Chief Justice: Philippine Judiciary Supports Harmonization of Private International Law
October 19, 2022
The Philippine Judiciary is open to study other Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) Conventions for the harmonization of the rules of private international law, in order to establish a unified international legal order.
Thus said Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo at the opening ceremony of the HCCH Asia Pacific Week │ Manila 2022 at Makati Diamond Residences, Makati City on Tuesday, October 18, 2022.
The Chief Justice also encouraged partners in the Asia Pacific region “to consider examining the HCCH Conventions based on our individual experiences and deepen appreciation for the long-term value to our legal systems and judicial processes.”
On the part of the Philippine Judiciary, Chief Justice Gesmundo shared the efforts of the Office of the Court Administrator and the Supreme Court Committee on Family Courts and Juvenile Concerns in realizing the implementation of HCCH Conventions acceded to by the Philippines as good examples of the Philippine Judiciary’s unfailing commitment to HCCH’s global project.
The Philippines is currently party to five HCCH Instruments: the 1961 Apostille Convention, the 1965 Service Convention, the 1980 Child Abduction Convention, the 1993 Adoption Convention, and the 2007 Child Support Convention.
The Supreme Court, incidentally, yesterday promulgated the Rule on International Child Abduction Cases, which implements the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction of 1980 (HCAC) to which the Philippines has been a party since 2016. The Rule provides an expeditious procedure to facilitate the prompt return of children, who have been wrongfully removed or retained across international boundaries, to their state or country of habitual residence based on the presumption that, save in exceptional circumstances, the wrongful removal or retention of the child is not in his/her best interest.
Chief Justice Gesmundo noted that the Philippines’ unique legal framework can provide guidance to other jurisdictions: “Having an independent judicial system and a functional mixed common and civil law framework, the Philippines presents a hybrid legal system that provides a legal framework, with a Shariah law tradition incorporated, for a flexible and developing jurisprudence.”
“In the end, the goal of an efficient justice system is the general welfare of our respective citizens. At the international level, HCCH Conventions foster a kind of global citizenship,” concluded the Chief Justice.
Present at the HCCH conference were Supreme Court Associate Justices Ramon Paul L. Hernando, Amy C. Lazaro-Javier, and Jose Midas P. Marquez.
They were also joined by retired Chief Justice Teresita J. Leonardo- de Castro; retired Supreme Court Justice Mariano C. del Castillo; Court of Appeals Presiding Justice Remedios A. Salazar-Fernando; Court of Tax Appeals Presiding Justice Ramon G. Del Rosario; Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang; Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA) Chancellor Rosmari D. Carandang; and Court Administrator Raul B. Villanueva.
Representatives from other jurisdictions in the Asia Pacific region also joined the event: Cambodia Deputy Chief Justice You Ottara; Laos Supreme Court Judge Shrivath Chanthanom; Mongolia Vice Minister Solongoo Baryasaikhan; and Viet Nam Deputy Chief Justice Nguyen Van Tien.
The HCCH Asia Pacific Week │ Manila 2022, which runs from October 18 to 19, 2022, is co-hosted by the Supreme Court, through the PHILJA, with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the University of the Philippines Law Center. With the theme “Enabling Cross-Border Cooperation in the Region and Beyond,” it seeks to help participants learn more about the HCCH and engage with private international law experts from all over the Asia Pacific region, including Justice Lazaro-Javier, who will speak on the 1980 Child Abduction Convention and the 1996 Child Protection Convention and Court Administrator Villanueva, who is one of the panelists on the 1965 Service Convention
For more information on the HCCH Asia Pacific Week Manila 2022, including the speakers and presentations, you may visit: https://apwmanila2022.law.upd.edu.ph
