of Justice. The awards and decisions of its tribunals and commissions have significantly shaped the development of international law and contributed to world peace.
Meanwhile, its Administrative Council provides general guidance on the PCA’S work and general direction, while supervising its administration, budget and expenditure. It shapes the policy of the organization in consultation with its secretary-general.