Question

Choice of Law and the Doctrine of Renvoi

Mary, a Filipino citizen, entered into a contract with John, a British citizen, for the sale of a property in the Philippines. The contract contains a choice of law clause that states, "This contract shall be governed by the laws of the Philippines."

However, a dispute has arisen between Mary and John regarding the interpretation of certain provisions in the contract. They have sought legal advice on which country's laws will apply to resolve the dispute.

Assuming that the Philippines follows the principle of lex loci contractus (the law of the place where the contract was made) and recognizes the doctrine of renvoi (the referring back of a legal question to the law of another jurisdiction), discuss the following:

1. Whether the Philippine court would apply Philippine law as the choice of law clause states, or whether it would refer back to British law due to the presence of a foreign party.
2. If the Philippine court refers back to British law, whether it would consider only British substantive law or if it would also apply British conflict of laws rules.
3. If the Philippine court applies British law, how it would determine which specific rules of British law to apply, considering that British law might recognize the doctrine of renvoi and refer the question back to Philippine law.