Arlyn D.

Caingat
Conflict of Laws

Subject Matter of Private International Law: Introduction, History, Themes

Private International Law embraces those universal principles of right and justice which
govern the courts of one state having before them cases involving the operation and effect
of the laws of another state or country.1
In Hilton v. Guyot, the US Supreme Court defined private international law as the
law concerning the rights of persons within the territory and dominion of one nation, by
reason of acts, private or public, done within the dominion od another nation. It is based
on codes, statutes, treaties, intellectual conventions, commentaries and studies of learned
societies. International uniformity of result is the grand objective, it gives effect torights
acquiredundertheproperforeignlaw,andnottoenforceforeignlaw.Ifallcourtswere
togiveeffecttovestedrights,uniformityandpredictabilityofresultsmaybeachieved
itisnotforeignlawbuttherightsacquiredunderitwhichareenforcedbythecourtsof
anothercountry.
1.) What factors differentiate civil litigation that has a foreign element from civil
litigation that is entirely domestic?

2.) What problems might arise in resolving such disputes, and how should those
problems be addressed?
3.) Is there a legal obligation to recognize the rights and obligations vested by another
legal jurisdiction?
7.) What is comity and to what extent did it influence the development of conflict of
laws rules?
Comity in the legal sense is neither a matter of absolute obligation, on the one
hand, nor of mere courtesy and good will on the other. It is the recognition which one
nation allows within its territory to the legislative, executive or judicial acts of another
nation, having due regard both to international duty and convenience, and to the rights of
its own citizens or of other persons who are under protection of its laws.
Itisbasedontheerroneousideathatastatehasagreatinterestintheapplication
ofitslawbyotherStates.Theapplicationofforeignlawdoesnotspringfromthedesire

ofthesovereignofoneStatetoshowcourtesytotheotherStatewhoselawisbeing
appliedbutratheritflowsfromtheimpossibilityofotherwisedeterminingwholeclasses
of cases without gross inconvenience and injustice to litigants, whether natives or
foreigners.Ifforeignlawweretobeappliedasamatterofoption,itwouldbeimpossible
tobuildupadefinitebodyofRulesofPrivateInternationalLawasconflictoflawcases
willberesolvedbyunregulateddiscretion.

Part II
In the study of conflicts of law, jurisdiction is the right of the State to exercise
authority over persons and things within its boundaries, subject to certain exceptions.
There are three stages involved in judicial resolution of conflict of law problems are
jurisdiction, choice of law and recognition and enforcement of judgments. Corresponding
to these phases are the following questions: a.) Where can or should litigation be
initiated? b.) Which law will the court apply? and c.) Where can the resulting judgment
be enforced?

1.) What are the grounds on which the Philippine courts claim competence to deal
disputes where the parties or some aspect of the subject matter are not entirely local
to the forum? Are those grounds defensible?
2.) How do Philippine courts acquire jurisdiction over the person of the defendant or
over his property?
Philippine courts acquire jurisdiction over the person of the defendant by his
voluntary appearance, on the other hand jurisdiction over the person of the plaintiff is
acquired upon the filing of the complaint.
Jurisdiction over the property is acquired either from the seizure of property under
legal process or from the institution of legal of legal proceedings wherein the courts
power over the property is recognized and made effective.
3.) How do Philippine courts acquire competency or jurisdiction over the subject
matter?
Philippine courts acquire jurisdiction over the subject is conferred by the
Constitution and the la. It cannot be conferred by the consent of the parties or by
voluntary submission. Jurisdiction of the court over the subject matter is determined by
the allegations of the complaint, irrespective of whether the plaintiff is entitled to recover
upon all or some of the claims asserted therein.
4.) How do Philippine courts determine if a case has been brought to the proper venue
in situations where a foreign element is involved?

5.) In what circumstances do Philippine courts lack jurisdiction to deal with disputes
even though there is a connection between the forum and the parties or some aspect
of the subject matter?
Part III
1.) In what circumstances should courts exercise jurisdiction in international or crossborder disputes, given the existence of other forums?
Courts should exercise jurisdiction in international disputes given the existence of
other forums in the presence of the following factors a.) a specific law of forum of the
forum decrees that internal law should apply; b.) the proper foreign law was not properly
pleaded and proved and c.) the case falls under any exceptions to the application of
foreign law.
2.) What is the effect of pendency of foreign action?

3.) Should the courts give more weight to the availability of other forums, in deciding
whether to exercise their jurisdiction?
4.) To what extent should contractual choice be upheld?

5.) What priority should be given to local public policy considerations?

6.) How functional is the overall system of jurisdiction in cross-border cases?
Part IV
1.) In what circumstances should foreign judgments be recognized and enforced by
Philippine courts? Are there any risks associated with enforcement of foreign
judgments? If so, how can they be managed?

2.) It is much easier to enforce foreign arbitral awards than foreign judgments. What
are the reasons for, and likely consequence of this?