ConstiLaw: airivera CONSTITUTION A system of fundamental laws for the governance and administration of a nation It is supreme, imperious, absolute

and unalterable except by the authority from which it emanates The fundamental and paramount law of the nation Prescribes the permanent framework of a system of government, assigns to the different departments their respective powers and duties, and establishes certain fixed principles on which government is founded The supreme law to which all other laws must conform and in accordance with which all private rights must be determined and all public authority administered

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 of the executive branch or entered into by private persons for private purposes is null and void and without any force and effect The Constitution is deemed written in every statute and contract

3 PARTS OF A WRITTEN CONSTITUTION: 1. Government provisions providing for the system and the structure of the government 2. Liberty Bill of Rights, sets the limitation as regards to the power of the State [all powerful, omnipotent] 3. Sovereignty spells out authority of the people as repository of sovereignty to approve, amend or issue the constitution KINDS OF PROVISIONS: Self-executing a provision which is complete in itself and becomes operative without the aid of supplementary or enabling legislation Supplies sufficient rule by means of which the right it grants may be enjoyed or protected If the nature and extent of the right conferred and the liability imposed are fixed by the constitution itself

Not Self-executing a provision which lays down a general principle (ARTII, Consti) requires an enabling act from Congress before it becomes operative

unless it is expressly provided that a legislative act is necessary to enforce a constitutional mandate, the presumption is that all provisions of the constitution are self-executing

ConstiLaw: airivera National Patrimony refers not only to the natural resources of the Philippines but also to the cultural heritage of the Filipons qualified Filipinos means that preference shall be given to those citizens who can make a viable contribution to the common good, because of credible competence and efficiency. It does not mandate the pampering and preferential treatment to Filipino citizens or organizations that are incompetent or inefficient, since such an indiscriminate preference would be counterproductive and inimical to the common good 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

Once a controversy as to the application or interpretation of a constitutional provision is raised before a court, it becomes a legal issue bound by constitutional mandate to decide Constitutions are designed to meet not only the vagaries of contemporary events. They should be interpreted to cover even future and unknown circumstances. It is to the credit of its drafters that a constitution can withstand the assaults of bigots and infidels but at the same time bend with the refreshing winds of change necessitated by unfolding events.

Sovereignty is not absolute While sovereignty has traditionally been deemed absolute and all-encompassing on the domestic level, it is however subject to restrictions and limitations voluntarily agreed to by the Philippines, expressly or impliedly, as member of the family of nations It is bound by restrictions: 1. Limitations imposed by the very nature of membership in the family of nations 2. Limitations imposed by treaty stipulations Doctrine of Incorporation The country is bound by generally accepted principles of international law which are considered to be automatically part of our own laws

ConstiLaw: airivera In Public International Law, when a state or international agency wishes to plead sovereign or diplomatic immunity in a foreign court, it requests the Foreign Office of the state where it is issued to convey to the court that said defendant is entitled to immunity In the Philippines, the practice is for the foreign government or the international organization to first secure an executive endorsement of its claim of sovereign or diplomatic immunity The Vatican City represents an entity organized not for political but for ecclesiastical purposes and international objects. Despite its size and object, the Vatican City has an independent government of its own, with the Pope, who is also head of the Roman Catholic Church, as the Holy See or Head of State, in conformity with its traditions, and the demands of its mission in the world. The world-wide interests and activities of the Vatican City are such as to make it in a sense an international state 2 Conflicting Concepts of Sovereign Immunity: 1. Classical or Absolute Theory o a sovereign cannot, without consent, be made a respondent in the courts of another sovereign 2. Newer or Restrictive Theory o The immunity of the sovereign is recognized only with regard to public acts or acts jure imperii of a state but not with regard to private acts or acts jure gestionis

Juri Imperii: 1. The lease by a foreign government of apartment buildings for use of its military officers 2. The conduct of public bidding for the repair of a wharf at a US Naval Station 3. Charge of employment status of base employees If the act is in pursuit of a sovereign activity, or an incident thereof, not undertaken for gain or profit Juri Gestionis: 1. The hiring of a cook in the recreation center, consisting of 3 resto.... 2. Bidding for the operation of barber shops For profit purposes

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Traditionally, anyone seeking judicial review had to use the common law procedure of seeking the issue of a "prerogative writ". Aprerogative writ is formally an order from the sovereign (i.e. the King or Queen) to an inferior tribunal or court. The High Court now calls them "constitutional writs" ("writs"). There are three main types of writ which are relevant to judicial review: mandamus,certiorari and prohibition. 1. Mandamus is an order issued by the court against a tribunal, public body or official requiring it to perform a duty which it has failed to perform. For example, an official might be required to consider an application for a licence that it had refused to consider. Prohibition is an order to a tribunal, public body or official requiring it to cease proceedings. An order for prohibition should be sought where a body has failed to exercise its jurisdiction properly or failed to provide natural justice and its proceedings are continuing. Certiorari is an order setting aside a decision (technically, the record of the decision-maker is removed to the court and the court then quashes the decision and expunges it from the record). An order for certiorari would be sought where a decision has been made unlawfully and the decision should be set aside. Generally an order for certiorari is sought in combination with an order for mandamus, i.e. an order for certiorari setting aside the decision and an order for mandamus requiring the decision-maker to make the decision again.

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