DEFINITION PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW

That part of the 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 (16 Am Jur, 2d, Conflict of Laws,
1).
That part of municipal law of a State which directs its courts and
administrative agencies, when confronted with a legal problem involving a
foreign element, whether or not they should apply a foreign law/s (Paras).
A factual situation that cuts across territorial lines and is affected by
diverse laws of two or more States is said to contain a foreign element.

FUNCTIONS OF CONFLICT OF LAW RULES
1. To proscribe the conditions under which a court or agency is competent
to entertain a suit or proceeding involving facts containing a foreign
element;
2. To determine the extent, validity and enforceability of foreign judgment
3. To determine for each class of cases the particular system if law by
reference to which the rights of the parties must be ascertained



























































SOURCES OF CONFLICT OF LAWS











WAYS OF DEALING WITH CONFLICTS CASES

1. DISMISS THE CASE FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION; DISMISS THE CASE ON
THE GROUND OF FORUM NON-CONVENIENS.

DOCTRINE OF FORUM NON-CONVENIENS-- A forum may resist imposition
upon its jurisdiction even when jurisdiction is authorized by law on the
ground that the forum is inconvenient or the ends of justice would be best
served by trial in another forum or the controversy may be more suitably
tried elsewhere

ELEMENTS
a. The forum State is one to which the parties may conveniently resort to;
b. It is in a position to make an intelligent decision as to the law and the
facts; and
c. It has or is likely to have power to enforce its decision.

2. ASSUME JURISDICTION AND APPLY THE FORUM LAW/LOCAL LAW

INSTANCES WHEN INTERNAL LAW SHOULD BE APPLIED:
a. A specific law of the forum decrees that internal law should apply

EXAMPLES:
i. Article. 16 of the Civil Code - real and personal property subject to the
law of the country where they are situated and testamentary succession
governed by lex nationalii
ii. Article 829 of the Civil Code makes revocation done outside
Philippines valid according to law of the place where will was made or lex
domicilii
iii. Article 819 of the Civil Code prohibits Filipinos from making joint wills
even if valid in foreign country

b. The proper foreign law was not properly pleaded and proved
NOTE: As a general rule, courts do not take judicial notice of foreign
laws; foreign laws must be pleaded and proved

The following actions may be resorted in case of failure to prove and
plead the proper foreign law:
i. Dismiss the case for inability to establish cause of action
ii. Assume that the foreign law of the same as the law of the forum
(processual presumption)
iii. Apply the law of the forum

c. The case falls under any of the exceptions to the application of foreign
law.
EXCEPTIONS:
a. The foreign law is contrary to the public policy of the forum
b. The foreign law is procedural in nature
c. The case involves issues related to property, real or personal (lex situs)
d. The issue involved in the enforcement of foreign claim is fiscal or
administrative
e. The foreign law or judgment is contrary to good morals (contra bonos
mores)
f. The foreign law is penal in character
g. When application of the foreign law may work undeniable injustice to
the citizens of the forum
h. When application of the foreign law might endanger the vital interest of
the State

3. ASSUME JURISDICTION AND APPLY FOREIGN LAW
As a general rule, no rule of Private International Law would be violated
if the courts should decide to dispose of cases, according to the internal
law of the forum
EXCEPT: Where a foreign, sovereign, diplomatic official, or public vessel
or property of another state is involved, or where a state has by treaty,
accepted limitations upon its jurisdiction over certain persons or things.
JURISDICTION: In international law, it is often defined as the right
of a State to exercise authority over persons and things within its
boundaries, subject to certain exceptions

Theory of Comity foreign law is applied because of its convenience &
because we want to give protection to our citizens, residents, & transients
in our land.

CHARACTERIZATION
The process by which a court at the beginning of the choice of law
process assigns a disputed question to the proper area in substantive law

STAGES IN CHARACTERIZATION:
1. Determination of the factual situation
2. Characterization of the factual situation
3. Determination of the applicable Conflicts rule
4. Characterization of the Point of Contact or the Connecting Factor
5. Determination between procedural and substantial matter
6. Pleading and Proving of the proper law

TESTS OR FACTORS TO DETERMINE POINTS OF CONTACT:
Circumstances which may serve as the possible test for the
determination of applicable law:
1. The nationality of a person, his domicile, residence, his place of sojourn,
or his origin.
2. The seat of legal or juridical person
3. Lex Situs - law of the place where property is situated; the general rule
is that real property is governed by the law of the State where it is
situated
4. Locus Actus - law of the place where the act was done
5. The place where the act is intended to take effect, the place of
performance of contractual duties, or the place where the power of
attorney is to be exercised
6. Lex loci intentionis
7. Lex fori applies to procedural matters and whenever the content of
the otherwise applicable foreign law is excluded from application in a
given case for the reason that it fails under one of the exceptions to the
application of foreign law.
8. The flag of the ship, which in many cases is decisive of practically all
legal relationships of the ship and of its master or owner as such.

Renvoi Doctrine - doctrine whereby a jural matter is presented which the
conflict of laws rules of the forum refer to a foreign law which in
turn, refers the matter back to the law of the forum or a third State. When
reference is made back to the law of the forum, this is said to be
remission, while reference to a third State is called transmission.
(Aznar vs Garcia 1963)

Double Renvoi occurs when the local court, in adopting the foreign court
theory, discovers that the foreign court accepts the renvoi; ultimately
then, it is the foreign internal law that will be used

Borrowing statute - direct the state of the forum to apply the foreign
statute of limitations to the pending claim based on a foreign law (treats
the statute of limitations as a substantive law) CADALIN VS. POEA, 1994

GENERAL RULE: A foreign procedural law will not be applied in the forum.
EXCEPTION: When the country of the forum has a "borrowing statute," the
country of the forum will apply the foreign statute of limitations.
EXCEPTION TO THE EXCEPTION: The court of the forum will not enforce
any foreign claim obnoxious to the forum's public policy.

CONFLICT BETWEEN FOREIGN LAW AND LOCAL LAW, LATTER PREVAILS.
When foreign laws, despite having been duly presented and proven, may
not be given application.

In a long line of decisions, this Court adopted the well-imbedded principle
in our jurisdiction that there is judicial notice of any foreign law. A foreign
law must be properly pleaded and proved as a fact. Thus, if the foreign law
involved is not properly pleaded and proved, our courts will presume that
the foreign law is the same as our local or domestic or internal law. This is
what we refer to as the doctrine of processual presumption. (Bank of
America, NT vs. American Realty Corporation, 1999)

Citizenship status of person who is entitled to enjoy all the legal rights
and privileges granted by a state, who owes allegiance to the state, and is
obligated to obey its laws and to fulfill his or duties as called upon. Also
called national.

Distinguish dual citizenship from dual allegiance
Mercado v. Manzano Dual citizenship arises when, as a result of the
concurrent application of the laws of two or more states, a person is
simultaneously considered a citizen of those states. Dual allegiance refers
to the situation in which a person simultaneously owes, by some positive
act, loyalty to two or more states. Dual nationality is involuntary and legal,
while dual allegiance is voluntary and illegal. (Mercado vs Manzano, 1999)

How may one lose citizenship (C.A. No. 63):
1. By naturalization in a foreign country
2. By express renunciation of citizenship
3. By subscribing to an oath of allegiance to the laws or constitution of a
foreign country
4. By serving in the armed forces of an enemy country
5. By cancellation of certificates of naturalization
6. By being a deserter of the armed forces of ones country
7. By marriage to foreigner, if by virtue of the laws in her husbands
country, she is deemed a national.

How may one reacquire citizenship:
1. By direct act of Congress
2. By naturalization
3. By repatriation

Re-acquisition of citizenship
Natural-born Filipinos who are deemed to have lost their citizenship
may re-acquire the same via repatriation proceedings. This involves taking
an oath of allegiance and filing the same with the civil registry.
RA 9225- Citizen Retention and Re-acquisition Act
Natural born citizens, who lost their citizenship by reason of their
naturalization as citizens of a foreign country, are deemed to have
reacquired their Philippine citizenship upon taking the oath of allegiance
to the Republic.
Derivative citizenship- the unmarried child below 18 yrs. Old of those
who re-acquired the citizenship shall likewise be deemed as citizens of the
Philippines.

DOMICILE
Is that place where a person has certain settled, fixed, legal relations
because:
1. it is assigned to him by law at the MOMENT OF BIRTH (domicile of
origin)
2. It is assigned to him by law AFTER BIRTH on account of legal disability
caused for instance by minority, insanity or marriage in the case of a
woman (constructive domicile or domicile by operation of law)
3. he has a HOME there that to which whenever he is absent, he intends
to return (domicile of choice)
NOTE: The forum determines domicile according to his own standards

GENERAL RULES ON DOMICILE:
1. No natural person must ever be without a domicile
2. No person can have two or more domiciles at the same time, except for
certain purposes, and from different legal viewpoints
3. Every sui juris may change his domicile
4. Once acquired, it remains the domicile unless a new one is obtained:
a. By capacitated persons
b. With freedom of choice
c. With actual physical presence
d. And Provable intent that it should be ones fixed and
permanent place of abode, there should be animus manendi (intent to
remain) or animus non revertendi (intent not to return)
5. The presumption is in favor of the continuance of domicile. The burden
of Proof is on the one who alleges that a change of domicile has taken
place.