Conflict of Laws

Tortious liability is transitory •           The liability resulting from the conduct is “deemed personal to the perpetrator of the wrong, following him whithersoever he may go, so that compensations may be exacted from him in any proper tribunal which may obtain jurisdiction of the defendant’s person, the right to sue not being confined to the place where the cause of the action arises.” Conditions for the enforcement of tort claims •           In general, claims for damages arising from torts committed abroad may be given due course in the forum court if: The foreign tort is based on a civil action and not on a crime; The foreign tort is not contrary to the public policy of the forum; and The judicial machinery of the forum is adequate to satisfy the claim. Products liability of the foreign manufacturer •           Su...

Dépeçage is defined as a “cutting up,dismembering, carving up.” In a legal setting “dépeçage” is “a court’s application of different state laws to different issues in a legal dispute; choice of law on an issue-by-issue basis.” In other words, dépeçage is “the process of cutting up a case into individual issues, each subject to a separate choice-of-law analysis.” For example, A contract was perfected in State A and will be perfected in State B. The contract was rescinded because of fraud. Under State B's laws, if a contract is rescinded, no party can claim any damages but under State A's laws, damages may be awarded as long as there is fraud.

Extent of Judicial Notice •           It is the party whose cause of action or defense depended upon the foreign law who has the burden of proving the foreign law. •           Foreign law is treated as a question of fact that should be properly pleaded and proved •           Rationale: A judge is not authorized to take judicial notice of a foreign law and is presumed to know only domestic law •           In the Philippines: •           The traditional rule is that a judge cannot decide a case on the basis of his own knowledge and information. He can only act upon the evidence before his court in the actual case. •           Delgado v. Republic: •           Judici...