Ateneo dean named to arbitration panel on the environment in The Hague

The dean of the Ateneo School of Government has been appointed to the Specialized Panel of Arbitrators of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) for environment and natural resources in The Hague.

“This was established pursuant to the optional rules for arbitration of disputes relating to natural resources and/or the environment,” Dean Antonio La Viña said of the committee of which he would be part.

Malacañang on Monday congratulated La Viña.

"Dean Tony is a known environmentalist lawyer. He has spoken in several fora here and abroad on the environment and is a known advocate," presidential spokesman Secretary Edwin Lacierda said in a message to GMA News Online.

The tribunal, in its website, said La Viña has 25 years of extensive experience on environmental negotiations, litigation, and arbitration.

La Viña is the Philippines’ lead negotiator in the 2015 Paris Climate Conference. He also led the country in the climate change negotiations in Kyoto in 1997 and Copenhagen in 2009.

Before becoming a dean at the Ateneo in 2006, La Viña worked in the international environmental think tank World Resources Institute.

La Viña was also an undersecretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources during the Ramos administration from 1996 to 1998. -Trisha Macas/NB, GMA News