PIL FINALS EXAM REVIEWER (CHAPTERS 10-17) [draft 1]
Rolando Gregorio)
Chapter 10 - TERRITORY
“​Territory​” - ​fixed portion of the surface of the
earth inhabited by the people of the state
- Permanent and indicated with precision
because its limits generally define the
jurisdiction of the state
Right to acquire territories
- One of the fundamental attributes of the
state
- Inferred from the (1) war powers of the
Congress and the (2) treaty-making
power of the President
- Can be asserted only in accordance with
the generally accepted principles of
international law and with due regard
for the territorial integrity of other
states
Acquisition and Loss of Territory
✪ Modes of Acquisition​: ​(DP-CSA)
1. By discovery and occupation
- An original mode of acquisition
by which territory not
belonging to any state, or ​terra
nullius​, is placed under the
sovereignty of the discovering
state
- Requisites: (1) ​possession and
(2) ​administration​ of territory
2. By prescription
- Requires long, continued and
adverse possession to vest
acquisitive title in the claimant
- No fixed period
3. By cession
- Method by which territory is
transferred from one state to
another by agreement between
them
- e.g., forced cession, sale,
donation, barter or exchange,
testamentary disposition
4. By subjugation
- Acquired when, having been
previously conquered or
occupied in the course of war
by the enemy, it is formally
(Amb.
annexed to it at the end of that
war
- Formal act of annexation -
completes the acquisition
5. By accretion
- Principle of ​accessio cedat
principali - an addition to the
principal thing becomes part of
it
- Accomplished through both
natural or artificial processes,
as by the gradual and
imperceptible deposit of soil on
the coasts of the country
through the action of the water
or, by reclamation projects
“Res communes” ​- ​things owned by no one and
subject to use by all; things (as open seas, outer
space) incapable of entire exclusive
appropriation
“Inchoate title of discovery” - mere possession
of a discovered land which bars other states
from entering the territory until the lapse of a
reasonable period within which the discovering
state may establish a settlement thereon and
commence to administer it
- Perfected into a full title if the claimant
state begins exercising sovereign rights
over the territory
✪ Modes of Loss​: ​(ACS-PERN)
1. By abandonment or dereliction
- When the state exercising
sovereignty over it physically
withdraws from it witht he
intention of abandoning it
altogether
- Conditions: (1) ​act ​of
withdrawal; and (2) ​intention
to abandon
2. By cession
3. By subjugation
4. By prescription
5. By erosion
6. By revolution
7. By natural causes
- e.g., when an island is
submerged to the bottom of the
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PIL FINALS EXAM REVIEWER (CHAPTERS 10-17) [draft 1]
sea because of a volcanic
eruption
✪ “National Territory”
The national territory comprises the Philippine
archipelago with all the islands and waters
embraced therein, and all the other territories
over which the Philippines has sovereignty or
jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, fluvial,
and aerial domain, including its territorial sea,
the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and
other submarine areas. The waters around,
between and connecting the islands of the
archipelago, regardless of their breadth and
dimension, form part of the internal waters of
the Philippines.
Components of Territory
1. Terrestrial domain
2. Maritime and fluvial domain
3. Aerial domain
Terrestrial Domain
- Refers to the land mass, which may be:
(a) integrate, (b) dismembered, (c)
partly bounded by water, (d) consist of
one whole island, (e) composed of
several islands
Maritime and Fluvial Domain
- Consists of the bodies of water within
the land mass and the waters adjacent
to the coasts of the state up to a
specified limit
- Rivers: national, multi-national,
international and boundary
- ✪ “Thalweg doctrine” ​- in the absence
of a specific agreement between states
divided by a boundary river, the
boundary between the two states is
divided not by the center of the river
itself but by the center of its main
channel or the “thalweg” or the line of
greatest depth of the channel
“​Territorial sea​” - ​extends 12 nautical miles
from the low-water mark of the coast
(Amb. Rolando Gregorio)
“​Contiguous zone​” - ​area of 12 nautical miles
from territorial sea; cannot extend more than
twelve miles from the coast of the state
“​Economic zone​” - ​extends 200 nautical miles
from low-water mark of the coastal state
✪“Archipelago doctrine” ​- the waters around,
between and connecting the islands of the
archipelago, regardless of their breadth and
dimensions, form part of the internal waters
Methods of Defining the Territorial Sea
1. Normal baseline method
- Territorial sea is simply drawn
from the low-water mark of the
coast, to the breadth claimed,
following its sinuosities and
curvatures but excluding the
internal waters in bays and
gulfs
2. Straight baseline method
- Straight lines are made to
connect appropriate points on
the coast without departing
radically from its general
direction
Fisheries Case
- UK questioned the use by Norway of the
straight baseline method in defining its
territorial waters
- The method of straight baselines,
established in the Norwegian system,
was imposed by the peculiar geography
of the Norwegian coast
Aerial Domain
- Airspace above the terrestrial domain
and the maritime and fluvial domain of
the state, to an unlimited altitude but
not including outer space
- Highest altitude where airplanes can fly
through
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PIL FINALS EXAM REVIEWER (CHAPTERS 10-17) [draft 1]
Chapter 11 - JURISDICTION
- Authority exercised by a state over
persons and things within or sometimes
outside its territory, subject to certain
exceptions
- Personal or territorial
- Exercised by a state over: ​NTM-COADO
a. Its nationals
b. The terrestrial domain
c. The maritime and fluvial
domain
d. The continental shelf
e. The open seas
f. The aerial domain
g. Outer space
h. Other territories
Personal Jurisdiction
- The power exercised by a state over its
nationals
- Based on the theory that a national is
entitled to the protection of his state
wherever he may be and is, therefore,
bound to it by a duty of obedience and
allegiance
✪“Doctrine of indelible allegiance”
- An individual may be compelled to
retain his original nationality
notwithstanding that he has already
renounced or forfeited it under the laws
of the second state whose nationality he
has acquired
Territorial Jurisdiction
- A state has jurisdiction over all persons
and property within its territory
- Jurisdiction of the nation within its own
territory is necessary, exclusive and
absolute. It is susceptible of no
limitation not imposed by itself
The state cannot exercise jurisdiction even
within its own territory over: ​(F-PAVA-O)
1. Foreign states, heads of states,
diplomatic representatives, and consuls
to a certain degree
2. Foreign state property
(Amb. Rolando Gregorio)
3. Acts of state
4. Foreign merchant vessels exercising the
rights of innocent passage or arrival
under stress
5. Foreign armies passing through or
stationed in its territories with its
permission
6. Such other persons or property,
including organizations like the United
Nations, over which it may, by
agreement, waive jurisdiction
Land Jurisdiction
- Everything found within the terrestrial
domain of the state is under its
jurisdiction
Maritime and Fluvial Jurisdiction
- The internal waters of a state are
assimilated to the land mass and
subjected to the same degree of
jurisdiction exercised over the
terrestrial domain, including ​“enclosed
waters” (e.g., land-locked lakes,
national rivers and man-made canals)
Jurisdiction over public vessels by the flag
state: civil, criminal and administrative
jurisdiction is exercised by the flag state
wherever they may be, provided they are not
engaged in commerce
Jurisdiction over foreign merchant vessels
docked in a local port or bay
As to civil jurisdiction​: the coastal state exercise
jurisdiction over them
As to criminal jurisdiction​: either English rule or
French rule
“English rule” - the coastal state shall have
jurisdiction over all offenses committed on
board such vessels, except only where they do
not compromise the peace of the port
- Applicable in the Philippines
“French rule” - the flag state shall have
jurisdiction over all offenses committed on
board such vessels, except only where they
compromise the peace of the port
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PIL FINALS EXAM REVIEWER (CHAPTERS 10-17) [draft 1]
“Archipelagic sealanes” - those laid on internal
waters over which foreign ships will have the
right of passage as if they were open seas
The Contiguous Zone
- Extends 12 nautical miles from the
territorial sea
- In a zone of the high seas contiguous to
its territorial sea, the coastal state may
exercise the control (“protective
jurisdiction”) necessary to:
a. Prevent infringement of its
customs, fiscal, immigration or
sanitary regulations within its
territory or territorial sea; and
b. Punish infringement of the
above regulations within its
territory or territorial sea
The Continental Shelf
Refers to:
a. The seabed and subsoil of the
submarine areas adjacent to the coast
but outside the area of the territorial
sea, to a depth of two hundred meters
or beyond that limit, to where the depth
of the superjacent waters admits of the
exploitation of the natural resources of
the said areas; and
b. To the seabed and subsoil of similar
areas adjacent to the coasts of islands
“Safety zone” - allowed to be established on the
open seas immediately above installations
erected on the continental shelf of the coastal
state, with a radius of five hundred meters over
which it may exercise jurisdiction for the
protection of its properties underneath
The Patrimonial Sea
“Or the exclusive economic zone” - extends
200 nautical miles from the coast or the
baselines
- All living and non-living resources
found therein belong exclusively to the
coastal state
(Amb. Rolando Gregorio)
The Open Seas
“Or the high seas” - are ​res communes and
available to the use of all states for purposes of
navigation, flying over them, laying submarine
cables or fishing
A state may exercise jurisdiction on the open
seas in the following instances:​ VP-VH
1. Over its vessels
2. Over pirates
3. In the exercise of the right of visit and
search
4. Under the doctrine of hot pursuit
Aerial Jurisdiction
- Since the invention of aircraft is a
comparatively recent development,
there are no traditional rules in
international law regarding the rights of
the subjacent state to its aerial domain
- The local state has jurisdiction over the
airspace above it to an unlimited height,
or at the most up to where outer space
begins
“Five Air Freedoms”​ (AL-PET)
1. Freedom to fly ​across ​foreign territory
without landing
2. Freedom to land ​for non-traffic
purposes
3. Freedom to ​put down ​traffic
originating in the state of the aircraft
4. Freedom to ​embark traffic destined for
the state of the aircraft
5. Freedom to embark traffic destined for
or to put down traffic originating in a
third state
Convention on Offenses and Certain Other
Acts Committed on Board Aircraft
General rule:​ it is the state of registration of the
aircraft that has jurisdiction over offenses and
acts committed on board while it is in flight or
over the high seas or any other area outside the
territory of any state
Exceptions​:​ ​TNS-BO
1. The offense has effect on the ​territory
of such state
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PIL FINALS EXAM REVIEWER (CHAPTERS 10-17) [draft 1] (Amb. Rolando Gregorio)

2. The offense has been committed by or ✪ Difference between Exterritoriality and

against a ​national ​or permanent
resident of such state
3. The offense is against the ​security ​of
such state
4. The offense consists of a ​breach of any
rules or regulations relating to the flight
or maneuver of aircraft in force in such
state
5. The exercise of jurisdiction is necessary
to ensure the ​observance ​of any
obligation of such state under a
multilateral international agreement
Extraterritoriality
- Extraterritoriality has become
discredited because of the rise of
nationalism and the sovereign equality
of states. But extraterritoriality, as
illustrated by the immunities of the
head of state in a foreign country,
remains a respected principle of
international law.

Outer Space

- Not subject to the jurisdiction of any

state
- Free for exploration and use by all
states without discrimination of any
kind, on a basis of equality and in
accordance with international law
- Not subject to national appropriation

Other Territories

A state may, by virtue of customary or

conventional international law, extend its
jurisdiction beyond its territory and over
territory not falling under its sovereignty
through the following ways: ​PRW-EE
1. Through assertion of its ​personal
jurisdiction ​over its nationals abroad
2. On the strength of its ​relations with
other states or territories
3. As a consequence of the ​waiver of
jurisdiction by the local state over
persons and things within its territory
4. Through acquisition of ​extraterritorial
rights
5. Through the ​enjoyment of easements
or servitudes

✪“Exterritoriality” - refers to the exemption of

persons and property from the local jurisdiction
on the basis of international custom

✪“Extraterritoriality” - ​exemption from local

jurisdiction which applies only to persons and is
based on treaty or convention

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PIL FINALS EXAM REVIEWER (CHAPTERS 10-17) [draft 1]
Chapter 12 -
THE RIGHT OF LEGATION
- Active right of sending diplomatic
representatives and the passive right of
receiving them
- Purely consensual, hence not a
demandable right on the part of either
the sending or the receiving state
Agents of Diplomatic Intercourse
1. Head of state
2. Foreign secretary or minister
3. Members of the diplomatic service
4. Special diplomatic agents charged with
specific ceremonial or political duties
“Envoys ceremonial” - usually sent to attend
state functions like a coronation or a jubilee
“Envoys political” - commissioned to negotiate
with a particular state or to participate in an
international conference or congress
The Head of State
- Regarded as the embodiment of or at
least represents the sovereignty of his
state
- Entitled to certain immunities and
honors befitting his status
- Has a right to special protection not
only for his physical safety but for the
preservation of his honor and
reputation
- Also exempt from criminal and civil
jurisdiction, except:
- Where he himself is the
plaintiff, adn
- Is not subject to tax or to
exchange or currency
restrictions
The Foreign Secretary
- It was common before for heads of state
to personally undertake the function of
diplomatic negotiations, but the
practice has now largely fallen into
disuse
(Amb. Rolando Gregorio)
- Except on rare occasions when the
matter under consideration is of such
significance or delicacy as to warrant no
less than what is known as a “summit
meeting,” the conduct of external affairs
is now generally entrusted to teh
foreign secretary or minister
Diplomatic Envoys
- The regular or day-to-day conduct of
international affairs is entrusted to the
members of the foreign service who are
accredited by the sending state as its
permanent envoys to represent it in the
states with which it is maintaining
diplomatic relations
✪ Classifications of Heads of Diplomatic
Missions ​(Convention on Diplomatic Relations,
Vienna 1961)
AEC
1. Ambassadors ​or ​nuncios a​ ccredited to
heads of state
2. Envoys​, ministers or ​internuncios
accredited to heads of state
3. Chargés d’affaires ​accredited to
ministers for foreign affairs
The Diplomatic Corps
- A body consisting of the different
diplomatic representatives who have
been accredited to the same local or
receiving state.
- Headed by the ​doyen du corps who, by
tradition, is the oldest member with the
highest rank or, in Catholic countries,
the ​Papal Nuncio
- A loose organization without any
corporate character, the diplomatic
corps does not possess any legal powers
or attributes
Appointment of Envoys
- Not merely a matter of municipal law
because the receiving state is not
obliged to accept any representative
who is ​persona non grata t​ o it
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PIL FINALS EXAM REVIEWER (CHAPTERS 10-17) [draft 1]
- To avoid such awkward situations
where representatives are rejected:
most states now observe the practice of
the ​agreation​, by means of which
informal inquiries are addressed to the
receiving state regarding a proposed
diplomatic representative of the
sending state. It is only when the
receiving state manifests its ​agrément
or ​consent,​ also informally, that the
diplomatic representative is appointed
and formally accredited.
Appointment of Envoys in the Philippines:
- By the President
- Subject to the consent of the
Commission on Appointments
Commencement of the Diplomatic Mission
The head of the mission is considered as having
taken up his functions in the receiving state
either:
a. When he has presented his credential;
or
b. When he has notified his arrival and a
true copy of his credentials has been
presented to the foreign ministry of the
receiving state
Credentials of the Diplomatic Agent
1. Letter of credence, or ​lettre de créance​,
by means of which he is accredited to
the receiving state with the request that
full faith and credit be given to his
official acts on behalf of the sending
state
2. Diplomatic passport
3. His official instructions
4. A cipher or code book for use in sending
secret communications to his
government
✪ Diplomatic Functions
(RP-NAF)
1. Representing ​the sending state in the
receiving state
2. Protecting ​in the receiving state the
interests of the sending state and its
nationals
(Amb. Rolando Gregorio)
3. Negotiating ​with the government of the
receiving state
4. Ascertaining ​by all lawful means
conditions and developments in the
receiving state and reporting thereon to
the government of the sending state
5. Promoting ​friendly relations between
the sending and receiving states and
developing their economic, cultural and
scientific relations
Conduct of Diplomatic Mission
- The diplomatic agent must exercise the
utmost discretion and tact, taking care
always to preserve the goodwill of the
sending state and to avoid interference
with its internal affairs.
Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges
- Necessary to give the envoy the fullest
freedom or latitude in the exercise of
his official functions
1. Personal Inviolability
- Exceptions: (a) when he is
injured because he himself
caused the initial aggression
and exposed himself to danger;
and (b) if he has committed an
act of violence and it is
necessary to place him in
preventive restraint
2. Immunity from Jurisdiction
- A diplomatic agent enjoy
immunity from criminal
jurisdiction. He shall also enjoy
immunity from civil and
administrative jurisdiction,
except in the case of: ​(RSP)
(a) A ​real action ​relating
to private immovable
property in the
receiving state;
(b) An action relating to
succession ​in which
the diplomatic agent is
involved as executor,
administrator, heir or
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PIL FINALS EXAM REVIEWER (CHAPTERS 10-17) [draft 1]
legatee as a private
person;
(c) An action relating to
any ​professional ​or
commercial activity
exercised by the
diplomatic agent
outside his official
functions
3. Inviolability of Diplomatic Premises
- Franchise de l’hotel ​extends
immunity from the local law to
the diplomatic premises
including envoy’s offices, his
residence and out-buildings,
his means of transportation,
and the compound where these
are found, which may not be
entered by the local authorities
without his permission
- Exception:​ in cases of clear and
urgent necessity
4. Inviolability of Archives
5. Inviolability of Communication
6. Exemption from Testimonial Duties
7. Exemption from Taxation
8. Other Privileges
- Freedom of movement and
travel
- Exemption from personal and
public services and military
obligation
- Right to use the flag and
emblem of sending state on the
premises of the mission
The Diplomatic Suite or Retinue
- The above-discussed immunities and
privileges are available not only to the
head of mission and his family but also
to the other members of the diplomatic
retinue, albeit not in the same degree
Diplomatic Retinue:
1. Diplomatic staff
2. Administrative and technical staff
3. Service staff
(Amb. Rolando Gregorio)
Duration
- Every person entitled to diplomatic
privileges and immunities shall enjoy
them from the moment he enters the
territory of the receiving state on
proceeding to take up his port or, if
already there, from the moment his
appointment is notified to the foreign
ministry
- When his functions have to come to and
end, his privileges and immunities shall
normally cease from the moment he
leaves the country or on expiry of a
reasonable time in which to do so, but
shall subsist until such time even in
case of armed conflict.
Termination of Diplomatic Mission
A diplomatic mission may come to an end by any
of the usual methods of terminating official
relations:
Under municipal law:
1. Death
2. Resignation
3. Removal
4. Abolition of the office
Under international law:
1. Recall
- May be demanded by the
receiving state when the
foreign diplomat becomes
persona non grata t​ o it for any
reason
2. Dismissal
- The more drastic method when
the demand of recall is rejected,
or even without making a
request for recall
- By means of which the
offending diplomat is simply
asked to leave the country
3. Outbreak of war between receiving and
sending states
4. Extinction of either state
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PIL FINALS EXAM REVIEWER (CHAPTERS 10-17) [draft 1] (Amb. Rolando Gregorio)

Chapter 13 - **as in the case of diplomats, states may refuse

CONSULS
“Embassies” - for political, economic,
immigration matters
“Consulate” - ​represents commercial interest of
sending state
“Consuls” - ​are state agents residing abroad for
various purposes but mainly in the interest of
commerce and navigation
- Do no ordinarily enjoy all the
traditional diplomatic immunities and
privileges
✪ Kinds and Grades
1. Consules missi
- Professional or career consuls
who are nations of the
appointing state and are
required to devote their full
time to the discharge of their
consular duties
2. Consules electi
- May or may not be nationals of
the appointing state and
perform their consular
functions only in addition to
their regular callings
Heads of consular posts are classified
according to importance:
a. Consular-general
b. Consul
c. Vice-consul
d. Consular agent
Appointment
Consuls derive their authority from two
principal sources:
1. Letter patent ​or ​lettré de provision​,
which is the commission issued by the
sending state
2. Exequatur​, which is the authority given
to them by the receiving state to
exercise their duties therein.
*hence, consuls are public officers not only of
the sending state but of the receiving state as
well, adn are governed by the laws of both
to receive consuls and to withhold the ​exequatur
from them without explanation.
***​the consent given to the establishment of
diplomatic relations between two states implies,
unless otherwise stated, consent to the
establishment of consular relations. However,
severance of diplomatic relations shall not ​ipso
facto involve the severance of consular relations
and ​vice versa​.
Functions
1. Duties pertaining to commerce and
navigation
2. Duties respecting the issuance of
passports and visas
3. Duties of protection of nationals
Principal duty: to promote the commercial
interests of their country in the receiving state
and to observe the commercial trends and
developments therein for report to their home
government
Immunities and Privileges
1. Right to official communication
2. Inviolability of their archives
3. Production or testimony concerning
archives cannot be compelled
4. Exempt from the local jurisdiction for
crimes committed by them in the
discharge of their official functions
5. Civil suits may be instituted against
consuls in their personal or private
capacity but not in matters connected
with their official duties
6. Generally exempted from taxation,
customs duties, service in the militia,
and social security rules
7. Privileged to display their national flag
and insignia in the consulate
*these are available also to the members of the
consular post, their respective families, and the
private staffs
Termination of Consular Mission
1. Removal
2. Resignation

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PIL FINALS EXAM REVIEWER (CHAPTERS 10-17) [draft 1] (Amb. Rolando Gregorio)

3. Death
4. Expiration of the term
5. Withdrawal of ​exequatur by the
receiving state
6. Outbreak of war between the receiving
and sending states
7. Extinction of either state

*​severance of consular relations does not

necessarily terminate diplomatic relations

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PIL FINALS EXAM REVIEWER (CHAPTERS 10-17) [draft 1] (Amb. Rolando Gregorio)

Chapter 14 - - A treaty forced upon the person

TREATIES of the negotiator is
unquestionably null and void
✪ ​“Treaty” - a formal agreement, usually but ab initio
not necessarily in writing, which is entered into - When forced upon the state
by states or entities possessing the itself, it was upheld by earlier
treaty-making capacity, for the purpose of writers when was was still
regulating their mutual relations under the law accepted as a legitimate means
of nations. of compulsion
- Conventions, declarations, covenants, 4. On any ​lawful subject-matter
acts, concordats 5. In ​accordance ​with their respective
constitutional processes
*​An executive agreement is not a treaty insofar
as the concurrence thereto of the Senate is not Treaty-making Process
required under our Constitution. However, from (NS-RES)
the viewpoint of international law, “treatise and 1. Negotiation
executive agreements are alike in that both - Undertaken by the head of
constitute equally binding obligations upon the state or his authorized
nation” representatives
- One of the parties submit a
Functions of Treaties draft of the proposed treaty
(SMTH) which, together with the
1. To ​settle ​finally actual and potential counter-proposals, becomes
conflicts the basis of the subsequent
2. To make it possible for parties to negotiations
modify ​the rules of international 2. Signature
customary law by means of optional - Happens if and when the
principles or standards negotiators finally decide on
3. Transformation ​of unorganized the terms of the treaty
international society into one which - Is a means of authenticating the
may be organized on any chosen level of instrument and for the purpose
social integration of symbolizing the good faith of
4. Provide the ​humus ​for the growth of the parties
international customary law - Does not indicate the final
consent of the state in cases
Essential Requisites of a Valid Treaty where ratification of the treaty
(TAWLA) is required
1. Entered into by parties with the 3. Ratification
treaty-making capacity - The formal act by which a state
2. Through their ​authorized confirms and accepts the
representatives provisions of a treaty
- In the PH, the President is concluded by its
authorized to make treaties, representatives
subject to the concurrence of - Purpose is to examine the
two-thirds of all the members treaty more closely and to give
of the Senate them an opportunity to refuse
3. Without ​the attendance of duress, to be bound by it
fraud, mistake, or other vice of consent - Refusal to ratify must be based
- Fraud or mistake will on substantial grounds
invalidate a treaty as it would
an ordinary contract

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PIL FINALS EXAM REVIEWER (CHAPTERS 10-17) [draft 1]
- To avoid total rejection of a
treaty, the ratification is
qualified or made conditional
4. Exchange of the instruments of
ratification
- Usually also signifies the
effectivity of the treaty unless a
different date has been agreed
upon by the parties
5. Submission for registration and
publication under the UN Charter
- Necessary so that the treaty can
be invoked before any organ of
the United Nations
- Nevertheless, the treaty does
not cease to be binding
between the parties and may
be the basis of a litigation
before some other arbitral or
judicial body not connected
with UN
Binding Effect of Treaties
General rule:​ a treaty is binding only on the
contracting parties
Exception:​ in case of ​accession,​ where other
states which have not participated in the
negotiation of the agreement, have been allowed
by its terms to sign it later
*non-parties are usually not bound under the
maxim ​pacta tertiis nec nocent nec prosunt (a
treaty binds the parties and only the parties; it
does not create obligations for a third state
without their consent)
Instances when Third States may be validly
held to the observance of or benefit from the
provisions of a treaty:
1. The treaty may be merely a formal
expression of customary international
law which, as such, is enforceable on all
civilized states because of their
membership in the family of nations
2. Article 2 of UN Charter: that the
Organization “shall ensure that
non-member States act in accordance
with the principles of the Charter so far
as may be necessary for the
(Amb. Rolando Gregorio)
maintenance of international peace and
security.”
3. The treaty itself may expressly extend
its benefit to non-signatory states
Observance of Treaties
● Pacta sunt servanda r​ equires the
performance in good faith of treaty
obligations
● Willful disregard of a treaty is frowned
upon by the society of nations and is
likely to stigmatize the erring state.
When a treaty conflicts with the constitution of
one of the parties:​ the former is nevertheless
internationally binding although unenforceable
under municipal law. The reason, according to
Willoughby, is that “peculiarities of
constitutional structure are without
international significance to other states.
Doctrine of ​rebus sic stantibus
- The equivalent exception to the maxim
pacta sunt servanda
- It constitutes an attempt to formulate a
legal principle which would justify
non-performance of a treaty obligation
if the conditions with relation to which
the parties contracted have changed so
materially and so unexpectedly as to
create a situation in which the exaction
of performance would be unreasonable.
- Limitations:
a. It applies only to treaties of
indefinite duration;
b. The vital change must have
been unforeseen or
unforeseeable and should not
have been caused by the party
invoking the doctrine;
c. The doctrine must be invoked
within a reasonable time; and
d. It cannot operate retroactively
upon the provisions of the
treaty already executed prior to
the change of circumstances.
Where fundamental change has occurred with
regard to a fact or situation existing at the time
when the treaty was entered into,​ it may be
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PIL FINALS EXAM REVIEWER (CHAPTERS 10-17) [draft 1] (Amb. Rolando Gregorio)

invoked as a ground for terminating or

withdrawing from the treaty if:
a. The existence of that fact or situation
constituted an essential basis of the
consent of the parties to the treaty; and
b. The effect of the change is to transform
in an essential respect the character of
the obligations undertaken in the treaty.

Treaty Interpretation

- Basic rule is to give effect to the

intention of the parties, which is
discoverable in the terms of the treaty
itself
- Conflicts in treaty interpretation may be
resolved only:
a. By agreement of the parties
themselves
b. By an international body and
not unilaterally by the national
courts of the contracting
parties

Termination of Treaties

a. By ​expiration ​of the term, which may

be fixed or subject to a resolutory
condition
b. By ​accomplishment​ of the purpose
c. By ​impossibility ​of performance
d. By ​loss​ of the subject-matter
e. By ​desistance​ of the parties
f. By ​novation
g. By ​extinction​ of one of the parties
h. By ​vital change of circumstances under
the doctrine of ​rebus sic stantibus
i. By ​outbreak of war between the
parties
j. By ​voidance​ of the treaty

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PIL FINALS EXAM REVIEWER (CHAPTERS 10-17) [draft 1]
Chapter 15 -
NATIONALITY AND STATELESSNESS
“Nationality” - the tie that binds an individual
to his state, from which he can claim protection
and whose laws he is obliged to obey.
- Membership in a political community
will all its concomitant rights and
obligations
“Citizenship” - has a more exclusive scope in
that it applies only to certain members of the
state accorded more privileges than the rest of
the people who also owe it allegiance
“Subject” - has particular reference to the
nations of monarchical regimes
Acquisition of Nationality
1. By birth
2. By naturalization
“​Jure soli”​ - an individual acquires the
nationality of the state where he is born
“​Jure sanguinis​” - acquires the nationality of his
parents
“Naturalization” - a process by which a
foreigner acquires, voluntarily or by operation
of law, the nationality of another state
Multiple Nationality
- An individual may sometimes find
himself possessed of more than one
nationality because of the concurrent
application to him of the municipal laws
of the states claiming him as their
national.
- Example​: child born in the United States
of Filipino parentage
✪ “Doctrine of Indelible Allegiance” - an
individual may be compelled to retain his
original nationality notwithstanding that he has
already renounced or forfeited in under the laws
of a second state whose nationality he has
acquired.
(Amb. Rolando Gregorio)
Loss of Nationality
1. Voluntary methods
a. Renunciation​, express or
implied
b. Request for ​release
2. Involuntary methods
a. Forfeiture ​as a result of some
disqualification or prohibited
act like
b. Substitution ​of one nationality
for another following a change
of sovereignty or any act
conferring derivative
naturalization
Conflict of Nationality Laws
Hague Convention of 1930
1. It is for each State to determine under
its law who are its nationals
2. Any question as to whether a person
possesses the nationality of a particular
State shall be determined in accordance
with the law of the State
3. A person having two or more
nationalities may be regarded as its
national by each of the States
4. A State may not afford diplomatic
protection to one of its nationals against
a State whose nationality such person
also possesses
5. Within a third State, a person having
more than one nationality shall be
treated as if he had only one.
✪ “Principle of Effective or Active
Nationality” - a third State shall, of the
nationalities which any such person possesses,
recognize exclusively in its territory either the
nationality of the country in which he is
habitually and principally resident or the
nationality of the country with which in the
circumstances he appears to be in fact most
closely connected
6. A person possessing two nationalities
acquired without any voluntary act on
his part may renounce one of them with
the authorization of the State whose
nationality he desires to surrender.
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PIL FINALS EXAM REVIEWER (CHAPTERS 10-17) [draft 1] (Amb. Rolando Gregorio)

✪ “Statelessness” - the condition or status of

an individual who is born without any
nationality or who loses his nationality without
retaining or acquiring another.
- Example​: a child born in a state where
only the ​jus sanguinis i​ s recognized to
parents whose state observes only the
jus soli
- Such individual is powerless to assert
any right that otherwise would be
available to him under international law
were he a national of a particular state.
- Any wrong suffered by him through the
act or omission of a state would be
damnum absque injuria ​✪ ​for in theory
no other state had been offended and no
international delinquency committed as
a result of the damage caused upon him.

Children shall have the nationality of the

state of their birth whenever their parents
are:
a. Unknown
b. Stateless or of unknown nationality
c. A father who is stateless or of unknown
nationality and a mother who is a
national of the state where they are
born

Stateless Persons are entitled to, among

others:
1. Right to religion and religious
instruction
2. Access to courts
3. Elementary education
4. Public relief and assistance and
rationing of product in short supply
5. Treatment no less favorable than that
accorded to aliens generally

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