HCCH Secretary General Christophe Bernasconi delivers lecture at Ateneo Law School

The Ateneo de Manila University School of Law recently hosted a forum focused on cross-border legal transactions in collaboration with the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Philippine Judicial Academy, and the Philippine Society of International Law. Officials from the Philippine Judicial Academy, the Department of Justice, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the National Authority for Child Care (NACC), Ateneo law students, and other members of the legal community packed Justitia Hall on February 23, 2024 to listen in.

The forum featured distinguished speakers, including H.E. J. Eduardo Malaya, Ambassador of the Philippines to The Netherlands, Dr. Christophe Bernasconi, Secretary-General of The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), and Melissa Ford, HCCH’s Secretary of the Transnational Litigation and Apostille Division. They shared insights into the role of international cooperation in navigating cross-border legal transactions.

Dean Jose Maria G. Hofileña welcomed the guests. In his remarks, Dean Hofileña stated that "the very mission statement of the Ateneo Law School instructs us in the faculty of law, in the integrated legal education we offer, to do our bit to ensure that our students, even as it is their goal to become Philippine lawyers, to also become and remain somehow globally connected."

Ambassador Malaya discussed the Philippines’ role in The Hague and in fostering relations among nations. He set the tone in explaining that, “all these initiatives are part of what the Embassy calls “legal diplomacy” – harnessing for the benefit of Philippine institutions the immense intellectual resources available overseas, spotting the best practices that are suited to our country and recommending their adoption, participation in the development of new norms, and helping build up and prepare key international legal institutions for the challenges of the future. Underlying all of them is our firm belief in the indispensability of international law and the rule of law in relations among states.”

Dr. Bernasconi covered the fundamental tensions in these transactions and the solutions provided through The Hague Conference on Private International Law, then went deeper into the enforcement of foreign judgments. Ms. Ford provided insight into the efficient solutions HCCH provides in the gathering of evidence around the world. The speakers, however, did not let the event close without engaging with the audience. They dove straight in to address the audience’s queries as much as time would allow.

Like all good things, however, the event had to come to an end. Assoc. Dean Ma. Ngina Chan-Gonzaga, in delivering the closing remarks on behalf of Ma. Cristina Morales-Alikpala, Assistant Vice President for University Partnerships and Internationalization, aptly summarized the importance of events such as this by saying – “In [Ateneo’s] fourth strategic area of focus, that of Bridging Cultural Divides, the Ateneo de Manila recognizes how the world is divided along numerous fault lines …  the Hague Conference on Private International Law [is] … building bridges between various legal systems, while respecting their diversity, in order to reinforce the legal security of private actors – an essential role in an age of globalization in which rules and guidelines in respect of cross border legal issues are very much needed.”

Following the forum, Ateneo also hosted the Consultative Meeting with The Secretary General of The Hague Conference on Private International Law and Philippine Central Authorities of HCCH Conventions.