PH files new pleading in UN tribunal

Florin Hilbay. Screengrab from https://law.upd.edu.ph

The Philippines has filed a supplemental pleading in the United Nations arbitral tribunal at The Hague to further boost its arguments for the court to assume jurisdiction over the case it filed against China’s incursions in the South China Sea.

Without giving away details, Solicitor General Florin Hilbay confirmed on Tuesday that the legal team made it to the July 23 deadline for submission.

Following hearings held earlier this month at The Hague, the five-member ad hoc panel required the Philippines to file additional responses which would address “some aspects of the case that weren’t fully articulated,” Hilbay earlier said.

It would serve to supplement the Philippines’ earlier filings and the answers the legal team gave during the hearings.

The Philippines earlier appeared before the tribunal, which is holding court at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, in a bid to convince the court that the case was within the UN panel’s jurisdiction.

Only when the body declares jurisdiction over the case will it go into tackling the merits of the case.

In an earlier interview, Hilbay said the Philippine team had “presented the best forms of the argument from our side.” He also expressed hopes that the case “will survive the jurisdictional phase and be able to return to The Hague.”

The Philippines’ case aims to nullify China’s nine-dash line claim, which it claims to be encroaching on the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), in a part of the South China Sea called the West Philippine Sea.

The case also seeks to stop China’s exercise of sovereignty in territories within the Philippines’ EEZ, including law enforcement and reclamation activities. Tarra Quismundo