CONTRACTS

Art. 1306 NCC. The contracting parties may establish such stipulations, clauses, terms and
conditions as they may deem convenient, provided they are not contrary to law, morals, good
customs, public order or public policy. (The Principle of Party Autonomy of Contracts)

Art. 15 NCC. Laws relating to family rights and duties, or to the status, conditions and legal
capacity of persons are binding upon citizens of the Philippines, even though living abroad.

Choice of law stipulations

If the parties do not specify the extent of the applicability of their chosen law, the chosen law will
normally apply to the following concerns: IRP-VV-BP
 Interpretation;
 Rights and obligations arising from the contract;
 Performance and the consequences of non-performance, including the assessment of
damages;
 Various ways of extinguishing obligations, and prescription and limitation periods;
 Validity and consequences of invalidity of the contract;
 Burden of proof and legal presumptions; and
 Pre-contractual obligations.

Waiver of Renvoi – to prevent complications, parties may even waive the application of renvoi
in the same is provided for by a foreign law. It simply means that rules of private international
law will find no application once a foreign law is chosen by the parties.

APPROACHES TO CONTRACTUAL CONFLICT OF LAWS

1. Lex loci contractus or the law of the place where the contract is executed.
Reason: The parties’ mindsets are usually focused on the law of the place of execution
when they enter into contracts. The law of the place of execution is the default law based
on the presumption that the parties would have specified a particular law if they did not
want the local law to govern their contractual relationship.

NOTE: Philippines follows lex loxi contractus.

2. Lex loci celebrationis or the law of place where the contract is performed or celebrated.
Reason: Since the contract is to be performed in a particular place or state, it is proper
that the law of the state govern the relationship of the parties. It is but natural that the
law of the place of performance governs contractual disputes since parties to a contract
are expected to follow and comply with the laws where they are operating performing their
obligations.

3. State of the most significant relationship rule or law of the place with the most
connection to the dispute.
Reason: This is basically a matter of convenience and practicality as it seeks to apply the
law of the place that has the most connecting factors to the contract. Hence, the easier it
will be to determine the rights and obligations of the parties to the contract.

Connecting factors to be considered: CNP-LD

 Place of contracting
 Place of negotiation of the contract
 Place of performance
 Location of the subject matter of the contract
 Domicile, residence, nationality, place of incorporation and place of business of
the parties.

Depecage – refers to the process whereby different issues in a single case arising out of a single
set of facts may be decided according to the laws of different states. It is also the process when
procedural matters were held to be governed by forum law and substantive questions by some
other law, even when matters characterized as procedural had substantial outcome-
determinative effect.

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 TORTS AND DAMAGES

Art. 2176 NCC. Whoever by acts or omissions causes damages to another, there being no
fault or negligence, is obliged to pay for the damage done.

ELEMENTS OF QUASI-DELICT: D-F-C-N

1. Damages suffered by the plaintiff;
2. Fault or negligence of the defendant or some other person to whose act he must respond;
3. Connection of cause and effect between the fault or negligence and the damages incurred;
4. No preexisting contractual relation between the parties

Negligence – omission of that diligence which is required by the nature of the obligation and
corresponds with the circumstances of the persons, of the time and of the place.

APPROACHES TO CONFLICT’S TORTS

1. Lex loci delicti or the vested rights doctrine
It employs the law of the place of injury. This is fairly straightforward since what only
needs to be done is the application of the law of the place where the injury or damage
was sustained. This is based on the vested rights theory since the rights of the parties
vested in the place of injury and nowhere else. Furthermore, the state where the injury
was sustained has a much interest in redressing the wrongs committed within its
jurisdiction.

2. Governmental interest analysis approach

It involves an examination whether there is a difference in the law of the jurisdictions
involved, whether there is a true conflict of law, and if a true conflict of law exists, the
court will apply the law of the state whose interests is more impaired.

3. Choice-influencing considerations approach

It requires an examination of several factors to determine the applicable law. These
factors are: PMS-AA
a. Predictability of result
b. Maintenance of the interstate and international order
c. Simplification of the judicial task
d. Advancement of the forum’s governmental interest
e. Application of the better rule of law

4. Lex fori
Rights and liabilities of the parties are governed by the law of the forum.

5. Most significant relationship approach

An examination is made as to what state has the most connection to the case.

Points of contact: I-C-D-R

 The place where the injury occurred
 The place where the conduct causing the injury occurred
 The domicile, residence, nationality, place or incorporation and place of business
of the parties
 The place where the relationship, if any, between the parties is centered.

NOTE: The most common approaches are the lex loci delicti and most significant relationship.

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 CITIZENSHIP AND NATIONALITY

Sec. 1,Article IV of the 1987 Constitution. The following are citizens of the Philippines:
1. Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of adoption of this Constitution;
2. Those whose fathers and mothers are citizens of the Philippines;
3. Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine
citizenship upon reaching the age of majority;
4. Those who are naturalized in accordance with law.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES RESPECTING ACQUISITION OF CITIZENSHIP

1. Jus sanguinis – citizenship is acquired through blood relationship with the parents.
2. Jus soli – a person acquires his citizenship by being born within the territorial
boundaries of a state.

Note: The Philippines follows the principle of jus sanguinis.

DEFINITION OF TERMS:

Citizenship refers to the person’s membership in a particular State.

Nationality refers to the status of belonging to a particular nation.

Dual citizenship may be acquired by the simultaneous application of the doctrines of jus soli
and jus sanguinis. For example, if a person is born in the US and his parents are Filipinos, the
person not only becomes a US citizen but also a Filipino citizen as well.

Dual allegiance is the state of having dual or multiple allegiance or loyalty to several States and
is inimical to national interest of the State.

Natural-born citizens are those citizens of the Philippines from birth without having to perform
any act to acquire their Philippine citizenship.

Naturalization refers to the acquisition of citizenship by the performance of some positive act,
like applying with the appropriate authorities to become a citizen of that state.

Repatriation results in the recovery of the original nationality.

Expatriation is the commission of an act that results in the loss of citizenship.

Foundlings are those abandoned children with no known natural parents.

NOTE: Foundlings are considered natural-born citizens because they are not excluded
class under the Constitution. In addition, domestic laws and international laws
accord them that status. Furthermore, so long as there is a high probability that
the foundling’s parents are Filipinos, that foundling will be considered as natural-
born. The Philippines does not discriminate against foundlings and acknowledges
their Philippine citizenship in accord with human rights treaties and conventions.
It is also a State policy as seen in adoption laws to accord them the status of
natural-born citizens.

IMPORTANCE OF CITIZENSHIP
1. It is the source of rights.
2. It is the source of benefits as some rights are only available to the citizens of a country.
Example: right to vote, right to hold public office
3. It is also the source of duties and obligations.
Example: citizens owe full allegiance to their country, only citizens are allowed to serve
in the army of the State

ACTS WHICH RESULT TO THE LOSS OF CITIZENSHIP:

1. Naturalization in a foreign country
2. Express renunciation of citizenship
3. Subscribing to an oath of allegiance to support the Constitution or laws of a foreign
country upon reaching the age of 21 years old. Provided, however, that a Filipino may not
divest himself of Filipino citizenship in any manner whole the Republic of the Philippines
is at war with any country.
4. By rendering services to the armed forces of a foreign country

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 5. Cancellation of the certificate of naturalization
6. Having been declared by competent authority, a deserter of the Philippine armed forces
in time of war, unless subsequently, a plenary pardon or amnesty has been granted
7. In case of woman, upon her marriage to a foreigner if, by virtue of the laws in force in her
husband’s country, she acquires his nationality.

NOTE: Under the 1987 Constitution, the marriage of a woman to a foreigner is no long
expatriating unless she categorically renounce her Philippine citizenship.

R.A. No. 9225: CITIZENSHIP RETENTION AND RE-ACQUISITION ACT

The law allows former Filipino citizens to repatriate themselves by taking the oath of allegiance
of the Republic of the Philippines without, however, renouncing their present citizenships.

Filipinos who repatriate themselves under RA No 9225 are deemed to be natural-born citizens of
the Philippines for they do not have to perform any act to acquire or perfect their Philippine
citizenship. This status of being natural-born citizens retroacts to the day they were born.

For those seeking elective public offices in the Philippines, RA No. 9225 requires the
following:
1. Take an oath of allegiance
2. Execute a personal and sworn renunciation of any and all foreign citizenship before an
authorized public officer prior or simultaneous to the filing of their certificates of
candidacy.

TWO GROUPS OF BENEFICIARIES UNDER RA NO. 9225

1. Those who are naturalized in a foreign country before the effectivity of RA No.
9225
Beneficiaries under this group are deemed to reacquire their Philippine citizenship upon
taking the oath of allegiance to the Republic. Thus, they become Filipino citizens once
more upon taking the oath of allegiance. They could not be considered Filipinos during
the period when they naturalized in a foreign country to the period when they took the
oath of allegiance.

2. Those who are naturalized in a foreign country after the effectivity of RA No. 9225
Beneficiaries under this group are deemed to retain their Philippine citizenship upon
taking the same oath of allegiance. Thus, they are considered Filipinos from the time they
naturalized in a foreign country to the time they took the oath of allegiance to the
Republic. They are deemed to retain their Philippine citizenships, as if they never lost the
same, provided they take the oath of allegiance.

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 DOMICILE

DOMICILE of a person is the place where he has true, fixed, permanent home and principal
establishment and to which, whenever he is absent, he has the intention of returning, and from
which he has no present intention of leaving.

KINDS OF DOMICILE
1. Domicile of origin – domicile of person’s parents, the head of his family or the person on
whom he is legally dependent, at the time of his birth
2. Domicile of choice – the place choses by a person to replace his former domicile
3. Domicile by operation of law – domicile attributed by law to a person

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