Vietnam attends Permanent Court of Arbitration’s 125th anniversary

As part of the celebrations, the PCA gathered together for its third Congress of the Members of the Court on the same day, which was the first held in over 25 years.

As part of his address at the function, the Vietnamese Ambassador congratulated the PCA and hailed its crucial role and the contributions made by the court during its 125 years of operation to the settlement of disputes through peaceful measures.

The PCA's contributions have served to shape international law, thereby supporting the development of principles and norms for interactions among nations. By creating a mechanism for states to solve disputes in a peaceful manner, the PCA has evolved into a modern international dispute resolution institution, the Vietnamese representative said.

The official stressed that since the nation became a PCA member back in 2012, the country’s relationship with the court has seen great progress, with a notable milestone being recorded in the PCA’s launching of a representative office in Hanoi on November 24, 2022.

Deputy Minister Vu stated that the Vietnamese Government places great importance on its partnership with the PCA, regarding it as an important component in its effort to build a rule-of-law state that has a strong judicial system and a contingent of highly-qualified legal experts capable of providing professional and standard legal services. This therefore helps to promote its deep and extensive international integration.

The country is designed to become an address for partners to settle regional and international disputes through peaceful means, conciliation, and arbitration. Vietnamese support and assistance thereby ensures that the PCA representative office in Hanoi operates effectively and smoothly, demonstrating the nation’s strong commitment to promoting multilateralism, the UN Charter, and other principles of international law, Deputy Minister Vu said.

The same day saw the Deputy Minister host a discussion on dispute solutions in the Asia-Pacific region and the role of the PCA, aiming to review the importance of peaceful dispute solution mechanisms in the region. This will be serve to clarify the role and contributions made by the PCA in promoting dispute solutions, identifying challenges, and proposing strategies aimed at increasing the effectiveness of PCA operations in the region.

With a tradition of respecting and complying with international law, the region plays an important role with the mechanism to solve disputes by peaceful means, said Deputy Minister Vu, adding that the PCA representative office in Hanoi and its very successful activities have shown great potential in the peaceful dispute solution mechanism in the region.

Also on June 13, Deputy Minister Vu held several meetings with Marcin Czepelak, secretary general of the PCA, and Jean-Marc Thouvenin, secretary-general of The Hague Academy of International Law, during which the Vietnamese official introduced the Vietnamese candidate for the position of Judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea for the 2026 to 2035 tenure.

The meetings saw participants review numerous outcomes of the activities carried out last year and discussed their co-operation plans for the future.