Introduction To Law

PHILIPPINE HISTORY AND LEGAL SYSTEM

The Philippine legal system is a mixture of civil law and common law regimes.

Civil law – introduce in British colonies and it applies today territories such as India, Malaysia and Singapore.

Common law – the French and the Dutch spread civil law in territories such as Indochina and Indonesia.

Fundamental difference of the two

Civil law has comprehensive written codes, which are designed to cover every area of law

Common law systems are based on judge-made law, which develop on a case-to-case basis.

In re: Maxshoop

- The case emphasizes that a lawyer who practice law in the highest court in the United State and he practice law for five year there he was allowed to practice law here in the Philippines because based on the history our constitution was patterned in English law.

Branches of Government

Legislative department – the power shall be vested upon the congress (Senate and House of the Representative) who has the power to make law and to amend, modify or repeal existing laws enacted by the previous congress

Government v. Springer

- The case emphasizes that the voting power of all such stock owned by the government of the Philippine islands shall be vested exclusively in congress and in a committee consisting of the governor general, senate president and speaker of the house

Executive department – The power shall be vested upon the president and the vice president. The power given to president is to appoint, to ensure that the laws are faithfully executed, to be commander-in-chief of the armed forces, to grant clemency and to contract foreign loans.

Marcos v. Manglapus

- The case emphasizes that the power of the President is not limited of what implies in the Constitution. Refer to the “residual power”.

Judicial department –The power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such courts as may be established by law. Judicial power is to settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable they also have power to determine if there is abuse of discretion on the part of any branch (legislative and executive) or instrumentality of the government.

In re Cunanan

- The case emphasizes that only the Supreme Court or judicial department has the right in any admission, suspension and reinstatement of attorney-at-law in the practice of profession and in any cases as long as it’s a judicial in function.

Prior to 1987 constitution, our legislative body was called the “Batasan Pambansa” and before the laws became Republic Act they call it “Batas Pambansa” or “B.P” before.

Separation of powers – the principle of separation of powers ordains that each of the three branches of government has exclusive cognizance of and is supreme in matters falling within own constitutionality allocated sphere.

Check and balance - The main purpose check and balance is to prevent centralization of power between the three branches.

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THE CONSTITUTION AND ITS CONSTRUCTION

Constitution

A system of fundamental laws for the governance and administration of a nation.

Supreme, imperious, absolute and unalterable except by the authority which it emanates.

The fundamental and paramount law of the nation

Prescribes the permanent framework of a system of the government, assigns to the different departments their respective powers and duties.

It is supreme law to which all other laws conform and in accordance with which all private rights must be determined and all public authority administered.

It is respected because it is an express declaration of the people’s will.

Constitutional Supremacy If a law or contract violates any

norm of the constitution, it is null and void and without any force and effect.

SINCE THE CONSTITUTION IS THE FUNDAMENTAL PARAMOUNT AND SUPREME LAW OF THE NATION, IT IS DEEMED WRITTEN IN EVERY STATUTE AND CONTRACT.

Constitutional Construction

Fundamental principle of constitutional construction is to give effect to the intent of the framers of the organic law and of the people adopting it.

The way we understand and interpret the constitution.

Six Modes of Interpretation

By: Lawrence H. Tribe

The six modes of interpretations, stressing that “no one mode of interpretation can claim always to take priority or to be necessarily decisive

as starting points, constituent parts of complex arguments or concluding evocations.”

1. Textualism- constitutional interpretation wherein it consist of only analysing and examining the words alone. However, reliance on mere text is insufficient because the words and phrases of the constitution are not definitive, ambiguous, self-contradictory.

2. Structural Analysis- reading across the words. After reading the text, the text will show you or make you understand the text without the text directly saying it.

3. Originalism- the intention of the lawmakers or applying the constitution only in the ways that framers intended. Disadvatage: can be subjective; abstract rather than concrete expectations.

4. Normative and Pragmatic Approach- getting the meaning through attempts to discernwhich interpretation best accords with the moral and political character or identity of a natin. Can be subjective.

5. Stare Decisis- judicial elaboration of the decisional doctrine to derive answers to constitutional questions. Judicial opinions are second set of constitutional text.

6. Deliberately Eclectic Combination- combination of two or more modes

Procedure Created by the Supreme Court

a. Verba Legis-when the meanings of the words are unclear, courts can rely on extraneous aids of construction and interpretation. Ex. Intent of the provision being construed.

-words must be given their ordinary meaning except for technical terms

b. Ratio legis est anima- it is applied when there is ambiguity in the text. Also, words of the

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constitution should be interpreted with the intent of the framers.

c. Ut magis valeat quam pereat-the constitution must be interpreted as a whole.

CONSTITUTION INTERPRETED AS A WHOLE

One mandate should not be given more importance over the other except where the primacy of one over the other is clear.

WORDS UNDERSTOOD AS THEY ARE COMMOMLY USED

Its words should be given their ordinary meaning except where technical terms are used.

PROSPECTIVE APPLICATION

The right to counsel must be made with the assistance of the counsel. However, this may not be applied retroactively in cases where extrajudicial confession was made prior to the effectivity of the said constitution.

LANGUAGE REQUIRES NO CONSTRUCTION

Where the words of the statute are clear, plain and free from ambiguity, it must be given its literal meaning and applied without attempted interpretation.

WHEN CONSTRUCTION IS REQUIRED

A cardinal rule in statutory construction is that when the law is clear and free from any doubt or ambiguity, there is no room for construction or interpretation. There is only room for application.

MANDATORY AND DIRECTORY PROVISIONS

Directory in character if no consequential rights or liabilities depend on it and no injury can result from ignoring it. And if the purpose of the legislature can be accomplished in a manner than that prescribed when substantially the same result can be obtained.

The court recognized that constitutional provisions with exemptions are mandatory in nature.

Self-executing

Provisions or laws that can be implemented without the help of the legislative.

If the nature and extent of the right conferred and the liability imposed are fixed by the constitution itself.

Non-self-executing

Provisions or laws that needs the legislative before being implemented.

Essential Parts of a Good Written Constitution

1. Constitution of Liberty e.g., Art III2. Constitution of Government e.g., Art VI, VII,

VIII, and IX3. Constitution of Sovereignty e.g., Art XVII

A. Definition and Nature of a Constitution

Manila Prince Hotel v. GSIS Under the doctrine of constitutional supremacy, if a law or contract violates any norm of the constitution that law or contract whether promulgated by the legislative or by the executive branch or entered into by private persons for private purposes is null and void and without any force and effect. Thus, since the Constitution is the fundamental, paramount and supreme law of the nation, it is deemed written in every statute and contract.

Nitafan v. CIR The primary task in constitutional construction is to ascertain and thereafter assure the realization of the purpose of the framers and of the people in the adoption of the Constitution It may also be safely assumed that the people in ratifying the Constitution were guided mainly by the explanation offered by the framers.

B. Constitutional Construction

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i. No need for construction when the law is clear

Amores c. HRET A cardinal rule in statutory construction is that when the law is clear and free from any doubt or ambiguity, there is no room for construction or interpretation. There is only room for application.

ii. Verba Legis (Plain meaning rule)

Francisco v. HRET The court must harmonize them, if practicable, and must lean in favor of a construction which will render every word operative, rather than one which may make the words idle and nugatory.

iii. Ratio legis est anima(The reason of the law is the soul of the law)

Civil Liberties Union v. Executive Secretary It is a well-established rule in constitutional construction that no one provision of the Constitution is to be separated from all the others, to be considered alone, but that all the provisions bearing upon a particular subject are to be brought into view and to be so interpreted as to effectuate the great purposes of the instrument. Sections bearing on a particular subject should be considered and interpreted together as to effectuate the whole purpose of the Constitution and one section is not to be allowed to defeat another, if by any reasonable construction, the two can be made to stand together.

iv. Ut magis valeat quam pereat(Interpreted as whole)

Chiongbian v. De Leon That said provision should function to the full extent of its substance and its terms,

not by itself alone, but in conjunction with all other provisions of that great document.

v. Applicability of rules of statutory construction to constitutional construction

Macalintal v. COMELEC Its basic principle in Constitutional construction that the Constitution should be construed as a whole

AREAS OF LAW

Political Law

Branch of public law which deals with the organization and operations of the governmental organs of the State and defines the relations of the State with the inhabitants of its territory. (PEOPLE VS. PERFECTO, 43 Phil. 887).

Political law it regulates the relationship between the government and certain public officers and employees (MACARIOLA V. ASUNCION A.M. No. 133-J)

Civil Law

Regulates the relations of individuals for purely private ends.

Civil law has been defined as "the mass of precepts w/c determine and regulate the relations of assistance, authority and obedience among the members of a family, and those w/c exist among members of a society for the protection of private interests." (Sanchez Roman.)

Civil Code defined.-- A civil code is a collection of laws w/c regulate the private relations of the

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members of civil society, determining their respective rights and obligations, w/ reference to persons, things, and civil acts. (Tolentino)

Criminal Law

A branch of municipal law which defines crimes treats of their nature and provides for their punishment.

It is that branch of public substantive law which defines offenses and prescribes their penalties. It is substantive because it defines the state’s right to inflict punishment and the liability of the offenders. It is public law because it deals with the relation of the individual with the state.

Every crime is made up of certain acts and intent these must be set forth in the complaint with reasonable particularly of time, place, names (plaintiff and defendant) and circumstances (LACSON V. EXEC SEC G. R. 128096)

All criminal prosecutions the action shall be instituted and tried in the court of the municipality or province wherein the offense was committed or any one of the essential ingredients thereof took place. (Hernandez v. Albano G. R. 19272)

there’s willfully, unlawfully, feloniously, maliciously, and with intent to impeach the honesty, virtue, and reputation (U. S. v. TAYLOR G.R. 9726)

Limitations on the power of Congress to enact penal laws (ON)1. Must be general in application.2. Must not partake of the nature of an ex post facto law.3. Must not partake of the nature of a bill of attainder.4. Must not impose cruel and unusual punishment or excessive fines.

Commercial Law/ Mercantile Law That issued by one merchant to

another for the purpose of attending to a commercial transaction.

An instrument issued by a bank on behalf of one of its customers, authorizing an individual or a firm to draw drafts on the bank or one of its correspondents for its account under certain conditions of the credit.

An engagement by a bank or other person made at the request of a customer that the issuer will honor drafts or other demands for payment upon compliance with the conditions specified in the credit. Through it, the bank merely substitutes its own promise to pay for the promise to pay of one of its customers who in return promises to pay the bank the amount of funds mentioned in the letter of credit plus credit or commitment fees mutually

agreed upon.

COMMERCIAL LAW; NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENTS; MATERIAL ALTERATION, DEFINED, - An alteration is said to be material if it alters the effect of the instrument. It means an unauthorized change in an instrument that purports to modify in any respect the obligation of a party or an unauthorized addition of words or numbers or other change to an incomplete instrument relating to the obligation of a party. In other words, a material alteration is one which changes the items which are required to be stated under Section 1 of the Negotiable Instruments Law. (JOSE VITUG)

Law on Taxation

Branch of law which governs the power of the State in relation to its power to tax. As a process, it is a means by which the sovereign, through its law-making body, raises revenue to defray the necessary expenses of the government. It is merely a way of apportioning the costs of

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government among those who in some measures are privileged to enjoy its benefits and must bear its burdens.

As a power, taxation refers to the inherent power of the state to demand enforced contributions for public purpose or purposes.

Taxation is a symbiotic relationship, whereby in exchange for the protection that thecitizens get from the government, taxes are paid.

Nature of Taxation1. It is an inherent attribute of sovereignty2. It is legislative in character

Labor Law

The State shall promote a just and dynamic social order that will ensure theprosperity and independence of the nation and free the people from poverty throughpolicies that provide adequate social services, promote full employment, a rising standard ofliving, and an improved quality of life for all.

The State shall promote social justice in all phases of national development.

The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human/rights.

The State recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation-building and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and social well-being. It shall in culcate in the youth patriotism and nationalism, and encourage their involvement in public and civic affairs.

The State recognizes the role of women in nation-building, and shall ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men.

The State affirms labor as a primary social economic force. It shall protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare.

The State recognizes the indispensable role of the private sector, encourages private enterprise, and provides incentives to needed investments

Labor laws are considered written in every contract. (Mariveles Shipyard v. CA)

Labor Relations

Right to Self-organization

The right to join, assist or form labor organizations for collective bargaining and toengage in lawful concerted activities for the same purpose or for their mutual aid andprotection.

Any employee, whether employed for a definite period or not, shall beginning onthe first day of his/her service, be eligible for membership in any labor organization.

Remedial Law

Remedial Law is that branch of law which prescribes the method of enforcing rights or obtaining redress for their invasion. It is also known as Adjective Law.

Prescribes the methods of enforcing those rights and obligations created by substantive law by providing a procedural system for obtaining redress for the invasion of rights and violations of duties and by prescribing rules as to how suits are filed, tried and decided by the courts.(BUSTOS V. LUCERO)

Provides or regulates the steps by which one who commit a crime is to be punished.

No vested rights Retroactive: governs acts and transactions

which took place SC is expressly empowered to promulgate

procedural rules

Legal Ethics

Legal Ethics denotes that body of principles by which the conduct of members of the legal profession is controlled. It is that branch of moral science which treats of the duties which an attorney at law owes to his clients, to the courts, to

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the bar and to the public. (G.A. Malcolm, Legal and Judicial Ethics 8 (1949))

JUDICIAL REVIEW

Chapter 4 of Gatmaytan

Through the power of judicial review, the judiciary enforces and upholds the supremacy of the Constitution. The determination whether a specific rule or set of rules issued by an administrative agency contravenes the law or constitution is within the jurisdiction if the regular courts.

Origins and Constitutional Basis The Court has the power to review

discretionary acts by the other branches of the government.

During the Marcos regime, the judicial system was doubted because of its lack of answer to political questions. SC said that since it’s political, they don’t have authority to pass upon it. That’s why in the 1987 Constitution, the judicial branch has now more power in a broader sense. (Political question “are those which under the Constitution are to be decided by the people in their sovereign capacity, or in regard to which full discretionary authority has been delegated to the legislative or executive branch of government”)

As explained by the Supreme Court in the case of Angara v Electoral Commission, in cases of conflict, the judicial department is the only constitutional organ which can be called upon to determine the proper allocation of powers between the several departments and among the integral or constituent units thereof.

The judiciary is the final arbiter on the question whether or not the branch of government or any of its officials has acted without jurisdiction, an excess of it, or so capriciously as to constitute an abuse of discretion. (Grave abuse of discretion is simply a whimsical exercise

of judgement that is patent and gross as to amount to an evasion of positive duty or a virtual refusal to perform a duty enjoined by law, or to act at all in contemplation of law, as where the power is exercised in an arbitrary and despotic manner by reason of passion or hostility.)

Requisites for exercise of judicial review 1. An actual case or controversy

calling for the exercise of judicial power.

Actual Case or controversy- means an existing case or controversy that is appropriate or ripe for determination, not conjectural or anticipatory, lest the decision of the court would amount to an advisory opinion. When an issue becomes moot, it is dismissed. It becomes moot when it cease to present a justiciable controversy that is of concern by the judiciary.

2. The person challenging the act must have “standing” to challenge it. As in he must have personal and substantial interest and might sustain direct injury as a result of enforcement.

Legal standing or locus standi as described above. To have standing, the citizen must establish that he has suffered actual or threatened injury as a result of the allegedly illegal conduct of the government.

3. The question of constitutionality must be raised at the earliest possible opportunity.

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This means that the act of questioning its constitutionality should have been immediately raised in the proceedings in the court.

4. The issue of constitutionality must be thelismota or very cause of the suit or action.

This arises from the presumption of validity accorded executive and legislative acts of our co-equal branches of the government.

Effects of declaration of unconstitutionalityAn unconstitutional act is not a

Law Confers no rights Imposes no dutied No protection No office Operative as if it were

passed. Partial Unconstitutionality; The separability

clause-When a part of a statute is unconstitutional and it is possible to discard that part without affecting the valid ones, then only that part would be discarded. There are however some circumstances that an entire law may be invalidated if a part of it is unconstitutional.

When judicial review is not exercised-The function of the courts is to determine controversies between litigants and not to give advisory opinions. The power of judicial review can only be exercised in connection with a bona fide controversy which involves the statute to be reviewed.

Constitution Article VIII Section 1. The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be established by law.Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and

to determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the Government.Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to define, prescribe, and apportion the jurisdiction of the various courts but may not deprive the Supreme Court of its jurisdiction over cases enumerated in Section 5 hereof.No law shall be passed reorganizing the Judiciary when it undermines the security of tenure of its Members.

Marbury v. Madison, 5 US 137 (1803)

Facts: On his last day in office, President John Adams named forty-two justices of the peace and sixteen new circuit court justices for the District of Columbia under the Organic Act. The Organic Act was an attempt by the Federalists to take control of the federal judiciary before Thomas Jefferson took office.The commissions were signed by President Adams and sealed by acting Secretary of State John Marshall (who later became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and author of this opinion), but they were not delivered before the expiration of Adams’s term as president. Thomas Jefferson refused to honor the commissions, claiming that they were invalid because they had not been delivered by the end of Adams’s term.William Marbury (P) was an intended recipient of an appointment as justice of the peace. Marbury applied directly to the Supreme Court of the United States for a writ of mandamus to compel Jefferson’s Secretary of State, James Madison (D), to deliver the commissions. The Judiciary Act of 1789 had granted the Supreme Court original jurisdiction to issue writs of mandamus “…to any courts appointed, or persons holding office, under the authority of the United States.”Issues

1. Does Marbury have a right to the commission?

2. Does the law grant Marbury a remedy?3. Does the Supreme Court have the authority

to review acts of Congress and determine whether they are unconstitutional and therefore void?

4. Can Congress expand the scope of the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction beyond what is specified in Article III of the Constitution?

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5. Does the Supreme Court have original jurisdiction to issue writs of mandamus?

Holding and Rule (Marshall)1. Yes. Marbury has a right to the commission.

The order granting the commission takes effect when the Executive’s constitutional power of appointment has been exercised, and the power has been exercised when the last act required from the person possessing the power has been performed. The grant of the commission to Marbury became effective when signed by President Adams.

2. Yes. The law grants Marbury a remedy.The very essence of civil liberty certainly consists in the right of every individual to claim the protection of the laws whenever he receives an injury. One of the first duties of government is to afford that protection.

Where a specific duty is assigned by law, and individual rights depend upon the performance of that duty, the individual who considers himself injured has a right to resort to the law for a remedy. The President, by signing the commission, appointed Marbury a justice of the peace in the District of Columbia. The seal of the United States, affixed thereto by the Secretary of State, is conclusive testimony of the verity of the signature, and of the completion of the appointment. Having this legal right to the office, he has a consequent right to the commission, a refusal to deliver which is a plain violation of that right for which the laws of the country afford him a remedy.

3. Yes. The Supreme Court has the authority to review acts of Congress and determine whether they are unconstitutional and therefore void.

It is emphatically the duty of the Judicial Department to say what the law is. Those who apply the rule to particular cases must, of necessity, expound and interpret the rule. If two laws conflict with each other, the Court must decide on the operation of each. If courts are to regard the Constitution, and the Constitution is superior to any ordinary act of the legislature, the Constitution, and not such

ordinary act, must govern the case to which they both apply.

4. No. Congress cannot expand the scope of the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction beyond what is specified in Article III of the Constitution.

The Constitution states that “the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction in all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be a party. In all other cases, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction.” If it had been intended to leave it in the discretion of the Legislature to apportion the judicial power between the Supreme and inferior courts according to the will of that body, this section is mere surplusage and is entirely without meaning. If Congress remains at liberty to give this court appellate jurisdiction where the Constitution has declared their jurisdiction shall be original, and original jurisdiction where the Constitution has declared it shall be appellate, the distribution of jurisdiction made in the Constitution, is form without substance.

5. No. The Supreme Court does not have original jurisdiction to issue writs of mandamus.

To enable this court then to issue a mandamus, it must be shown to be an exercise of appellate jurisdiction, or to be necessary to enable them to exercise appellate jurisdiction.

It is the essential criterion of appellate jurisdiction that it revises and corrects the proceedings in a cause already instituted, and does not create that case. Although, therefore, a mandamus may be directed to courts, yet to issue such a writ to an officer for the delivery of a paper is, in effect, the same as to sustain an original action for that paper, and is therefore a matter of original jurisdiction.

Disposition

Application for writ of mandamus denied. Marbury doesn’t get the commission.

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Angara v. Electoral Commission, supra (Got it from Boss’ case digest. Held lang to which is the gist of the whole issue)

The Electoral Commission is an independent constitutional creation with specific powers and functions to execute and perform. Thus, in cases of conflict between the several departments and among the agencies thereof, the judiciary, with the Supreme Court as the final arbiter, is the only constitutional mechanism devised finally to resolve the conflict and allocate constitutional boundaries. Constitution has provided for an elaborate system of checks and balances to secure coordination in the workings of the various departments of the government.

VI. Case Law and Precedent Chapter 5 of Gatmaytan

Court decisions as law-Judicial decisions assume the same authority as statutes because these show how the courts interpret the law. They are laws by their own means. Lower court decisions bind the parties to specific cases alone while Supreme Court decisions are universal in their scope and application and equally mandatory in character. The latter will always have the last word on what the law is.

Stare Decisis- means that like case should be decided alike. This is a principle that respects precedent imperatives. A judgement reached in one case should be applied to successive ones in which facts are substantially identical even though the parties may be different. The issues must be the same unless otherwise it is not considered stare decisis.

Res Judicata- means a matter adjudged; a thing judicially acted upon or decided; a thing or matter settled by judgement. Parties are not allowed to litigate the same issue when it is determined by a court of

competent jurisdiction. The following are requisites for res judicata to apply:

The former judgement or order must be final.

The judgement or order must be on merits

It must have been rendered by a court having jurisdiction over the subject matter and parties

There must be between the first and second actions, identity of parties, of subject matter and of cause of action.

Law of the case- provides that whatever is once irrevocably established as the controlling legal principle or decision, continues to be the law of the case between the same parties in the same case, whether correct on general principles or not, so long as the facts on which such decision was predicated continue to be the facts of the case before the court.

The difference between res judicata and law of the case- In law of the case applies only to the same case whereas res judicata forecloses parties or privies in one case by what has been done in another case. Furthermore, law of the case relates entirely to questions of the law while res judicata is applicable to the conclusive determination of issue of fact.

Problems with precedent Inconsistencies- Supreme Court

decisions do not always clarify issues.

Judicial FIlip-flopping- wherein the inconsistency in Supreme Court decisions is one involving a single case. The Supreme Court Justices cannot seem to agree on what is the correct interpretation of the law should be.

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Art. 8. Judicial decisions applying or interpreting the laws or the Constitution shall form a part of the legal system of the Philippines.

DECISION

- Settlement of a controversy by a court of law.

- Goes into roots of controversy

Essential parts:

1. Statement of case2. Statement of facts3. Court Ruling4. Issues or assignment of errors 5. Disposition / Dispositive portion

o Determines and settles the right of the parties and the questions presented therein. /

o If no facts = Assailed decisiono Guides as enlightenment to

determine the ratio decidendi (the reason for the decision)

o Definite, clear, unequivocal without need for interpretation. Exemptions:>There is ambiguity>Extensive and Explicit discussion and settlement of the issue is found in the body of decision.>There the inevitable conclusion from the body of the decision is so clear the there was a mistake in the dispositive portion, the body of the decision will prevail.

Components of decision:

1. Facts2. Procedural History

3. Question Presented4. Rule of Law5. Application of Law to the Fact6. Holding7. Disposition

Per curiam decision

- One where there is no ponente – does not require formal certification

- Opinions of the court are unsigned and decided by “the court”.

- More authoritative

MEMORANDUM DECISION

- Those which adopt by reference the findings of fact and conclusion of law inferior tribunal.

- States the nature of the case, summarize the facts with reference to the record, and contain a statement of the applicable laws and jurisprudence and the tribunal’s assessment and conclusion on the case.

Forms of decision in appealed cases – shall be clear and distinctly state the findings of fact and the conclusion of law on which it is based.

MINUTE RESOLUTIONS

- Not bound to render signed decisions all the time and has discretion on its evaluation of a case.

- Helps the court in alleviating its heavy docket

Decrees them as final and executor where:

* Case is patently without merit* The issues raised are factual in nature* Decisions is supported by substantial evidence and is in accord with the facts of the case and the applicable laws * Clear from the records

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Minute Decision DecisionDoesn’t require that the facts and the law on which the judgment is based must be expressed clearly and distinctly

Requires that the facts and the law on which the judgment is based must be expressed clearly and distinctly

A minute resolution is signed only by the Clerk of Court by authority of Justices

Must be judges

Does not require the certification of the Chief Justice

Need of certification

Not published in Philippine Reports

Published in Philippine Reports

The SC lays down doctrines or principles of law which constitute binding precedent in a decision duly signed by the members of Court and certified by the Chief Justice

The SC lays down doctrines or principles of law which constitute binding precedent in a decision duly signed by the members of Court and certified by the Chief Justice

Res judica – depends whether a minute resolution of the SC is adjudication on the merits of the petition.

Judgment

- Impose proper penalty and civil liability

Constitutional Mandate

- Comply with form, procedure and substantive requirements.

ROC Civil Procedure

Rendition of judgments and final orders – personally wrote, and prepared by the judge

ROC Criminal Procedure

Form and contents of judgments – must be in official language, must be clear.

SC issued Administrative Circular No. 1 prompting all judges “to make complete findings of facts in their decisions, and scrutinize closely the legal aspects of the case in the light of the evidence presented. They should avoid the tendency to generalize and form conclusions without detailing the facts from which such conclusions are deduces.”

Constitution and ROC

2 essential parts of judgment:

Body – clearly and distinctly states its findings of fact and of law, which is decision based. Where finding of facts are stated.

Decretal portion – controlling part

THE SYLLABUS

- Work of the reporter who gives understanding of the decision.

CERTIFICATION

- Mean to ensure the implementation of the constitutional requirement that decisions of the Supreme Court and lower collegiate courts are reached after consultation with members of the court sitting en banc or in a division before the case is assigned to a member thereof for decision-writing.

DISSENTING OPINION

- Guarantee the freedom of expression of the minority

- Do not provide doctrine- It affirms or overrules no claim, right, or

obligations and neither disposes of, nor awards, anything. Merely expresses the views of the dissenter.

- The majority can never suppress the dissent. It is a constitutional right and duty.

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ORAL DISSENTS

- Delivered by dissenting Justices in public- Offers an intriguing prism on the way that

dissents provide alternative sources of democratic legitimacy and important pathways towards democratic accountability

- Functions as ideal window- Should be performed / recited

VALUE AND FUNCTIONS OF DISSENT

- Those who do not concur with the majority’s opinion express their disagreement by writing dissenting opinions

- To emphasize the limits of a majority decision that sweeps, so far as the dissenters are concerned, unnecessarily broadly – sort of “damage control” mechanism

PRINCIPLES

*Both parties have to know all the views of the collegiate court *If the separate opinions are not appended to the main opinion, the parties will have difficulty understanding the dissertation in the ponencia of the majority that addressed the points raised and resons presented in the separate opinions, more particularly in the dissenting opinion.

Per Curiam Resolution - The SC’s majority opinion claimed that the

internal deliberations of the Court included the Separate Opinions of the Justices and were within the purview of judicial privilege, despite its promulgation and publication.

- Majority’s decision amounted to censorship designed to suppress information regarding the events taking place away from public awareness.

Motion for Reconsideration Purpose: Allow the adjudicator

another opportunity to review the case and to re-examine the issues, deciding anew a question that was previously raised

CONCURRING OPINIONSIntended to define with greater precision

the scope of an opinion or otherwise inform the parties and other audiences of what the writer believes are important points.

RATIO DECIDENDI AND OBITER DICTUM

RATIO DECIDENDI- Ultimate issue directly before the Court,

expressly decided in the course of consideration of the case.

- Constitutes the binding precedent.- Rationale; orders nothing- As a general rule, binding on courts of lower

and later jurisdiction—through the doctrine of stare decisis

OBITER DICTUM- Not binding but it can be helpful in

establishing the legal principles in the case under consideration.

- Dispositive portion; conclusion, orders something

- Lacks the force of adjudication.

RULINGS PRO HAV VICE “for this one particular reason”

- Decisions are made only when they are “extremely peculiar circumstances”

- Made to bypass procedural lapses by litigants in order to address merits of important cases.

- Applied to administrative matters such as request for the audio coverage of oral arguments before the Supreme Court

AUTHORITIES

- Anything that a court can rely on in reaching its conclusion

- Legal resources.1. Constitutions2. Statutes3. Regulations4. Reported Cases

PRIMARY AUTHORITY- Any law that the court can rely on in making

its decisions.

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Introduction To Law

- Issued by a branch of government acting in its lawmaking capacity

SECONDARY AUTHORITY- Non-Law source that the court can rely on

in reaching its conclusions. - Usually commentaries that explain how the

law came to be, and contain analyses or critiques of the law.

MANDATORY AUTHORITY- Whatever the court must rely on in

reaching its conclusion.- Primary Authority

OPINION AS MANDATORY AUTHORITY1. Analogous2. Written by a court that is superior to the

court

PERSUASIVE AUTHORITY- What the court relies on when it is not

required to do so.- Law/ non-law authority that a court decides

to follow because of it persuasiveness

KINDS:*A prior court opinion that the court is not required to follow but does so because it finds the opinion persuasive*Any secondary authority that the court is not required to follow but does so because it finds the secondary authority persuasive

- Non-Authority is:*Primary or secondary authority that is not “on point”*Invalid primary authority*Book/ Digested case

CATEGORIES: Enacted by law Intention of the authors Does not violate other law

OPINIONS AS PERSUASIVE AUTHORITY

Does not have to follow an opinion if EITHER of the following exists

1. Written by an inferior court and is now being considered by a court within the same judicial system that is superior to the court that wrote the opinion

2. Written by the court from another judicial system

FOREIGN DECISIONS- When a statute has been adopted from

another state or country and it has previously been construed bu the courts of such state or country, the statute is deemed to have been adopted with the construction given.

INDIGENOUS AND ISLAMIC LAW- The organic act shall define the basic

structure of government for the region consisting of the executive department and legislative assembly, both of which shall be elective and representative of the constituent political units.

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