Co Kim Chan v Valdez Tan Keh

8/13/2019 Co Kim Chan v Valdez Tan Keh

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Co Kim Chan v Valdez Tan Keh

Facts of the case: Co Kim Chan had a pending civil case, initiated during the Japanese occupation,with the Court of First Instance of Manila. After the Liberation of the Manila and the American

occupation, Judge Arsenio Dizon refused to continue hearings on the case, saying that proclamationissued by General Douglas MacArthur had invalidated and nullified all judicial proceedings andjudgments of the courts of the Philippines and, without an enabling law, lower courts have nojurisdiction to take cognizance of and continue judicial proceedings pending in the courts of the defunctRepublic of the Philippines (the Philippine government under the Japanese).

The court resolved three issues:

Whether or not judicial proceedings and decisions made during the Japanese occupation werevalid and remained valid even after the American occupation;

Whether or not the October 23,1944 proclamation MacArthur issued in which he declared that alllaws, regulations and processes of any other government in the Philippines than that of the saidCommonwealth are null and void and without legal effect in areas of the Philippines free of enemyoccupation and control invalidated all judgments and judicial acts and proceedings of the courts

And whether or not if they were not invalidated by Mac Arthurs proclamation, those courts couldcontinue hearing the cases pending before them.

Ratio: Political and international law recognizes that all acts and proceedings of a de facto governmentare good and valid. The Philippine Executive Commission and the Republic of the Philippines underthe Japanese occupation may be considered de facto governments, supported by the military forceand deriving their authority from the laws of war.

Municipal laws and private laws, however, usually remain in force unless suspended or changed bythe conqueror. Civil obedience is expected even during war, for the existence of a state of insurrectionand war did not loosen the bonds of society, or do away with civil government or the regularadministration of the laws. And if they were not valid, then it would not have been necessaryfor MacArthur to come out with a proclamation abrogating them.

second question, the court said, hinges on the interpretation of the phrase processesof anyother government and whether or not he intended it to annul all other judgments and judicialproceedings of courts during the Japanese military occupation


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according to international law, non-political judgments and judicial proceedings of de factogovernments are valid and remain valid even after the occupied territory has been liberated, then itcould not have been

Mac Arthurs intention to refer to judicial processes, which would be in violation of international law.

well-known rule of statutory construction is: A statute ought never to be construed to violate thelaw of nations if any other possible construction remains.

is that where great inconvenience will result from a particular construction, or greatmischief done, such construction is to be avoided, or the court ought to presume that suchconstruction was not intended by the makers of the law, unless required by clear and unequivocalwords.

judgments of courts made during the Japanese occupation would clog the dockets andviolate international law, therefore what MacArthur said should not be construed to mean that judicial

proceedings are included in the phrase processes of any other governments. In the case of US vsReiter, the court said that if such laws and institutions are continued in use by the occupant, theybecome his and derive their force from him. The laws and courts of the Philippines did not become, bybeing continued as required bythe law of nations, laws and courts of Japan

is a legal maxim that, excepting of a political nature, law once established continues until changedby some competent legislative power. IT IS NOT CHANGED MERELY BYCHANGE OFSOVEREIGNTY. Until, of course, the new sovereign by legislative act creates a change.

even assuming that Japan legally acquired sovereignty over the Philippines, and the lawsand courts of the Philippines had become courts of Japan, as the said courts and laws creating andconferring jurisdiction upon them have continued in force until now, it follows that the same courts maycontinue exercising the same jurisdiction over cases pending therein before the restoration of theCommonwealth Government, until abolished or the laws creating and conferring jurisdiction uponthem are repealed by the said government.

Writ of mandamus issued to the judge of the Court of First Instance of Manila, ordering him to takecognizance of and continue to final judgment the proceedings in civil case no. 3012.Summary of ratio:

International law says the acts of a de facto government are valid and civil laws continue evenduring occupation unless repealed.


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.MacArthur annulled proceedings of other governments, but this cannot be applied on judicialproceedings because such a construction would violate the law of nations.

Since the laws remain valid, the court must continue hearing the case pending before ***3

kinds of de facto government: one established through rebellion (govt gets possession and controlthrough force or the voice of the majority and maintains itself against the will of the rightfulgovernment occupation (established and maintained by military forces who invade andoccupy a territory of the enemy in the course of war; denoted as a government of paramount force)

insurrection (established as an independent government by the inhabitants of a country

who rise in insurrection against the parent state)

Co Kim Chan vs. Valdez Tan Keh75 PHIL 131

FACTS:Petitioner filed a motion for mandamus which prays that the respondent judgebe ordered to continue the proceeding which was initiated under the regime of the so-called Republic of the Philippines established during the Japanese military occupation.It is based on the proclamation issued by Gen. Douglas McArthur which had the effectof invalidating and nullifying all judicial proceedings and judgments of the courts of thePhilippines. Furthermore, it was contended that the lower courts have no jurisdiction totake cognizance of and continue judicial proceedings pending the court of the defunctrepublic in the absence of enabling law.

ISSUES:Whether the government established in the said Japanese occupation is infact a de facto government.

Whether the judicial acts and proceedings of the courts existing in the Philippines underthe Philippine Executive Commission were good and valid even after the liberation orreoccupation of the Philippines by the US Forces.

HELD:In political and international law, all acts and proceedings of the legislative,executive and judicial department of a de facto government is valid. Being a de factogovernment, judicial acts done under its control, when they are not political in nature, tothe extent that they effect during the continuance and control of said government remain

good.

All judgment and judicial proceedings which are not of political complexion were goodand valid before and remained as such even after the occupied territory had come againinto the power of true and original sovereign.

Wherefore, the respondent judge is directed to take cognizance of the civil case (3012)and continue the proceedings.
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Co kim chan vs valdez tankeh

Gr L5

FACTS: a petition for mandamus was flied by herein petitioner. Seeking to continue theproceedings in civil case #3012 which the judge of CFI in manila refused to continue on

the ground the proclamation issued by gen. douglas macarthur had the effect of

invalidating and nullifying all the judicial proceedings and judgments of the court of the

Philippines under the Japanese rule.

ISSUE: whether or not the proclamation of gen.MacArthur nullifies the judicial

proceedings.

HELD: no. the proclamation intends only to nullify their laws, whether legislature or

judicial which has political complexion.

Co Kim Cham vs. Valdez Tan Keh and Dizon75 Phil 113Feria, J.

Facts

The respondent judge of the lower court refused to take cognizance of and continuethe proceeding of civil case No. 3012 of said court which was initiated under the regimeof the so-called Republic of the Philippines established during the Japanese militaryoccupation of the Philippines. He argued that the proclamation issued by Gen. DouglasMacArthur had the effect of invalidating and nullifying all judicial proceedings and

judgements of the courts of the said governments. He also argued that the saidgovernments during the Japanese occupation were not de facto governments.

Issue

Whether or not the governments established in the Philippines under the names ofPhilippines Executive Commission and Republic of the Philippines during the Japanesemilitary occupation or regime were de facto governments.

Held

The Supreme Court held that the Philippine Executive Commission which wasorganized by Order No. 1 by the Commander of the Japanese forces, was a civilgovernment established by the military forces of occupation and therefore a de facto


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government of the second kind. The source of its authority comes from the Japanesemilitary, it is a government imposed by the laws of war. The same is true with theRepublic of the Philippines. Apparently established and organized as a sovereign stateindependent from any other government by the Filipino people, was, in truth and reality,a government established by the Japanese forces of occupation

Co Kim Chan v Valdez Tan Keh

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