Adolfo S. Azcuna

Chancellor

Philippine Judicial Academy

Associate Justice (Ret.)

Supreme Court of the Philippines

Justice ADOLFO S. AZCUNA was born in Katipunan, Zamboanga del Norte on February 16, 1939, the son of Felipe B. Azcuna and Carmen S. Sevilla. He received the degree of Bachelor of Arts, with academic honors, at the Ateneo de Manila in 1959 and the degree of Bachelor of Laws, cum laude, at the same institution in 1962. He was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1963, placing 4^th in the 1962 bar examinations. He forthwith embarked on a government career as Assistant Private Secretary of then Presiding Justice Jose P. Bengzon of the Court of Appeals in 1963 and, thereafter, upon the appointment of the latter to the Supreme Court in 1964, as his Private Secretary.

Justice Azcuna taught International Law at his alma mater, Ateneo de Manila, from 1967 to 1986. In 1982, he completed post-graduate studies in International Law and Jurisprudence at the Salzburg University in Austria.

Representing Zamboanga del Norte, he was elected as member of the 1971 Constitutional Convention. Subsequently, he was appointed as a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission. He held several government posts during the term of President Corazon C. Aquino, first as Presidential Legal Counsel, then as Press Secretary and subsequently as Presidential Spokesperson. In 1991, he was appointed Chairperson of the Philippine National Bank. On October 17, 2002, he was appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He recently retired from the Supreme Court on February 16, 2009 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of a magistrate. On June 1, 2009, Justice Azcuna was appointed Chancellor of the Philippine Judicial Academy.

Justice Azcuna's major publications include "International Sales of Goods," "Transnational Law Practice," "International Law Teaching in the Philippines," "Doing Business in the Philippines," "Foreign Judgment [Monetary] Enforcements in the Philippines," "Piercing the Veil of Corporate Entity: From Willets to Santos," "ASEAN Conflict of Law," "The Supreme Court and Public International Law,"  "International Humanitarian Law: A Field Guide to the Basics,” and his two Supreme Court books:  “Seeing Reality in Today’s World” and “Seeking Justice in Today’s World.”

Justice Azcuna is married to Maria Asuncion Aunario, Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences at St. Scholastica's College. They have four children: 1) Anna Maria married to Alvi Siongco; 2) Ma. Beatriz; 3) Ma. Margarita married to Andy Bengzon blessed with 2 sons: Angelo and Andres Bengzon; and 4) Miguel Enrique Ma.