Bar Q and A #1

1.
a. If the testator who is a Filipino citizen executes his will in the Philippines, Philippine law will govern the formalities.
b. If said Filipino testator executes his will in another country, the law of the country where he may be, or Philippine law will govern the formalities. (Article 815, Civil Code)

2.
a. If the testator is a foreigner residing in the Philippines and he executes his will in the Philippines, the law of the country of which he is a citizen or Philippine law will govern the formalities.
b. If the testator is a foreigner and executes his will in a foreign country, the law of his place of residence or the law of the country of which he is a citizen or the law of the place of execution, or Philippine law will govern the formalities. (Articles 17, 816, 817, Civil Code)

A. Labor Legislations are generally intended as expressions of public policy on employer- employee relations. The contract, therefore, between JAL and Maritess may apply only to the extent that its provisions are not inconsistent with Philippine labor laws intended particularly to protect employees.

Under the circumstances, the dismissal of Maritess without complying with Philippine Labor law would be invalid and any stipulation in the contract to the contrary is considered void. Since the law of the forum in this case is the Philippine law, the issues should be resolved in accordance with Philippine law.

B. The third paragraph of Art. 17 of the Civil Code provides that:

“Prohibitive laws concerning persons, their acts or property, and those which have for their object public order, public policy and good customs shall not be rendered ineffective by laws or judgments promulgated, or by determinations or conventions agreed upon in a foreign country.”

Accordingly, a state’s own conflict of laws rule may, exceptionally be inapplicable, given public policy considerations by the law of the forum.

Going into the specific provisions of the contract in question, I would rule as follows:

1. The duration of the contract is not opposed to Philippine law and it can therefore be valid as stipulated;
2. The second provision to the effect that notwithstanding duration, JAL may terminate her employment is invalid being inconsistent with our Labor laws;
3. That the contract shall be construed as governed under and by the laws of Japan and only the courts of Tokyo, Japan shall have jurisdiction, is invalid as clearly opposed to the forecited third paragraph of Arts. 17 and 1700 of the Civil Code which provides:

“Art. 1700. The relations between capital and labor are not merely merely contractual. They are so impressed with public interest that labor contracts must yield to the common good. Therefore, such contracts are subject to the special laws on labor unions, collective bargaining, strikes and lockouts, closed shop, wages, working conditions, hours of labor and similar subjects.”

a. The validity of the contract will be governed by Australian law, because the validity refers to the element of the making of the contract in this case.

b. The performance will be governed by the law of the Philippines where the contract is to be performed.

c. The consideration will be governed by the law of the United States where the ranch is located.

Yes, under Articles 815 and 17 of the Civil Code, the formality of the execution of a will is governed by the law of the place of execution. If the will was executed with the formalities prescribed by the laws of Kuwait and valid there as such, the will is valid and may be probated in the Philippines.

  1. The property is situated in the Philippines, Philippine law The rule of lex rei sitae in Art. 16 prevails over lex loci contractus in Art. 17 of the NCC.

  2. Japanese law governs the capacity of the Japanese to sell the land being his personal law on the basis of an interpretation of 15, NCC.

  3. Philippine law governs the capacity of the Filipino to buy the In addition to the principle of lex rei sitae given above, Article 15 of the NCC specifically provides that Philippine laws relating to legal capacity of persons are binding upon citizens of the Philippine no matter where they are.

Vanessa can recover damages under Philippine law for breach of contract of carriage. Philippine law should govern as the law of the place where the plane tickets were bought and the contract of carriage was executed. In Zalamea v. Court of Appeals (GR No. 104235, Nov. 10, 1993), the Supreme Court applied Philippine law in recovery of damages for breach of contract of carriage for the reason that it is the law of the place where the contract was executed.

  1. The national law of the decedent (French law) shall govern in determining who will succeed to his The legal basis is Art. 16 par. 2,NCC.

  2. The distribution of the real properties in the Philippines shall be governed by French The legal basis is Art. 16, NCC.

  3. The distribution of the personal properties in Germany shall be governed by French The legal basis is Art. 16, NCC.

a. Yes. In relation to Art. 15 of the Civil Code, Conflict of Laws provides that the recognition of an absolute divorce granted in another State rests on the citizenship of the parties at the time the divorce was granted. (Paras, Phil. Conflict of Laws, p.
259) Applied in this case, the divorce decree issued to Clara and Mario will be recognized as valid here considering that at the time the foreign decree was granted, both Clara and Mario are citizens of the USA, a country which grants/allows absolute divorce. Since the marriage between Mario and Clara has been validly terminated, Mario and Juana can freely marry each other.

b. No. The renvoi doctrine is relevant in cases where one country applies the domiciliary theory and the other the nationality theory, and the issue involved is which of the laws of the two countries should apply to determine the order of succession, the amount of successional rights, or, the intrinsic validity of testamentary provisions. Such issue is not involved in this case.