THE WOMEN OF ALEITHEIA

Truth. Honor. Excellence.

PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW (CONFLICTS OF LAW)
- The term "conflict of laws" may be used as an inaccurate equivalent for the less objectionable
phrase "choice of laws"
- The principles of international law are truly "international", because they prevail between or among
nations; but they are not in the proper sense of the term "laws", for they are not commands
proceeding from any sovereign; on the other hand, principles of private international law are "laws"
in the strictest sense of that term, for they are commands proceeding from the sovereign of a given
state; but they are not "international", for they are laws which determine the private rights of one
individual against another, and these individuals may, or may not, belong to the same nation. The
expression "international private law" is, no doubt, a slight improvement on "private international
law" as it points out that the rules which the name denotes belong to the domain of private law.
- A contrariety of opposition in the laws of states or countries in case where the rights of the parties,
from their relations to each other or to the subject matter in dispute, are liable to be affected by the
laws of both jurisdictions.
- As a term of art, it also includes thing which law is in such cases to have superiority.
- It also includes many cases where there is no opposition between two systems of law, but where the
question is how much force may be allowed to a foreign law with reference to which an act has been
done, either directly or by legal implication, in the absence of any domestic law exclusively
applicable to the case.

LEADING CANONS IN PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW

- The laws of every state affect and bind directly all property, real or personal, situated within its
territory, all contracts made and acts done and all persons resident within its jurisdiction, and are
supreme within its own limits by virtue of its sovereignty.
Ambassadors and other public ministers while in the state to which they are sent, and members
of an army matching through or stationed in a friendly state, are not subject to this rule
- Possessing exclusive authority, with the above qualification, a state may regulate the manner and
circumstances under which property, whether real or personal, in possession or in action, within it,
shall be held, transmitted, or transferred, by sale, barter or bequest, or recovered or enforced; the
condition, capacity, and state of all persons within it; the validity of contracts and other acts done
there; the resulting rights and duties growing out of these contracts and acts; and the remedies and
modes of administering justice in all cases.
- Whatever force and obligation the laws of the country have in another depends upon the laws and
municipal regulations of the latter; that is to say, upon its own proper jurisprudence and polity, and
upon its own express or tacit consent.
- The power of determining whether, or how far, or with what modification, or upon what conditions,
the laws of one state or any rights dependent upon them shall be recognized in another, is a
legislative one. The comity involved is a comity of the states, and not of the courts, and the judiciary
must be guided in deciding the question by the principle and policy adopted by the legislature.
- When a statute or the unwritten or common law of the country forbids the recognition of the foreign
law, the latter is of no force whatever.
When both are silent, then the question arises, which of the conflicting laws is to have effect
Each sovereignty must determine for itself whether it will enforce a law.
It is a principle universally recognized that the revenue laws of one country have no force in
another.
The statutes of one state giving a right of action to enforce a penalty have no force in another.
Rights of action arising under foreign bankrupt, insolvent, or assignment laws are not recognized
by a state when prejudicial to the interests of its own citizens.
A remedy special to a particular foreign state is not, by any principle of comity, enforceable
elsewhere and must be applied only within that jurisdiction.

Conflicts of Law - Robles - Transcribed by Marion Nerisse Kho

 THE WOMEN OF ALEITHEIA
Truth. Honor. Excellence.
- Generally, force and effect will be given by any state to foreign laws in cases where from the
transactions of the parties they are applicable, unless they affect injuriously her own citizens, violate
her express enactments, or are contra bonos mores.
- In general, the mode of conveying, encumbering, transmitting, devising and controlling real estate is
governed by the law of the place of situation of the property.
- Bills of exchange and promissory notes are to be governed, as to validity and interpretation, by the
law of the place of making, as are other contracts. The residence of the drawee of a bill of
exchange, and the place of making a promissory note where no other place of payment is specified,
is the locus contractus.
- Chattel mortgages valid and duly registered under the laws of the state in which the property is
situated at the time of the mortgage, will be held valid in another state to which the property is
removed, although the regulations there are different, and it will be enforced in the state to which the
property has been removed, although it would have been invalid if made in that state.
- Questions of priority of liens and other claims are, in general, to be determined by the lex rei sitae
even in regard to personal property. The existence of the lien will generally depend on the lex loci.
- Marriage comes under the general rule in regard to contracts, with some exception.
- In an action brought in one state for injuries done in another, the statutes and decisions of the courts
of the latter state must fix the liability.
- Executors and administrators, in the absence of a specific statute authorizing it, have no power to
sue or be sued by virtue of a foreign appointment as such.
- Guardians have no power over the property, whether real or personal, of their wards, by virtue of a
foreign appointment; they must have the sanction of the appropriate local tribunal.
- Judgments and decrees of foreign courts relating to immovable property within their jurisdiction are
held binding everywhere. The rule is the same with regard to movables actually within their
jurisdiction.
- Admiralty proceedings in rem are held conclusive everywhere if the court had a rightful jurisdiction
founded on actual possession of the subject matter.
- Voluntary assignments of personal property, valid where made, will transfer property everywhere.
- Discharges by the lex loci contractus are valid everywhere.

DOMICIL
- That place where a man has his true, fixed, and permanent home and principal establishment, and
to which whenever he is absent he has the intention of returning.
- The domicil of a person is that place or country in which his habitation is fixed, without any present
intentions of removing therefrom.
- The place or country which is in fact his permanent home, but is in some cases the place or country
which, whether it be in fact his home or not, is determined to be his home by a rule of law.
- That place or country either (1) in which he in fact resides with the intention of residence (animus
manendi); or (2) in which, having so resided, he continues actually to reside, though no longer
retaining the intention of residence; or (3) with regard to which, having so resided there, he retains
the intention of residence, though he, in fact, no longer resides there.
- A habitation fixed in some place with the intention of remaining there always.
- The place where a person has established the principal seat of his residence and of his business.
- That place is to be regarded as a mans domicil which he has freely chosen for his permanent
abode [and this for the center at once of his legal relations and his business].
- A residence at a particular place, accompanied with [positive or presumptive proof of] an intention to
remain there for an unlimited time.
- That place is properly the domicil of a person in which he has voluntarily fixed the habitation of
himself and his family, not for a mere special temporary purpose, but with a present intention of
making it his permanent home, unless and until something (which is unexpected or uncertain) shall

Conflicts of Law - Robles - Transcribed by Marion Nerisse Kho

 THE WOMEN OF ALEITHEIA
Truth. Honor. Excellence.
occur to induce him to adopt some other permanent home. It is said to be a relation between an
individual and a particular locality or country.
- A person must have a domicil for purpose of taxation; for jurisdiction; for succession; for
administration; for loyal character; for homestead exemptions; for attachment; a person can,
however, have but one domicil at a time.
- Domicil may be either national or domestic.
In deciding the question of national domicil, the point to be determined will be in which of two or
more distinct nationalities a man has his domicil.
In deciding the matter of domestic domicil, the question is in which subdivision of the nation does
the person has his domicil.
- Legal residence, inhabiting, and domicil are generally used as synonymous, but much depends on
the connection and purpose; residence has a more restricted meaning than domicil; as also in
insolvency statutes; those relating to administration and distribution; testamentary matters; eligibility
for public officer; attachment statutes; and matters of jurisdiction. Within divorce statutes, residence
has been construed as equivalent to domicil; but it must be an actual residence. Besides mere
bodily presence within the state, there must be the present bona fide purpose of abiding there
indefinitely as a home; mere length of time during which a person has lived in a particular locality is
not controlling; and if he remains there longer than the period of time required to give him a legal
residence, but without any intention of making it his permanent place of residence, he does not
become a resident thereof.
- The term citizenship ordinarily conveys a distinct idea from that of domicil.
- Two things must concur to establish domicil the fact of residence and the intention of remaining.
These two must exist or must have existed in combination.
- The law favors the presumption of a continuance of domicil; the original domicil continues until it is
fairly changed for another and revived on an intention to return. This principle of revival, however, is
said not to apply where both domicils are domestic.
- The place where a person lives is presumed to be the place of domicil until facts establish the
contrary. A decedent is presumed to have been domiciled at the place where he died.
- Proof of domicil does not depend upon any particular fact, but upon whether all the facts and
circumstances taken together tend to establish the fact. Engaging in business and voting in a
particular place are evidence of domicil there.
- Ownership of real estate in a place not coupled with residence therein is of no value; declaring an
intent to become a citizen is not sufficient to prove an intentions to adopt a domicil in the place
where the declaration is made.
- Domicil is said to be of three kinds domicil of origin, or by birth, domicil by choice, and domicil by
operation of law. The place of birth is the domicil by birth if at the time it is the domicil of the parents.
If the parents are on a journey, the actual domicil of the parents will generally be the place of
domicil. Children born on seas take the domicil of their parents. The domicil of an illegitimate child is
that of the mother. It is said that the place of birth of a child whose parents are unknown, is its
domicil. The domicil of a legitimate child is that of its father.
- The domicil by birth of a minor continues to be his domicl until changed.
- The domicil of origin always remains in abeyance, as it were, to be resorted to the moment the
domicil of choice is given up. If one leaves a domicile of choice, with the intention of acquitting a
new one, his domicil of origin attaches the moment he leaves the former and persists until he
acquires the latter.
- Domicil by choice is that domicil which a person of capacity of his free will selects to be such.
- Domicil is inferred in many cases by operation of law, either expressly or consequentially. The
domicil of the husband is that of the wife. A women on marriage takes the domicil of her husband.
The domicil of a widow remains that of her deceased husband until she makes a change.

Conflicts of Law - Robles - Transcribed by Marion Nerisse Kho

 THE WOMEN OF ALEITHEIA
Truth. Honor. Excellence.
- Any person, sui juris, may make any bona fide change of domicil at any time. Domicil is not lost by
going to another state to seek a home, but continues until the home is obtained. Until a new domicil
is obtained, the old one is not lost, but is presumed to continue until shown to have been changed.
- To constitute a change of domicil, three things are essential:
residence in another place;
an intention to abandon the old domicil; and
an intention of acquiring a new one.
- In the acquisition of a new domicil, more is required that a mere change of residence: there must be
a fixed intention to renounce birthright in the place of original domicil and to adopt the political and
municipal status involved by permanent residence of choice elsewhere.
- The law of the place of domicil governs as to all acts of the parties, when not controlled by the lex
loci contractus or lex rei sitei.
- The state and condition of the person according to the law of his domicil will generally, though not
universally, be regarded in other countries as to acts done, rights acquired, or contracts made in the
place of his native domicil; but as to acts, rights, and contracts done, acquired, or made out of his
domicil, the lex loci will generally govern in respect to his capacity and condition.
- The disposition of, succession to, or distribution of the personal property of a decedent, wherever
situated, is to be made in accordance with the law of his actual domicil at the time of his death. The
principle applies equally to cases of voluntary transfer, of intestacy, and of testaments.
- Wills are to be governed by the law of the domicil as to the capacity of parties, and as to their
validity and effect in relation to personal property; but by the lex rei sitei as to the transfer of real
property.
- The forum and solemnities of the place of domicil must be observed. The local law is to determine
the character of property.
- The interpretation of a will of movables is to be according to the law of the last domicil of the
testator. But as far as its validity is concerned, it does not matter that after the will was made in the
domicil the testator obtained a new domicil, where he died. But it must be valid under the law of the
new domicil.
- Distribution of the personal property of an intestate is governed exclusively by the law of his actual;
domicil at the time of his death. This includes the ascertainment of the person who is to take the
descent of real estate depends upon the law of the place of the real estate. The questions whether
debts are to be paid by the administrator from the personalty or realty is to be decided by the law of
his domicil.
- An assignment of property for the benefit of creditors valid by the law of the domicil is generally
recognized as valid everywhere in the absence of positive statute to the contrary, but not to the
injury of citizens of the foreign state in which property is situated. But a compulsory assignment by
force of statute is not of extra-territorial operation. Distribution of the effects of insolvent or bankrupt
debtors is to be made according to the law of the domicil, subject to the same qualifications.

Wharton: "Obligations, in respect to the mode of their solemnization, are subject to the rule locus regit
actum; in respect to their interpretation, to the lex loci contractus; in respect to the mode of their
performance, to the law of the place of their performance. But the lex fori determines when and how
such laws, when foreign, are to be adopted, and in all cases not specified above, supplies the
applicatory law.

Hunt: Matters bearing upon the execution, the interpretation, and the validity of a contract are
determined by the law of the place where the contract is made. Matters connected with its
performance are regulated by the law prevailing at the place of performance. Matters respecting the
remedy, such as the bringing of suits, admissibility of evidence, statutes of limitations, depend upon
the law of the place where the suit is brought.

Conflicts of Law - Robles - Transcribed by Marion Nerisse Kho

 THE WOMEN OF ALEITHEIA
Truth. Honor. Excellence.
Wharton: "A contract, so far as concerns its formal making, is to be determined by the place where it is
solemnized, unless the lex situs of the property disposed of otherwise requires; so far as concerns its
interpretation, by the law of the place where its terms are settled, unless the parties had the usages of
another place in view; so far as concerns its remedy, by the law of the place of suit; and so far as
concerns its performance, by the law of the place of performance.

Story: "As a general principle, the law of the place of making governs, but here is an exception where
the contract is to be elsewhere performed, and hence the law of the place of performance governs."

LEX
- A rule of law which magistrates and people had agreed upon by means of a solemn declaration of
consensus. It's two main meanings are said to be:
A written law
A stated or written condition or understanding proposed and accepted.
- In the later empire, which dates from the fourth century, there were two groups of the sources of the
law, JUS, i.e. the old tradition law, and LEGES which had sprung from imperial legislation.
- LEX is used in a purely juridical sense, LAW, and not also right; while JUS has an ethical as well as
a juridical meaning, not only law, but right. LEX is usually concrete, while JUS is abstract.

LEX FORI
- The law of the country to the tribunal of which appeal is made
- The local of territorial law of the country to which a court, wherein an action is brought, or other legal
proceeding is taken, belongs.
- The forms of remedies, modes of procedure, and execution of judgments are regulated solely and
exclusively by the laws of the place where the action is instituted.
- A cause of action arising in one state, under the common law as there understood, may be enforced
in another state where it would not constitute a cause of action, if the variance in these laws does
not amount to a fundamental difference of policy.
- The lex fori is to decide who are proper parties to a suit.
- The lex fori governs as to the nature, extent, and character of the remedy.
- Arrest and imprisonment may be allowed by the lex fori, though they are not by the lex loci
contractus.
- The forms of judgment and execution are to be determined by the lex fori.
- The lex fori decides as to deprivation of remedy in that jurisdiction.
- Where a debt is discharged by the law of the place of payment, such discharge will amount to a
discharge everywhere unless such discharge is held by courts of another jurisdiction to contravene
natural justice. It must be a discharge from the debt, and not an exemption from the effect of
particular means of enforcing the remedy.
- Statutes of limitation affect the remedy only, and hence the lex fori will be the governing law
- If a statute in force in the place where the cause of action arose extinguishes the obligation, and
does not merely bar the remedy, no action can be maintained in another jurisdiction after it has
taken effect
- The right of set-off is to be determined by the lex fori.
- Liens, implied hypothecations, and priorities of claims, generally are matters of remedy, but only, it
would seem, where the property affected is within the jurisdiction of the courts of the forum
- A prescriptive title to personal property, acquired in a former domicil, will be respected by the lex
fori .
- Questions of the admissibility and effect of evidence are to be determined by the lex fori, also
questions of costs. Exemption laws are ordinarily governed by the lex fori.
- The administration of a deceased persons movables is governed wholly by the law of the country
where the administrator acts and from which he derives his authority to collect them (lex fori),
Conflicts of Law - Robles - Transcribed by Marion Nerisse Kho
 THE WOMEN OF ALEITHEIA
Truth. Honor. Excellence.
without regard to the domicil of the deceased. But the distribution of the distributable residue is
governed by the lex domicilii. Usually, the distributable residue is remitted to the administration of
the domicil for distribution, but it is in the discretion of the court of the ancillary administrator to
distribute such residue.
- An action in tort for an act done in a foreign country will not lie in England unless the act was a tort
both in such foreign country and in England.
- In cases governed by the common law, the courts are, in general, freely open to all persons, as well
in actions between foreigners as where one party is a citizen.
- An action lies in one state on a wrong done in another state, which is actionable there, although it
would not be actionable in the state where suit is brought unless it be contrary to its own public
policy.

LEX LOCI
- This may be either be:
- Lex loci contractus (the law of the place of making a contract)
- Lex loci rei sitae or lex situs (the law of the place where a thing is situated)
- Lex loci actua or lex actus (the law of the place where a legal transaction took place)
- Lex loci celebrationis (the law of the place where a contract is made)
- Lex loci solutionis (the law of the place where a contract is to be performed)
- Lex loci delicti commissi (the law of the place where a tort is committed)
- In the older cases it is held that it is a general principle applying to contracts made, rights acquired,
or acts done relative to personal property, that the law of the place of making the contract, or doing
the act, is to govern it and determine its validity it invalidity, as well as the rights of parties under it,
in all matters touching the modes of execution and authentication of the form or instruments of
contract; and also in relation to the use of meaning of the language in which it is expressed, the
construction and interpretation of it, the legal duties and obligations imposed by it and the legal
rights and immunities acquired under it.
- The validity or invalidity of a contract as affected by the lex loci may depend upon the capacity of
the parties or the legality of the act to be done
- The capacity of the parties as affected by questions of minority or majority, incapacities incident to
coverture, guardianship, emancipation, and other personal qualities or disabilities, is to be
determined by the law of the place of making the contract
- The question of disability to make a contract on account of infancy is to be decided by the lex loci;
so also, as to contracts made by married women
- Personal disqualifications not arising from the law of nature, but from positive law, and especially
such as are penal, are strictly territorial, and are not to be enforced in any country other than that
where they originate
- Natural disabilities, such as insanity, imbecility, etc., are everywhere recognized, so that the
question whether they are controlled by the lex loci or lex domicilii seems to be theoretic rather than
practical. In principle there seems to be no good reason why they should come under a different
rule from the positive disabilities
- A contract legal by the lex loci will be so everywhere, unless it is injurious to public rights or morals;
or contravenes the policy, or violates a positive law of the lex fori. The application of the lex loci is a
matter of comity; and that law must, in all cases, yield to the positive law of the place of seeking the
remedy.
- It is held generally that the claims of citizens are to be preferred to those of foreigners.
Assignments, under the insolvency laws of a foreign state, are often held inoperative as against
claims of a citizen of the state, in regard to personal property in the jurisdiction of the lex fori
- The interpretation of contracts is to be governed by the law of the country where the contract was
made

Conflicts of Law - Robles - Transcribed by Marion Nerisse Kho

 THE WOMEN OF ALEITHEIA
Truth. Honor. Excellence.
- Th lex loci governs as to the formalities and authentication requisites to the valid execution of
contracts. But in proving the existence of and seeking remedies for the breach, as well as in all
questions relating to the competency of witnesses, course of procedure etc., the lex fori must
govern.
- The lex loci governs as to the obligation and construction of contracts; unless, from their tenor, it
must be presumed they were entered into with a view to the laws of some other state. This
presumption arises where the place of performance is different from the place of making.
- It has been held that a lien or privilege affecting personal estate, created by the lex loci, will
generally be enforced wherever the property may be found. But not necessarily in preference to
claims arising under the lex fori, when the property is within the jurisdiction of the court of the forum
- A transfer of movables made in the place of the owners domicil and in accordance with its laws will
be enforced by the courts of the place where the movables are situated, although the method of
transfer be different from that prescribed by the latter country; but not when the statutes of the place
where they are situated or the policy of its laws prescribe a different rule
- A discharge from the performance of a contract under the lex loci is a discharge everywhere
- A distinction is to be taken between discharging a contract and taking away the remedy for a breach
- Statutes of limitation ordinarily apply to the remedy, but do not discharge the debt
- If the contract is to be performed partly in one state and partly in another, it will be affected by the
law of both states
- In cases of indorsement of negotiable paper, every indorsement is a new contract, and the place of
each indorsement is in its locus contractus; the place of payment is the locus contractus, however,
as between indorsee and drawer; the place of acceptance of a draft is regarded as the locus
contractus.
- A note made in one state and payable in another, is not subject to the usury laws of the latter state,
if it was valid in that respect in the state where it was made
- The essential validity of a contract is governed by the proper law of the contract, which is the law,
or laws, by which the parties to a contract intended, or may fairly be presumed to have intended, the
contract to be governed. This may be the law of the place where the contract was made, or it may
be the place of performance. However, the contract must not be unlawful by the law of the country
where it is made; and its performance must not be unlawful by the law of the country where it is to
be performed; and it must not form part of a transaction which is unlawful by the laws of the country
where the transaction is to take place.
- The interpretation of a contract and the rights and obligations under it of the parties thereto, are to
be determined by the proper law of the contract. This law may be designated by the express
words of the contract, indicating the intention of the parties, which, in general, governs; or their
intention may be inferred from the terms and nature of the contract, and from the general
circumstances of the case. In the absence of counteracting considerations, the proper law of the
contract is, prima facie, presumed to be the law of the country where the contract is made;
especially when the contract is to be performed there, or may be performed anywhere, but it may
apply to a contract partly, or even wholly, to be performed in another country. Where the contract is
to be performed wholly or partly in another country, the proper law of the contract, especially as to
the mode of performance is to take place. These presumptions are said to be grounded on the
probable intention of the parties.
- It is said that the failure to comply with local requirement as to forum, not affecting the obligation of
the agreement, will not invalidate the contract.
- A contract valid by the laws of the place where made, although not in writing, will not be enforced in
the courts of a country where the Statute of Frauds prevails. But where the law of the forum and
that of the execution of the contract coincide, it will be enforced, although required to be in writing
by the law of the place of performance, because the form of the contract is regulated by the law of
the place of its celebration, and the evidence of it by that of the forum.

Conflicts of Law - Robles - Transcribed by Marion Nerisse Kho

 THE WOMEN OF ALEITHEIA
Truth. Honor. Excellence.
- The validity of a contract cannot be secured by apparently subjecting it to a law by which it is not
properly governed.
- The general rule is that a defence or discharge, good by the law of the place where the contract is
made or is to be performed, is to be held of equal validity in every place where the question may
come to be litigated.
- Damages for the commission of a tortious act are to be measured by the law of the place where the
act is done. An action for a tort committed in a foreign country will lie only when it is based upon an
act which will be considered as tortious both in the place where committed and in the locus fori; in
such case the law of the place where the tort was committed governs.

LEX REI SITAE

- The law of the country where a thing is situated.
- It is the universal rule of the common law that any title or interest in land, or in other real estate, can
only be acquired or lost agreeably to the law of the place where the same is situated and the law is
the same in this respect in regard to all methods whatever of transfer, and every restraint upon
alienation.
- The lex rei sitae governs as to the capacity of the parties to any alienation, whether testamentary or
inter vivos, or to make a contract with regard to a movable, or to acquire or succeed to a movable as
affected by questions of minority or majority; of rights arising from the relation of husband and wife;
parent and child, and guardian and ward; and of the rights and powers of executors and
administrators, whether the property be real or personal; and of devisee or devisor.
- So as to forms and sole notices of alienation, and the restrictions, if any, imposed upon such
alienation, the lex rei sitae must be complied with, whether it be a transfer by devise; so as to the
amount of property or extent which can be acquired, held, or transferred; and the question of what is
real property. The law of a country where a thing is situated determines whether the thing itself, or
any right, obligation, or document connected with the thing is to be considered an immovable or a
movable; and, generally, the lex rei sitae governs as to the validity io any such transfer.
- The validity, construction, and effect of wills of movables depend upon the lex rei sitae; but the law
of the state where the will was made may be considered by the court if the situs in determining the
meaning of certain words in it. The validity of a charitable devise, and a diction for accumulation
depend upon the lex rei sitae, and so does the execution of a power of appointment of lands under
a will, and the devolution of land, whether in case of intestacy or under a will.
- The acquisition of a title to land by lapse of time (prescription) must be determined by the same law,
except so far as the limitation to an action to recover land depends on the lex fori.
- As to whether mere contracts with regard to immovables or land are determined by the lex rei sitae,
as to their material validity, or by the "proper law of the contract", is said to be doubtful; but the
capacity of the parties ghetto and the formalities necessary to the validity of such a contract are,
almost certainly, governed by the law of the situs.
- A contract for the conveyance of land, valid by the lex fori, will be enforced in equity by a decree in
personam for a conveyance valid under the lex rei sitae.
- In executory foreign contract for the conveyance of lands not repugnant to the lex rei sitae will be
enforced in the courts of the latter country by personal process.
- Courts of the situs may refuse to enforce foreign assignments for creditors as against domestic
creditors.
- All simple contract debts are assets at the domicil of the testator.

FOREIGN JUDGMENT
- A judgment of a foreign tribunal
- It is a general rule that foreign judgments are admitted as conclusive evidence of all matters directly
involved in the case decided, where the same question is brought up incidentally

Conflicts of Law - Robles - Transcribed by Marion Nerisse Kho

 THE WOMEN OF ALEITHEIA
Truth. Honor. Excellence.
- Such judgments and decrees in rem, whether relating to immovable property or movables within the
jurisdiction of the foreign court, are binding everywhere.
- It seems to be the better opinion that judgments in personam regular on its face, which are sought
to be enforced in another country, are conclusive evidence, subject to a re-examination, in the
courts where the new action is brought, only for irregularity, fraud, or lack of jurisdiction as to the
cause or parties.
- Judge Redfield: So that now it may be regarded as fully established in England, that the contract
resulting from a foreign judgment is equally conclusive, in its force and operation, with that implied
by any domestic judgment. But there is still a very essential and important distinction between the
two. Domestic judgment rest upon the conclusive force of the record, which is absolutely
unimpeachable. Foreign judgments are mere matters in pais, to be proved the same as an
arbitration and award, or an account stated; to be established as a matter of fact; and by
consequence subject to any contradiction or impeachment which might be urged against any other
matter resting upon oral proof. Hence, any fraud which entered into the concoction of the judgment
itself is proper to be adduced, as an answer to the same; but no fraud which occurred and was
known to the opposite party, before the rendition of such foreign judgment, and which might
therefore, have been brought to the notice of the foreign court, can be urged in defense of it. It is
proper to add, that while the English courts thus recognize the general force and validity of foreign
judgments, it has been done under such limitation and qualifications that great latitude still remains
for breaking the force of, and virtually disregarding such foreign judgments as proceed upon an
obvious misapprehension of the principles governing the case; or where they are produced by
partiality or favoritism, or corruption, or where upon their face they appear to be at variance with the
instinctive principles of universal justice. But there are rare exceptions.
- Two doctrines have been discussed as the basis of the conclusive effect given to a foreign
judgment. The earlier theory was that of comity. The other theory, termed that of obligation, is that
when a competent court has adjudicated a certain sum to be due, a legal obligation arises to pay
that sum, and an action of debt to enforce the judgment may be sustained.
- Theory of obligation and comity: a legal obligation arises in the state where the judgment was
rendered, accompanied by a correlative sanction under which the obligation may be made effective
so long as the defendant is written the jurisdiction of the foreign court; but when, by his absence
from that jurisdiction, the remedy is no longer available, the obligation will, in another state or
country, be clothed by comity with an auxiliary sanction to replace the correlative sanction which it
has lost.
- Foreign judgments may be evidenced by exemplifications certified under the great seal of the state
or country where the judgment is recorded, or under the seal of the court where the judgment
remains; by a copy proved to be a true copy, or by the certificate of an officer authorized by law,
which certificate must itself be properly authenticated.
- The record of a judgment of a foreign court, not of record and of inferior territorial jurisdiction, is not
admissible in evidence, in the absence of proof of facts showing that the court had jurisdiction.
- Not only must the foreign court have had jurisdiction of the person, but it must appear that the
judgment there rendered was responsive to the issues tendered by the pleadings; so held where
the defendant had appeared and answered, but took no part in the trial; bit of the party was present
at the trial, it will be presumed that necessary amendments to conform the pleadings to the
evidence were made.
- Where the court had jurisdiction of the parties and of the subject-matter, fraud in obtaining the
judgment may be set up as a defense; it must be fraud in procuring the judgment, or it will constitute
a ground of collateral attack.
- Proceedings will lie in equity to enjoin the enforcement of a judgment obtained by fraud in a foreign
state.
- If the court of the foreign state had jurisdiction over the parties, its judgment cannot be impeached,
even if it went upon a misapprehension of its own law.
Conflicts of Law - Robles - Transcribed by Marion Nerisse Kho
 THE WOMEN OF ALEITHEIA
Truth. Honor. Excellence.
- The judgment must be given the same faith and credit as is given to domestic judgments. If a
judgment or decree is enforceable in the state where it is rendered, it is enforceable in any other
state.

MARRIAGE
- Dr. Wharton fives 3 distinct theories as to the law which is to determine the question of matrimonial
capacity
It is determined by the law of the place of solemnization of the marriage
It is determined by the lex domicilii
Matrimonial capacity is a distinctive national policy, as to which judges are obliged to enforce the
values of the State of which they are the officers
- According to Savigny, all questions of capacity are to be determined by the husbands domicil,
which, as true seat of the marriage absorbs that of the wife. It has been conceded that the law of
domicil does not extend to the direction of the ceremonial part of the marriage rite, and that the lex
domicilii is the law of the country in which the parties are domiciled at the time of the marriage, and
in which their matrimonial residence is contemplated
- At common law, no particular form of words or ceremony was necessary. Mutual assent to the
relation of husband and wife was sufficient. Any words importing a present assent to being married
to each other were sufficient evidence of the contract.
- Consent alone was all that was necessary to make a marriage valid. The presence of a clergyman
was not essential.

DIVORCE
- Numerous and difficult questions are constantly arising in regard to the validity in one state of
divorces granted by the courts or legislature of another state. The following propositions stand out:
The tribunals of a country have no jurisdiction over a cause of divorce, wherever the offense may
have occurred, if neither of the parties has an actual bona fide domicil within its territory
To entitle the court to take jurisdiction, it is sufficient for one of the parties to be domiciled in the
country; both need not be, neither need the citation, when the domiciled party is plaintiff, be
served personally on the defendant, if such personal service cannot be made, but there should be
reasonable constructive notice, at least.
The place where the offense was committed, whether in the country in which the suit is brought or
a foreign country, is immaterial.
The domicil of the parties at the time of the offense committed is of no consequence, the
jurisdiction depending on their domicil when the proceeding is instituted and the judgment is
rendered.
It is immaterial to this question of jurisdiction in what country or under what system of divorce
laws the marriage was celebrated.
Without a citation within the reach of process, or an appearance, the jurisdiction extends only to
the status and what depends directly thereon, and not to collateral rights
- When both husband and wife are domiciled in the state where the divorce is granted, the decree of
divorce is without doubt valid everywhere.
- If the court making the decree had jurisdiction, it will be held conclusive in other states; and
jurisdiction will be presumed, unless want of it appears upon the record, or it may be shown as
against the record.
- There has been much difference of opinion as to the extra-territorial effect of constructive service by
publication as between states. If both parties are domiciled within the state, the decree is of force in
another states. But if only one, the decree determined his or her status. Where the custody of
children is involved it is held that constructive service of summons cannot give jurisdiction where
defendant and the children are out of state and do not appear

Conflicts of Law - Robles - Transcribed by Marion Nerisse Kho

 THE WOMEN OF ALEITHEIA
Truth. Honor. Excellence.
NULLITY OF MARRIAGE
- A suit for nullity is usually prosecuted in the same court, and is governed by substantially the same
principles as a suit for divorce
- In its consequences, a sentence of nullity differs materially from a divorce. The latter assumes the
original validity of the marriage, and its operation is entirely prospective. The former renders the
marriage void from the beginning, and nullifies all its legal results. The parties are to be regarded
legally as if no marriage had ever taken place: they are single persons, if before they were single;
their issues are illegitimate; and their rights of property as between themselves are to be viewed as
having never been operated upon by the marriage. Thus the man loses all rights to the property,
whether real or personal, which belongs to the woman; and the woman loses her right to dower
- The jurisdiction where the ceremony was performed creates the marriage and alone cane annul it.

SEPARATION
- A cessation of cohabitation of husband and wife by mutual agreement
- Reconciliation after separation supersedes special articles of separation, in courts of law and equity
- Articles of separation are no bar to proceedings for divorce for subsequent cause
- The consequences of a judicial separation are frequently modified by statute
- The legal consequences of separation from bed and board are much less extensive than those of a
divorce a vinculo matrimonii or a sentence of nullity. Such a separation works no change in the
relation of the parties either to each other or to third persons, except in authorizing them to live apart
until they mutually come together. In coming together, no new marriage is required; neither, it
seems, under the general law, are any new proceedings in court necessary; but the reconciliation, of
its own force, annuls the sentence of separation.
- Nor does such a separation, at common law and without statutory aid, change the relation of the
parties as to property. Thus, it neither takes away the right of the wife to dower, nor the right of the
husband to the wifes real estate, either during her life or after her death, as tenant by the curtesy;
neither does it affect the husbands right in a court of law to reduce into possession the choses in
action of the wife.

WILLS
- Succession of Gaines
- The probate of a will has no effect out of the jurisdiction of the court before which probate is made,
either as to persons or property in a foreign jurisdiction
- In regard to the probate of wills passing realty, the lex rei sitae governs; personalty is controlled by
the lex domicilii
- Letters of testamentary or of administration confer no power beyond the limits of the state in which
they are granted, and do not authorize the person to whom they are issued to maintain any suit in
any other state. The executor or administrator has therefore, as such, no right of control over
property in another state or country
- The principle is, that a grant of power to administer the estate of a decedent operates only as of
right within the jurisdiction which grants the letters, and in order that a foreign representative may
exercise any such function he must be clothed with authority from the jurisdiction into which he
comes, and conform to the requirements imposed by local law
- When any surplus remains in the hands of a foreign or ancillary appointee after the discharge of all
debts in that jurisdiction, it is usually, as a matter of country, ordered to be paid over to the
domiciliary appointee; and in his hands becomes applicable to debts, legacies and expenses
- The term foreign as applied to executors and administrators refers to the jurisdiction from which
their authority is derived and not residence
- The principal administrator is to act in the intestates domicil, and the ancillary is to collect claims
and pay debts in the foreign jurisdiction and pay over the surplus to be his principal

Conflicts of Law - Robles - Transcribed by Marion Nerisse Kho

 THE WOMEN OF ALEITHEIA
Truth. Honor. Excellence.
- For the purpose of administration, the situs of a debt is the domicil of the debtor and not the place
where the evidence of the debt is located. The situs, as property, of corporate stock owned by a
non-resident decedent is within the country where the corporate property is or where the corporation
has its principal place of business
- In view of the rule of the civil law, that personalia sequuntur personam, certain effect has been
given by the comity of nations to a foreign probate granted at the place of the domicil of the
deceased, in respect to the personal assets in other states. At common law, the lex loci rei sitae
governs as to real estate, and the foreign probate has no validity; but as to personalty the law of the
domicil governs both as to testacy and intestacy. It is customary, therefore, on a due exemplification
of the probate granted at the place of domicil, to admit the will to probate, and issue letters
testamentary, without requiring original or further proof.
- A foreign probate at the place of domicil has in itself no force or effect beyond the jurisdiction in
which it was granted, bit on its production fresh probate will be granted thereon in all other
jurisdictions where assets are found. This is the general rule, but is liable to be varied by the statute.
- The general rule in England and the USA is that letters granted in one jurisdiction, gives no authority
to sue or be sued in another jurisdiction, though they may be ground for probate authority
- When persons are domiciled and die in one country as A, and have personal property in another as
B, the authority must be had in B, but exercised according to the laws of A
- There is no legal privity between administrators in different states; nor between executors of a will in
one state and administrators c.t.a. in another

PROBATE
- The probate is conclusive of its validity, and a will cannot be used in evidence until proved
- The proof of the will is a judicial proceeding, and the probate a judicial act. The party propounding
the instrument is termed the proponent, and the party disputing, the contestant. In England, proof ex
parte was called probate in common form, and proof on notice to the next of kin, proof in solemn
form. In the USA, generally speaking, proofs are not taken until citation or notice has been issued by
the judge to all the parties interested to attend. On the return of the citation, the witnesses are
examined, and the trial proceeds before the court. If the judge, when both parties have been heard,
decides in favor of the will, he admits it to probate; if against the will, he rejects it.
- More than one instrument may be proved; and where the contents of two or more instruments are
not wholly inconsistent with each other, they may all be admitted as together constituting the last will
and testament of the deceased
- On the probate, the alleged will may be contested on any ground tending to impeach its validity; as,
that it was not executed in due form of law and according to the requisite statutory solemnities; that
it was forged, or was revoked, or was procured by force, fraud, misrepresentation, or undue
influence over a weak mind, or that the testator was incompetent by reason of idiocy or lunacy
- The probate of a will has no effect out of the jurisdiction of the court before which probate is made,
either as to persons or property in a foreign jurisdiction
- In regard to the probate of wills passing realty, the lex rei sitae governs; personalty is controlled by
the lex domicilii;
- While the probate of a will settles the question of due execution, it does not establish validity, or
determine its force and effect upon titles to real estate claimed under it.
- The proof of a will of personal property must always be made in the probate court. But in England,
the probate of the will is not evidence in regard to real estate.

FOREIGN CORPORATION
- A corporation can have no legal existence out of the boundaries of the sovereign by which it is
created. It exists only in contemplation of law, and by force of the law, and where that law ceases to
operate, and is no longer obligatory, the corporation can have no existence. It must dwell in the
place of its creation, and cannot migrate to another sovereignty. It may contract in other states
Conflicts of Law - Robles - Transcribed by Marion Nerisse Kho
 THE WOMEN OF ALEITHEIA
Truth. Honor. Excellence.
within the scope of its own powers and subject to the laws of the lex loci contractus or the lex loci
solutionis, as the case may be, as natural persons may contract where they do not reside. Unless
expressly forbidden to do so a corporation may acquire rights of contract and property in a foreign
jurisdiction. Private corporations will be permitted to transact in other states the business authorized
by the state of their creation, subject to any limitations imposed by express legislation, or to the laws
and policy of the state in which it dies business.
- Every power, however, which a corporation exercises in another state, depends for its validity upon
the laws of the sovereignty in which it is exercised, and a corporation can make no valid contract
without their sanction, express or implied. Any other exercise of power by it rests absolutely upon
the doctrine of comity; and is subject to the laws and regulations, process and remedial jurisdiction
of the state of business or temporary domicil. This comity stops short of permission to exercise any
powers in excess either of the powers of domestic corporations of the same class, or of the powers
authorized by its own charter.
- Whatever limitations a state statute may impose upon a foreign corporations liability of contracting,
whatever its discriminations, they become conditions of the permission to do business in the state
and such conditions were accepted with the permit.
- Foreign corporations are sometimes by the legislation of a state made domestic corporations for
certain purposes, as for jurisdiction. A state may impose such terms for the admission of foreign
corporation as it may deem best; or may exclude them, and this power extends to a single one
already within its jurisdiction, if the act does not deprive it of property without due process of law,
and the mere right to extend its business into a state is not property in this sense. The right of a
state to prevent foreign corporations from continuing to do business within its borders is a
correlative of the right to exclude them therefrom, and as this power is plenary, the state, so long as
no contract is impaired, may exercise it in consideration of acts done in another jurisdiction.
- In all cases involving the right of foreign corporations to hold lands, the lex rei sitae governs
- Whenever a foreign corporation has the power to make a contract in a state or country it may
enforce it or recover damages for a breach in like manner as persons may do in like case
- It is a principle long and well settled that, unless prohibited by local statutory law, a corporation of
one state may sue in another by its corporate title.
- In suits against foreign corporations the question of jurisdiction is of first importance, and it is the
general rule that a corporation, like a natural person, cannot be sued in personam in a state within
whose limits it has ever been found. This conclusion springs naturally from the principle that a
corporation being the creation of local law, can have no legal existence beyond the limit of the
sovereignty where created. But this rule is subject to exceptions growing out of the theory that,
under certain circumstances such corporations will be held in law to have acquired a domicil within a
state, at least so far as to subject them to suit.
- Corporations may acquire business domicils in other states and countries, and, wherever they do
so, they may be sued without the aid of local statute law.
- A state court may take possession of the assets of an insolvent foreign corporation within its limits
and distribute them or their proceeds among creditors, but it cannot discriminate in favor of its own
creditors against citizens of other states.

FOREIGN LAW
- The courts do not take judicial notice of foreign laws; and they must, therefore, be proved as matters
of fact, and pleaded;
- Written laws may be proved by the text, or a collection printed by authority, or a copy certified by a
proper officer, or, in their absence, perhaps, by the opinion of experts as secondary evidence; they
may be construed with the aid of text book as well as of experts; where experts are called, the
sanction of an oath is required.
- A copy of the authorized statute book is recognized as proof of a foreign law and the construction of
those statutes may be proved either by the reports of cases or by one familiar therewith.
Conflicts of Law - Robles - Transcribed by Marion Nerisse Kho
 THE WOMEN OF ALEITHEIA
Truth. Honor. Excellence.
- In the absence of proof as to what the law of a foreign state or country is, the court, when it takes
judicial notice that the foreign state has fundamentally the same system of law as that of the forum,
will presume that the law of the foreign state is the same (exclusive of statutory changes) as that of
the law of the forum
- There are cases in which the law of the forum, even though statutory, is always applied in the
absence of proof of the foreign law
- Foreign unwritten laws, customs, and usages may be proved, and are ordinarily proved by parol
evidence; and when such evidence is objected to on the ground that the law in question is a written
law, the party objecting must show that fact
- The manner of proof varies according to circumstances. As a general rule, the best testimony or
proof is recognized; for no proof will be received which presupposes better testimony attributable by
the party who offers it. When the best testimony cannot be obtained, secondary evidence will be
received.
- A foreign law must be proved like any other fact, and in the absence of such proof it will be
presumed that the common law prevails in the foreign jurisdiction
- Exemplified or sworn copies of written laws and other public documents must, as a general thing, be
produced when they can be procured; but should they be refused by the competent authorities, then
inferior proof may be admitted
- When our own government has promulgated a foreign law or ordinance of a public nature as
authentic, that is held sufficient evidence of its existence
- The usual modes of authenticating them are by an exemplification under the great seal of a state, or
by a copy proved by oath to be true copy, or by a certificate of an officer authorized by law, which
must itself be duly authenticated.
- Proof of an unwritten law is usually made by the testimony of witnesses learned in the law and
competent to state it correctly under oath.
- The public seal of a foreign sovereign or state affixed to a writing purporting to be a written edict, or
law, or judgment, is of itself the highest evidence, and no further proof is required of such public seal
- But the seal of a foreign court is not, in general, evidence without further proof, and must, therefore,
be established by competent testimony
- Foreign laws have, as such, no extra-territorial force, but have an effect by comity. In the absence of
pleading and proof to the contrary, the laws of another state are presumed to be like those of the
state in which the action is brought
- While a state court is bound to take judicial cognizance of the principles of common law as it
prevails in other states, this is not true of the statutes of such states
- The effect of foreign laws when proved is properly referable to the court; the object of the proof of
foreign laws is to enable the court to instruct the jury what is, in point of law, the result from foreign
laws to be applied to the matters in controversy before them. The court are, therefore, to decide
what is the proper evidence of the laws of a country; and when evidence is given of those laws the
courts are to judge of their applicability to the matter in issue

NOTES ON PHILIPPINE CASES

- Under the principle of comity, our jurisdiction recognizes a valid divorce obtained by a spouse of
foreign nationality provided it is valid according to his/her national law (Vda. de Catalan v Catalan-
Lee, 665 SCRA 487)
- Sec. 45 of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 2004 provides that the opposing party in an
application for recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award may raise only those grounds that
were enumerated under Article V of the New York Convention
- A foreign corporations capacity to sue in the Philippines is not material insofar as the recognition
and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award is concerned.
- The starting point in any recognition of a foreign divorce judgment is the acknowledgement that our
courts do not take judicial notice of foreign judgments and laws the foreign judgment and its
Conflicts of Law - Robles - Transcribed by Marion Nerisse Kho
 THE WOMEN OF ALEITHEIA
Truth. Honor. Excellence.
authenticity must be proven as fact under our rules on evidence, together with the aliens applicable
national law to show the effect of the judgment on the alien himself or herself.
- In the judicial resolution of conflicts problems, three consecutive phases are involved: jurisdiction,
choice of law, and recognition and enforcement of judgments (Hasegawa vs. Kitamura, 538 SCRA
261)
- Jurisdiction and choice of law are two distinct concepts jurisdiction considers whether it is fair to
cause a defendant to travel to this state, choice of law asks the further question whether the
application of a substantive law which will determine the merits of the case is fair to both parties
the power to exercise jurisdiction does not automatically give a state constitutional authority to apply
forum law
- It should be noted that when a conflicts case, one involving a foreign element, is brought before a
court or administrative agency, there are 3 alternatives open to the latter in disposing it:
(1) dismiss the case, either for lack of jurisdiction or refusal to assume jurisdiction over the case;
(2) assume jurisdiction over the case and apply the internal law of the forum;
(3) assume jurisdiction over the case and take into account or apply the law of some other state
or states.
- It is recognized in Philippine jurisprudence and international law that a foreign judgment may be
barred from recognition if it runs counter to public policy.
- In the absence of any allegation and evidence presented of the specific rules and laws governing
the constitution of a pledge in Switzerland, they will be presumed to be the same as local or
domestic laws this is known as processual presumption
- As a general rule, unlicensed foreign non-resident corporations cannot file suits in the Philippines
a corporation has legal status only within the state or territory in which it was organized (European
Resources vs. Ingebieuburo 435 SCA 246)
- It is not the absence of prescribed license but the doing of business in the Philippines without such
license which debars the foreign corporation from access to Philippine courts.
- The term doing or transacting business in the Philippines implies a continuity of commercial
dealings and arrangements, and contemplates, to that extent, the performance of acts or works or
the exercise of some of the functions normally incident to, and in progressive prosecution of the
purpose and object for which the corporation was organized.
- A view subscribed upon by many authorities is that the mere membership by a foreign corporation of
a property in a certain state, unaccompanied by its active use in furtherance of the business for
which it was formed, is insufficient in itself to constitute doing business. A foreign corporation which
becomes the assignee of mining properties, facilities and equipment cannot be automatically
considered as doing business, nor presumed to have the intention of engaging in mining or
business
- Even when the foreign judgment is based on the drafts prepared by counsel for the successful party,
such is not per se indicative of collusion or fraud. Fraud to hinder the enforcement within the
jurisdiction of a foreign judgment must be extrinsic.
- The recognition to be accorded a foreign judgment is not necessarily affected by the fact that the
procedure in the courts of the country in which such judgment was rendered differs from that of the
courts of the country in which the judgment is relied on matters of remedy and procedure such as
those relating to the service of summons or court process upon the defendant, the authority of
counsels to appear and represent a defendant and the formal requirements in a decision are
governed by the lex fori of the internal law of the forum.
- Where under the procedural rules of another state a valid judgment may be rendered even without
stating in the judgment every fact and law upon which the judgment is based, then the same must
be accorded respect and the courts in this jurisdiction cannot invalidate the judgment of the foreign
court simply because our rules provide otherwise.

Conflicts of Law - Robles - Transcribed by Marion Nerisse Kho

 THE WOMEN OF ALEITHEIA
Truth. Honor. Excellence.
- It is not for the party seeking the enforcement of a foreign judgment to prove the validity of the same
but for the opposing party to demonstrate the alleged invalidity of such foreign judgment, otherwise
a contrary rule would render meaningless the presumptions of validity accorded a foreign judgment
- Before a foreign divorce decree can be recognized, the party pleading it must prove the divorce as a
fact and demonstrate its conformity to the foreign law allowing it
- A divorce decree does not raise a disputable presumption or presumptive evidence as to the civil
status of the person presenting it where no proof has been presented on the legal effects of the
divorce decree obtained under the foreign law
- As a general rule, unlicensed foreign non-resident corporations doing business here cannot file suits
in the Philippines. After contracting with a foreign corporation, a domestic firm is estopped from
denying the formers capacity to sue.
- There is a principle of international comity that a court of another jurisdiction should refrain, as a
matter of propriety and fairness, from so assuming the power of passing judgment on the
correctness of the application of law and the evaluation of the facts of the judgment issued by
another tribunal
- The doctrine of lack of capacity to sue on failure to acquire a local license was never intended to
favor domestic corporations who enter into solitary transactions with unwary foreign firms and then
repudiate their obligations simply because the latter are not licensed to do business in this country.
- A foreign corporation may be exempted from the license requirement in order to institute an action in
our courts if its representative in the country maintained an independent status during the existence
of the disputed contract.
- Proof that wills executed abroad conform with the formalities prescribed by laws in foreign
jurisdiction or by Philippine law is imperative. Evidence necessary for the reprobate or allowance of
wills which have been probated outside the Philippines are as follows:
(1) the due execution of the will in accordance with the foreign laws;
(2) the testator has his domicile in the foreign country and not in the Philippines;
(3) the will has been admitted to probate in such country;
(4) the fact that the foreign tribunal is a probate court; and
(5) the laws of a foreign country on procedure and allowance of wills
- The right of a foreign sovereign to acquire property, real or personal, in a receiving state, necessary
for the creation and maintenance of its diplomatic mission, is recognized in the 1961 Vienna
Convention on Diplomatic Relations
- As a general rule, a foreign procedural law will not be applied in the forum (Cadalin v POEA, 238
SCRA 721)
- The courts of the forum will not enforce any foreign claim obnoxious to the forums public policy
- Philippine laws and regulations cannot be rendered illusory by the parties agreeing on some other
laws to govern their relationship (MRDC v NLRC, 213 SCRA 296)

Conflicts of Law - Robles - Transcribed by Marion Nerisse Kho