FEDERE, GIEMELYN N.

JD-BLOCK 1

1. a. par in parem non habet imperium

There is a principle of the sovereign equality of States, under which one State
cannot assert jurisdiction over another. Thus, foreign States insofar as they are
sought to be sued in the courts of the local State, to do so would unduly vex the
peace of nations.

b. Constitutional law
a study of the structure and powers of the government, it deals with certain
basic concepts of Political Law, such as the nature of the State, the supremacy of
the Constitution, the separation of powers, and the rule of majority. The
Constitutional Law study of the maintenance or proper balance between liberty
and authority, overemphasize of authority will result to tyranny, overemphasized
on people’s rights there will be chaos or anarchy.

c. State
a community of persons, more or less numerous, permanently occupying a fixed
territory and possessed of an independent government organized for political
ends to which the great body of inhabitants render habitual obedience. A State
must possess the following elements to be considered a state: People, Territory,
Government, and Sovereignty.

d. Archipelago doctrine

Archipelago doctrine under which we connect the outermost points of our

archipelago with straight baselines and consider all the waters enclosed thereby
as internal waters. The entire archipelago is regarded as one integrated unit
instead of being fragmented into so many thousand islands.

e. Parens patriae

One of the important tasks of the government is to act for the State as guardian
of the rights of the people. The State as parens patriae affords special protection
to children from abuse, exploitation and other conditions prejudicial to their
development.
2. Parts of a written constitution:
a. Constitution of government deals with the framework of government its
structure and powers, and defining the electorate. In the 1987 Constitution of
the Philippines, the structure and powers of the government will be found on
Article 6 (Legislative Department); Article 7 (Executive Department); Article 8
(Judicial Department); Article 9 (3 Independent Commission); Article 10 (Local
government); and Article 11 (Accountability of public officers).

b. Constitution of liberty sets forth the fundamental rights of the people and
imposing certain limitations on the powers of the government as a means of
securing the enjoyment of these rights. In the 1987 Constitution of the
Philippines, the rights of the people will be found on Article 3 (Bill of rights).

c. Constitution of Sovereignty points out the mode or procedure for amending or

revising the constitution. In the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, the
procedure of amending the constitution will be found on Article 17
(Amendments or Revision).

3. Potestas delegata non delegari potest, no delegated powers can be further delegate One who
has the power or authority from another to do an act must do it himself/herself as this is a trust
or confidence reposed in that person personally. In the group the protestas delegate non
delegari potest is the only term that delagates the power, the other terms only defines where
the laws came from.

4. A. I don’t agree, Article 2, Section 4 of the Constitution provides that “The prime duty of the
Government is to serve and protect the people. The Government may call upon the people to
defend the State and in fulfillment thereof, all citizens may be required, under conditions
provided by law, to render personal military or civil service”. One cannot render the service
required through another. The service must be “personal”. Any citizen recruited for the army or
civil service pursuant to law for the defense of the State may not refuse on the ground that to go
to war is against his religion.

B. I don’t agree, technically speaking, the preamble forms no integral part of our Constitution. Of
itself alone, it cannot be invoked as a source of private right enforceable by the courts or any
governmental power not expressly granted or at least, clearly implied therefrom. While
preamble is not a necessary part of a constitution, it is advisable to have one, In the case of the
Constitution of the Philippines, the Preamble which is couched in general terms, provides the
broad outline of, and the spirit behind, the Constitution. It serves two important ends: a.) It tells
us who are the authors of the Constitution and for whom it has been promulgated; and b.) It
states the general purposes which are intended to be achieved by the Constitution and the
government established under it, and certain basic principles underlying the fundamental
charter.

C. I agree, the Constituent functions constitute the very bonds of society and are therefore
compulsory on the other hand Ministrant functions are those undertaken to advance the general
interests of society, such as public works, public charity, and regulation of trade and industry,
these functions are merely optional.

D. I agree, the principle of separation of powers ordains that each of the three great branches of
government has exclusive cognizance of and is supreme in matters falling within its own
constitutionally allocated sphere. To achieve these purposes, the legislature is generally limited
to the enactment of laws and may not enforce or apply them; the executive to the enforcement
of laws and may not enact or apply them; and the judiciary to the application of laws and may
not enact or enforce them.

E. I don’t agree, Article 6, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution states that “The legislative power
shall be vested in the Congress of the Philippines which shall consist of a Senate and a House of
Representatives, except to the extent reserved to the people by the provision on initiative and
referendum”. The people were also vested a legislative power through the provision of initiative
and referendum.

F. I don’t agree, the Congress may exercise powers considered non-legislative. There are powers
which the Constitution expressly directs or authorizes Congress to exercise like the power to
choose who shall become President in case two or more candidates have an equal and highest
number of votes, to confirm certain appointments by the President, to promote social justice, to
declare the existence of a state of war, to impose taxes, to appropriate money, to impeach, to act
as a constituent assembly.

G. I agree, Article 6, Section 5, par. 3 provides “Each legislative district shall comprise, as far as
practicable, contiguous, compact and adjacent territory. Each city with a population of at least
two hundred fifty thousand, or each province, shall have at least one representative”.

H. I don’t agree, Article 5, Section 5, par. 2 provides “The party-list representatives shall
constitute twenty per centum of the total number of representatives including those under the
party list xxxx”. The Party list Kita Tayo did not garner the required number of votes to be able to
have a seat in the House of Representatives.

I. I agree, Article 6, Section 13, prohibits the member of the Congress to hold forbidden office
even if the he is willing to forfeit his seat therein, he may not be appointed to any office in the
government that has been created or the emoluments thereof have been increased during his
term.

J. I agree, thou the lawyer-senator have parliamentary immunity, the privilege of speech and
debate is not absolute. His remarks were outside the pale of his official parliamentary functions.
 Even parliamentary immunity must not be allowed to used as a vehicle to ridicule, demean, and
destroy the reputation of the Court and its magistrates, nor as armor for personal wrath and
disgust.

5. A. Suability depends on the consent of the of the state to be sued, liability on the applicable lw
and the established facts. The circumstance that a state is suable does not necessarily mean that
it is liable; on the other hand, it can never be held liable if it does not first consent to be sued.

Liability is not conceded by the mere fact that the state has allowed itself to be sued. When the
state does waive its sovereign immunity, it is only giving the plaintiff the chance to prove, if it
can, that the defendant is liable.

B. State is an independent, sovereign government exercising control over a certain spatially

defined and bounded area, whose borders are usually clearly defined and internationally
recognized by other states.

Nation is a group of people who see themselves as a cohesive and coherent unit based on
shared cultural or historical criteria. Nations are socially constructed units, not given by nature.
Their existence, definition, and members can change dramatically based on circumstances.

C. Administration the term generally refers to the executive branch under a specific president (or
governor, mayor, or other local executive); or the term of a particular executive.

A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, often a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature,
executive, and judiciary. Government is a means by which organizational policies are enforced,
as well as a mechanism for determining policy. Each government has a kind of constitution, a
statement of its governing principles and philosophy

D. De jure government is the legal, legitimate government of a state and is so recognized by

other states. In contrast, a de facto government is in actual possession of authority and control
of the state.

De facto governments are not recognized. De facto governments are caused by for example a
revolution within (i.e. revolutions caused by the people of the State).

E. Sovereignty is the full right and power of a governing body over itself, without any
interference from outside sources or bodies. In political theory, sovereignty is a substantive term
designating supreme authority over some polity.

Legal sovereign grants rights to its citizens and there can be no rights against him. It means
rights of citizens depend on the will of legal sovereign and any time he can take away
6. Independence and degree of civilization were not an element of the state. The elements of the state
were people, territory, government, and sovereignty. As the state is defined independence and degree of
civilization were not required for a state to be recognized as such.

7. The self-executing provisions of the constitution as providing an independent remedy, perhaps most
notably, under the provisions protecting individual rights such as free speech which guarantees equal
protection and due process rights.

The literal rule uses the plain ordinary meaning of words. In Fisher v Bell [1960] 3 All ER 731 the
defendant, a shopkeeper, displayed in his window a flick knife with a price ticket, and was prosecuted for
“offering for sale” an offensive weapon contrary to the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959. The
High Court said the phrase “offer for sale” was to be taken literally, in accordance with its meaning in
contract law, and that the shopkeeper’s display of the weapon was no more than an invitation to treat. It
was presumed that Parliamentary draftsmen know technical legal language thus common law expression
was not altered. The golden rule is an extension of the literal rule and has both a narrow and wider
application and is used where the literal rule creates an absurdity. This is evident in the narrow sense in
Adler v George [1964] All ER 628. Adler gained access to a RAF station and obstructed a member of Her
Majesty’s forces engaged in security duties ‘in the vicinity of a prohibited place’ He argued that, as he
was actually in the prohibited place, he could not be said to be “in the vicinity” of the prohibited place.
The literal interpretation of the Official Secrets Act 1920 would allow protesters to demonstrate within
military bases but not outside them, creating an absurdity. This was clearly not the intention of this Act.
Adler was found guilty of the offence because “in the vicinity of” should be interpreted to mean on or
near the prohibited place. In its wider sense, the court may modify the reading of words in order to
avoid a repugnant situation as in Re Sigsworth [1935] Ch 89. Section 46 of the Administration of Estates
Act 1925 stated that where a person dies intestate leaving children but no spouse, the estate passes to
the children. The defendant had murdered his mother, who did not have a will, and he stood to inherit
her estate as next of kin by being her “issue”. The court applied the golden rule and held that “issue”
would not be entitled to inherit where they had killed the deceased.

8. I would resolve the case that kidnapping was committed; the wall between the church and state is not
a wall of hostility. The State in fact recognizes the beneficent influence of religion in the enrichment of
the nation’s life. In so far as it instills into the mind the purest principles of morality. The leaders of the
church in their actions harm their brother therefore they must be liable with the civil damages and
criminal liability.

9. The suspension of the member of the Congress must be in relation to his disorderly behavior
determines in the rules of its proceedings, is a punitive suspension, and the suspension shall not exceed
sixty days. On the other hand the suspension impose to the member of the Congress under RA 3019 may
exceed in 60 days this is a preventive suspension to avoid the member of the Congress under
investigation to have influence while the investigation on his graft and corruption case proceeds.