CONFLICT OF LAWS

(Private International Law)

DEFINITION
Private International Law or Conflict
of Laws is that part of the law of each
State which determines whether in dealing
with a factual situation involving a foreign
element, the law or judgment of some
other State will be recognized or applied in
the forum.

WAYS OF DISPOSING CONFLICTS

CASES
dismiss the case, either because of lack of
jurisdiction or refusal to assume jurisdiction
assume jurisdiction and apply the internal
law of the forum (lex forum)
assume jurisdiction and take into account
and apply the law of another State

A. Jurisdiction
Judicial jurisdiction- the legal authority of
the State to exercise authority, through its
courts and agencies to hear and
adjudicate cases

 Types of Judicial Jurisdiction

1. Jurisdiction over the SM
2. Personal Jurisdiction
3. Jurisdiction over the res

 Jurisdiction over the SM- the power to hear

and determine cases of the general class to
which the proceedings in question belong and is
conferred by the sovereign authority which
organizes the court and defines its powers

Personal jurisdiction- the competence of

the court to render a decision that will bind
the parties to a suit.

 Bases of personal jurisdiction:

1. presence
2. domicile
3. residence
4. nationality
5. consent
6. appearance in an action
7. doing business in a State
8. an act done in the State
9. causing an effect in the State by an act done
elsewhere
10.ownership, use or possession of a thing in the State
11.other relationships to the State which make the
exercise of judicial jurisdiction reasonable

 Jurisdiction over person of the plaintiffacquired from the moment he invokes the
aid of the court
Jurisdiction over the person of the
defendant- acquired thru: voluntary
appearance, personal or substituted
service of summons

 Jurisdiction over the res- or over the

particular matter in controversy, regardless
of the persons who may be interested
therein.
Action in rem- purpose of the suit is NOT to
impose personal liability but to AFFECT interests
of ALL persons in a thing.
Quasi in rem- purpose is neither to impose a
personal liability or obligation upon anyone, nor
to affect the interest of all persons in a thing but
to AFFECT the interests of PARTICULAR
persons in a thing.

 Basis of jurisdiction: presence of minimum

contacts (minimum contacts is necessary so as
not to offend due process) (Intl Shoe Co. v. State
of Washington)
In Sum: A State does not have jurisdiction in the
absence of some reasonable basis for exercising
it. To be reasonable, the jurisdiction must be
based on some minimum contacts that will not
offend due process.

The principle of forum non conveniens

Here, the court has jurisdiction but it refuses to
exercise the same because of any of the
following reasons:

1. belief that the matter can be tried and decided

elsewhere either because the main aspects of the
case transpired in a foreign jurisdiction or the
material witnesses have their residence there
2. the belief that the non-resident plaintiff sought the
forum merely to secure procedural advantages or
to annoy or harass the defendant

3. unwillingness to extend local judicial facilities to

non-residents or aliens when the docket may already

be overcrowded;
4. the inadequacy of the local judicial machinery
for effectuating the right sought to be maintained; and
5. the difficulty of ascertaining the foreign law.
(Gulf Oil Corp. v. Gilbert)

What constitutes a most convenient

forum?
Three factors have to be considered:
1. whether the forum is one to which the
parties may conveniently resort
2. whether it is in a position to make an
intelligent decision as to the law and the
facts
3. whether it has or is likely to have power
to enforce its decision (principle of
effectiveness).

B. Application of Internal or Domestic

Law
There are three groups of instances when the
forum has to apply the internal or domestic law:
1. where application of the domestic law is
decreed (eg. Laws on property; hereditary
succession)
2. where there is failure to plead and prove
foreign law
3. where a case involves any of the exceptions to
application of foreign law.

How to prove foreign law?

If written: it may be evidenced by an official
publication thereof or by a copy attested to by the
officer having the legal custody of the record and
must be accompanied by a certificate that such
officer has the custody. Certificate may be made
by the Secretary of the Embassy, legation or
consulate, consul-general, consul, vice consul
and has to be authenticated by the seal of his
office.

How to prove foreign law?

If unwritten: must be proved by expert
testimony or by printed and published
books or reports of decisions of the
country involved, if proved to be commonly
admitted in such courts.

Exceptions to the application of foreign

law:
1. when the enforcement of foreign law would
run counter to an important public policy of
the forum;
2. where the application of foreign law would
infringe on good morality as understood in
the forum;
3. when the foreign law is procedural in
nature;
4. where the question involves immovable
property in the forum;

Exceptions to the application of foreign

law:
5. where the foreign law is fiscal or
administrative in nature;
6. where the application of foreign law
would involve injustice or injury to the
people of the forum;
7. where the application of foreign law
would endanger the vital interests of the
State

C. Application of Foreign Law:

Theories on the Choice of law
1. Comity- courtesy of one State towards
another.
sometimes called the principle of reciprocity
doctrine of retaliation: reciprocity employed
with a note of vengeance (this was also applied
in the Hilton case because the court said that
the court in the US need not give the judgment
rendered by the French court conclusive effect
because there was no reciprocity on the part of
France)

 Hilton v. Guyot
Comity, in the legal sense, is neither a matter of
absolute obligation on the one hand, nor of mere
courtesy and goodwill, upon the other. But it 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 it own citizens, or of other persons who
are under the protection of its laws.

2. Protection of vested rights theory

the function of Conflict of laws is to give effect to rights
acquired under the proper foreign law, and not to
enforce foreign law.
MacDonald v. Railway
When a right is claimed upon acts occurring in another
country, courts look to the law of the country, not to
extend the binding force of a foreign law beyond the
territorial limits of the sovereignty to which it belongs It
is not the foreign law but the rights acquired under it
which are enforced by the courts in another country.

 Loucks v. Standards Oil Company of New

York
A foreign statute is not law in this state, but it
gives rise to an obligation, which, if transitory,
follows the person and may be enforced
wherever the person may be found. No law can
exist as such except the law of the land; but it is
a principle of every civilized law that vested rights
shall be protected.
(UNLESS the enforcement of the right is contrary
to public policy)

3. Local Law Theory- application of local law

by analogy
Guinness v. Miller
No court can enforce any law but that of its
sovereign and, when a suitor comes to a
jurisdiction foreign to the place of tort, he can
only invoke an obligation recognized by the
sovereign. A foreign sovereign under civilized
law imposes an obligation of its own as nearly
homologous as possible to that arising in the
place where the tort occurs.

4. Modern theories:
a) The law of the Most Significant Relationship
Theory
- the location of one single most significant factor in
an event or transaction should identify the State or
territorial jurisdiction whose law should govern the
transaction.
e.g.
1. land questions were to be governed by the law of
the place where the land is located
2. tort questions by the law of the place of wrong
3. procedural questions by the law of the forum
4. contract questions by the law of the place where
the contract was made
b) State-interest theory

c) Principle of Preference
- choice of law should not be the result of the
automatic operation of a rule or principle of
selection but of a search for a just decision
d) Functional Approach
- the approach aims at solutions that are the
rational elaboration and application of the
policies and purposes underlying specific legal
rules and the legal system as a whole.

e) Choice-influencing considerations
- Five Basic Considerations:
1. predictability of results
2. maintenance of interstate and international
order
3. simplification of the judicial task
4. advancement of the forums governmental
interests
5. application of the better rule of law

f) Comparative Approach
g) Convenient Forum Theory
- forum non conveniens
h) Harmony of Treatment and Uniformity of Result
Theory
- equal justice under the law requires the decision
be the same wherever the claim is brought. A
conflict problem should receive the same
treatment and disposition wherever the forum
may happen to be.

II. Ascertainment and Proof of Foreign

Law
How is the foreign law proved?
Under Philippine procedural rules, a distinction is drawn
between written and unwritten law.
Written law may be evidenced by an official publication
thereof or by a copy attested by the officer having the legal
custody of the record, or by his deputy, and must be
accompanied with a certificate that such officer has custody.
The certificate may be made by a secretary of embassy or
legation, consul general, consul, vice-consul, or consular agent
or by any officer in the foreign service of the Philippines
stationed in the foreign country in which the record is kept, and
authenticated by the seal of his office.

Williamette Iron and Steel Works v.

Muzzal
Does not exclude the presentation of other
competent evidence to prove the existence
of a foreign law.

Unwritten law
Where the foreign law sought to be proved
is unwritten, the oral testimony of expert
witnesses is admissible, as are printed and
published books of reports of decisions of
the courts of the country concerned if
proved to be commonly admitted in such
courts.

B. Effect of Failure to plead to prove

foreign law
1. Dismiss a case, with judgment for the defendant, on the
theory that the plaintiff relying on foreign law had failed
to prove an essential part of his case. (Walton v. Arabian
American Oil)
2. Not to dismiss the case, but to hold that where the
foreign law is not properly pleaded or proved, the
presumption of identity or similarity arisesthat the
foreign law is the same as the domestic law (processual
presumption) (Miciano v. Brimo)
3. Not to dismiss the case, but to assume that by failing to
plead or prove foreign law, the parties acquiesced in
having their controversy determined by the law of the
forum.

C.Exceptions to the Application of Foreign

Law
Home Insurance Co. v. Dick
The SC of the US held that it is a violation of due process
for a State to strike down a defense under a foreign law
as being contrary to its public policy if the State has no
reasonable relationship to the transaction and the
parties.
1. where the enforcement of foreign law would run counter
to some important public policy of the forum
2. when its application would lead to an infringement of
good morality in the wider sense of the term, as
understood in the forum;

3. when the foreign law is penal in nature

4. when the foreign law is procedural in nature
5. when the question relates to immovable
property in the forum
6. when the foreign law is fiscal or administrative
in nature
7. when the application of foreign law would
endanger the foreign relations or vital interests
of the State
(NOTE: exceptions are not mutually exclusive)

III. Nature of Conflict Rules and the

Problem of Characterization
A. Nature of conflict rules
Have 2 parts:
Factual Relationship (factual events and
operative facts)
Connecting factor or point of contact (e.g.
situs of the res, place of performance,
place of wrongdoing)

B.Test factors or points of contact

In every set of facts, one or more circumstances are
present which may serve as the possible tests for the
determination of the applicable law.
e.g. A Filipino, domiciled in the US, makes a will in
France and dies leaving immovable property in
China.
The circumstances that may turn out to be decisive are:
his nationality, his domicile, French locus actus (place of
acting), Chinese situs rei (place of the thing).
These circumstances are called test factors or
points of contact or connecting factors

Examples of these points of contacts

1. The nationality of a person, his domicile, his
residence, his place of sojourn, or his origin
2. The seat of a legal or juridical person, such as a
corporation
3. The situs of the thing
4. locus actus, the place where the act was done
5. the place where an act is intended to come into
effect (e.g. place of performance of contractual
duties)
6. lex loci intentionis (intention of the contracting
parties)
7. lex fori (place where the judicial or administrative
proceedings are instituted)
8. the flag of the ship (nationality of ships)

C. The problem of characterization

Characterization or qualification or
classification is the process of assigning
a disputed question to its correct legal
category.

 Three stages in characterization:

1. problem of classification- determine first
whether the question relates to contracts, torts,
property, succession, etc.

who will determine this? the forum State

2. characterization of the point of contact (forum

State)
3. extent of the application or the delimitation of
the law that is chosen as applicable to the
conflicts case.

IV. Specific Conflicts Points of Contact

A. Nationality
1. Determination of Nationality
The Hague Convention of 1930 on Conflict of
Nationality Laws laid down 2 important rules on
this point:
1. It is for the municipal laws of each State to determine
who are the nationals of each State;
2. Any question as to whether a person possesses the
nationality of a particular State shall be determined in
accordance with the laws of that State.

2. Acquisition and Loss of Nationality

Modes of Acquiring nationality:
1. Birth (jus sanguinis or jus soli)
2. Naturalization (grant of citizenship upon application or
by some act which would qualify an individual for a
new nationality)
3. Repatriation (recovery of the original nationality upon
fulfillment of certain conditions)
4. Subjugation (political changes that result in the
establishment of new relations between the
inhabitants of the territory and the new sovereignsame as in cession)
5. Cession

Nationality is lost by any of the following

modes:
1. Release (Germany allows its citizens to ask for
release from their nationality)
2. Deprivation (States may deprive their citizens of
nationality upon entry into the military service of
a foreign power)
3. Expiration (may become the result of prolonged
stay abroad without any indication of a desire to
return)
4. Denunciation (a person repudiates his
nationality in favor of another)
5. Substitution (lost of nationality ipso facto by
naturalization)

3. Dual or Multiple Nationality

- arises because of
a) the concurrent application of jus soli and
jus sanguini at birth; or
b) from the refusal of certain States to accept
a full application of the doctrine of
expatriation; or
c) marriage; or
d) as a result of some formal and voluntary
act

 In cases where a person is a national of two or

more countries but litigation arises in a third
country, the law most consistently applied is that
of the country of which the person is not only a
national but where he also has his domicile or
habitual residence, or in the absence thereof, his
residence.
But in Public International Law, the effective
nationality link is used.

4. Stateless Persons
Convention Relating to the Status of
Stateless Persons- contracting parties
shall as far as possible facilitate the
assimilation and naturalization
proceedings and to reduce as far as
possible the charges and cost of such
proceedings.

5. States with composite system of law

2 kinds of composite law
a) the composite law on personal basis (e.g.
determined by religion, class or race, such
as India, where there are different law for
Buddhists, Hindus, etc.)
b) composite law based on territorial basis
such as the U.S.

6. Aliens married to Filipinos

Moy Yu Lim Yao vs. Commissioner of Immigration
(No. L-21289, October 4, 1971, 41 SCRA 292)
Held that an alien woman who marries a Filipino
citizen ipso facto becomes a Filipino provided
she is not disqualified to be a citizen of the
Philippines under Section 4, Commonwealth Act
No. 473, and reiterated the rule that "a judicial
declaration that the person is a Filipino citizen
cannot be made in a petition for naturalization
and that, in this jurisdiction there can be no
independent action for the judicial declaration of
citizenship of an individual."

BUT in Yung Uan Chu v. Republic (GR L-34973, 14

April 1988)
An alien woman married to a Filipino citizen
does not necessarily acquire Philippine
citizenship. She must prove in an appropriate
proceeding that she does not have any
disqualification for Philippine citizenship.
This rule also applies even if her husband is a
native born Filipino. (Austria et al. v. Conchu, L20716, June 22, 1965, 14 SCRA 336; 121 Phil.
1148)

What is the procedure then?

In Moy Ya Lim Yao (41 SCRA 292-388) the Court adverted
to the administrative procedure which up to the present is
followed in the Commission of Immigration and
Deportation. The steps to be taken by an alien woman
married to a Filipino for the cancellation of her alien
certificate of registration are embodied in Opinion No. 38,
series of 1958 of then Acting Secretary of Justice Jesus G.
Berrera to the effect that "The alien woman must file a
petition for the cancellation of her alien certificate of
registration alleging, among other things that she is
married to a Filipino citizen and that she is not disqualified
from acquiring her husband's citizenship pursuant to
section 4 of Commonwealth Act No. 473, as amended.
Upon the filing of said petition, which should be
accompanied or supported by the joint affidavit of the
petitioner and her husband to the effect and thus secure
recognition of her status as a Filipino citizen. Judicial
recourse would be available to the petitioner in a case of
adverse action by the Immigration Commissioner.

7. Who are citizens of the Philippines?

ARTICLE IV
Citizenship
SECTION 1.The following are citizens of the Philippines:
(1) Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time
of the adoption of this Constitution;
(2) Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the
Philippines;
(3) Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino
mothers, who elect Philippine citizenship upon reaching
the age of majority; and
(4) Those who are naturalized in accordance with law.

SECTION 2. Natural-born citizens are those who

are citizens of the Philippines from birth without
having to perform any act to acquire or perfect their
Philippine citizenship. Those who elect Philippine
citizenship in accordance with paragraph (3), Section
1 hereof shall be deemed natural-born citizens.
SECTION 3. Philippine citizenship may be lost or
reacquired in the manner provided by law.
SECTION 4. Citizens of the Philippines who marry
aliens shall retain their citizenship, unless by their act
or omission they are deemed, under the law, to have
renounced it.
SECTION 5. Dual allegiance of citizens is inimical
to the national interest and shall be dealt with by law.

 REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9225- "Citizenship

Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003."
SECTION 3. Retention of Philippine Citizenship.
Any provision of law to the contrary
notwithstanding, natural-born citizens of the
Philippines who have lost their Philippine
citizenship by reason of their naturalization as
citizens of a foreign country are hereby deemed
to have re-acquired Philippine citizenship upon
taking the following oath of allegiance to the
Republic xxx xxx
Natural-born citizens of the Philippines who, after
the effectivity of this Act, become citizens of a
foreign country shall retain their Philippine
citizenship upon taking the aforesaid oath.

RA 9225 (cont.)
SECTION 4.Derivative Citizenship. The
unmarried child, whether legitimate,
illegitimate or adopted, below eighteen (18)
years of age, of those who re-acquire
Philippine citizenship upon effectivity of
this Act shall be deemed citizens of the
Philippines.

B.Domicile
Importance of Domicile under RP laws:
A816, CC:
The will of an alien who is abroad produces effects in the
Philippines if made with the formalities prescribed by the
law of the place in which he resides, or according to the
formalities prescribed in his country, or in conformity with
those which this Code prescribes.
A829,CC:
A revocation done outside the Philippines, by a person
who does not have his domicile in this country, is valid
when it is done according to the law of the place in which
the testator had his domicile at the time.

Domicile v. Residence
Uytengsu v. Republic
There is a difference between domicile and residence.
Residence is used to indicate a place of abode, whether
permanent or temporary; domicile denotes a fixed,
permanent residence, to which, when absent, one has the
intention of returning. A man may have a residence in one
place and a domicile in another. Residence is not domicile,
but domicile is residence coupled with the intention to
remain for an unlimited time. A man may have one domicile
for one and the same purpose at any time, but he may have
numerous places of residence. His place of residence
generally is his place of domicile, but is not by any means
necessarily so, since no length of residence without
intention of remaining will constitute domicile.


1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Note: our naturalization laws use the terms

interchangeably
Basic principles of Domicile:
No natural person can ever be without a
domicile. (how about those with no permanent
residence? Apply domicile of origin
A person cannot have two simultaneous
domiciles.
Every natural person, as long as he is free and
sui juris, may change his domicile at pleasure.
A domicile once acquired is retained unless a
new one is gained.
The presumption is in favor of the continuance
of an existing domicile.

 Legal Classification of Domicile

1. Domicile of origin
2. Constructive domicile
3. Domicile of choice

 Domicile of origin- domicile of a persons

parents at the time of his birth

Minors- follow the domicile of the father; in

case of death of father, domicile of mother

Constructive domicile- (domicilium

necessarium) is that domicile established by
law after birth in case of persons under legal
disability regardless of their intention or
voluntary act.
Distinguished from domicile by origin:

CD is assigned after birth, while DO is established at the

moment of birth;
CD is assigned to persons under legal disabilities,
including infants, while DO only to infants;
While there can only be one DO, CD may be changed
from one place to another;
DO is less easily abandoned and more easily reverts.

Married women- follows domicile of the husband; in

case of death of husband, retains that domicile unless
she changes it.

 Domicile of choice- place voluntarily

chosen by a person sui juris as his home.

C. Renvoi
referring back
Ways of dealing with the renvoi problem:
1. The reference made by the State A conflicts laws to the
laws of State B is confined exclusively to internal law.
This is usually called rejecting the renvoi
2. Reference is to State B law in its entirety (including its
conflicts laws) This is usually called accepting the
renvoi.
3. Mutual disclaimer of jurisdiction theory- State A law
will refer to State B, but seeing that State B laws do not
have provision on properties owned by aliens domiciled
in State B, will apply its own law.

 Transmission- reference across (e.g.

reference to a third state)

D.Personal Status and Capacity

Personal Status- the legal position of an
individual in a society
Capacity- his power to acquire and
exercise rights

Philippine Conflicts Rule on Personal

Status and Capacity
A15, CC:
Laws relating to family rights and duties, or
to the status, condition and legal capacity
of persons are binding upon citizens of the
Philippines even though living abroad.

Personal Status
Beginning and End of Personality
A40, CC: Birth determines personality, but the
conceived child shall be considered born for all
purposes that are favorable to it, provided, it be born
later with the conditions specified in the following
article.
BUT see Art. 5, P.D. 603 (the Child and Youth Welfare
Code):
The civil personality of the child shall commence from
the time of his conception, for all purposes favorable to
him.
Death extinguishes personality.

Capacity
GR:
Capacity to enter contracts- lex loci
contractus
Capacity to enter contracts involving
immovables- lex loci situs

But a distinction should be made

between capacity to enter into
transactions involving personal
relations and other family matters and
capacity to enter into every day
business transactions. The first is
governed by national law while the
other, the law governing contracts as
a whole (not automatically lex loci
contractus)

E.Marriage and Divorce

Formal Validity
Locus regit actum- the place governs the act.
A17, CC:
The forms and solemnities of contracts, wills, and other
public instruments, shall be governed by the laws of
the country in which they are executed.
A26, FC:
All marriages solemnized outside the Philippines, in
accordance with the laws in force in the country where
they are solemnized, and valid as such, shall also be
valid in this country, except those prohibited under
Articles 35(1), (4), (5), and (6), 36, 37 and 38.

Substantive Validity
A2, FC:
No marriage shall be valid, unless these
essential requisites are present:

1. legal capacity of the contracting parties who must be a

male and a female; and
2. consent freely given in the presence of a solemnizing
officer.

A26, FC:
All marriages solemnized outside the
Philippines, in accordance with the laws in force
in the country where they are solemnized, and
valid as such, shall also be valid in this country,
except those prohibited under Articles 35(1), (4),
(5), and (6), 36, 37 and 38.

Marriages that are void even when valid under foreign laws:
ARTICLE 35. The following marriages shall be void from
the beginning:
(1)
Those contracted by any party below eighteen years
of age even with the consent of parents or guardians;
(4)
Those bigamous or polygamous marriages not
falling under Article 41;
(5)
Those contracted through mistake of one contracting
party as to the identity of the other; and
(6)
Those subsequent marriages that are void under
Article 53.
ARTICLE 36. A marriage contracted by any party who, at
the time of the celebration, was psychologically
incapacitated to comply with the essential marital
obligations of marriage, shall likewise be void even if
such incapacity becomes manifest only after its
solemnization. (As amended by Sec. 2, E.O. No. 227,
July 17, 1987)

 ARTICLE 37. Marriages between the following are incestuous and

void from the beginning, whether the relationship between the parties
be legitimate or illegitimate:
(1)
Between ascendants and descendants of any degree; and
(2)
Between brothers and sisters, whether of the full or half
blood. (81a)
ARTICLE 38. The following marriages shall be void from the
beginning for reasons of public policy:
(1)Between collateral blood relatives, whether legitimate or illegitimate, up
to the fourth civil degree;
(2)Between step-parents and step-children;
(3)Between parents-in-law and children-in-law;
(4)Between the adopting parent and the adopted child;
(5)Between the surviving spouse of the adopting parent and the adopted
child;
(6)Between the surviving spouse of the adopted child and the adopter;
(7)Between an adopted child and a legitimate child of the adopter;
(8)Between adopted children of the same adopter; and
(9)Between parties where one, with the intention to marry the other, killed
that other person's spouse or his or her own spouse. (82a)

 Divorce
2nd par., A26, FC:
Where a marriage between a Filipino
citizen and a foreigner is validly celebrated
and a divorce is thereafter validly obtained
abroad by the alien spouse capacitating
him or her to remarry, the Filipino spouse
shall likewise have capacity to remarry
under Philippine law.

F. Contracts
Formalities
Capacity
Essential or intrinsic validity

 Formalities

Governed by lex loci contractus/ celebrationis

A17, CC:
The forms and solemnities of contracts, wills, and
other public instruments, shall be governed by
the laws of the country in which they are
executed.
Capacity
Distinction should be made between contracts
involving family relations and ordinary contracts.

 Essential or intrinsic validity

No provision in the Civil Code with
reference to essential or intrinsic validity of
contracts in general.
Usually, in contracts, they already provide
a provision on applicable law. In the
absence of this provision, the applicable
law is the law of the country that has the
most significant relationship to the
transaction and the parties.

 Enforcement of Foreign Contract Claims

Sec. 48, Rule 39, ROC:
Effect of Foreign Judgments or Final Orders
The effect of a judgment or final order of a tribunal of a
foreign country, having jurisdiction to render the judgment
or final order, is as follows:
1. In case of a judgment or final order upon a specific thing,
the judgment or final order is conclusive upon the title of
the thing;
2. In case of a judgment or final order against a person, the
judgment or final order is presumptive evidence of a right
as between the parties and their successor-in-interest by
a subsequent title.
In either case, the judgment or final order may be
repelled by evidence of want of jurisdiction, want of
notice to the party, collusion, fraud, or clear mistake of
law or fact.

R.A. 9285 (Alternative Dispute Resolution Act)

B. FOREIGN ARBITRAL AWARDS
SECTION 42. Application of the New York Convention. The New
York Convention shall govern the recognition and enforcement of
arbitral awards covered by said Convention.
The recognition and enforcement of such arbitral awards shall be
filed with the Regional Trial Court in accordance with the rules of
procedure to be promulgated by the Supreme Court. Said procedural
rules shall provide that the party relying on the award or applying for
its enforcement shall file with the court the original or authenticated
copy of the award and the arbitration agreement. If the award or
agreement is not made in any of the official languages, the party
shall supply a duly certified translation thereof into any of such
languages.
The applicant shall establish that the country in which foreign
arbitration award was made is a party to the New York Convention.
If the application for rejection or suspension of enforcement of an
award has been made, the Regional Trial Court may, if considers it
proper, vacate its decision and may also, on the application of the
party claiming recognition or enforcement of the award, order the
party to provide appropriate security.

 SECTION 43. Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign

Arbitral Awards Not Covered by the New York
Convention. The recognition and enforcement of
foreign arbitral awards not covered by the New York
Convention shall be done in accordance with procedural
rules to be promulgated by the Supreme Court. The
Court may, on grounds of comity and reciprocity,
recognize and enforce a non-convention award as a
convention award.
SECTION 44. Foreign Arbitral Award Not Foreign
Judgment. A foreign arbitral award when confirmed by
a court of a foreign country, shall be recognized and
enforced as a foreign arbitral award and not as a
judgment of a foreign court.
A foreign arbitral award, when confirmed by the Regional
Trial Court, shall be enforced in the same manner as final
and executory decisions of courts of law of the
Philippines.

 SECTION 45. Rejection of a Foreign Arbitral

Award. A party to a foreign arbitration
proceeding may oppose an application for
recognition and enforcement of the arbitral award
in accordance with the procedural rules to be
promulgated by the Supreme Court only on those
grounds enumerated under Article V of the New
York Convention. Any other ground raised shall
be disregarded by the Regional Trial Court.

G. Torts and Crimes

GR: Lex loci delicti commissi
Note that tort gives rise to personal actions and
under Sec. 2, Rule 4 of ROC:
Venue of personal actions
All other actions may be commenced and tried
where the plaintiff or any of the principal plaintiffs
resides, or where the defendant or any of the
principal defendants resides, or in case of a nonresident defendant where he may be found at the
election of the plaintiff.

 Criminal Liability
Lex loci delicti
Crimes are territorial in nature that is why
you can only get relief in the courts of the
State where they were committed.
Exceptions:
Those recognized in International Law
(e.g. universal crimes)

H. Business Corporations, Foreign Investments

and Multinational Enterprises

Nationality
1. place of incorporation
2. stockholders
3. principal place of business

 RP Law:
GR: Adheres to place of incorporation rule
Exceptions: Constitutional provisions imposing
nationality requirements
Article XII, 1987 Constitution:
SECTION 11. No franchise, certificate, or any other form of
authorization for the operation of a public utility shall be granted
except to citizens of the Philippines or to corporations or associations
organized under the laws of the Philippines at least sixty per centum
of whose capital is owned by such citizens, nor shall such franchise,
certificate, or authorization be exclusive in character or for a longer
period than fifty years. Neither shall any such franchise or right be
granted except under the condition that it shall be subject to
amendment, alteration, or repeal by the Congress when the common
good so requires. The State shall encourage equity participation in
public utilities by the general public. The participation of foreign
investors in the governing body of any public utility enterprise shall
be limited to their proportionate share in its capital, and all the
executive and managing officers of such corporation or association
must be citizens of the Philippines.

 Jurisdiction over corporations

Sec. 12, Rule 14, ROC:
Service upon foreign private juridical entity
When the defendant is a foreign private juridical
entity which has transacted business in the
Philippines, service may be made on its resident
agent designated in accordance with law for that
purpose, or if there be no such agent, on the
government official designated by law to that
effect, or on any of its officers or agents within
the Philippines.

I. Property
Immovables
GR: Lex situs rule
Exceptions:
1. 2nd par. A16, CC: However, intestate and
testamentary successions both with respect to
the order of succession and to the amount of
successional rights and to the intrinsic validity of
testamentary provisions, shall be regulated by
the national law of the person whose succession
is under consideration, whatever may be the
nature of the property and regardless of the
country wherein said property may be found.

2.

3.

4.

Where the question at issue is not the effect of the

transaction upon the title to the land, but the rights and
liabilities of the parties between themselves (inter se)
as a matter of contractual obligation, though the subject
matter is land, the governing law is the law that
regulates the contract as a whole.
While as a rule, the lex rei sitae determines the validity
and effect of a mortgage or lien on the land, the validity
and effect of the obligation which the encumbrances
secure are determined by principles applicable to
contracts generally.
While the validity of the transfer of land must, as a rule,
be determined by the lex rei sitae, the validity of the
contract to transfer is determined by the proper law of
the contract.

 Movables
Mobilia personam sequuntur- follows the
owner
BUT in RP: A16, CC: real property as well
as personal property is subject to the law
of the country where it is situated.
(Except: NIRC: shares of stocks follows
the nationality of the owner)

J. Succession
Unitary system v. Split or scission system
Unitary- universal succession
Split- makes a distinction between
immovables and chattels

RP: Unitary system

2nd par. A16, CC: However, intestate and
testamentary successions both with
respect to the order of succession and to
the amount of successional rights and to
the intrinsic validity of testamentary
provisions, shall be regulated by the
national law of the person whose
succession is under consideration,
whatever may be the nature of the property
and regardless of the country wherein said
property may be found.

 Thus, national law of decedent

determines:
1. the order of succession
2. the amount of successional rights and
3. the intrinsic validity of testamentary
provisions,
4. A1039, Capacity to succeed is
determined by the national law of the
decedent.