Co Kim Chan v.

Valdez Tan Keh and Dizon

FACTS
Petition for mandamus to continue the civil case of Kim Chan v. Tan Keh over settlement of property rights, which was initiated under the regime of the so-called Republic of the Philippines established during the Japanese military occupation. Respondent Judge i!on refused to ta"e cogni!ance of the case, stating that #en. ouglas $ac%rthur&s Proclamation that 'all laws, regulations and processes of any gov&t in the Phil than that of the said Commonwealth are null and void and without legal effect in areas of the Philippines free of enemy occupation and control( invalidate and nullify all )udicial proceedings and )udgments of all the courts of the Philippines under the Philippine *+ecutive Commission and the Republic of the Philippines, plus the lower courts had no )urisdiction to continue )udicial proceedings in the absence of an enabling law granting such authority. The Japanese gov&t&s ,rder -o. ., in ./01, created the Philippine *+ecutive Commission to organi!e e+isting central administrative organs and )udicial courts. chadosorio

ISSUES
.. 2hether the )udicial acts and proceedings of the courts e+isting in the Philippines under the P*C and the Republic of the Philippines were good and valid and remained so even after the liberation or reoccupation of the Philippines 1. 2hether the proclamation issued by #en. $ac%rthur, as Commander in Chief of the 34 %rmy, has invalidated all )udgments and )udicial acts and proceedings of said courts 5. 6f )udicial proceedings and acts have not been invalidated by said proclamation, can the courts in the newly-liberated gov&t continue those proceedings

OPINIONS
Feria (ponente ('on'(r !! C" #oran$ Ozaeta$ Para%$ "aranilla and Pa&lo

). *hether the +(di'ial a't% and pro'eedin,% o- the 'o(rt% e.i%tin, in the Philippine% (nder the PEC and the /ep(&li' o- the Philippine% 0ere ,ood and valid and remained %o even a-ter the li&eration or reo''(pation o- the Philippine%1 2ES 6n international law, all acts and proceedings of a de facto gov&t are good and valid. There are three "inds of de facto gov&ts7 a. by force or by the voice of the ma)ority, b. military forces who invade a territory of the enemy on the course of war, and c. the inhabitants of a country who rise in insurrection against the parent state. 2e are concerned only with the latter two. 6n the second "ind, of de facto gov&t, two things must be seen7 it must be maintained by active military power against the rightful authority if an established and lawful gov&t, and it must have been necessarily obeyed in civil matters by private citi!ens whose acts are done due to force. 6n these cases, the 8ague Conventions of ./9: states that the occupant must reestablish and insure public order and safety while respecting the laws in force in the country. 8owever, it can suspend old laws and create new ones as seen fit, as asserted by the 4upreme Court and the Presidents of the 34 ;being colonists<. 6n other words, the municipal laws of a con=uered territory continue in force during military occupation, e+cept so far that they are suspended or changed by the acts of the con=ueror. 8allec", 6nternational >aw7 'The right of the belligerent? flows directly from the right to con=uer.( President $cKinley used this idea in the occupation of the Philippines. Thus, the P*C was deemed as a civil de facto gov&t of the second "ind, whose laws are imposed by the laws of war. The Republic of the Philippines, is of the same character as the P*C, being that Japan had no legal power to grant independence to the Philippines because its sovereignty lies in the 34, until proclaimed independent by the said country ;Tydings-$c uffie >aw<. RP was created merely to delude the @ilipino people into believing the magnanimity of the Japanese, to secure their cooperation or at least their neutrality. 8owever, even if RP was established by insurgents against 34, it was still a de facto gov&t of the third "ind, and by the principle of postliminy, )udicial acts and proceedings remained good and valid even after reoccupation, unless these were of a political comple+ion. %s long as the laws of the gov&t created after insurrection against parent state ;both )udicial and legislative< does not impair the rights of the citi!ens, their laws are deemed to have been valid. 6n 8orn v. >oc"hart7 'The e+istence of a state of insurrection and war did not loosen the bonds of society, or do away with civil government or the regular administration of the law.( 2ere it otherwise, the whole social life of the community would be paraly!ed by the

invasionAinsurrection, mentioning especially payment of ta+es and sentences upon criminals.chadosorio Thus, the being valid, they can be invalidated by the Proclamation of #en. $ac%rthur in ./00. 3. *hether the pro'lamation i%%(ed &4 5en. #a'Arth(r$ a% Commander in Chie- o- the US Arm4$ ha% invalidated all +(d,ment% and +(di'ial a't% and pro'eedin,% o- %aid 'o(rt%1 NO The definition of 'processes( as stated by #en. $ac%rthur comes into =uestion7 did it mean )udicial proceedingsB 6f that is the case, it would be in violation of the principles of international law re7 postliminy, which could result in great inconvenience and where public interests would be potentially sacrificed, because it would then paraly!e the social life of the occupied territory. 6t is presumed that #en. $ac%rthur did not intend to act against the principles of the law of nations. %ccordingly, 'a statute ought never to be construed to violate the law of nations if any other possible construction remains.( Together with *+ec ,rder -o. 1: in ./0:, which abolished the Court of %ppeals and provided that all previous cases be transmitted to the 4C for final decision, it was said to have meant that the proceedings during the Japanese period were valid, for the fact that they were to be appealed meant that the decisions that they have gotten from the lower courts held legal power. 6n the first place, the P*C empowered the previously-e+isting courts during the Commonwealth to continue with no substantial change in their organi!ation and )urisdiction, meaning to say that nothing much has changed since the Commonwealth. The state&s political resurrection was li"ened to how elastic bodies regain their original shape once the e+ternal force was removed, unless its whole fibre and content was crushed. Cecause of the Philippine courts& allowance to move bac" to where it stood before, it was deemed to have regained its )urisdiction even during the Japanese occupation, and in the same way, even after the liberation, 3->*44 they have been e+plicitly abolished legislatively by the occupying country. Ceale7 '>aws once established continues until changed by some competent legislative power. 6t is not merely changed by a change in sovereignty.( The term Dprocess of any other gov&t& was then defined as administrative, legislative and constitutional, not merely )udicial, because, according to the ponente, the term was too broad and encompassing to have possibly meant only )udicial proceedings.chadosorio 6. I- +(di'ial pro'eedin,% and a't% have not &een invalidated &4 %aid pro'lamation$ 'an the 'o(rt% in the ne0l41li&erated ,ov7t 'ontin(e tho%e pro'eedin,%81 2ES

Therefore, the present courts have )urisdiction to continue, to final )udgment, the proceedings in case, not of political comple+ion, pending therein at the time of the restoration of the Commonwealth gov&t. 8*> 7 The Court of @irst 6nstance of $anila was issued a writ of mandamus to continue final )udgment in the original case.

De "o4a (Con'(r 9
34 4upreme Court7 the commander-in-chief of the invading forces or military occupant may e+ercise gov&t authority, but inly when in actual possession of the enemy&s territory, and this authority will be e+ercised upon principles of international law. *+7 The 8ague Convention of ./9: The civil laws of a state may continue because they had been rendered by the courts of a de facto gov&t, unless there is an e+plicit law to repeal or change them. Petitioner contends that original )udicial proceedings were null and void due to the provisions of the ,ct 15, ./00 Proclamation, but because the courts which rendered )udgments therein were of competence and proper )urisdiction, then their decisions were legal, valid and binding.

Per-e'to (Di%%ent 9
>aws must be obeyed. This pertains not only to humans but also to the cosmic, natural and biological worlds as well. ). *hether the +(di'ial a't% and pro'eedin,% o- the 'o(rt% e.i%tin, in the Philippine% (nder the PEC and the /ep(&li' o- the Philippine% 0ere ,ood and valid and remained %o even a-ter the li&eration or reo''(pation o- the Philippine%1 NO The =uestion of which official acts of the gov&t established in the Philippines by the Japanese regime was as"ed by #en. $ac%rthur, and to be safe about it, he ordered the nullification of all laws ;legislative<, regulations ;e+ecutive< and processes ;)udiciary< under the Japanese regime. 2hen the Commonwealth gov&t has been reestablished, it is then that the laws, regulations and processes that would be considered beneficial to the people would be revived and validated.chadosorio The authority of the courts under the Japanese-created gov&t needed special laws to transfer the cases from the %merican-occupied territories to the P*C-approved courts, absence of which actually prevented them from having )urisdiction in the

first place, rendering the decisions in the cases brought before them void ab initio. 6t is a matter of procedure that is of utmost importance, as seen in Cabantag v. 2olfe, ./9.. Cabantag was convicted by a military court which was later abolished. 8e claimed that there being no e+isting tribunal to order the e+ecution of the penalty, there could be no punishment. The 4upreme Court denied the writ of habeas corpus, but stated that if the petition was filed before the passage of %ct EFG, which gave the Courts of @irst 6nstance the power to e+ecute the decisions rendered by the military courts, the result could have been different. @urthermore, even if said special laws were passed, the )udiciary system of the Philippines had trampled upon the civil liberties of its citi!ens. The most noble of all professions became the most despised, having been effectively annulled by helplessness against the Japanese military will. #en. $ac%rthur&s proclamation would then simply be a legality. 3. *hether the pro'lamation i%%(ed &4 5en. #a'Arth(r$ a% Commander in Chie- o- the US Arm4$ ha% invalidated all +(d,ment% and +(di'ial a't% and pro'eedin,% o- %aid 'o(rt%1 2ES #en. $ac%rthur had the power to create laws, being the C6C vested with e+traordinary inherent powers as supreme ruler and lawma"er of the territories under his control, second only to the fundamental laws of his country. 8is proclamation, then, was legal, valid and binding. % historical e+ample would be when President >incoln established in >ousiana new courts to hear out civil causes once the 4tate was put under his control after the Civil 2ar. #en. $ac%rthur had the power to change the laws, an authoritative ability also granted to the C6C of the belligerent colonist. This is against the ruling of the ma)ority that such powers are accorded to the commanding general of a belligerent army of illegal occupation but are not sure if the same would be accorded to the commanding general of a lawful reclamation of the legitimate government. The Dprocesses& referred to in the Proclamation were considered a. synonymous with proceedings or procedures in )udicial cases, andAor b. the orders of the court for a person to appear before it and comply with its demands ;Jacobs& >aw ictionary, >ord Co"e in 34 4upreme Court, et cetera<. 2hen the words of an instrument are free from ambiguity and doubt, there is no occasion to resort to other means of interpretation7 language is of utmost importance. The law of nations, )us gentiun, is imprecise, not an immutable science, non-regulative, without codification and statutory provisions. The citations of the ma)ority lac" support for their construction of the word Dprocesses.& #en. $ac%rthur wanted to eliminate war weapons of psychological character, with the aims of spreading the Japanese influence, so it was necessary that he order a clear policy removing such ideologies from the system of Philippine governance. The bandit nation of the social world, who promised to "ill ten prominent @ilipinos

for every one of them "illed, had to be removed not only physically but also from the collective @ilipino psyche, and it was to start with the elimination of the gov&t agencies it created.chadosorio @urthermore, the )udiciary system of the Philippines had trampled upon the civil liberties of its citi!ens. The most noble of all professions became the most despised, having been effectively annulled by helplessness against the Japanese military will. #en. $ac%rthur&s proclamation would then simply be a legality. Cetter ten guilty men go free than for one innocent man to suffer7 such declaration of the nullity of the )udicial proceedings would -,T paraly!e the social life of a country which had produced so many great heroes and martyrs. 6t does not matter that a few criminals convicted during the Japanese ,ccupation go free, what&s important is the higher value of the integrity of the law. #en. $ac%rthur said 'all processes.( Ceing the law, it was meant to say '%>> processes,( this against the ma)ority opinion saying '-,T all processes,( and stating that what is meant are merely cases of a political comple+ion. '%re we t read Dnot all,& where it is written Dall&B(

6. I- +(di'ial pro'eedin,% and a't% have not &een invalidated &4 %aid pro'lamation$ 'an the 'o(rt% in the ne0l41li&erated ,ov7t 'ontin(e tho%e pro'eedin,%81 NO *ven in the 34, )udgments rendered in one state are not e+ecutor in other states. To give them effect in other states t is necessary to initiate an original )udicial proceeding. The reac=uired courts of the Philppine gov&t, with the absence of a special enabling law, then cannot ta"e cogni!ance of the )udgments of the Japanese-empowered courts ;which were even then void ab initio<. The )udicial proceedings would have to start all over again.

Con'l(%ion9 2e feel )ittery because some )udicial processes might be we do not tremble with sincere alarm at the thought of a+e, of sentencing the law to be e+ecuted by guillotine. but for a denial of the petition for the reac=uired court continuance of the case.chadosorio rescinded or annulled, but putting the law under the 2e cannot therefore vote to ta"e cogni!ance of the

:ilado (Di%%ent 9

,riginal case has not been heard on the merits when the record was burned or destroyed. The proclamation stated that such laws, regulations and processes are not annulled, but null and void ab initio, meaning that they have no legal power and never had such in the first place. Cecause of this, the parties could then not consider decisions rendered by these courts to be valid and binding. These courts, under the orders of the Japanese 6mperial @orces, acted due to the latter&s paramount military strengths and not because of any intrinsic legal validity of the latter&s authority. ,rder -o. 5, which significantly omitted the Commonwealth Constitution, showed that the power of the courts given authority by the P*C was lac"ing because it did not claim the constitution. %lso, the Japanese-sponsored gov&t was not a de facto gov&t because it was a gov&t created by war. *ven if the Constitution stated that it followed the law of nations, because the same renounced war as an instrument of national policy, the gov&t was not mandated by the international law ;which was promulgated before 2orld 2ar .< on the e+istence of de facto gov&ts due to war. Those rules of international law were then not applicable to the Philppines. $ac%rthur, in changing the law, should have at least e=ual supremacy with his Japanese general counterpart. 6f the latter can change the law at will and empower or nullify pre-e+isting laws, then $ac%rthur should have the same power.chadosorio The Philippines, being a neutral territory, should not have been sub)ected to warli"e operations. 6ts call to arms was for purely defensive purposes. Japan violated the international laws re7 this. *ven more so, now that Japan has been defeated, why should the @ilipinos be bound to respect and recogni!e the validity in the acts of the Japanese-sponsored gov&t which has been so severly condemned by the heads of the 34 and the Commonwealth #ov&t throughout its e+istenceB To add to this, the )udges& decisions were made under duress. #iving them validity would have legali!ed Japan&s power over the Philippine 6slands. $ac%rthur&s *+ec ,rder -o. 5F, to re-establish the courts as fast as provinces are liberated from the Japanese, served to prevent social life from collapsing. 6t was an answer to the practical convenience purpose set up by the ma)ority ;ta+ation and emancipation of criminals mentioned<. % person having gone to court, part of a really small minority, "nowing full well that such courts were mandated by the Japanese should have been prepared to assume the conse=uences of that voluntary act. 8e or she has to file again. The semblance of an administration of )ustice, at the point of the bayonet of the Japanese army, should not be given validity.