Time to clear some misunderstandings about the South China Sea (SCS) arbitration:
1. Is the PCA (Permanent Court of Arbitration) a court of law?
No. PCA is just an arbitration board/panel. As a result, its rulings are not legally binding for the party that has opted out of the arbitration clause.
2. China has ratified the UNCLOS. Does that mean that the SCS arbitration is legally binding for China?
No. See 1. Although China ratified the UNCLOS on June 7, 1996, the Chinese government opted out of the arbitration clause of the UNCLOS on August 25, 2006, under UNCLOS article 298.
Declaration made after ratification (25 August 2006)
Declaration under article 298:
The Government of the People's Republic of China does not accept any of the procedures provided for in Section 2 of Part XV of the Convention with respect to all the categories of disputes referred to in paragraph 1 (a) (b) and (c) of Article 298 of the Convention.
So under UNCLOS article 298, China has the right to exclude herself from UNCLOS compulsory dispute settlement procedures.
Scroll down to “China”:
See “130”:
3. Is the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) affiliated with the UN?
No. PCA has nothing to do with UN, although it is located at the Peace Palace in Hague, where the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is also located. ICJ is the judicial branch of the UN.
4. Was the PCA appointed by UN to take the SCS arbitration case?
No, the PCA is neither an UN agency nor an UN appointee.
5. How is the PCA funded?
Unlike the personals of ICJ, who are employees of the UN and are paid by the UN, the PCA is paid by the disputing parties. In the SCS case, China obviously did not pay a dime. It is estimated that the Philippines paid $30 million to the PCA for this case.
6. China’s viewpoint on the rulings
China opted out of the arbitration clause of the UNCLOS as early as in 2006. The PCA’s rulings are therefore not legally binding for China. They are just the opinions of the 5 panelists of the arbitration panel called PCA, who were paid by the Philippines exclusively.
