marriage of a married man in a foreign land

THE PROBLEM

A man (Filipino citizen) married to a Filipina in the Philippines under the Philippine law went to the United States and married a citizen of the United States under the law of the state he resides. What crime he committed?


1. CRIMINAL LIABILITY UNDER THE REVISED PENAL CODE

Under the law of the Philippines, the man committed no crime (Art. 2 Revised Penal Code).

Article 2 of the Revised Penal Code provides that the provision of said code shall be enforced within the Philippine Archipelago. The same Article, however, enumerates the exceptions to this rule so that it provides instances when this code is enforceable even outside the territory of the archipelago.

The crime of the married man, if any, in the example is not included in the enumeration of the crimes committed outside the Philippine territory as enumerated in Article 2 of the Revised Penal Code (EXPRESSIO UNIUS EST EXCLUSIO ALTERIUS), therefore, the code cannot be invoked to prosecute the married man who marry in the foreign land.

2. JURISDICTION UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW

The general principles of jurisdiction provides that a state is entirely free to project its jurisdiction over any matter taking place outside its territory, so long as this is not prohibited by a contrary rule of international law in a specific case. This power is strengthened further of the principle of the prescriptive jurisdiction of a state to bring any matter within the cognizance of its national law to any person, property, territory or event, wherever they may be situated or wherever they may occur.

However, the same principle asserts that jurisdiction to enforce can generally take place only within its own territory. So that, following the premise cited, a state cannot enforce its prescriptive jurisdiction in the territory of another state.

Applying the national law of the Philippines specifically the Revised Penal Code in consonance to the generally accepted pniciple of international law to indict the person in the example, the national law may have the power to bring the matter within its cognizance, however, it is devoid of any power to enforce such law outside the Philippine territory.