Maritime Law expert discusses draft code of conduct between ASEAN and China In a continuing public conversation on the subject, Director of IMLOS Professor Jay Batongbacal discusses the draft code of conduct in the South China Sea that is being proposed between ASEAN and China. Recognized for his expertise in the Law of the Sea, Professor Batongbacal is oft sought by print and broadcast media to explain the rapid developments taking place in the waters of the Region. The first three of these discussions may be accessed at : ASEAN draft code of conduct with China signals start of negotiations:…

Professor Antonio La Viña: Secondary evidence is justified by Rule 130 of the Rules of Court Legal lesson 3: Secondary evidence is justified by Rule 130 of the Rules of Court Sec. 5   "When the original document has been lost or destroyed, or cannot be produced in court, the offeror, upon proof of its execution or existence and the cause of its unavailability without bad faith on his part, may prove its contents by a copy, or by a recital of its contents in some authentic document, or by the testimony of witnesses in the order stated." Professor Tony La…

Prof. Gatmaytan writes for Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft In an article "Duterte, judicial deference, and democratic decay in the Philippines", published by Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft - Journal of Political Science, Professor Dante Gatmaytan traces “democratic decay in the Philippines.”  Through a string of decisions of the Supreme Court operating under the 1987 Constitution. the Constitutional Law scholar and teacher illustrates how the Supreme Court has refused to exercise its constitutional role of judicial review of the Executive’s actions introducing an “imbalance in the separation of powers.” Professor Gatmaytan concludes that “By judicial inaction, the Executive... becomes unfettered by any constitutional constrictions.”…

Dean Agabin, Prof. Hilbay: Effect of voiding amnesty on the rule of law Legal lesson 2: Effect of voiding amnesty on the  rule of law and teaching of the Constitution Heavyweights in  Constitutional Law, Dean Pacifico Agabin and Professor Florin Hilbay, express alarm with the reasoning of a Makati Trial Court judge in upholding Presidential Proclamation 572. The proclamation voids an amnesty granted seven years ago to Senator Antonio Trillanes. In an in-depth interview on ANC’s Early Edition program, Dr. Agabin explains in clear terms the object of amnesty, the principle of res judicata, the need to “first thresh out” if the proclamation was…