Loci Solutionis. Hence The Petition

KAZUHIRO HASEGAWA and NIPPON ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS CO., LTD.
,
Petitioners, vs. MINORU KITAMURA, Respondent.
G.R. No 149177, NOVEMBER 23, 2007
FACTS:
 Kazuriho Hasegawa (Hasegawa), filed a petition for review on certiorari under

Rule 45 of the Rules of Court assailing the Decision of the Court of Appeals and
the Resolution denying the motion for reconsideration thereof.
 Nippon Engineering Consultant’s Co., LTd. (Nippon), a Japanese consultancy
firm providing technical and management support in the infrastructure of
foreign governments, entered into an Independent Contractor Agreement (ICA)
with respondent Minoru Kitamura (Kitamura), a Japanese national permanently
residing in the Philippines.
 The agreement provides that Kitamura was to extend professional services to
Nippon, and he was assigned to work as the project manager of the Southern
Tagalog Access Road (STAR) Project in the Philippines, following the company’s
consultancy contract with the Philippine Government.
 When the STAR Project was near completion, the Department of Public Works
and Highways (DPWH) engaged the consultancy services of Nippon for the
detailed engineering and construction supervision of the Bongalon-Baler Road
Improvement (BBRI) Project. Kitamura was named as the project manager.
 Kazuhiro Hasegawa, Nippon’s General Manager for its International Division,
informed respondent that the company had no more intention of automatically
renewing his ICA.
 Kitamura through his counsel requested a negotiation conference and demanded
that he be assigned to BBRI Project, Nippon refused.
 Kitamura initiated a civil case for specific performance and damages with the
RTC of Lipa. Petitioners moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of jurisdiction
following the principles of lex loci celebrationis and lex contractus. The RTC denied
the motion to dismiss invoking the ruling in Insular Government v. Frank that
matters connected with the performance of contracts are regulated by the law
prevailing at the place of performance.
 The CA declared that the trial court was correct in applying the principle of lex
loci solutionis. Hence the petition.
ISSUES:
Whether the jurisdiction of Philippine courts in civil cases for specific

performance and damages involving contracts executed outside the country by foreign
nationals may be assailed on the principles of lex loci celebrationis, lex contractus, the
"state of the most significant relationship rule," or forum non conveniens?
RULING:
No. The court ruled that in the judicial resolution of conflicts problems, three
consecutive phases are involved: jurisdiction, choice of law, and recognition and
enforcement of judgments.
Since these three principles in conflict of laws make reference to the law
applicable to a dispute, they are rules proper for the second phase, the choice of law.
They determine which state's law is to be applied in resolving the substantive issues of
a conflicts problem. Necessarily, as the only issue in this case is that of jurisdiction,
choice-of-law rules are not only inapplicable but also not yet called for.
Lex loci celebrationis relates to the "law of the place of the ceremony" or the law of
the place where a contract is made. The doctrine of lex contractus or lex loci contractus
means the "law of the place where a contract is executed or to be performed." It controls
the nature, construction, and validity of the contract and it may pertain to the law
voluntarily agreed upon by the parties or the law intended by them either expressly or
implicitly. 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.
This rule takes into account several contacts and evaluates them according to their
relative importance with respect to the particular issue to be resolved.

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KAZUHIRO HASEGAWA and NIPPON ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS CO., LTD.

 Kazuriho Hasegawa (Hasegawa), filed a petition for review on certiorari under

Whether the jurisdiction of Philippine courts in civil cases for specific

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