CODAL PROVISIONS - CONFLICT OF LAWS SYLLABUS

II. JURISDICTION
CIVIL CODE
Article 14. Penal laws and those of public security and safety shall be obligatory upon all who live or sojourn in
the Philippine territory, subject to the principles of public international law and to treaty stipulations. (8a)
Article 15. Laws relating to family rights and duties, or to the status, condition and legal capacity of persons are
binding upon citizens of the Philippines, even though living abroad. (9a)
Article 17. The forms and solemnities of contracts, wills, and other public instruments shall be governed by the
laws of the country in which they are executed.
When the acts referred to are executed before the diplomatic or consular officials of the Republic of the
Philippines in a foreign country, the solemnities established by Philippine laws shall be observed in their
execution.
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. (11a)

REVISED PENAL CODE

Article 2. Application of its provisions. - Except as provided in the treaties and laws of preferential application,
the provisions of this Code shall be enforced not only within the Philippine Archipelago, including its atmosphere,
its interior waters and maritime zone, but also outside of its jurisdiction, against those who:
1. Should commit an offense while on a Philippine ship or airship
2. Should forge or counterfeit any coin or currency note of the Philippine Islands or obligations and securities
issued by the Government of the Philippine Islands;
3. Should be liable for acts connected with the introduction into these islands of the obligations and securities
mentioned in the presiding number;
4. While being public officers or employees, should commit an offense in the exercise of their functions; or
5. Should commit any of the crimes against national security and the law of nations, defined in Title One of Book
Two of this Code.

RULES OF COURT
RULE 14
Section 14. Service upon defendant whose identity or whereabouts are unknown. — In any action where the
defendant is designated as an unknown owner, or the like, or whenever his whereabouts are unknown and
cannot be ascertained by diligent inquiry, service may, by leave of court, be effected upon him by publication in a
newspaper of general circulation and in such places and for such time as the court may order. (16a)
Section 15. Extraterritorial service. — When the defendant does not reside and is not found in the Philippines,
and the action affects the personal status of the plaintiff or relates to, or the subject of which is, property within
the Philippines, in which the defendant has or claims a lien or interest, actual or contingent, or in which the relief
demanded consists, wholly or in part, in excluding the defendant from any interest therein, or the property of the
defendant has been attached within the Philippines, service may, by leave of court, be effected out of the
Philippines by personal service as under section 6; or by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in such
places and for such time as the court may order, in which case a copy of the summons and order of the court
shall be sent by registered mail to the last known address of the defendant, or in any other manner the court
may deem sufficient. Any order granting such leave shall specify a reasonable time, which shall not be less than
sixty (60) days after notice, within which the defendant must answer. (17a)
Section 16. Residents temporarily out of the Philippines. — When any action is commenced against a defendant
who ordinarily resides within the Philippines, but who is temporarily out of it, service may, by leave of court, be
also effected out of the Philippines, as under the preceding section. (18a)
III. ASSUMING JURISDICTION…
Article 15. Laws relating to family rights and duties, or to the status, condition and legal capacity of persons are
binding upon citizens of the Philippines, even though living abroad. (9a)
Article 16. Real property as well as personal property is subject to the law of the country where it is stipulated.
However, intestate and testamentary successions, both with respect to the order of succession and to the amount
of successional rights and to the intrinsic validity of testamentary provisions, shall be regulated by the national
law of the person whose succession is under consideration, whatever may be the nature of the property and
regardless of the country wherein said property may be found. (10a)
Article 17. The forms and solemnities of contracts, wills, and other public instruments shall be governed by the
laws of the country in which they are executed.
When the acts referred to are executed before the diplomatic or consular officials of the Republic of the
Philippines in a foreign country, the solemnities established by Philippine laws shall be observed in their
execution.
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. (11a)
Article 814. In case of any insertion, cancellation, erasure or alteration in a holographic will, the testator must
authenticate the same by his full signature. (n)
Article 815. When a Filipino is in a foreign country, he is authorized to make a will in any of the forms
established by the law of the country in which he may be. Such will may be probated in the Philippines. (n)

Article 819. Wills, prohibited by the preceding article, executed by Filipinos in a foreign country shall not be
valid in the Philippines, even though authorized by the laws of the country where they may have been executed.
(733a)
Article 829. A revocation done outside the Philippines, by a person who does not have his domicile in this
country, is valid when it is done according to the law of the place where the will was made, or according to the
law of the place in which the testator had his domicile at the time; and if the revocation takes place in this
country, when it is in accordance with the provisions of this Code. (n)
Article 1039. Capacity to succeed is governed by the law of the nation of the decedent. (n)

IV. PROOF OF FOREIGN LAW

RULES OF COURT
RULE 132, SEC. 25
Section 25. What attestation of copy must state. — Whenever a copy of a document or record is attested for
the purpose of evidence, the attestation must state, in substance, that the copy is a correct copy of the original,
or a specific part thereof, as the case may be. The attestation must be under the official seal of the attesting
officer, if there be any, or if he be the clerk of a court having a seal, under the seal of such court. (26a)

RULE 130, SEC. 46

Section 46. Learned treatises. — A published treatise, periodical or pamphlet on a subject of history, law,
science, or art is admissible as tending to prove the truth of a matter stated therein if the court takes judicial
notice, or a witness expert in the subject testifies, that the writer of the statement in the treatise, periodical or
pamphlet is recognized in his profession or calling as expert in the subject. (40a)

RULE 132, SEC. 24

Section 24. Proof of official record. — The record of public documents referred to in paragraph (a) of Section
19, when admissible for any purpose, may be evidenced by an official publication thereof or by a copy attested by
the officer having the legal custody of the record, or by his deputy, and accompanied, if the record is not kept in
the Philippines, with a certificate that such officer has the custody. If the office in which the record is kept is in
foreign country, the certificate may be made by a secretary of the embassy or legation, consul general, consul,
vice consul, or consular agent or by any officer in the foreign service of the Philippines stationed in the foreign
country in which the record is kept, and authenticated by the seal of his office. (25a