By: Angelo Lopez

Tañada vs. Angara 272 SCRA 18 , May 02, 1997

As aptly put by John F. Kennedy, "Today, no nation can build its destiny alone. The
age of self-sufficient nationalism is over. The age of interdependence is here." 

Facts

Petitioners claim that when the Philippines co-founded the World Trade
Organization, the Philippine sovereignty was restricted and impaired specifically in its
legislative power.

Issues

Whether or not a treaty is allowed to limit the sovereignty of a state.

Held

By their inherent nature, treaties really limit or restrict the absoluteness of

sovereignty. By their voluntary act, nations may surrender some aspects of their state
power in exchange for greater benefits granted by or derived from a convention or pact.

The sovereignty of a state therefore cannot in fact and in reality, be considered

absolute. Certain restrictions enter into the picture: (1) limitations imposed by the very
nature of membership in the family of nations and (2) limitations imposed by treaty
stipulations.