Co Kim Cham vs Eusebio Valdez Tan Keh et al G.R. No.

L-5, September
17, 1945
1. won the rules of international law, the judicial acts and proceedings
of the courts established in the phils under the phil exec comm and the
rep of the phils were good and vaild and remained as such even after
the liberation or reoccupation of the phils by the us and Filipino forces.
A. It is a legal truism in political and international law that all acts and proceedings of the
legislative, executive, and judicial departments of a de facto government are good and valid.
The question to be determined is whether or not the governments established in these
Islands under the names of the Philippine Executive Commission and Republic of the
Philippines during the Japanese military occupation or regime were de facto governments. If
they were, the judicial acts and proceedings of those governments remain good and valid
even after the liberation or reoccupation of the Philippines by the American and Filipino
forces.
I. Definition
II. Sources
A. Direct- Constitution, Codifications, special laws, treaties and conventions, judicial
decisions and international customs
B. Indirect-Natural moral law, works of writers
Links:

http://plj.upd.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/plj/PLJ%20volume%2067/PLJ%20volume
%2067%20second%20quarter/PLJ%20volume%2067%20second%20quarter%20-01%20Jorge%20R.%20Coquia%20-%20A%20Restatement%20of%20Conflict%20of
%20Laws.pdf
http://www.academia.edu/14237478/Conflict_of_Laws
A.
RAYTHEON INTERNATIONAL, INC.,vs.STOCKTON W. ROUZIE, JR G.R. No. 162894
February 26, 2008

Under the doctrine of forum non conveniens, a court, in conflicts-of-laws cases, may refuse
impositions on its jurisdiction where it is not the most "convenient" or available forum and the
parties are not precluded from seeking remedies elsewhere.
Moreover, the propriety of dismissing a case based on the principle of forum non
conveniens requires a factual determination; hence, it is more properly considered as a
matter of defense. While it is within the discretion of the trial court to abstain from assuming

jurisdiction on this ground, it should do so only after vital facts are established, to determine
whether special circumstances require the courts desistance.
Rationale:
BANK OF AMERICA NT & SA, BANK OF AMERICA INTERNATIONAL, LTD.,vs. COURT
OF APPEALS, HON. MANUEL PADOLINA, EDUARDO LITONJUA, SR., and AURELIO K.
LITONJUA, JR. G.R. No. 120135
March 31, 2003

The doctrine of forum non-conveniens, literally meaning 'the forum is inconvenient', emerged
in private international law to deter the practice of global forum shopping, 42 that is to prevent
non-resident litigants from choosing the forum or place wherein to bring their suit for
malicious reasons, such as to secure procedural advantages, to annoy and harass the
defendant, to avoid overcrowded dockets, or to select a more friendly venue. Under this
doctrine, a court, in conflicts of law cases, may refuse impositions on its jurisdiction where it
is not the most "convenient" or available forum and the parties are not precluded from
seeking remedies elsewhere.
Whether a suit should be entertained or dismissed on the basis of said doctrine depends
largely upon the facts of the particular case and is addressed to the sound discretion of the
trial court.44 In the case of Communication Materials and Design, Inc. vs. Court of
Appeals,45 this Court held that "xxx [a Philippine Court may assume jurisdiction over the case
if it chooses to do so; provided, that the following requisites are met: (1) that the Philippine
Court is one to which the parties may conveniently resort to; (2) that the Philippine Court is in
a position to make an intelligent decision as to the law and the facts; and, (3) that the
Philippine Court has or is likely to have power to enforce its decision."
B. Family relations/Law of Nationality
Art. 15, 16, NCC
MINORU FUJIKI, vs.MARIA PAZ GALELA MARINAY, SHINICHI MAEKARA, LOCAL CIVIL
REGISTRAR OF QUEZON CITY, AND THE ADMINISTRATOR AND CIVIL REGISTRAR
GENERAL OF THE NATIONAL STATISTICS OFFICE, G.R. No. 196049
June 26,
2013

For Philippine courts to recognize a foreign judgment relating to the status of a marriage
where one of the parties is a citizen of a foreign country, the petitioner only needs to prove
the foreign judgment as a fact under the Rules of Court. To be more specific, a copy of the
foreign judgment may be admitted in evidence and proven as a fact under Rule 132,
Sections 24 and 25, in relation to Rule 39, Section 48(b) of the Rules of Court.
A foreign judgment relating to the status of a marriage affects the civil status, condition and
legal capacity of its parties. However, the effect of a foreign judgment is not automatic. To
extend the effect of a foreign judgment in the Philippines, Philippine courts must determine if
the foreign judgment is consistent with domestic public policy and other mandatory
laws.60 Article 15 of the Civil Code provides that "[l]aws relating to family rights and duties, or
to the status, condition and legal capacity of persons are binding upon citizens of the
Philippines, even though living abroad." This is the rule of lex nationalii in private
international law. Thus, the Philippine State may require, for effectivity in the Philippines,
recognition by Philippine courts of a foreign judgment affecting its citizen, over whom it

exercises personal jurisdiction relating to the status, condition and legal capacity of such
citizen.

NORMA A. DEL SOCORRO, for and in behalf of her minor child RODERIGO NORJO
VAN WILSEM, vs. ERNST JOHAN BRINKMAN VAN WILSEM G.R. No. 193707
December 10, 2014

In international law, the party who wants to have a foreign law applied to a dispute or case
has the burden of proving the foreign law.
True, foreign laws do not prove themselves in our jurisdiction and our courts are not
authorized to takejudicial notice of them. Like any other fact, they must be alleged and
proved.
The doctrine of processual presumption shall govern. Under this doctrine, 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.
C. Contract
KAZUHIRO HASEGAWA and NIPPON ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS CO., LTD., vs.
MINORU KITAMURA G.R. No. 149177
November 23, 2007
Lex loci celebrationis relates to the "law of the place of the ceremony"63 or the law of the
place where a contract is made.64 The doctrine of lex contractus or lex loci contractus means
the "law of the place where a contract is executed or to be performed." 65 It controls the
nature, construction, and validity of the contract66 and it may pertain to the law voluntarily
agreed upon by the parties or the law intended by them either expressly or implicitly.67 Under
the "state of the most significant relationship rule," to ascertain what state law to apply to a
dispute, the court should determine which state has the most substantial connection to the
occurrence and the parties. In a case involving a contract, the court should consider where
the contract was made, was negotiated, was to be performed, and the domicile, place of
business, or place of incorporation of the parties.68 This rule takes into account several
contacts and evaluates them according to their relative importance with respect to the
particular issue to be resolved
PHILIPPINE EXPORT AND FOREIGN LOAN GUARANTEE CORPORATION, vs.
V.P. EUSEBIO CONSTRUCTION, INC.; 3-PLEX INTERNATIONAL, INC.; VICENTE P.
EUSEBIO; SOLEDAD C. EUSEBIO; EDUARDO E. SANTOS; ILUMINADA SANTOS; AND
FIRST INTEGRATED BONDING AND INSURANCE COMPANY, INC G.R. No. 140047
July 13, 2004
No conflicts rule on essential validity of contracts is expressly provided for in our laws. The
rule followed by most legal systems, however, is that the intrinsic validity of a contract must
be governed by the lex contractus or "proper law of the contract." This is the law voluntarily
agreed upon by the parties (the lex loci voluntatis) or the law intended by them either
expressly or implicitly (the lex loci intentionis). The law selected may be implied from such
factors as substantial connection with the transaction, or the nationality or domicile of the
parties.47 Philippine courts would do well to adopt the first and most basic rule in most legal
systems, namely, to allow the parties to select the law applicable to their contract, subject to

the limitation that it is not against the law, morals, or public policy of the forum and that the
chosen law must bear a substantive relationship to the transaction.
SAMEER OVERSEAS PLACEMENT AGENCY, INC., vs.
JOY C. CABILES G.R. No. 170139
August 5, 2014
It is a universal principle thatreal or immovable property is exclusively subject to the laws of
the country or state where it is located. The reason is found in the very nature of immovable
property its immobility. Immovables are part of the country and so closely connected to it
that all rights over them have their natural center of gravity there.
21

22

Thus, all matters concerning the titleand disposition ofreal property are determined by what
is known as the lex loci rei sitae, which can alone prescribe the mode by which a title
canpass from one person to another, or by which an interest therein can be gained or
lost. This general principle includes all rules governing the descent, alienation and transfer
of immovable property and the validity, effect and construction of wills and other
conveyances.
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24

D.Tort liability
G.R. No. L-17029

September 30, 1964

SAMUEL S. SHARRUF, petitioner,

vs.
FRANK BUBLA, ARSENIO SOLIDUM, Presiding Judge, Court of First Instance of
Manila, Branch XVII
The sole issue posed in the present appeal is whether or not our Philippine courts can
rightfully refuse to assume jurisdiction over a personal action instituted by a nonresident
alien who is not within the territorial jurisdiction of our courts.
We believe and hold that the trial court is in error in this point. In fact, this Court only recently
has upheld the right of non-residents to maintain personal actions against our residents in
Philippine courts Sharruf v. Bubla, G.R. No. L-17029, September 30, 1964).
SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES, vs.
COURT OF APPEALS, MILAGROS P. MORADA and HON. RODOLFO A. ORTIZ, in his
capacity as Presiding Judge of Branch 89, Regional Trial Court of Quezon City, G.R.
No. 122191 October 8, 1998
A factual situation that cuts across territorial lines and is affected by the diverse laws of two
or more states is said to contain a "foreign element". The presence of a foreign element is
inevitable since social and economic affairs of individuals and associations are rarely
confined to the geographic limits of their birth or conception.
The forms in which this foreign element may appear are many. 41 The foreign element may
simply consist in the fact that one of the parties to a contract is an alien or has a foreign domicile,
or that a contract between nationals of one State involves properties situated in another State. In
other cases, the foreign element may assume a complex form.

As to the choice of applicable law, we note that choice-of-law problems seek to answer two
important questions: (1) What legal system should control a given situation where some of
the significant facts occurred in two or more states; and (2) to what extent should the chosen
legal system regulate the situation. 53
Several theories have been propounded in order to identify the legal system that should
ultimately control. Although ideally, all choice-of-law theories should intrinsically advance
both notions of justice and predictability, they do not always do so. The forum is then faced
with the problem of deciding which of these two important values should be stressed. 54
Before a choice can be made, it is necessary for us to determine under what category a
certain set of facts or rules fall. This process is known as "characterization", or the "doctrine
of qualification". It is the "process of deciding whether or not the facts relate to the kind of
question specified in a conflicts rule." 55 The purpose of "characterization" is to enable the forum
to select the proper law.

Choice-of-law rules invariably consist of a factual relationship (such as property

right, contract claim) and a connecting factor or point of contact, such as
the situs of the res, the place of celebration, the place of performance, or the
place of wrongdoing.
Note that one or more circumstances may be present to serve as the possible test for the
determination of the applicable law. 59 These "test factors" or "points of contact" or "connecting
factors" could be any of the following:
(1) The nationality of a person, his domicile, his residence, his place of
sojourn, or his origin;
(2) the seat of a legal or juridical person, such as a corporation;
(3) the situs of a thing, that is, the place where a thing is, or is deemed to be
situated. In particular, thelex situs is decisive when real rights are involved;
(4) the place where an act has been done, the locus actus, such as the place
where a contract has been made, a marriage celebrated, a will signed or a
tort committed. The lex loci actus is particularly important in contracts and
torts;
(5) the place where an act is intended to come into effect, e.g., the place of
performance of contractual duties, or the place where a power of attorney is
to be exercised;
(6) the intention of the contracting parties as to the law that should govern
their agreement, the lex loci intentionis;
(7) the place where judicial or administrative proceedings are instituted or
done. The lex fori the law of the forum is particularly important because,
as we have seen earlier, matters of "procedure" not going to the substance of
the claim involved are governed by it; and because the lex fori applies
whenever the content of the otherwise applicable foreign law is excluded

from application in a given case for the reason that it falls under one of the
exceptions to the applications of foreign law; and
(8) the flag of a ship, which in many cases is decisive of practically all legal
relationships of the ship and of its master or owner as such. It also covers
contractual relationships particularly contracts of affreightment.