Rellosa v Gaw Chee Hun

• Jurisdiction: Filipinas
• Date: 29 September 1953
• Court: Supreme Court (Philippines)

Philippines, Supreme Court.

Rellosa

and

Gaw Chee Hun.

Belligerent Occupation — Nature and Effects of — Constitution Adopted under Occupation — Effect of Philippine Constitution Adopted During Japanese Occupation.

The Facts.—On February 2, 1944, the plaintiff conveyed certain realty in Manila to the defendant, a Chinese national. The plaintiff brought this action seeking annulment of the conveyance on the ground that a condition of the sale was that the defendant would obtain the approval of the Japanese Military Administration in accordance with Seirei No. 6 and that such approval had not been obtained. Seirei No. 6 prohibited aliens from acquiring certain categories of land without special permission. In addition, the plaintiff alleged that the sale would in any event be void under section 5 of Article VIII of the Philippine Constitution, which prohibited the transfer of land except to persons qualified to acquire and hold lands of the public domain of the Philippines. The Court below dismissed the plaintiff's petition, and he appealed. The Court of Appeals having affirmed the dismissal of the petition, the plaintiff appealed further. He contended, inter alia, that Seirei No. 6 violated Article 43 of the Hague Regulations.

Held: that the decision of the Court of Appeals must be affirmed. The sale was rendered invalid by the provisions of the Constitution, which was in force at the time of the sale. However, because the parties were in pari delictu, the conveyance would not be nullified, and no affirmative relief would be granted.

The Court said: “We do not believe it necessary to consider now the question relative to the validity of Seirei No. 6 of the Japanese Military Administration for the simple reason that in our opinion the law that should govern the particular transaction is not the above directive, but the Constitution adopted by the then Republic of the Philippines on September 4,1943, it appearing that the aforesaid transaction was executed on February 2, 1944. Said Constitution, in its Article VIII...