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A. Choice of Law:Characterization Doctrine of Qualification

This document discusses the doctrine of qualification and choice of law principles. It explains that the doctrine of qualification involves characterizing facts or rules to determine which legal category they fall under in order to select the proper law. For tort cases, one connecting factor is the lex loci actus, or the place where the tortious conduct occurred. Applying this to the case, the document determines that the Philippines can be considered the situs of the alleged tort since that is where the petitioner allegedly deceived and failed to protect the private respondent.

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Paolo Bañadera
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144 views

A. Choice of Law:Characterization Doctrine of Qualification

This document discusses the doctrine of qualification and choice of law principles. It explains that the doctrine of qualification involves characterizing facts or rules to determine which legal category they fall under in order to select the proper law. For tort cases, one connecting factor is the lex loci actus, or the place where the tortious conduct occurred. Applying this to the case, the document determines that the Philippines can be considered the situs of the alleged tort since that is where the petitioner allegedly deceived and failed to protect the private respondent.

Uploaded by

Paolo Bañadera
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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a.

Choice of Law/Characterization; Doctrine of Qualification

Case Doctrine
Saudi Arabian Before a choice can be made, it is necessary for us to determine under
Airlines v. CA what category a certain set of facts or rules fall. This process is known as
(1998) "characterization", or the "doctrine of qualification". It is the "process of
deciding whether or not the facts relate to the kind of question specified
in a conflicts rule." The purpose of "characterization" is to enable the
forum to select the proper law. 

Our starting point of analysis here is not a legal relation, but a factual
situation, event, or operative fact. An essential element of conflict rules is
the indication of a "test" or "connecting factor" or "point of contact".
Choice-of-law rules invariably consist of a factual relationship (such as
property right, contract claim) and a connecting factor or point of contact,
such as the situs of the res, the place of celebration, the place of
performance, or the place of wrongdoing.

Note that one or more circumstances may be present to serve as the


possible test for the determination of the applicable law. 59 These "test
factors" or "points of contact" or "connecting factors" could be any of the
following:

(1) The nationality of a person, his domicile, his residence, his place of
sojourn, or his origin;

(2) the seat of a legal or juridical person, such as a corporation;

(3) the situs of a thing, that is, the place where a thing is, or is deemed to
be situated. In particular, the lex situs is decisive when real rights are
involved;

(4) the place where an act has been done, the locus actus, such as the
place where a contract has been made, a marriage celebrated, a will
signed or a tort committed. The lex loci actus is particularly important in
contracts and torts;

(5) the place where an act is intended to come into effect, e.g., the place
of performance of contractual duties, or the place where a power of
attorney is to be exercised;

(6) the intention of the contracting parties as to the law that should govern
their agreement, thelex loci intentionis;

(7) the place where judicial or administrative proceedings are instituted or


done. The lex fori — the law of the forum — is particularly important
because, as we have seen earlier, matters of "procedure" not going to the
substance of the claim involved are governed by it; and because the lex
fori applies whenever the content of the otherwise applicable foreign law
is excluded from application in a given case for the reason that it falls

1
under one of the exceptions to the applications of foreign law; and

(8) the flag of a ship, which in many cases is decisive of practically all
legal relationships of the ship and of its master or owner as such. It also
covers contractual relationships particularly contracts of affreightment.  

After a careful study of the pleadings on record, including allegations in


the Amended Complaint deemed admitted for purposes of the motion to
dismiss, we are convinced that there is reasonable basis for private
respondent's assertion that although she was already working in Manila,
petitioner brought her to Jeddah on the pretense that she would merely
testify in an investigation of the charges she made against the two
SAUDIA crew members for the attack on her person while they were in
Jakarta. As it turned out, she was the one made to face trial for very
serious charges, including adultery and violation of Islamic laws and
tradition.

Considering that the complaint in the court a quo is one involving torts,
the "connecting factor" or "point of contact" could be the place or places
where the tortious conduct or lex loci actus occurred. And applying the
torts principle in a conflicts case, we find that the Philippines could be
said as a situs of the tort (the place where the alleged tortious conduct
took place). This is because it is in the Philippines where petitioner
allegedly deceived private respondent, a Filipina residing and working
here. According to her, she had honestly believed that petitioner would, in
the exercise of its rights and in the performance of its duties, "act with
justice, give her due and observe honesty and good faith." Instead,
petitioner failed to protect her, she claimed. That certain acts or parts of
the injury allegedly occurred in another country is of no moment. For in
our view what is important here is the place where the over-all harm or
the totality of the alleged injury to the person, reputation, social standing
and human rights of complainant, had lodged, according to the plaintiff
below (herein private respondent). All told, it is not without basis to
identify the Philippines as the situs of the alleged tort.

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