Public International Law Finals (Chapters 6 & 7) - Golosino Flashcards
- The Republic of Tana will have its centennial celebration for liberations from Nata (its conqueror). To highlight the event, President Nagar (the President of Tana) invited President Nagur (President of Tana-tana) to be their valued guest. Said invitation was impliedly accepted. During the momentous day, President Nagur never showed up to the embarrassment of the entire citizens of Tana. Humiliated and furious, President Nagar sued President Nagur before an international court contending that there was implied acceptance and no-show tantamount to an insult.
Rule on the merit of the case.
The case is not meritorious.
Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, there is no legal liability to be incurred by any state for refusing to send or receive diplomatic representatives.
In the case at bar, the implied acceptance of President Nagur cannot be used to bind him to perform said obligation of attending the centennial celebrations of the Tana.
Hence, the case filed by President Nagar is not meritorious.
- The Republic of Tana will have its centennial celebration for liberations from Nata (its conqueror). To highlight the event, President Nagar (the President of Tana) invited President Nagur (President of Tana-tana) to be their valued guest. Said invitation was impliedly accepted. During the momentous day, President Nagur indeed showed up. While delivering his message on stage, Nagur spotted that the emcee was so gorgeous and her breasts were protruding seductively. After his speech, he caressed the emcee, hugged tightly and kissed her lips. The emcee showed no resistance and appeared to be delighted. On the other hand, Honorable Virgin (from Ako Sana Partylist) sued Nagur for a crime of acts of lasciviousness before the RTC of Tana.
a. If you are the counsel of Nagur, what will be your defense?
If I am the counsel of Nagur, I will invoke diplomatic immunity as my defense.
Diplomatic immunity is essentially a political question and the courts should refuse to look beyond the determination by the executive branch.
- The Republic of Tana will have its centennial celebration for liberations from Nata (its conqueror). To highlight the event, President Nagar (the President of Tana) invited President Nagur (President of Tana-tana) to be their valued guest. Said invitation was impliedly accepted. During the momentous day, President Nagur indeed showed up. While delivering his message on stage, Nagur spotted that the emcee was so gorgeous and her breasts were protruding seductively. After his speech, he caressed the emcee, hugged tightly and kissed her lips. The emcee showed no resistance and appeared to be delighted. On the other hand, Honorable Virgin (from Ako Sana Partylist) sued Nagur for a crime of acts of lasciviousness before the RTC of Tana.
b. What if Honorable Virgin, instead of filing a case against Nagur before any court in Tana, filed a protest before the Supreme Court of Tana asking that the diplomatic immunity accorded to Nagur be waived.
If the Supreme Court justices asked for your comments about the merit of Virgin’s case, what will be your answer?
Virgin’s protest has no legal support. (But to impress the examiner, you must say; “underpinning” instead of the word support)
Virgin’s protest has no legal underpinning.
Waiver of immunity can only be made by the sending state and not to be done by the receiving state.
- Mr. Solcon was appointed by Inday Sorrow (the VP of the
Republic of the Philippines) as one of the delegates of the Philippines for the upcoming UN Summit to be held in Japan. Mr. Solcon received the letter of acceptance from the UN Secretariat confirming his attendance to the said summit. When the delegates were about to board Philippine Airlines, Mr. Solcon was denied entry to the plane as per order of President Bobong Marcase executed thru Atty. Enrile. Mr. Solcon argued that under the right of diplomatic intercourse, his travel gained legal persona because of the acceptance by the UN Secretariat accorded in advance to him.
Whose act gained legal standing?
The act of President Marcase in denying the travel of Mr. Solcon as part of Philippine envoys to the UN Summit in Japan gained legal standing.
Under Section 16, Article VII of the Philippine Constitution, it is the President who appoints, sends, and instructs the diplomatic and consular representatives.
In the instant case, Mr. Solcon was appointed by the Vice President to become part of the Philippine envoys to the UN Summit in Japan.
Receiving an invalid appointment, it was just proper for the President to prevent Mr. Solcon from joining the Philippine envoys.
- Last November 1, 2022, the employees of US embassy in the Philippines held a Halloween Party inside the premises of the said embassy. They used super advanced sound system which produced high pitch and high decibels of audio. These annoyed the nearby residents who in turn reported the matter to the nearest police station. Acting with dispatch, a group of police officers barged into the embassy. Right and behold,
they spotted a lot of female employees dancing topless and intoxicated.
An information for violations of curfew and local ordinance were filed against these employees.
Rule on the merit of the case.
The case is not meritorious.
Under the principle of exterritoriality, an embassy is an extension of the sovereignty and territory of the sending state.
Here in this case, the purported offenses happened inside the US embassy. Even if the embassy stands on Philippine soil, jurisdiction cannot be invoked by the Philippine government.
For this reason, the information filed against the employees of the US embassy gained no legal merit.
- Upon arrival in Hawaii, male delegations from Kingdom of Tonga (official envoys) were amazed by the beauty of place. Defying security protocols, they immediately proceeded to a house of ill-refute in order to satisfy some personal cravings. They were refused entry by the guard contending that Tongans are unruly and cannot be sued due to diplomatic immunity. In order to pacify the guard, all of them (in unison) uttered “we categorically waived our diplomatic immunity in exchange of being allowed entry” to this establishment.
a. Discuss the validity of the waiver.
The waiver was invalid.
Diplomatic privileges may be waived, but as a rule, the waiver cannot be made by the individual concerned since such immunities are not personal to him.
Here, the members of the envoys categorically waived their diplomatic immunities just to satisfy their urges and lusts.
Hence, the waiver was invalid.
- Upon arrival in Hawaii, male delegations from Kingdom of Tonga (official envoys) were amazed by the beauty of place. Defying security protocols, they immediately proceeded to a house of ill-refute in order to satisfy some personal cravings. They were refused entry by the guard contending that Tongans are unruly and cannot be sued due to diplomatic immunity. In order to pacify the guard, all of them (in unison) uttered “we categorically waived our diplomatic immunity in exchange of being allowed entry” to this establishment.
b. What if the authorities in Hawaii invoked implied waiver? Will this contention hold any legality?
No, the implied waiver holds no legal ground.
Implied waiver can only be invoked when the diplomat chooses to initiate a civil suit in a local court, he places himself under the jurisdiction of that court.
Here, the male diplomats purportedly waived diplomatic immunity just to gain entry a to house of ill-refute. Said act is in no way proximate nor directly connected to the ground of impliedly waiving diplomatic immunity.
Therefore, the implied waiver holds no legal ground.
- Mr. Horn Nee is part of the official envoys of the United States of America to the Philippines in order to attend to the installation of President Bongbong Robredo to his presidency. While attending the ceremony, Nee went to one of the comfort rooms of Malacanang to respond to the call of nature. While inside, he saw Vice Pangit (gay), dressed in gown and apparently appeared to be a female figure. He immediately strangulated Pangit and proceeded in undressing him. To his dismay, while removing the underwear, he saw a male genitalia and not a female organ. Disgusted, he left Pangit half conscious. When the crime was uncovered, police authorities sued Nee for an attempted rape. His lawyer invoked diplomatic immunity and further argued that rape cannot be slapped against his client saying that “Nee intended to have a carnal knowledge over a woman not to a man”.
Is the defense of the lawyer tenable?
The defense of the lawyer is untenable.
The act of private respondent diplomat of the USA in attempting to rape Pangit was unauthorized and could not be considered performed in the discharge of official functions.
The facts of the case indicated that Nee attempted to rape Pangit. His defense of retracting upon knowing that the victim is not a woman is of no moment a valid defense to exonerate him from the crime committed.
Hence, the defense of his counsel is untenable.
- President Bongbong Pacquiao entered into a treaty with Japan regarding free exchange of scholars who will conduct intensive research about the efficiency and safety features of the Bataan Nuclear Powered Plant. This was warmly welcomed by the members of the Senate. During its session, all of the Senators who attended the session which constituted a quorum voted in favor of the treaty. Congressman Way Kurat from the lone district of Baguio questioned the legality of the treaty before the Supreme Court.
Will his protest prosper?
(Answer worth three (3) points)
Yes, the protest of Congressman Way Kurat will prosper.
The rule on treaty in the Philippines requires that for a treaty to be valid, it must be concurred by a 2/3 votes of all the members of the Senate.
The facts of the case did not indicate that all members of the Senate attended the session.
Therefore, the protest of Congressman Way Kurat will prosper.
- President Bongbong Pacquiao entered into a treaty with Japan regarding free exchange of scholars who will conduct intensive research about the efficiency and safety features of the Bataan Nuclear Powered Plant. This was warmly welcomed by the members of the Senate. During its session, all of the Senators who attended the session which constituted a quorum voted in favor of the treaty. Congressman Way Kurat from the lone district of Baguio questioned the legality of the treaty before the Supreme Court.
Will his protest prosper?
(Answer worth five (5) points)
Yes, the protest of Congressman Way Kurat will prosper.
The rule on treaty in the Philippines requires that for a treaty to be valid, it must be concurred by a 2/3 votes of all the members of the Senate.
The facts of the case did not indicate that all members of the Senate attended the session. A quorum is only ½ plus 1. If only 13 Senators attended the session, still the votes of 13 is far short from the required votes of 16 which is the 2/3 of 24 Senators. Unless it is presumed that this quorum is constituted by more than 15 Senators, a mere quorum and a unison vote will not validate a treaty.
Hence, Way Kurat’s protest will prosper.
