Philippine Year Book of International law Vol.16 (2017)

THE PHILIPPINE YEARBOOK OF INTERNATIONAL LAW (PYIL)

was first published in 1966 as a continuation to the Philippine International Law Journal, a quarterly publication that was unfortunately met with financial difficulties.

The publication was originally headed by the late Justice Florentino P. Feliciano, a leading legal luminary of his time, known for his expertise in international trade law.

Since then, it was published yearly by the Philippine Society of International Law (PSIL) until in 1975, when it became a joint undertaking between the PSIL and the University of the Philippines Law Center. This arrangement served both organizations’ objective of promoting studies, research and discussions in the field of international law.

The partnership proved to be fruitful as it produced several more issues of the Yearbook up until its 1989 publication, its 15th and last issue for a very long time.

More than 25 years passed, and the field of international law has since developed in immeasurable extents. With the emerging need for an updated publication on international law and Philippine foreign relations, the idea of reviving the PYIL materialized. Through the endorsement of Assistant Secretary J. Eduardo Malaya and Ambassador Manuel J. Antonio Teehankee of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the U.P. Law Center’s Institute of International Legal Studies (UPLC-IILS) undertook to lead the relaunching of the PYIL beginning in 2017.

As the official publisher of the Yearbook, the UPLC-IILS, in cooperation with the PSIL, initiated movements to realize the project, starting with the assembly of the editorial board comprised of distinguished practitioners in the field. The proposal to relaunch the Yearbook was thereafter formally introduced to the public during the Colloquium on International Law Issues held in December 2017, the proceedings of which are also included in this issue.

The editorial team has since worked tirelessly in making this publication as relevant and as comprehensive as possible.

This 2017 issue serves as the PYIL’s 16th volume and marks the end of its 28- year-long hiatus. As with the past issues of the PYIL, the current issue contains articles written by international law experts, relevant jurisprudence, international treaties and agreements and proceedings of international law conventions.

It is hoped that this issue would bring new life to the publication and would restore it to its old glory as a fundamental source material for the Philippine international law community. It is further hoped that in the coming years, the Yearbook would continue to flourish just as the realm of international law continues to evolve.

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