CONFLICTS OF LAW

Lex loci actus the law of the place where the act
was done.

As a general rule, the law of one country has no effect

of its own force beyond the limits of its sovereignty
from which its authority is derived, and that the
obligation of every law is confined to the state in
which it is established and it can attach only to those
who are its citizens and others who are within its
territorial jurisdiction.

Lex loci celebrationis the law of the place where a

contract is entered into.

Philippine laws have no extraterritorial effect and

application in another country, except as our laws so
provide with respect to its citizens and nations, this is
a basic and fundamental principle, arising from the
fact that one sovereign country is independent of the
other.
Conflicts of law, defined.

Inconsistency or difference between the laws

of different state countries, arising in the
case of persons who have acquired rights;
incurred obligations, injuries or damages, or
made contracts, within the territory of two or
more jurisdictions. Hence, that branch of
jurisprudence, arising from the diversity of
the laws of the different nations, states or
jurisdictions, in their application to rights and
remedies,
which
reconciles
the
inconsistency; or decides which law or
system is to govern in the particular case, or
settles the degree of force to be accorded to
the law of another jurisdiction, (the acts or
rights in question having arisen under it)
either where it varies from the domestic law,
or where the domestic law is silent or not
exclusively application to the case in point.
(Blacks Law Dictionary)

Foreign element a factual situation that cuts across

territorial lines and is thus affected by the diverse laws
of two or more states is said to contain a foreign
element.
Comity recognition which one state allows within its
territory to the legislative, executive or judicial acts of
another state, having due regard both to international
duty and convenience and to the rights of its own
citizens or of other persons who are under the
protection of its law. Comity is also the doctrine under
which contracts made, rights acquired, and
obligations incurred in one state or country in
accordance with its laws, are recognized and
enforced by the courts f anther state or country. It is
however neither a matter of absolute right nor a mere
courtesy.
Lex fori the law of the forum, where the case is
filed.

Lex loci contractus - the proper law applicable in

deciding upon the rights and liabilities of the
contracting arties. This law would also decide such
matters as the essential validity of the contract. The
test to determine the proper law of the contract would
appear to be the system of law with which the
transaction has the closes and most real connection.
Lex loci delictus the law of the lace where the
offense or wrong took place.
Lex loci dimicillii the law of the place of domicile of
a person.
Lex loci rei sitae; lex situs - the law of the place
where a thing is situated in actions.
Kilberg docrine - in conflict of laws, it is a rule to the
effect that the forum is not bound by the law of the
place of injury or death as to the limitation on
damages for wrongful act because such rule is
procedural and hence the law of the forum governs on
this issue.
Center of gravity doctrine choice of law problems
in conflict of laws are resolved by the application of
the law of the jurisdiction which has the most
significant relationship to or contract with event and
parties to litigation and the issue therein. (Grouping of
contacts)
Foreign element a factual situation that cuts across
territorial lines and is thus affected by the diverse laws
of two or more states is said to contain a foreign
element.
Comity recognition which one state allows within its
territory to the legislative, executive or judicial acts of
another state, having due regard both to international
duty and convenience and to the rights of its own
citizens or of other persons who are under the
protection of its law. Comity is also the doctrine under
which contracts made, rights acquired, and
obligations incurred in one state or country in
accordance with its laws, are recognized and
enforced by the courts f anther state or country. It is
however neither a matter of absolute right nor a mere
courtesy.
Lex fori the law of the forum, where the case is
filed.
Lex loci actus the law of the place where the act
was done.

Lex loci celebrationis the law of the place where a

contract is entered into.
Lex loci contractus - the proper law applicable in
deciding upon the rights and liabilities of the
contracting arties.

Foreign law has no extraterritorial effect, except when

there has been consent:
1.
2.

Application of conflict of laws in the Philippines

basically involves either of two remedies:
1.

2.

Implied as in the observance of the

principle of comity
Express
a. Local law adopting a foreign law
b. Provision of a law pointing to a foreign
law as the applicable law

The enforcement of rights that accrued

completely or partly in a foreign country in
the form of action filed in Philippine courts by
a citizen or an aggrieve person;
The recognition and enforcement of foreign
judgment, in the form of a petition or
complaint to enforce such foreign judgment
filed in Philippine courts by the prevailing
party. (Extra-territorial application)

Article 17. 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.
When the acts referred to are executed
before the diplomatic or consular
officials of the Republic of the
Philippines in a foreign country, the
solemnities established by Philippine
laws shall be observed in their
execution. Prohibitive laws concerning
persons, their acts or property, and
those which have for their object public
order, public policy and good customs
shall not be rendered ineffective by laws
or judgments promulgated, or by
determinations or conventions agreed
upon in a foreign country. (11a)

When the law does not provide a rule or norm for the
court to follow in deciding a question submitted to it,
but leaves it to the court to determine it in one way or
another to his discretion, the judge is not absolutely
free to act at his pleasure or will or arbitrarily. He must
decide the question, not in accordance with law fore
there is none, but in conformity with justice, reason
and equity, reason and equity, in view of the
circumstances of the case.
Article 9. No judge or court shall decline to
render judgment by reason of the silence,
obscurity or insufficiency of the laws. (6)
Article 10. In case of doubt in the
interpretation or application of laws, it is
presumed that the lawmaking body intended
right and justice to prevail.
Rule 39, Sec 48 (Please care to read it)

c.

Doctrine of qualification / characterization the

process of deciding whether or not the facts relate to
the kind of question specified in a conflicts rule. The
purpose of characterization is to enable the court of
the forum to select the proper law.

3 ways of dealing with conflict of laws cases:

1.

2.
3.

The court may refuse to hear the case and

dismiss it there may be very minimum
contact with respect to the transactions or
the parties, such that it may be more
convenient to have the case tried in another
forum, where the more essential elements
thereof exist and where it is more convenient
for the parties to litigate therein (in
accordance with principle of forum no
conveniens)
The court decide the case by its own local
law in the exercise of its sovereign
prerogative
Special rules might be devised to deal with
the case in a manner design to promote the
smooth function of the international and
interstate system and to do justice to the
parties.

Entering into a treaty or adhering to an

international convention

In a conflict of law situation, a court must

determine at the outset whether the problem
presented to it is for the solution relates to
torts, contracts, property or some other field,
or to a matter of substance or procedure, in
order to refer to the appropriate law, that is
the court initially must, whether consciously
or not, go through the process of determining
the nature of the problem, because
otherwise it will not know which choice of law
rule to apply to the case.

Test factors/points in determination of applicable law:

1.
2.
3.
4.

The nationality of a person, his domicile, his

residence, his place of sojourn, or his origin;
The seat of a legal or juridical person, such
as a corporation;
The situs of a thing, that is, the place where
a thing is or is deemed to be situated;
The place where an act was been done (Lex
loci actus);

5.
6.
7.
8.

The place where an act is intended to come

into effect;
The intention of the contracting parties as to
the law that should govern their agreement
(lex loci intentionis)
The place where judicial or administrative
proceeding are instituted or done (lex fori
law of the forum)
Flag of ship

Article 16 (2). 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. (10a)

Article 15, NCC provides:

Article 15. 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.

The status of a person in civil law includes

personal qualities and relations, more or less
permanent in nature, and not ordinarily
terminable at his own will such as his being
married or not, or his being legitimate or
illegitimate. Article 15 stresses the conflict
with Principle of Nationality of one country
and Principle of Domicile in another.

Capacity to enter into an ordinary contract is

governed by the national law of the person,
and not by the law of the place where the
contract was entered into (lex loci
celebrationis).

Capacity to enter into Other Relations or

contract is not necessarily governed by the
national law of the person concerned.
1.

Capacity to acquire, encumber, assign,

donate or sell property depends on the
law of the place where the property is
situated (lex situs or lex rei sitae)
Article 16(1), NCC:
Article 16. Real property as well as
personal property is subject to the
law of the country where it is
situated.

2.

Capacity to inherit depends not on the

national law of the heir, but on the
national law of the decedent (Article
1039, NCC):
Article 1039. Capacity to succeed
is governed by the law of the nation
of the decedent.
Furthermore, exception from the
Lex Situs Rule are provided in
Article 16(2), NCC:

3.

Capacity to get married depends not on

the national law of the parties, but n the
law of the place where the marriage was
entered into (lex loci celebrationis or
locus regit actum), subject to certain
exceptions. (Article 26, 35(1), (4), (5)
and (6), 36, 37 and 38 of the Family
Code)
Art. 26. All marriages solemnized
outside
the
Philippines,
in
accordance with the laws in force in
the country where they were
solemnized, and valid there as
such, shall also be valid in this
country, except those prohibited
under Articles 35 (1), (4), (5) and
(6), 36, 37 and 38. (17a)
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 have capacity to
remarry under Philippine law. (As
amended by Executive Order 227)
Art. 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;
(2) Xxxxx;
(3) Xxxxx;
(4) Those
bigamous
or
polygamous marriages not
failing under Article 41;
(5) Those
contracted
through
mistake of one contracting
party as to the identity of the
other; and

(6) Those subsequent marriages

(1)

that are void under Article 53.

Art. 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
Executive Order 227)
Art. 37. Marriages between the
following are incestuous and void
from the beginning, whether
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)

Art. 38. The following marriages

shall be void from the beginning for
reasons of public policy:

(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)

Between
collateral
blood
relatives whether legitimate or
illegitimate, up to the fourth
civil degree;
Between step-parents and
step-children;
Between parents-in-law and
children-in-law;
Between the adopting parent
and the adopted child;
Between the surviving spouse
of the adopting parent and the
adopted child;
Between the surviving spouse
of the adopted child and the
adopter;
Between an adopted child
and a legitimate child of the
adopter;
Between adopted children of
the same adopter; and
Between parties where one,
with the intention to marry the
other,
killed
that
other
person's spouse, or his or her
own spouse. (82)

A treaty has 2 aspects: as an international agreement

between states, and as a municipal law for the people
of each state to observe in their contractual and other
relations.