12 July 2022, The Hague – To recognize the unprecedented achievements of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Cesar Bengzon as the first and so far the only Filipino Judge of the International Court of Justice (from 1967 to 1976), the Philippine Embassy will dedicate a sitting room at the ground floor of the newly-renovated Chancery in his honor on 19 July 2022.
The event will be a milestone for the international law community as several prominent international legal luminaries, including incumbent judges of the ICJ, will attend the ceremony.
Keynote messages will be delivered by Judge Kirill Gevorgian, Vice President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and ICJ Judge Iwasawa Yuji. Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo will also address the assembly through video remarks.
This event affirms the recognition of the Philippines' contribution to the international legal system through Judge Bengzon and other outstanding Filipinos in the field. Also to be honored during the ceremony are Justice Florentino Feliciano, Senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (1994 to 1995) and founding Member and then President of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (1995 to 2001); and Judge Raul C. Pangalangan, Judge of the International Criminal Court (2015 to 2021).
"The Philippines has made significant contributions to the progressive development of international law in at least four areas: (1) the drafting of the United Nations Charter and, in particular, on the chapter on international trusteeship for non-self governing territories: (2) the articulation of key principles of the peaceful settlement of disputes as embodied in the Manila Declaration of 1982; (3) the development of the archipelagic doctrine in UNCLOS, and recently on clarifying key UNCLOS provisions on maritime entitlement and jurisdiction, and (4) the distinguished service of eminent Filipino jurists in international tribunals," according to Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya. "We Filipinos should take pride that we are not only receivers of international law, but actually shapers of it."
This event is undertaken in collaboration with the Philippine Society of International Law.
The ICJ has its seat in The Hague, The Netherlands.
The 19 July inauguration of the “ICJ Judge Cesar Bengzon Hall” will be at 4:00 P.M. CET (10:00 P.M. PHL time), in the presence of members of the Bengzon family, Feliciano family, and Judge Pangalangan. Due to health protocols and space limitations, onsite attendance is by invitation only, however, everyone is invited to the live streaming of the ceremony via the Facebook page of the Embassy (Philippine Embassy in The Netherlands). END
