ARTICLE 1 SECTION 1

SOVEREIGNTY

MOST REV PEDRO ARIGO V. SCOTT SWIFT, GR 206510, Sept 16, 2014

POINT OF THE CASE:

All states are sovereign equals and cannot assert jurisdiction over one another.

FACTS:
The US Embassy in the Philippines requested diplomatic clearance for the USS Guardian "to enter
and exit the territorial waters of the Philippines and to arrive at the port of Subic Bay for the purpose of
routine ship replenishment, maintenance, and crew liberty. The USS Guardian damaged the Tubbataha
Reef on its way to Indonesia while transiting the Sulu Sea. The US Navy-led salvage team finished
removing the last piece of the grounded ship from the coral reef. Petitioners claim that the grounding and
salvaging operations caused and continue to cause damage to the neighboring provinces. Only the
Philippine respondents filed their comment. The petitioners filed a motion to proceed ex parte against the
US respondents.

ISSUE:
Whether or not the court has jurisdiction over the US respondents.

RULING:
No. In the case of the foreign state sought to be impleaded in the local jurisdiction, the added
inhibition is expressed in the maxim par in parem, non habet imperium. All states are sovereign equals and
cannot assert jurisdiction over one another. A contrary disposition would, in the language of a celebrated
case, "unduly vex the peace of nations."

While the doctrine appears to prohibit only suits against the state without its consent, it is also
applicable to complaints filed against officials of the state for acts allegedly performed by them in the
discharge of their duties. The rule is that if the judgment against such officials will require the state itself
to perform an affirmative act to satisfy the same, such as the appropriation of the amount needed to pay
the damages awarded against them, the suit must be regarded as against the state itself although it has
not been formally impleaded. In such a situation, the state may move to dismiss the complaint on the
ground that it has been filed without its consent.