exam 4

1. Is a treaty self-executing, or does it require a further legislative or executive act to be a source of legal rights and obligations?

2. In the hierarchy of rules in the Philippine legal system, how does a treaty stand in relation to the Constitution? May courts declare a treaty unconstitutional?

3. May the President or his representatives in on-going treaty negotiations be required to open the negotiation sessions to the press, reveal the agreed points so far achieved, and disclose to the public the positions of each side in unresolved issues, in the interest of freedom of speech and of the press as well as of the right to information on matters of public concern?

4. Reiterating in the same language its approach in Philip Morris v. Court of Appeals (224 SCRA 576), the Supreme Court in Mighty Corporation v. Gallo Winery (GR No. 154342, July 14, 2004) declares:

“Following universal acquiescence and comity, our municipal law on trademarks regarding the requirement of actual use in he Philippines must subordinate an international agreement inasmuch as the apparent clash is being decided by a municipal tribunal. . . Withal, the fact that international law has been made part of the law of the land does not by any means imply the primacy of international law over national law in the municipal sphere. Under the doctrine of incorporation as applied in the most countries, rules of international law are given a standing equal not superior to legislative enactments”.

Does this opinion raise a problem in international law?

5. In the conventional international law of extradition, what is meant by the attentat clause?

6. What are the formal requirements by which the act declaring invalid, terminating, withdrawing from or suspending the operation of a treaty shall be carried out?

7.May a treaty be terminated on the ground of fundamental change of circumstances (rebus sic stantibus)? State the requisites thereto.

8. a) In the context of the law of treaties, what is a third State?

b) May a treaty create rights or obligations for a third State without its consent?

9. As a general rule, does a treaty have retroactive applications?

10. What is an exequatur?