Conflict of Laws

Definition
 also known as Private International Law
 is that department of National Law which arises from the fact that there are in the world
different territorial jurisdiction possessing different laws.
 Is 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 or foreign laws.

4 Elements of this definition:

1. Conflict of laws is part of the municipal laws of a state.
2. There is a directive to courts and administrative agencies.
3. There is a legal problem involving foreign element.
4. There is either an application or non-application of foreign law or foreign laws.

ELEMENTS OF THE DEFINITION DISCUSSED

1. Conflict of laws is part of the Municipal Law of a State.
a. It is part of the municipal law because it is not international in character. It is given the
appellation of INTERNATIONAL LAW because of a foreign element in a given problem.
2. The Direction to Courts and Administrative Agencies
a. It is the judicial tribunals of a country that ultimately is called upon to decide or resolve
“conflicts” problems. Administrative agencies of the state (DFA,BI, SEC) and the like also
decide PRELIMINARILY a given controversy involving foreign factor.
3. A Legal Problem Involving a Foreign Element
a. A foreign element has to be present before the matter can be considered a “CONFLICTS”
problem.
4. The Application or Non-application of a Foreign Law or Foreign Laws.
a. Foreign system of law may include not only the law of foreign states but also the law of
political subdivisions which have their own legal system.

IMPORTANCE OF THE SUBJECT

a. To adjust to conflicting rights in international, mercantile, and corporate transactions; and
b. To solve personal, family, property, and successional, contractual problems, possessed of
facts or elements operating in two or more states.

BASIC CAUSE OF CONFLICTS PROBLEMS

“Conflict problems” come into being through variance in the municipal laws of the countries
involved. Indeed, the sad truth is that there is a “multiplicity of governments with separate legal
systems.”
EXAMPLES OF DIVERSITY IN LAWS AND INTERPRETATIONS
1. In the Matter of Wills
a. Oral wills in the Philippines are not allowed; in Massachusetts, USA, and oral will is valid
only if executed by soldiers in actual service or by mariners at sea and only with
reference to their wages and personal property.
2. In the Matter of Marriage
a. In the Philippines and in America, monogamy is practiced; in Muslim countries, a man
may generally have as many as four wives, provided he has the capacity to take care of
them.
3. In the Matter of Divorce
a. The NCC of the Philippines does not recognize absolute divorce; almost all North
American States grant it.
4. In the Matter of Income Tax Exemptions
a. In the United States member of the judiciary are not exempted from the payment of
income tax on their salaries as judicial officers on the theory that they pay the tax, not
as judges but as private citizens. In the Philippines, under the 1935 Constitution, salaries
of members of the judiciary were exempt from income taxation on the premise that a
contrary rule would result in the diminution of salaries, and would, therefore,
contravene the Constitution. Under the 1973 and 1987 Constitutions, this exemption
has been eliminated.

SCOPE AND FUNCTIONS OF CONFLICT OF LAWS

1. To prescribe the conditions under which the court is competent to entertain such a suit;
2. To determine for each class of cases the particular territorial system of law by reference to
which rights of the parties must be ascertained.
3. To specify the circumstances in which a foreign judgement can be recognized as decisive of the
question in dispute.
In other words, the 3 specific aims of functions are:
1. The determination of which a country has jurisdiction; (JURISDICTION)
2. The applicability to a particular case of either the local or the foreign law; (CHOICE OF LAW)
3. The determination of the force, validity and effectiveness of a foreign judgement.
(APPLICABILITY OF A FOREIGN JUDGEMENT)

HOW CONFLICT OF LAWS IS OBESERVED