EFFECT OF FOREIGN LAWS, JUDGMENTS AND ARBITRAL AWARDS - 38 PJP 21

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Effect of foreign laws within the Philippines

Foreign laws generally have no force and effect in the Philippines. Unless they are properly pleaded and proved in a case containing a foreign element, they have no power in this jurisdiction for it is well-settled that domestic laws of a foreign country do not extend their vigor beyond the territorial limits of that foreign country.

In fact, foreign laws are never relevant in a litigation in a Philippine court unless there is a true foreign element involved. In the eyes of Philippine courts, as a rule, only Philippine laws apply.

Effect of foreign judgments within Philippines

In the same way that foreign laws have no force and effect in the Philippines, foreign judgments, as a rule, are not given recognition or enforcement in this jurisdiction except in situations allowed by Philippine law or the Rules of Court.

For example, under Article 26 of the FCP, in marriages between a foreigner and Filipino, if the foreign spouse obtains a foreign divorce decree capacitating him/her to remarry, the Filipino spouse shall likewise be capacitated to remarry. In other words, the foreign divorce decree may be pleaded and proved in the Philippines and, later, recognized and enforced through the initiation of proper proceedings.

Notice that, as a rule, foreign judgments are of no consequence in the Philippine legal system. This is due to Article 17(c) of the NCC which provides:

“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.”

Effect of foreign arbitral awards within the Philippines

In Philippine law, arbitral awards are akin to court judgments in that they generally partake the nature of a final and executory decision from a court. In the same way as foreign judgments, foreign arbitral awards are allowed recognition and enforcement in the Philippines under RA No. 9285,[1] otherwise known as the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 2004.

Section 43 and Section 44 of said Act provides that the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards not covered by the New York Convention shall be done in accordance with procedural rules to be promulgated by the Supreme Court. The Court may, on grounds of comity and reciprocity, recognize and enforce a nonconvention award as a convention award. Furthermore, a foreign arbitral award, when confirmed by a court of a foreign country, shall be recognized and enforced as a foreign arbitral award and not a judgment of a foreign court. A foreign arbitral award, when confirmed by the RTC, shall be enforced as a foreign arbitral award and not as a judgment of a foreign court. A foreign arbitral award, when confirmed by the RTC, shall be enforced in the same manner as final and executory decisions of courts of law of the Philippines.

A party to a foreign arbitration proceeding may oppose an application for recognition and enforcement of the arbitral award in accordance with the procedural rules promulgated by the Supreme Court only on those grounds enumerated under Article V of the New York Convention. Any other ground raised shall be disregarded by the RTC.[2]

[1] April 2, 2004.

[2] Section 45 of RA No. 9285 (April 2, 2004), otherwise known as the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 2004.