CHAPTER VII |Applicability of International Law and Other Laws

Section 15. Applicability of International Law.- In the application and interpretation of

this Act, Philippine courts shall be guided by the following sources:

(a) The 1948 Genocide Convention;

 The Philippines adopts the definition of Genocide and the acts punishable from
this convention (Genocide Convention, Article II).
 Genocide could be committed in time of peace or in time of war (Genocide
Convention, Article I).
 Persons committing genocide shall be punished, whether they are
constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals
(Genocide Convention, Article IV).
 Genocide shall not be considered as political crimes for the purpose of
extradition (Genocide Convention, Article VII).

Reservations made by the Philippines:

 With reference to article IV of the Convention, the Philippine Government

cannot sanction any situation which would subject its Head of State, who is not
a ruler, to conditions less favorable than those accorded other Heads of State,
whether constitutionally responsible rulers or not. The Philippine Government
does not consider said article, therefore, as overriding the existing immunities
from judicial processes guaranteed certain public officials by the Constitution of
the Philippines.
 With reference to article VII of the Convention, the Philippine Government does
not undertake to give effect to said article until the Congress of the Philippines
has enacted the necessary legislation defining and punishing the crime of
genocide, which legislation, under the Constitution of the Philippines, cannot
have any retroactive effect.
 With reference to articles VI and IX of the Convention, the Philippine
Government takes the position that nothing contained in said articles shall be
construed as depriving Philippine courts of jurisdiction over all cases of
genocide committed within Philippine territory save only in those cases where
the Philippine Government consents to have the decision of the Philippine
courts reviewed by either of the international tribunals referred to in said
articles. With further reference to article IX of the Convention, the Philippine
Government does not consider said article to extend the concept of State
responsibility beyond that recognized by the generally accepted principles of
international law.

(b) The 1949 Genava Conventions I-IV, their 1977 Additional Protocols I and II and their
2005 Additional Protocol III;
  Aside from the Philippines adoption of the definition of War Crime and the
punishment of grave breaches of these conventions, the Philippines also
adopted the principle of Universal Jurisdiction for War Crimes and seeks to
protect and provide humane treatment to people who are not or are no longer
taking part in hostilities.

(c) The 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of
Armed Conflict, its First Protocol and its 1999 Second Protocol;

 The Philippines undertake to prepare in time of peace for the safeguarding of

cultural property situated within their own territory against the foreseeable
effects of an armed conflict, by taking such measures as they consider
appropriate (HCPCP, Article III).
 It also undertake to respect cultural property situated within its own territory
as well as within the territory of other High Contracting Parties by refraining
from any use of the property that will endanger the same or use it by way of
reprisal and prevent any form of theft, pillage or misappropriation of, and any
acts of vandalism directed against cultural property (HCPCP, Article IV).
 Only exceptional cases of 'military necessity' will excuse derogation from this
obligation. However, a State Party is not entitled to ignore the Convention's
rules by reason of another Party's failure to implement safeguarding measures
alone (HCPCP, Article IV).
 It prohibits the export of movable property from occupied territory and also
requires its return to its original territory at the conclusion of hostilities (First
Protocol, Article I).
 Second Protocol stipulates that cultural property under enhanced protection
must not be made a military target, even if it has (by its use) become a 'military
objective'. An attack against cultural property which enjoys enhanced
protection status is only excusable if such an attack is the 'only feasible means
of terminating the use of property (Article XIII).

(d) The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and its 2000 Optional Protocol on the
Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict;

 All actions concerning the child shall take full account of his or her best
interests. The State shall provide the child with adequate care when parents, or
others charged with parental responsibility, fail to do so (Article 3).
 Every child has the inherent right to life, and the State has an obligation to
ensure the child’s survival and development (Article 6).
 It is the State’s obligation to make every effort to prevent the sale, trafficking
and abduction of children (Article 35).
 No child shall be subjected to torture, cruel treatment or punishment, unlawful
arrest or deprivation of liberty. Both capital punishment and life imprisonment
without the possibility for release are prohibited for offences committed by
 persons below age 18. Any child deprived of liberty shall be separated from
adults unless it is considered in the child’s best interests not to do so. A child
who is detained shall have legal and other assistance as well as contact with the
family (Article 37).
 States shall take all feasible measures to ensure that children under 15 years
old have no direct part in hostilities. No child below 15 shall be recruited into
the armed forces. States shall also ensure the protection and care of children
who are affected by armed conflict as described in relevant international law
(Article 38).
 A child in conflict with the law has the right to treatment that promotes the
child’s sense of dignity and worth, takes the child’s age into account and aims
at his or her defense. Judicial proceedings and institutional placements shall be
avoided wherever possible (Article 40)
 States or Armed groups will not recruit or conscript children under the age of
18 to send them to the battlefield. It will demobilize anyone under 18
conscripted or used in hostilities and will provide physical, psychological
recovery services and help their social reintegration (Optional Protocol)