PCA Case Nº 2013-19 "The Republic of Philippines v. The People's Republic of China". A

Overview

In the Case "The Republic of Philippines v. The People's Republic of China", the arbitral tribunal, constituted under Annex VII to the UNCLOS, rendered the award on jurisdiction and admissibility on 29 October 2015. The tribunal concluded that it has jurisdiction partially (Submissions 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11 and 13) and joined several jurisdictional issues to the merit phase (Submissions 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 12 and 14) . At this stage of procedure, the tribunal does not reject its jurisdiction on any of claim submitted by Philippines.

Dispositif (para.413)

The tribunal concluded that it "has jurisdiction to consider the Philippines’ Submissions No. 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, and 13, subject to the conditions noted in paragraphs 400, 401, 403, 404, 407, 408, and 410 of this Award" and that "a determination of whether the Tribunal has jurisdiction to consider the Philippines’ Submissions No. 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 12, and 14 would involve consideration of issues that do not possess an exclusively preliminary character, and accordingly RESERVES consideration of its jurisdiction to rule on Submissions No. 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 12, and 14 to the merits phase."

Procedure

In this case, the joint procedure was applied by the Tribunal (corresponding to Article 79(9) of the Statute of the ICJ). Article 20(3) of the Rules of Procedure states that: "The Arbitral Tribunal shall rule on any plea concerning its jurisdiction as a preliminary question, unless the Arbitral Tribunal determines, after seeking the views of the Parties, that the objection to its jurisdiction does not possess an exclusively preliminary character, in which case it shall rule on such a plea in conjunction with the merits".

Applicable laws

・UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (including Annex VII)

・Rules of Procedure (specific to this case)

Reactions

[Philippines]

・West Philippine Sea Arbitration Updates

[China]

・Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang's Regular Press Conference on October 30, 2015, in which it is clearly stated that "[t]he award is null and void, and has no binding effect on China".

[Japan]

・Press Conference by Foreign Minister Fumio KishidaFriday, October 30, 2015.

・Nikkei Newspaper 30 October 2015

[USA]