[PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW/ PROF. PANGALANGAN / 2ND SEM, S.Y.

2013-2014 / D2015]

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I: Scope of Conflict of Laws: Its Nature, Definition and Importance
A. DIVERSITY OF LAWS AND CUSTOMS The principles of conflict of laws incorporated in municipal laws are based not on the extraterritorial validity of the law of the foreign state but on comity of nations

HILTON V. GUYOT Comity is the recognition which one nation allows within its territory to the legislative, executive or judicial acts of another nation, having due regard both to international duty and convenience, and to the rights of its own citizens or other persons who are under the protection of its laws Judgments of a foreign country, for want of reciprocity, are not entitled to full credit and conclusive effect B. DEFINITION Private international law: o That part of municipal law which governs cases involving a foreign element o Those universal principles of right and justice which govern the courts of one state having before them cases involving the operation and effect of laws of another state or country (Minor) o That part of law which comes into play when the issue before the court affects some fact or event, or transaction that is so closely connected with a foreign system of law as to necessitate recourse to that system (Chesire) o That part of law of each state or nation which determines whether, in dealing with a legal situation, the law of some other state or nation will be recognized, given effect or applied (AmJur) o The law concerning the right of persons within a territory and dominion of one nation, by reason of its acts, private or public, done within the dominion of another nation (Hilton v. Guyot) Applicability Sources of law As to persons involved As to transactions As to remedies Public International Law Govern states in there relationship amongs themselves Article 38 of the ICJ Governs only states and internationally recognized organizations Involves state-to-state or governmentto-government matters Diplomatic protest, peaceful means of settling disputes or even use of force Private International Law Governs individuals in their private transactions which involve a foreign element Internal law of each state Governs individuals or corporations Private transactions between individuals Provided by municipal laws of the state

C. OBJECT, FUNCTION AND SCOPE Object and Function to provide rational and valid rules of guidelines in deciding cases where either the parties, events or transactions are like to more than one jurisdiction o The rules aim to promote stability and uniformity of solutions provided by the laws and courts of each state called upon to decide conflict cases

CHAPTER II: A Brief History and Development of Conflicts of Laws

A. ROMAN LAW ORIGIN ius gentium law of nations, specifically the law that governs the relations of State Bartolus Italian jurists, also known as the Father of Conflict of Laws o Formulated the Theory of Statutes Northern Italy Classification of Statutes o Real (statuta realia) immovable property o Personal (statuta personalia) person o Mixed (statuta mixta) contracts, depending on the parties involved France o Charles Domoulin advocated a method to determine what law would govern contracts between different nationals o Bertrand DArgentre formulated the principle of universal succession

[PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW/ PROF. PANGALANGAN / 2ND SEM, S.Y. 2013-2014 / D2015]

Netherlands o The state was under no obligation to apply a foreign law unless imposed by a treaty, by comitas gentium or on consideration of courtesy and expediency o John Voet no statute can act by itself beyond the territory of the legislator nor can it have an effect elsewhere against the will of the legislator of another state o Huber developed the territorial principle which provides that a law which has already operated in the country of its origin shall retain its force everywhere, provided that this will not prejudices the subjects of the sovereign whose recognition is sought 19th Century o Justice Joseph Story Commentaries on the Conflict of Laws o Joseph Beale American Restatements of the Conflict of Laws, territorial vested right o Savigny System of Modern Law The application of foreign law was not due to comity but the resultant benefits for everyone concerned Theory of seat of the legal relationship every element of a transaction must be governed by the law of the place with which said element has the most substantive connection o Mancini advanced the nationality theory in matters that concerned status, capacity and the private interests of the individual

B. MODERN DEVELOPMENTS Neostatutists when two or more independent laws are applicable to a conflict of laws problem, the method so devised determines what law shall prevail Internationalists there should be as single body of rules that can solve problems involving a foreign element Territorialists the law of the State applied to persons and things within the State

CHAPTER III: Sources of Conflict of Laws

SOURCES 1. Codes and Statutes 2. Treaties and International Conventions 3. Treatises, Commentaries and Studies of Learned Societies 4. Judicial Decisions