Actions in rem vs. in personam

	In rem proceeding	In personam proceeding
Object of the action	To bar all who might make an objection against a right, and anyone in the world has a right to be heard on the strength of his facts	Establish a claim against some particular person with a judgment which binds his body or bar some claims so that only certain persons can be heard in defense
Proceeding instituted…	without personal service to claimants within the State, or naming them (Moscoso vs. CA)	with notice to person or claimants
History of the rule	Admirality era – a ship that voyages far away from London for example, creates contracts, obligations, and liabilities elsewhere. Hence, to secure such, the ‘ship’ must be regarded as the person and not its owner. This is where ‘actions in rem’ came to be.

In rem proceeding

In personam proceeding

Object of the action

To bar all who might make an objection against a right, and anyone in the world has a right to be heard on the strength of his facts

Establish a claim against some particular person with a judgment which binds his body or bar some claims so that only certain persons can be heard in defense

Proceeding instituted…

without personal service to claimants within the State, or naming them (Moscoso vs. CA)

with notice to person or claimants

History of the rule

Admirality era – a ship that voyages far away from London for example, creates contracts, obligations, and liabilities elsewhere. Hence, to secure such, the ‘ship’ must be regarded as the person and not its owner. This is where ‘actions in rem’ came to be.

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