MANILA — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) conducted a seminar on Philippine Treaty Law and Practice for government agencies to further enhance their negotiation capabilities in their respective fields.
A major project of the DFA Office of Legal Affairs, the half-day seminar was led by Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs Eduardo Malaya and was attended by some 100 officials and lawyers from different government departments and agencies, notably those who negotiate with foreign counterparts.
Held at the DFA’s Bulwagang Elpidio Quirino, the seminar provided the participants with a refresher course on treaty law and practice, particularly the distinction between treaty/Memorandum of Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding, and between treaties and executive agreements, as well as the procedure in the negotiation, signing and ratification of international agreements.
The Office of Legal Affairs distributed copies of the Treaty Handbook, which puts together relevant circulars, international conventions and other basic references in the drafting, negotiation and ratification of international agreements.
“Familiarity with treaty law and practice, which is where domestic law meets international law, will facilitate the work of our negotiators and also give them a competitive edge during negotiations,” Assistant Secretary Malaya said.
The participating agencies in the Treaty Law Seminar included the Department of Justice, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Education, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Tourism, Department of Science and Technology and Department of Energy.
Among others, Department of Health, Department of Agriculture, Department of Transportation, as well as the Office of the Solicitor General participated in the event.
Other attendees were from the Civil Aeronautics Board, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, MARINA, Development Academy of the Philippines, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Bureau of Customs, National Security Council, Philippine National Police, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine Center on Transnational Crime, Philippine Coast Guard, Office of the Special Envoy on Transnational Crime, Presidential Communications Operations Office, and the Social Security System.
The DFA Office of Legal Affairs has launched in August the book “Forging Partnerships: Philippine Defense Cooperation under Constitutional and International Laws” authored by Malaya himself and Atty. Maria Antonina Mendoza-Oblena.
The 129-page book is published by the Foreign Service Institute and the UP Law Center. (PNA)
