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ABOUT

          The Institute of International Legal Studies (IILS) is one of the five (5) institutes constituting the UP Law Center through which the research and extension functions of the UP College of Law are carried out.  Following the reorganization of the UP Law Center by the UP Board of Regents in May 1989, the IILS took over the functions of the International Studies Institute of the Philippines (ISIP) and the Academy of ASEAN Law and Jurisprudence (AALJ) and was formally organized in November of the same year.  The IILS was established to undertake research and extension functions in international law, comparative law, international relations, and foreign policy, specifically in areas that affect the Philippine interests in the global arena.  To fulfill its mandate, the IILS identifies the major issues affecting Philippine foreign policy and foreign relations as well as organizes and supports research and extension activities in these areas towards building capacity and expertise.  IILS is also a base for sustained opportunities for Filipino scholars to contribute solutions to regional and global problems affecting the Philippines.

              Currently, the IILS is undertaking research and extension activities in the fields of International Trade and Economic Law, ASEAN, International Comparative Law, Territorial Studies, International Humanitarian Law, International Criminal Law, Private and Transactional International Law and International Environmental Law.  It also receives requests for opinions and other forms of legal assistance from Congress, the Supreme Court, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Trade and Industry, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, among others.  To this end, IILS maintains institutional linkages with both national and international organizations involved in international law issues. 

IILS Logo

        The IILS logo embodies key symbols that reflect the Institute’s mission and international outlook.

        Central to the design is the globe, representing the Institute’s commitment to the study and advancement of international law and its active engagement in global legal discourse. The scales of justice signify the foundational principles of fairness and equity that underpin legal scholarship and practice. The open book symbolizes the pursuit of knowledge, rigorous research, and academic excellence. The maroon color scheme aligns with the official colors of the University of the Philippines, reinforcing the Institute’s affiliation and identity within the university. Collectively, these elements articulate the IILS’s stature as a premier institution dedicated to international legal research and scholarly collaboration

Logo by: Hermes Ribaya II. 

WHAT WE DO

          With a strong focus on areas that affect Philippine interests in the global and regional arena, the Institute of International Legal Studies (IILS) was established to undertake research and extension functions in international law, comparative law, and international relations.

          This mandate drives its main programs covering research and academic activities aimed at building capacity and deepening expertise in areas or on issues affecting Philippine foreign policy and foreign relations. IILS programs also provide sustained opportunities for Filipino scholars to be exposed and to contribute solutions to the regional and global landscape.

  • Philippine Yearbook of International Law

  • Asia Pacific Journal of International Law

  • International Legal Studies Journal 

  • Primers on various issues in international law

WHO WE ARE

IILS DIRECTOR

    Associate Professor Casis received his LL.M. (2010) from Columbia University, specializing in International Law, Climate Change Law, and Environmental Law. He earned the distinction of being a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar (magna cum laude equivalent). He has been teaching at UP Law since 2005 and became a full-time faculty member in 2008. He is the Director of the Institute of International Legal Studies of the University of the Philippines Law Center.  

     Associate Professor Casis regularly publishes in peer-reviewed and indexed international law journals.  He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Asia-Pacific Journal of International Humanitarian Law, Associate Editor of the Philippine Yearbook of International Law, State Practice Rapporteur of the Asian Yearbook of International Law, and Editorial Board Member of the Korean Journal of International and Comparative Law.  He was the State Volume Editor of the Philippine Chapter of the Encyclopedia of Public International Law in Asia.  

     Associate Professor Casis is the co-author and co-editor of other international law books.  He has written Philippine law treatises on the Law on Contracts, Torts and Quasi-Delicts, Damages, Agency and Partnership.  He is the faculty adviser for UP Law’s moot court teams (Jessup, Stetson, IHL, and Asia Cup).

Associate Professor

IILS LAWYERS

Law Education Specialist,
Program Director
International Financial Law and Regulation Program (IFLR)
 

She finished her Juris Doctor degree at the UP College of Law, where she currently teaches Administrative Law and the Law on Public Officers. She was a scholar of the Government of Japan under the Global Young Leaders Program, through which she earned her Masters in International Economic and Business Law from Kyushu University. She is presently completing her PhD in Law under the Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Juridicas y Sociales at the Universidad de Malaga in Spain.

Senior Legal Associate

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Senior Legal Associate

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Senior Legal Associate

Joan Paula Deveraturda currently serves as the Project Director and Assistant Editor for the Asia-Pacific Journal of International Humanitarian Law. She has a Master of Laws in International Security degree from the Australian National University and a Master of Human Rights and Democratisation degree (MHRD European Commission scholarship) from the University of Sydney. She received her Juris Doctor degree (Dean’s Medal for Academic Excellence) from the University of the Philippines College of Law, and her AB in Communications with a minor in Japanese Studies from Ateneo de Manila (Cum Laude).

Managing editor
• Philippine Yearbook of International Law (PYIL)
• International Legal Studies Journals (ILSJ)

She is also a Senior Lecturer at the UP College of Law.

Concurrently, Ross is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Law & Justice of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney. She is a casual sessional academic at the Coral Bell School, Department of International Relations at the Australian National University. She is licensed to practice law in the Philippines and admitted into the List of Assistants to Counsel of the International Criminal Court (ICC), one of only a handful of Filipino lawyers accredited by the court and the youngest so far.

Program Director

Jurella Guiahara D. Santos is a Filipina environmental lawyer and currently serves as Law Reform Specialist III at the Institute of International Legal Studies, UP Law Center. She earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law and her Bachelor of Science degree from Ateneo de Manila University. She is also an Environmental Law Consultant with the Asian Research Institute for Environmental Law and teaches Introduction to Environmental Law and Policy at the Ateneo de Manila University. Her research interests include climate justice, environmental displacement, oceans and marine conservation, environmental rights, and the just energy transition.

Senior Legal Associate,
Program Director
International Trade and Investment Law

Samantha Tirthdas van der Kleij is an international dispute settlement lawyer and legal consultant based in the Hague, Netherlands. She holds a Master of Laws in Advanced Studies in International Dispute Settlement and Arbitration (Adv. LL.M.) from Leiden University where she graduated valedictorian of her class and was an Assistant Editor of the Leiden Journal of International Law. She also holds a Juris Doctor (J.D.) and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Broadcast Communications from the University of the Philippines Diliman.

Research, Extension, and Professional Staff

University Researcher

She is a Teacher, editor, author, and translator, she earned a BS Education–History (cum laude) from UST and is pursuing an MA in Araling Pilipino at UP Diliman. A fellow of major national writers’ workshops, she won 3rd place in KWF’s Sanaysay ng Taon 2022 and was thrice a finalist for Salita ng Taon. She also mentors young writers and cultural workers. nationwide.

Junior Legal Associate

She is a Junior Legal Associate at the Institute of International Legal Studies. She is currently is a 5th year evening student at the UP College of Law and holds a Bachelor of Science in Speech Pathology from the University of the Philippines-Manila.

Senior Research Associate

She is a Senior Research Associate at the Institute of International Legal Studies. She is currently pursuing her Juris Doctor at the UP College of Law and holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies, with a minor in Communications and New Media from De La Salle University.

Research Assistants

Research Assistant

She is a research assistant for the Asia-Pacific Journal of International Humanitarian Law, Philippine Yearbook of International Law, and International Legal Studies Journal.

Research Assistant

He is a research assistant for the International Legal Studies Journal and International Criminal Law.

Research Assistant

She is a research assistant for the International Environmental Law and International Legal Studies Journal.

Research Assistant

She is a third-year law student at the University of the Philippines College of Law. She is a research assistant for the Philippine Yearbook on International Law.

Research Assistant

She is a research assistant for the International Environmental Law Program and the Philippine Yearbook of International Law.

Research Assistant

He is a research assistant for the International Environmental Law and the International Financial Law Programs.

Research Assistant

She is a research assistant for the Philippine Yearbook of International Law and the International Environmental Law Program.

Research Assistant

She is a research assistant for the Asia-Pacific Journal of International Humanitarian Law and Philippine Yearbook of International law. 

Research Assistant

Research Assistant for the International Financial Law and International Environmental Law Program

Research Assistant

She is a research assistant for the International Legal Studies Journal and the International Trade and Investment Law Program

Research Assistant

He is a research assistant for the International Criminal Law program.

Administrative Staff

Administrative Officer

Administrative Staff

Administrative Staff

Administrative Staff

CONTACT US

Contact Number:
(+632) 8 920 5514
     loc. 207 (Staff)
     loc. 230 (Administrative Office) 

Emails:
iils_law.upd@up.edu.ph (Staff / all inquiries)
searr_law.upd@up.edu.ph (Stetson / SEARR inquiries only)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uplaw.iils
X: @upiils
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/instituteofinternationallegalstudies/

Address:
Institute of International Legal Studies (IILS)
UP Law Center, 3/F Bocobo Hall, Magsaysay Avenue
UP Diliman, Quezon City, 1101, Philippines