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  • Holy See v. Del Rosario

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    Dan Abania
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    1) The Holy See, represented by the Papal Nuncio, claimed sovereign immunity in a case filed against it by Starbright Sales Enterprises regarding the sale of a parcel of land known as Lot 5-A. 2) The Supreme Court ruled that the sale of Lot 5-A was an act jure imperii or public act of sovereignty for the Holy See, as the land was originally donated for use as the residence of the Papal Nuncio and was sold due to the presence of squatters. 3) As such, the Holy See was entitled to sovereign immunity and the case against it was dismissed, with Starbright's only remedy being to ask the

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    09. Holy See v. Del Rosario

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    1) The Holy See, represented by the Papal Nuncio, claimed sovereign immunity in a case filed against it by Starbright Sales Enterprises regarding the sale of a parcel of land known as Lot 5-A. 2) The Supreme Court ruled that the sale of Lot 5-A was an act jure imperii or public act of sovereignty for the Holy See, as the land was originally donated for use as the residence of the Papal Nuncio and was sold due to the presence of squatters. 3) As such, the Holy See was entitled to sovereign immunity and the case against it was dismissed, with Starbright's only remedy being to ask the

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    641 views2 pages

    Holy See v. Del Rosario

    Uploaded by

    Dan Abania
    1) The Holy See, represented by the Papal Nuncio, claimed sovereign immunity in a case filed against it by Starbright Sales Enterprises regarding the sale of a parcel of land known as Lot 5-A. 2) The Supreme Court ruled that the sale of Lot 5-A was an act jure imperii or public act of sovereignty for the Holy See, as the land was originally donated for use as the residence of the Papal Nuncio and was sold due to the presence of squatters. 3) As such, the Holy See was entitled to sovereign immunity and the case against it was dismissed, with Starbright's only remedy being to ask the

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 2

    CASE DIGEST

    Holy See v. Del Rosario


    Constitutional Law - I

    Court Supreme Court


    Citation G.R. No. 101949
    Date December 1, 1994
    Petitioner The Holy See
    Respondents Hon. Eriberto U. Rosario, Jr. and Starbright Sales Enterprises Inc.
    Ponente Quiason, J.
    Relevant topic State Immunity
    Prepared by Digest Group 6 (Abania, De Leon, Romero A., Romero C., Tumagos)

    RELEVANT CHARACTERS:
    Character Tag Character Description
    Holy See Petitioner - Jurisdiction of the pope over Vatican City
    - Represented in the Philippines by the Papal Nuncio
    (diplomatic representative of the Holy See)
    - Seller of Lot 5-A
    Starbright Sales Starbright - A domestic corporation engaged in the real estate business
    Enterprises, Inc. - Purchased Lot 5-A from petitioner
    Msgr. Domingo A. Cirilos - Acted as agent of the sellers in the sale transaction
    Cirilos Jr.

    FACTS:
     The controversy arose over a parcel of land (Lot 5-A) consisting of 6,000 sq. m. located in Parañaque, Metro
    Manila and registered in the name of petitioner.
     Lot 5-A is adjacent to Lots 5-B and 5-D which are registered in the name of the Philippine Realty Corporation
    (PRC).
     The 3 lots were sold to Ramon Licup, with Cirilos acting as agent of the sellers. Thereafter, Licup assigned his
    rights to the sale to Starbright.
     Dispute arose between the parties with respect to which party has the responsibility to evict the squatters who
    refuse to vacate the lots
     Prior to reaching an agreement, petitioner and PRC sold the lots to Tropicana Properties and Development
    Corporation (Tropicana)
     On Jan. 23, 1990, Starbright filed a complaint with the RTC – Branch 61 of Makati for the following:
    1. annulment of the sale to Tropicana,
    2. reconveyance of the lots to Starbright, and;
    3. specific performance and damages against petitioner, Cirilos, PRC, and Tropicana
     On June 8, 1990, the petitioner moved to dismiss the complaint on the ground of sovereign immunity from suit
     Starbright opposed petitioner’s motion to dismiss, alleging that petitioner divested itself of sovereign immunity
    by entering, of its own free will, into the sale of parcels of land located in the Philippines
     On June 20, 1991, the RTC denied petitioner’s motion to dismiss
     Petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration which was deferred by the RTC; petitioner then elevated the
    matter to the SC

    ISSUE – HELD – RATIO:

    ISSUE #1 HELD
    WoN sovereign immunity may be set up as defense by the petitioner? YES

    RATIO:
     There are 2 conflicting concepts of sovereign immunity:
    1. Classical or Absolute theory
    - A sovereign cannot, without its consent, be made a respondent in the courts of another sovereign
    2. Restrictive theory
    - Immunity of a sovereign is limited to public acts or acts jure imperii of a state
    - Immunity does not cover private acts or acts jure gestionis
     The SC has adopted the restrictive theory in its previous decisions

    Page 1 of 2
    CASE DIGEST
    Holy See v. Del Rosario
    Constitutional Law - I

     To determine whether sovereign immunity will apply, the Court will have to determine the nature of the act
    performed by the petitioner
    - A contract between a foreign state and a private party does not necessarily mean that it is an act jure
    gestionis
    - To determine whether a transaction entered into by a foreign state is an act jure imperii or jure
    gestionis, the nature of the transaction must be considered
    - If the foreign state is not engaged regularly in such trade/business, and if the act is in pursuit of a
    sovereign activity (or incident thereof), then it is an act jure imperii, especially if not undertaken for
    profit
     In the case at hand, the requisites to be considered an act jure imperii were satisfied:
    - Lot 5-A was a donation to the petitioner from the Archdiocese of Manila to be used as the official
    place of residence of the Papal Nuncio, the diplomatic representative of the petitioner
    - Decision to sell the property was also clothed with governmental character and not pursued for profit;
    the petitioner merely wanted to dispose of the property due to the presence of squatters making it
    almost impossible to use the same for its intended purpose
     The petitioner’s entitlement to sovereign immunity was also established by the Memorandum and Certification
    of the Dept. of Foreign Affairs
    - The determination by the Executive branch that a state is entitled to sovereign immunity is a political
    question that is conclusive upon the courts
    - Affirmation by the Executive must be accepted by the courts so as not to embarrass the Executive in
    conducting the country’s foreign relations
     The only remedy available to Starbright is to ask the PH government to espouse its claims against the
    petitioner

    RULING:

    WHEREFORE, the petition for certiorari is GRANTED and the complaint in Civil Case No. 90-183 against petitioner is
    DISMISSED.

    Page 2 of 2

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