PYIL Vol.17 (29 December 2020)

For the first time in nearly three decades, a compendium on the country’s international laws has seen print anew with the publication of the Philippine Yearbook of International Law (PYIL).

First published in 1966, the PYIL’s first editor in chief was the late Justice Florentino P. Feliciano, who oversaw its annual printing until 1975. It became a joint undertaking by the PSIL and the UP Law Center until 1989 when publication ceased.

It is an annual publication dedicated to international legal issues, and an essential reference for academic and practicing lawyers.

The PYIL is published by the UP Law Center, in collaboration with the Philippine Society of International Law. It features the works of some of the country’s luminaries in the field of international law

Former University of the Philippines (UP) Law Dean Merlin M. Magallona was the 270-page tome’s editor in chief, with Assistant Professor Rommel J. Casis as associate editor.

The 2017 edition of the yearbook, at volume 16, was made available to the public with a formal launch on March 18 at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) headquarters in Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, the need for the PYIL has become more evident in the light of recent developments in international law.

Starting in 2017 the UP Law Center-Institute of International Legal Studies (IILS) took the lead in relaunching the PYIL, through the endorsement of Ambassador Malaya.

The DFA’s Office of Treatise and Legal Affairs, under Malaya’s helm, spearheaded the launch. The diplomat said in his keynote address that “international law
is a great equalizer,” as it endows small states the same capacity as those of superpowers.