PCA (Permanent Court of Arbitration) opens office in Hanoi:

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PCA (Permanent Court of Arbitration) opens office in Hanoi: Vietnam's position changes​

04/11/2021 08:00 GMT+7


On October 27, the State Department and PCA said: “The PCA will establish an office staffed in Hanoi to conduct PCA hearings and meetings. This will be the PCA's fourth office outside of its headquarters in The Hague."

PCA opens office in Hanoi: Vietnam's position changes
Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Hieu (left) and Secretary General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration Hugo Siblesz (right) pose for a photo during the online agreement signing ceremony on October 27. Photo: International Newspaper
The two sides affirmed: "The establishment of the PCA office in Hanoi represents a further step of cooperation in realizing the goals set out in the Host Country Agreement signed by the PCA and Vietnam in 2014.

The new office will allow the PCA and Vietnam to serve the evolving dispute resolution needs of other countries and organizations as the need to access PCA services increases in the coming years. The Hanoi PCA office will be established in the coming months.”

What is PCA?

At the end of the 19th century, the achievements of the Industrial Revolution led to the growth of trade and investment in many European countries, and also increased the risk of war between these countries. “The specter of war” has haunted many countries, especially with the Civil War in the United States. Therefore, to avoid the risk of war, many countries from Europe, Asia and Mexico decided to participate in the Peace Conference of 1899, an initiative initiated by Tsar Nicholas II.

The peace conference ended with the signing of a convention on the peaceful settlement of international disputes in the Dutch city of The Hague. After the success of the Alabama case, the signatories to the 1899 Convention also approved the establishment of a permanent arbitration institution to use arbitration for the settlement of international disputes.

This is the birth of the Permanent Court of Arbitration with the official English name of Permanent Court of Arbitration, abbreviated as PCA.

The 1899 Convention provides that “With the aim of preventing, as far as possible, the use of force in relations between States, States Parties agree to use their best efforts to ensure peaceful settlement of international disputes”.

The States Parties to the 1899 Convention also recognize that “In matters of law, especially in the interpretation or application of international conventions, arbitration is … the most effective means and at the same time the fairest, to settle disputes that cannot be resolved by diplomacy”.

PCA was officially established in 1900 and came into operation in 1902. In 1907, the second Peace Conference was convened, this time with the participation of countries from Central and South America. The 1899 Convention is amended and supplemented with the principles of conducting arbitration.

Although most of the states party to the 1899 Convention are also parties to the 1907 Convention, to date, both Conventions are in force. Currently there are 122 member countries of the PCA.

PCA is headquartered at the Peace Palace, located in the beautiful, ancient city of The Netherlands. The palace was built in 1907 and completed in 1913. Originally the headquarters of the PCA, but today, it is also the headquarters of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the Andrew Carnegie library and the International Law Institute. The Hay.

Initially, the PCA was established as an institution, aimed at resolving disputes between states, including resolving issues related to international public law such as territorial sovereignty, responsibility states, interpreting international treaties. Many of the principles developed in the early PCA cases are still valid today and invoked by other international courts, including the ICJ.

However, during the 1930s, the PCA expanded its practice of conciliation and arbitration to international disputes between states and other private actors. Currently, the PCA resolves disputes between international actors, including:

- Disputes between two or more States;

- Disputes between a country and an international organization;

- Disputes between two or more international organizations;

- Disputes between a country and natural persons;

- Disputes between an international organization and a natural person.

Vietnam has signed both these conventions. With the 1899 Convention, Vietnam joined on December 29, 2011. For the 1907 Convention, Vietnam joined on February 27, 2012.

Steps in international integration

The opening of an office by the PCA in Hanoi is the result of the process that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed on behalf of the Government and carried out activities with the PCA. This process started in 2014.

There are also many other countries that intend to set up an office of the PCA in their country, but the PCA has not yet approved. This shows certain successes that Vietnam has achieved when promoting cooperation activities with the PCA. In addition, this event also demonstrates the growing role and position of Vietnam in the international community.

It can be said that the opening of an office in Hanoi by PCA marks an important step forward in international integration as well as in the world.

PCA mở văn phòng tại Hà Nội: Vị thế Việt Nam thay đổi

<p>Việc Tòa Trọng tài thường trực (PCA) mở văn phòng tại Hà Nội đánh dấu một bước tiến quan trọng trong sự hội nhập quốc tế cũng như thể hiện thái độ của Việt Nam đối với luật quốc tế.</p>

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