International Law

- rules and principles of general application dealing with the conduct of states and of international
organizations with their relations inter se, as well as with some of their relations with persons, whether
natural or juridical.

- branch of law that deals with the relationship of states as well as the relationship of individuals of
different states.

Character:
a. Public – when international subjects are involve.
b. Private – when individuals, domestic laws, or local events intermingle with each other necessitating
a determination of the applicable law.

Branches of International Law

1. Public International Law
- governs the relationship of states and international entities

2. Private International Law

- comprehends laws regulating private interactions across national frontiers.
- it deals with conflicts of laws among the laws of two or more states and necessitates a determination
of which municipal law applies to a case. (harmonization of laws of several states whenever a conflict
of law situation exist

Distinctions: Private vs Public

I. Source
Public: based on international conventions , custom, general principles of law recognized by civilized
nations, and judicial decisions and teachings of the most highly qualified publicist of various nations.

Private: based on domestic and municipal laws.

II. Subject
Public: states and international organizations.
- it involves public interest

Private: individuals and corporations.

- it involves private interest

Conflict of Law
- Inconsistency or difference between the laws of different states 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.

- Branch of jurisprudence, arising for the diversity of the laws of different nations, states pr jurisdiction,
in their application to rights and remedies, which reconciles the inconsistency or decides which law or
system is to govern in a particular case.

Foreign Elements
- most important component of a conflict of law problem
- anything which is not domestic and has a foreign component to it.
Ex. Foreigner; foreign corporation; event happening in a foreign country; or foreign law chosen by the
parties.

*Essential Element; without a foreign element the case is only domestic.

Phases in Conflicts Resolution

1. Jurisdiction
- authority of the court to take cognition of the case.

2. Choice of Law
- applicable law

3. Recognition and enforcement of judgment

- enforcement of foreign laws and judgment in another jurisdiction

*important: determine the applicable theories of law as well as the defenses available thereto.

Steps in determining Applicable Law

I. Characterization
- identification of the issue in the problem.
- process of spotting out the legal issues as presented by the facts of the case.

II. Connecting Factor

- an analysis is made with respect to which jurisdiction or fora has the most connection to the case.
ex. nationality, location of the act (venue), terms of the agreement
- determination of what legal system between the two or more legal systems is applicable.

Choice of Applicable Law

- free to stipulate the applicable law that govern their contractual relations
- as long as it does not violate the public policy or the laws of the forum

Extraterritoriality
- generally, laws are of territorial application – mind of the law maker is limited to the territorial
boundaries of his country.
- can be extraterritorial when so provided by the legislature – legislative intent. Except: when this
intruded with the territorial integrity and sovereignty of another country.

Forum non Conveniens (Forum not convenient)

- determination that the litigation would become very inconvenient in the chosen venue.
- even if the local court has jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter, it may decline to try the
case on the ground that the controversy may be more suitable tried elsewhere.

Instances where the court may desist from exercising jurisdiction:

1. that the matter can be better tried and decided elsewhere.
- the case transpired in a foreign jurisdiction or witnesses residence is there.

2. that the non-resident plaintiff sought the forum (forum shopping) merely to secure procedural
advantages or harass the defendants.
- forum shopping: when a party repetitively avails of several judicial remedies in different courts,
simultaneously or successively, all substantially founded on the same transactions and the same essential
facts and circumstances, and all raising substantially the same issues either pending in or already resolved
adversely by some other court.

3. unwillingness to extend local judicial facilities to non residents or aliens when the dockets may already
be overcrowded.

4. in adequacy of the local judicial machinery for effectuating the rights sought to be maintained

5. difficulty of ascertaining foreign law.

Choice of Law Principles:

A. Local Law
- the default law that will govern the relationship of the parties to a dispute.
- must be applied before one even considers the application of foreign law.

FACTORS RELEVANT
B. Need of the Interstate and International System
C. Relevant Policies of the forum
D. Relevant Policies of the Interstate
E. Protection of justifies expectation
F. Basic Policies underlying the particular field of law
G. Certainty, Predictability and Uniformity of Result
H. Ease in the determination and application of the law to be applied.