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I. Introductory ConceptsII. Judicial Power
A. Nature and Scope of Judicial Power1. 1987 Philippine ConstitutionActual Controversy and Judicial Review.
The judicial power shall be vested in one SupremeCourt and in such lower courts as may be established bylaw.Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice1. To settle
actual controversies
involving rights whichare legally demandable and enforceable, and2. To determine whether or not there has been a
graveabuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction
on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the Government. (Article VIII, Section 1, 1987 Constitution)
Declaratory Relief
Any person interested under a deed, will, contractor other written instrument, or
whose rights are affectedby a statute, executive order or regulation,ordinance, or any other governmental regulationmay
, before breach or violation thereof, bring an action inthe appropriate Regional Trial Court
to determine anyquestion of construction or validity arising, and for adeclaration of his rights or duties, thereunder.
An action for the reformation of an instrument, toquite title to real property or remover cloud therefrom, orto consolidate ownership under Article 1607 of the CivilCode, may be brought under this Rule. (Rule 63, Sec. 1)
Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections
The Supreme Court, sitting en banc, shall be thesole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns,and qualifications of the President or Vice-President, andmay promulgate its rules for the purpose. (Article VII,Section 4, paragraph 7, 1987 Constitution)
Martial Law and Suspension of Writ of Habeas Corpus
The Supreme Court may review, in an appropriateproceeding filed by any citizen, the sufficiency of the factualbasis of the proclamation of martial law or the suspensionof the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or theextension thereof, and must promulgate its decisionthereon within thirty days from its filing. (Article VII,Section 18, Paragraph 3, 1987 Constitution)
2. Statutory Basis of Judicial Review
When the courts declare a law to be inconsistentwith the Constitution, the former shall be void and thelatter shall govern.Administrative or executive acts, orders andregulations shall be valid only when they are not contraryto the laws or the Constitution. (Article 7, Paragraph 2-3,Civil Code)
3. Judicial Legislation
Judicial decisions applying or interpreting the lawsor the Constitution shall form part of the legal system of the Philippines. (Article 8, Civil Code)No judge or court shall decline to render judgmentby reason of the silence, obscurity or insufficiency of thelaw. (Article 9, Civil Code)
B. Constitutional Protections1. Constitutional Status
The Congress shall have the power to define,prescribe, and apportion the jurisdiction of the variouscourts but may not deprive the Supreme Court of its jurisdiction over cases enumerated in Section 5 hereof.No law shall be passed reorganizing the Judiciarywhen it undermines the security of tenure of its Members.(Article VIII, Section 2, 1987 Constitution)The Supreme Court shall have the followingpowers:
(1)
Exercise original jurisdiction over cases affectingambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and overpetitions for certiorari, prohibition, mandamus, quowarranto, and habeas corpus.
(2)
Review, revise, reverse, modify, or affirm on appeal orcertiorari, as the law or the Rules of Court may provide,final judgments and orders of lower courts in:
(a)
All cases in which the constitutionality orvalidity of any treaty, international or executive agreement,law, presidential decree, proclamation, order, instruction,ordinance, or regulation is in question.
(b)
All cases involving the legality of any tax,impost, assessment, or toll, or any penalty imposed inrelation thereto.
(c)
All cases in which the jurisdiction of any lowercourt is in issue.
(d)
All criminal cases in which the penaltyimposed is reclusion perpetua or higher.
(e)
All cases in which only an error or question of law is involved.
(3)
Assign temporarily judges of lower courts to otherstations as public interest may require. Such temporaryassignment shall not exceed six months without theconsent of the judge concerned.
(4)
Order a change of venue or place of trial to avoid amiscarriage of justice.
(5)
Promulgate rules concerning the protection andenforcement of constitutional rights, pleading, practice, andprocedure in all courts, the admission to the practice of law,the integrated bar, and legal assistance to the under-privileged. Such rules shall provide a simplified andinexpensive procedure for the speedy disposition of cases,shall be uniform for all courts of the same grade, and shallnot diminish, increase, or modify substantive rights. Rulesof procedure of special courts and quasi-judicial bodies shallremain effective unless disapproved by the Supreme Court.
(6)
Appoint all officials and employees of the Judiciary inaccordance with the Civil Service Law.(Article VIII, Section 5, 1987 Constitution)The Supreme Court shall have administrativesupervision over all courts and the personnel thereof.(Article VIII, Section 6, 1987 Constitution)
2. Statutory Increase of Appellate Jurisdiction
No law shall be passed increasing the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court as provided in thisConstitution without its advice and concurrence. (ArticleVII, Section 30, 1987 Constitution)
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Avena Notes Preliminary Considerations (11Nov 04)
What is Jurisdiction?Jurisdiction is the power of the courts to hearand entertain action or proceedings and to render a judgment therein that binds the parties to the actionor proceedings.It pertains to the authority to decide casessubmitted before a court of law.How about quasi-judicial bodies?Quasi-judicial bodies perform duties anddecide cases similar to courts. They decide the rightsand obligations of the persons and settle disputessubmitted before them.How is jurisdiction created?Jurisdiction is conferred by law.The jurisdiction of the lower courts is definedunder the Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980 (BP129, which took effect on August 14, 1981).The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court isdefined under the 1987 Constitution. (Article VIII,Section 5).May the parties stipulate or agree on a court’s jurisdiction?No.What is judicial power? Is jurisdiction part of judicialpower?Judicial power is the power to hear and settledisputes. Although the definition of judicial power isnot clearly spelled out in the law, Prof. Avena is of the belief that the concept of judicial power wasdeveloped throughout the history of American andEnglish laws, to which our legal system owes a lotthrough colonization by the US. In the US, jurisdiction was defined by experience, in that theremust be a body or entity with the power to decide acase.Jurisdiction is part of judicial power.
Original jurisdiction
is when a court takescognizance of a case at the first instance, which iswhy the RTC where formerly called the Courts of First Instance (or in the words of Prof. Avena – korteng unang dulog).
Appellate jurisdiction
is the power of a court toreview the final orders or decisions of a lower court.Trace the development of jurisdiction through thelaws and statutes governing it.Judiciary Act of 1948 (RA 296) => JudiciaryReorganization Act of 1980 (BP 129) => AmendingCertain Sections of the Judiciary Reorganization Actof 1980 (EO 33) => (RA 7902)What are specialized courts?Specific or limited courts are courts whose jurisdiction was specifically limited by law to certainclasses of actions like cases involving juveniles orlandlord-tenant relations.The specialized courts included the Juvenileand Domestic Relations Court, Court of AgrarianRelations and Circuit Criminal Court. These courtshave been abolished and the jurisdiction of thecases, which they could take cognizance of havebeen transferred to the Regional Trial Court.What courts have general jurisdiction?The municipal courts, Regional Trial courts,Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court are courtsof general jurisdiction.Although the law imposes limits on the jurisdiction of courts, they are still considered courtsof general jurisdiction and not specialized courts asspecialized courts pertain to limits due to the subjectmatter of the action and not to procedural matters.Are a civil action, civil case, and civil suit the same inour jurisdiction?Yes, these terms are used interchangeably.The distinction was used in American jurisprudencein relation to distinguishing courts of law and courtsof equity.Regional Trial Courts pertain to territorial jurisdiction or judicial regions. There are currently 13 judicial regions, including among them theMetropolitan Manila Judicial Region. Although theRegional Trial Courts exercise the same powers interms of jurisdiction, the scope of their jurisdiction islimited to their judicial regions. A QC RTC cannotissue an ejectment order to be executed in Davao.
Avena Notes (13 Nov 04)
How many constitutional courts do we have?The 1987 Constitution expressly created onlyone court, the Supreme Court. The Sandiganbayan isa
constitutionally mandated court
.All other courts in the Philippines arestatutory courts or courts created by law.How do we determine subject-matter jurisdiction?Jurisdiction is determined by law.However, a court acquires jurisdiction overan action by going to the allegations in thepleadings. If the allegations in the pleadings aresufficient that they pass the requisites pre-determined by law, then the proper court shall takecognizance of the action.Subject matter jurisdiction is defined by thelaw but in a pleading, the necessary elements mustbe alleged in order for the court to exercise jurisdiction.What is evidence aliunde?
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Evidence aliunde
is evidence from outsideor from another source. It is the evidence drawnfrom sources exterior to the written instrument, inthe case of civil action, sources apart from thepleading itself.When can a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdictionbe raised?A motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction of the court can be raised at any time except that incases where estoppel by laches applies, the SupremeCourt has held that lack of jurisdiction may beoverlooked and the action prospers in the interest of justice.Tijam v. SibonghayFACTS:Tijam filed an action to recover P1,908 bondfrom the Manila Surety Corporation. Although thecase should have been filed with the Municipal TrialCourt, the plaintiff filed it with the Regional TrialCourt. The defendant, Manila Surety Corporation, didnot object to the jurisdiction of the Municipal TrialCourt despite the amount of the claim.When the RTC rendered a decision in favor of Manila Surety, Tijam filed an appeal with the CA. Inthe CA, the RTC’s decision in favor of Manila Suretywas reversed and ordered Manila Surety to payTijam. Manila Surety appealed to the Supreme Courtsaying that the original decision of the RTC should bedeclared void for it lacked jurisdiction. In short,Manila Surety wanted to reverse the original decisionin the RTC because of the unfavorable decision it gotin the Court of Appeals.HELD:Jurisdiction over the subject matter isconferred upon the court exclusively by law.When a court has no jurisdiction of the casebased on the pleadings, then a motion to dismissmust be filed at the earliest possible time.Manila Surety was estopped from questioningthe jurisdiction because it voluntarily submitted tothe jurisdiction of the RTC, even if the amount of theclaim made the action cognizable by the municipalcourt.How is subject matter jurisdiction different fromperfecting an appeal?Subject matter jurisdiction refers to thenature of the action by which a court has power todecide the action or proceeding. In perfecting anappeal, the action must comply with certainrequirements (like periods) before an appellate courtcan take cognizance of the case.Differentiate between a question of fact and aquestion of law.A
question of fact
relates to an issueinvolving the appreciation of the fact, for examplethe interpretation of the contract.A
question of law
deals with the applicationof the law.What are auxiliary writs or process?They are temporary orders of the court likepreliminary injunction and bail.Their importance lies in the jurisdiction of theCourt of Appeals (BP 129 Sec. 9 (1)). “The Court of Appeals shall exercise original jurisdiction to issuewrites of mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, habeascorpus, and quo warranto, and
auxiliary writs orprocesses, whether or not in aid of its appellate jurisdiction.
St. Martin Funeral v NLRCRulings of the National Labor ReconciliationCommission should first be appealed to the Court of Appeals, before it can reach the Supreme Court.Prof. Avena says it was an anomalousdecision because previously the rules and statutesprovided that decisions of the NLRC are to beappealed directly to the Supreme Court, but thedecision made in this case was contrary to that effectand was without any basis in law.What is the
doctrine of qualified politicalagency
?The executive power is vested in the Chief Executive. However, he also acts through his CabinetSecretaries.What is the
doctrine of primary jurisdiction
?The doctrine of primary jurisdiction orexhaustion of administrative remedies provides thatwhere the law vests in an administrative agency thepower to decide a controversy or treat an issue, thecourts will refrain from entertaining the case until theagency has fulfilled its statutory obligation.Should the conjugal property be included in thecomputation of the amount of the claim?Yes. Conjugal property is included in theamount of the claim.According to Fernandez v. Maravilla (GR No.L-18799, 31 March 1964), where the property, whichis the only one wherein the decedent had anyproprietary rights, is conjugal in nature, it is the totalvalue of the such conjugal property, and not only thevalue of the share of the decedent therein, whichshould furnish the jurisdictional test.Manchester Development v CA. (GR No. 75919, 7May 1987)Docket fees must be paid within reasonabletime.The rule is well-settled "that a case isdeemed filed only upon payment of the docket feeregardless of the actual date of filing in court." Thus,in the present case the trial court did not acquire jurisdiction over the case by the payment of onlyP410.00 as docket fee. Neither can the amendmentof the complaint thereby vest jurisdiction upon the
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