LEGAL RESEARCH
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION TO LEGAL RESEARCH
A. Legal Research, Defined
It is the process of finding the laws, rules and
regulations that govern activities in human society. It
involves locating both the laws and rules which are
enforced by the State and the commentaries which
explain or analyze these rules.
Legal Research is also defined as the investigation for
information necessary to support legal decision
making. Legal Research includes each step of a
process that begins with analyzing the facts of a
problem and concludes with applying and
communicating
the results of the investigation.
B. The Need for Legal Research
In order to provide a competent representation
which requires the legal knowledge, skill,
thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary
for the representation.
To uphold the standards of the legal profession
In order to become a competent practitioner
In order to conduct legal research effectively, a lawyer
should have:
a working knowledge of the nature of legal rules and
legal institutions
the fundamental tools of legal research, and
the process of devising and implementing a
coherent and effective research design
C. Sources of Legal Research
Legal research involves the use of a variety of printed
and electronic sources.
Printed sources:
· Constitution
· Statutes
· Court decisions
· Administrative rules
· Scholarly commentaries
Computer databases containing these and other
materials have dramatically changed the nature of
legal research and
improved its effectiveness.
D. Sources of Law - Three broad categories:
1. Primary Sources - those recorded laws and rules
which will be enforced by the State (pure laws)
- First major primary sources
- legislative actions
- codes
- statutes
- Second major category - judicial decisions
- Supreme Court
- Court of Appeals
- Trial Courts (RTC, MTC, MCTC)
- Third primary source
- administrative law, or the regulations and decisions
of government agencies
- state agencies promulgate regulations governing
behavior within their areas of expertise
- agencies also act in “quasi-judicial” capacity by
conducting hearings and issuing decisions to resolve
particular
disputes
2. Secondary Materials (commentaries and
annotations) – vary widely in purpose and quality,
ranging from authoritative treaties by great academic
scholars to superficial tracts by hack writers. It can
help analyze a problem and provide research
references to
both primary sources and other secondary materials
- Publications which are not primary authority but
which discuss or analyze legal doctrine are considered
secondary materials:
- Treatises
- Commentaries
- Encyclopedias
- Most influential legal writings
- academic journals (law reviewers of law schools)
- IBP journals and Lawyers Review
- secondary materials through the use of:
- law library catalog
- legal periodical indexes
- other bibliographic aids
- commentaries from the primary sources
3. Finding Tools – search materials to locate legal
sources; means of locating primary sources
- SCRA Quick Index-Digests
- PHILJURIS & LEX LIBRIS – computer based legal
research systems, provide the capability to search for
cases and other documents by using practically any
word or combination of words.
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Chapter 2
THE LEGAL RESEARCH PROCESS
A. Systematic Approach to Legal Research - basic
steps are recommended:
1. Identify and Analyze the Significant Facts – begins
with compiling a descriptive statement of legally
significant facts.
The TARP Rule is a useful technique to analyze your
facts according to the following factors:
T – Thing or subject matter
A – Cause of Action or group of defense
R – Relief sought
P – Persons or parties involved
2. Formulate the Legal Issues to be Researched - this
is the initial intellectual activity that presumes some
knowledge of the substantive law. The goal is to
classify or categorize the problem into general, and
increasingly specific, subject areas and to begin to
hypothesize legal issues.
- Consult general secondary sources for an overview
of all relevant subject areas, this can be used to
provide background information to help formulate
issues; they are tools NOT the objects of research
- Statement of the issues should be arranged in a
logical pattern to form an outline
3. Research the Issues Presented – begin to research
the issue
a. Organize and Plan – write down all sources to be
searched under each issue to be researched, even if
sources
are repeated
b. Identify, Read and Update All Relevant
Constitutional Provisions, Statutes and Administrative
Regulations – these primary sources can be identified
in several ways:
- Statutory Compilations – tables of contents and
indexes that list the subject and topics covered by
thestatutes
- Computer-Assisted Legal Research
- PHILJURIS and LEX LIBRIS
- Secondary Sources – treaties and commentaries and
law review articles, commonly cite relevant
constitutional provisions, statues, and administrative
regulations
c. Identify, Read and Update All Relevant Case Law –
note its full citation, the ponente, date of decision,
relevant facts, the holding, summary of the court’s
reasoning, and the sources cited by the Court
d. Refine the Search – expand your arguments
4. Update – consult the PHILJURIS or LEX LIBRIS to
determine whether the authorities have been
interpreted or altered in any way, or whether new
cases, statutes or regulations have been published;
law changes constantly; our Congress passes new
statutes and modify old ones; our Supreme Court
either refines the law or reaffirms the law or even
changes the interpretation of the law.
Chapter 3
FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH SKILL: CASE BRIEFING
AND SYTHESIS OF CASES
A. Case Briefing – process of digesting or the
condensation of a reported case. There is no one
“correct” form for a case brief
since it is a document that is created to meet the
student’s needs. The typical components of a case
brief are:
1. Facts –describe the events between the parties
leading to the litigation and tell how the case before
the court that is
now deciding it. Include those facts that are relevant
to the issue the court must decide and to the reasons
for it decision. You will not know which facts are
relevant until you know what the issue or issues are.
State the plaintiff ad defendant
Basis for plaintiff’s suit
Plaintiff’s relief
Include the ruling of the Lower Court and Court of
Appeals
2. Issue(s) – question that the court must decide to
resolve the dispute between the parties in the case
before it.
Identify the rule of law that governs the dispute and
ask how it should apply to those facts
3. Ruling – court’s decision on the question that is
actually before it, but if they do not relate to the
question actually before it, they are dicta or dictum
(expression of opinion or a point other than the precise
issue involved in
determining a case).
* provides the answer to the question asked in the
issues
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* supported by court’s reasoning explaining and
supporting the court’s decision
B. Synthesizing Cases – process of relating the cases
to each other. By this process, we can understand the
applicable area of law and then use the synthesis to
analyze the problem
1. Understand the applicable area of law
2. Use the synthesis to analyze the problem
3. Synthesizing is the step between your research and
your writing
Chapter 4
STATUTORY LAW
STATUTORY LAW consists mainly of the following:
1. The 1987 Constitution
2. Treaties and International Agreements
3. Statues enacted by Legislature
4. Administrative Rules and Regulations
5. Ordinances enacted by Autonomous Region
6. Ordinances enacted by Local Government Units
1. THE PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION – “law” and law of
the highest authoritativeness and obligation. As
“supreme law of the land”, it is the ultimate authority
to which reference must be made to determine the
validity of national laws, administrative regulations,
local ordinances and executive actions.
a. Spanish Period
- Leyes Constitucionales de Espana
- Derecho Parliamentario Espanol (3 volumes)
- Ponce, Efemerides Filipinas
- Prologue, Filipinas en las Cortes
b. The Treaty of Paris
- Official Gazette, Vol. 1 (Appendix)
- U.S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 30
- Public Laws (Philippine Commission and Philippine
Legislative)
- Acts of Congress and Treaties Pertaining to the
Philippine Islands
c. The Malolos Constitution of 1899
- Heraldo de la Revolucion
- La Revolucion Filipina (Apolinario Mabini, published
by Bureau of Printing in 2 vols.)
- Reports of the Philippine Commission to the
President (Gov’t Printing Office, 4 vols.)
- Mis Memorias Sobre La Revolucion (Calderon)
- La Constitucion de Malolos (Kalaw)
- Archivo del Bibliofilo Filipino (Retana)
- Documentos para la Historia de Filipinas (Calderon)
- Planes Constitutionales para Filipnas (Kalaw)
- Resena Veridica de la Revolucion (Aguinaldo)
- Philippine Constitutional Law (Malcolm)
- The Philippine Islands (Blair and Robertson)
d. The American Period
a. Organic Laws
- Pres. McKinleys’s Instructions of April 7, 1900
- Official Gazette (Vol. 1 – Preliminary Number)
- Public Laws (Philippine Commission, Vol. 1)
- Reports to the Philippines Commission to the
President (Vol. 1)
- The Spooner Amendment of March 2, 1901
- U.S. Statues at Large – Vol. 31
- The Philippine Bill of 1902
- U.S. Statutes at Large – Vol. 32
- U.S. Code – Titles 2 and 48
- The Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916
- U.S. Statutes at Large – Vol. 39
- U.S. Code – Titles 2, 39 and 48
b. The Commonwealth Period
- The Tydings-McDuffie Law of 1934
- U.S. Statutes at Large – Vol. 48
- U.S. Code – Title 48
- Discussed in the Philippine Charter of Liberty by
Osias and Baradi
- The 1935 Philippine Constitution
- Public Laws of the Philippines (Vol. 30 – Appendix)
- Official Gazette – Vol. 34
- Messages of the President – Vol. 1 revised edition
(1936)
- Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention of
1935 by Sen. Jose P. Laurel (7 vols.)
- Journal of the 1935 Constitutional Convention (3
vols.)
- Journal of the Constitutional Convention of the
Philippines (7 volumes)
- Framing of the Philippine Constitution - 2 vols.
- Constitutional Convention Records (11 vols.)
- Secondary sources:
- Philippine Constitutional Law (Malcolm and Laurel,
Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Co., Manila,
1936)
- Constitution of the Philippines (Tanada and
Fernando, 1952)
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- Philippine Constitutional Law (Martin, Rev. Ed.,
Philaw Publishing, Manila, 1954)
- Constitutional History (Francisco, East Publication,
Manila, 1956)
- Political Law of the Philippines (Tanada and Carreon,
1956)
- Philippine Constitutional Law (Sinco, Community
Publishing, Manila, 2nd Ed., 1960)
- Philippine Annotated Laws (The Lawyers
Cooperative Publishing Co., 1956)
e. The Japanese Period (1943 Constitution)
- Official Gazette (Vol. 2 – Special Number 9-A)
f. Period After Philippine Independence in 1946
a. Martial Law Declaration
b. The 1973 Constitution
- Official Gazette (Vol. 68, No. 50; Vol. 69 No. 4)
- Constitutional Convention Archives – U.P. Law
Library
- From McKinley’s Instruction to the Constitution:
Documents on the Philippine Constitutional System,
Central Book Supply, Inc., Manila, 1978
- Secondary sources
- Constitution of the Philippines (Fernando, Central
Book Supply, Inc., 1973 Ed.)
- Philippine Constitutional Law (Gonzales, 4th Ed., Rex
Book Store, Manila, 1975)
c. The Amendments to the 1973 Constitution
d. The Provisional Constitution of 1986 – Freedom
Constitution
- Vital Legal Documents in the New People’s
Government – Central Book Supply, Inc.
- Constitutionalism in the Philippines, 1997 (Rufus
Rodriguez)
e. The 1987 Constitution
- Official Gazette
- The New Constitution of the Philippines (Noledo)
- Constitutionalism in the Philippines (R. Rodriguez)
- Record of the Philippine Constitutional Commission
(5 vols.) and its 3-vol. Journals
- Secondary sources
- The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines with
Comments and Cases
- The Aquino Presidency and the Constitution
- The Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines –
A Commentary – 1996
- Textbook on the New Philippine Constitution, 1999
- Constitutional Law
- Human Rights: An Introduction Course
- Constitutional Law, Text and Cases
- Principles, Comments and Cases in Constitutional
Law
2. TREATIES AND INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS – a
compact made between two or more independent
nations with a view
to the public welfare
- Official Gazette
- Treaty Series
- Acts of Congress and Treaties Pertaining to the
Philippine Islands
- Philippine Treaty Series
- Philippine Treaties Index
- The Lawyer’s Review, International La Documents
- Law of the Sea
- Philippine Yearbook of International Laws – Vols. IX
to XV
- Documents in Contemporary International Law – 2
vols.
- Vital ASEAN Documents
- The Ocean Law and Policy Series
- Philippine Trade and Economic Agreements
- World Bulletin
- Secondary materials
- Cases and Materials on International Law
- Public International Law – 1974
- International Law – 1998 Ed. (Coquia Jr. and
Santiago)
- International Law – 1998 Ed. (Cruz, I.A.)
- International Law, with Philippine Cases and
Materials and Asean Instruments – 1999 Ed.
3. STATUTES ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE
a. Legislation in General – is the formal enactment of
laws by competent authority and in the proper
manner
1. Constitutional Provisions
2. Types of Legislation
3. Form of Statutes
4. The Enactment of Statutes
5. The Construction of Statutes
b. History of Philippine Legislation
1. Pre-Spanish Period
2. Spanish Period
a. Spanish Laws Made Applicable to the Philippines
1. The system of law in Spain and its antecedents
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a. The Code of Euric and the Brevarium of Alaric
b. Fuero Juzgo
c. Fuero Real
d. Las Siete Partidas
e. Leyes de ToroNueva Recopilacion
f. Novisima Recopilacion
2. Modern Spanish Codes
a. Codigo de Comercio of 1885
b. Codigo Penal of 1870
c. The Codes of Civil and Criminal Procedure
d. Codigo Civil of 1889
b. Laws Specially Enacted for the Colonies
1. Legislation for the Colonies
2. First Collection of Laws Relating to the Colonies
3. Compilation of Laws Initiated by the Council
4. The Codigo Ovandino
5. General Compilation by Aguilar y Acuna and Pinelo
6. The recopilacion de Leyes de los reynos de Indias
7. Compilations Subsequent to the Recopilacion
c. Evaluation of the Laws in the Philippines During the
Spanish Period
d. Materials on the Spanish Laws
1. Primary Materials
a. Boletin Oficial
b. Gaceta de Manila
c. Archivo de Bibliofilo Filipino (5-vol., 1895-1905)
d. Codigo Penal de Filipinas y Ley Provisional
e. Codigo Comercio
f. Codigo Penal
2. Secondary Materials
a. Civil law
b. Criminal law
c. Commercial law
e. Legislation in the Philippines during the Spanish
period
3. The period of the Philippine Revolution
4. The American Period
5. The Commonwealth Period
6. The Japanese Period
7. The Period after Independence
8. The Martial Law Period
9. Aquino’s Revolutionary Government
10. Period under 1987 Constitution
c. Publication on Philippine Statutes, in general
d. Summary of Philippine Legislation
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4. ADMINISTRATIVE RULES AND REGULATIONS
a. Administrative acts and commands of the
President of the Philippines touching on the
organization or mode of operation of the government
of the rearranging or readjustment of the districts,
divisions, part or parts of the Philippines and all acts
and commands governing the general performance of
duties by public employees or disposing of issues of
general concern are made effective by the issuance of
Executive Orders. Those orders fixing the dates when
specific
laws, resolutions or orders are to have or cease to take
effect and any information concerning matters of
public moment determined by law, resolution, or
executive orders, take the form of proclamations.
Ordinarily, administrative orders are confined to the
exercise by the President of the Philippines of his
power deciding administrative cases. Sometimes they
may contain regulations for the conduct of
subordinate officers in the executive department in
the performance of their official duties.
During the Commonwealth Period, the administrative
acts and orders of the President were published in
the:
Executive Orders – 4 volumes
Proclamations – 7 volumes, covering period from
1935 to 1941
b. Executive Orders and Proclamations of the
Governor-General during the American period were
published annually in a set entitled “Executive Orders
and Proclamations”. Thirty-three volumes were
published until 1935, by the Bureau of
Printing.
Official Gazette and
Public Laws as appendices
c. Government agencies may also be grouped
together in accordance with their powers and
functions:
1. Agencies with implied quasi-legislative powers –
they have administrative rules and regulations which
have not been expressly directed by law to be issued,
but they are necessary in the proper discharge of the
functions of the agency.
Bureau of Forestry
Bureau of Prisons
National Bureau of Investigation
Bureau of Tourism Services
Department of Social Welfare and Development
2. Agencies with express quasi-legislative powers –
they are specifically authorized by law to promulgate
implementing rules and regulations
Government Service Insurance System
Social Security System
Department of Labor and Employment
Bureau of Internal Revenue
Philippine Medical Care Commission
Board of Investments
3. Publications on Administrative Rules and
Regulations – usually published in Official Gazette;
each department, bureau or agency issuing orders
imposing penalty for their violation, rules and
regulations are expected to keep official records and
files thereof and mimeograph copies are usually made
available to the public.
General studies made of administrative offices and
their rule-making power include:
Administrative Law – Carreon
Administrative Law – Fernando & Fernando
Administrative Law and Revised Administrative
Code – Martin
Administrative Law of the Philippines – Rivera
4. Materials containing Administrative Rules and
Regulations are also found in The National
Administrative Register – containing rules and
regulations, circulars, memoranda and other official
issuance issued by different government agencies,
published quarterly; Vols. 1 to 12 (1990-2001) by the
UP Law Complex
5. Publications by the particular administrative
agencies:
a. Civil Service Commission
Book V of the Revised Administrative Code of 1987
on the Civil Service Commission – lays down the basic
policies and provisions of the law on the CSC as the
central personnel agency of the government. It also
presents the systems and procedures by which the
operation of the civil service are to be based including
personnel administration.
Omnibus Rules Implementing Book V of Exec. Order
292 and Other Pertinent Civil Service Laws – lays down
the implementing rules adopted and prescribed by
the CSC to carry out the provisions on civil service
embodied in Book V of the Revised Administrative
Code of 1987. Also includes the revised rules on
appointments and other personnel action and new
rules on leave.
Uniform Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil
Service – embodies the uniform rules of procedure in
the conduct/adjudication of all administrative
proceedings, either disciplinary or non-disciplinary, in
the civil service both at the commission and agency
levels. It also contains the revised schedule of
penalties for the classifications of administrative
offenses.
Rules implementing the Code of Conduct and Ethical
Standards for Public Officials and Employees (RA
6713) – lays down the prescribed rules set by the CSC
in the application/implementation of the provisions of
RA 6713 otherwise known as the Code of Conduct and
Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
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Includes the full text of RA 6713.
Revised Omnibus Rules on Appointment and Other
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Personnel Actions – consolidated general rules and
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policies on appointments and other personnel and
other personnel actions in the civil service. This
manual also lays down the responsibilities of the
human resources management officer/personnel
officer, certain modes of separation from the service
and prohibitions.
Omnibus Rules on Leave – a handbook containing
pertinent policies and implementing rules and
regulations governing leave administration. Also
includes a listing of leave privileges/benefits and their
corresponding entitlement and availment; illustration
of how to compute leave credits and monetization.
Personnel Officers Manual – outlines the
responsibilities of the personnel officer in the
different areas of human resource management and
development such as recruitment and examination,
promotion, performance evaluation, appointments
preparation, leave administration, retirement,
personnel relations, discipline, benefits, rewards,
incentives and career development. It also discusses
the legal authority and objectives of the Council of
Personnel Officers.
Revised Policies on Performance Evaluation System
– presents a comprehensive discussion of the revised
policies on performance evaluation in the civil service
adopted by the CSC to install and implement
performance-based security of tenure. The PES aims
to draw up an objective assessment of employee
performance.
Agency Performance Evaluation System (A Model) –
a model for the development of PES designed by the
CSC. The pES Model will help or guide agencies in
preparing their respective PES based on
corresponding policies and its proper application.
Compliance with the revised PES by agencies is crucial
as it will serve as the basis for all agency personnel
actions such as promotion and grant of productivity
incentive bonus.
Memorandum Circulars 1992-2000 – an annual
compilation of all memorandum circulars issued by
the CSC in book form. Memorandum Circulars are
complied per year.
Qualification Standards Manual – contains an
alphabetical listing of roughly 4,000 positions in
government service with corresponding educational,
experience, training and eligibility requirements. It
also includes the positions’ respective salary grade
level, and sector classification. The qualifications
listed in this level, and sector classification. The
qualifications listed in this manual are the minimum
requirement set by the CSC for each position; agencies
are not precluded from setting higher standards that
will suit their needs.
CSC Memo Circulars Index (1988-1998) – contains a
listing of all memo circulars issued by the CSC covering
the period 1988-1998, classified according to subject.
It also indicates the newspaper and date of
publication for circulars which were published to
ascertain their respective dates of effectivity.
Manual on Definitions of Administrative Offenses in
the Civil Service – a handbook of definitions to serve
as aid for legal practitioners as well as government
workers involved in handling administrative cases and
other legal matters.
b. Securities and Exchange Commission
a. SEC POLIO, 1946 -1976
b. SEC BULLETIN
c. SEC WEEKLY BULLETIN
c. Central Bank
a. Financial journal
b. Central bank annual reports and compilations
d. Department of Labor and Employment
a. Rules and regulations implementing the labor code
e. Department of Agrarian Reform
a. Comprehensive agrarian reform program and
presidential issuances
f. Department of Justice
a. Department of justice, revised circulars 1963
g. Dangerous Drugs Board
a. Dangerous drugs board regulations 1988
h. Board of Investments
a. Omnibus Investments code and implementing
Regulations 1989
i. Office of The Insurance Commission
a. Insurance Reporter
5. ORDINANCES ENACTED BY THE AUTONOMOUS
REGION – the 1987 Constitution created the
Autonomous Regions in Muslim Mindanao and in the
Cordillera. The legislative assemblies of these
autonomous regions enact ordinances to govern the
region and may create administrative agencies to
operate in the regions.
6. ORDINANCES ENACTED BY LOCAL GOVERNMENT
UNITS – the basic local government units are the
provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays. Each
of these units have lawmaking powers to pass what is
commonly called ordinances” (to distinguish them
from statutes enacted by Congress) which are usually
of local interest only. A local ordinance is legally
ineffective if inconsistent with statutes enacted by
Congress.
COMPUTERIZED LEGAL RESEARCH SERVICES – the
text of the Constitutions and statutes above
mentioned may be sourced from two computerized
legal research services.
1. Lex Libris – produced by CD Asia, Inc., with the
following databases:
a. Laws (Philippine Edition), Vol. I;
b. Taxation (Phil. Edition), Vol. II;
c. Jurisprudence (The Phil. Supreme Court Reports),
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Vol. III
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d. Department of Justice (Opinions of the Secretary),
Vol. IV
e. Local Autonomy and Local Government, Vol. V
f. Environment and Natural Resources, Vol. VI
g. Labor and Social Legislation, Vol. VII
h. Elections, Vol. VIII
i. Trade, Commerce and Industry, Vol. IX
j. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Vol. X
k. Securities and Exchange Commission, Vol. XI
2. Philjuris – produced by Gigabytes Research
Systems, Inc. also has a database on all laws of the
Philippines.
Chapter 5
CASE LAW
While statute law is derived from the lawmaking
agencies of the government, case law comes from the
judicial authorities of the State.
Case law may be divided into:
1. Decision Proper
a. Decisions of the Supreme Court
b. Decision of the Court of Appeals
c. Decisions of the Sandiganbayan
d. Decisions of the Court of Tax appeal
e. Decisions of the Regional Traila courts
f. Decisions of the Municipal, Municipal Circuit and
Metropolittan trial courts
2. Subordinate Decisions
a. Decisions of the Senate electoral tribunal and
house of representative electoral tribunal
b. Decisions of administrative agencies exercising
qausi judicial powers, such as:
i. Commission on Elections
ii. Civil Service Commission
iii. Commission on Audit
iv. National Labor relation commission
v. Insurance commission
vi. Housing and land Use regulatory board
vii. Department of Agrarian Adjudication board
THE PHILIPPINE JUDICIAL SYSTEM
A. PRE-SPANISH PERIOD – trials were held publicly
and decisions were rendered promptly. The accuser
and the accused faced each other with their
respective witnesses. The latter, to show their
honesty and sincerity, took an oath to this effect….
The disputants then began presenting their
arguments, buttressed by the testimonies of their
respective witnesses. The chieftain listened
attentively and the elders took mental notes of the
arguments. The disputant with more witnesses to his
side was adjudged as winner. In this case, the
chieftain, acting as Judge and executive, enforced his
judgment by siding openly with the winner and
compelling the defeated party to respect the
judgment of the honorable court. Under such
circumstances, the defeated party had no other
recourse than to bow to the inevitable.
B. SPANISH PERIOD – Magellan’s arrival in the
Philippines in 1521 became the basis for Spain to
claim and colonize the islands. Three Spanish
expeditions were sent to the islands which all ended
in failure. Finally on November 21, 1564, Miguel Lopez
de Legaspi sailed from Navidad, Mexico to the “islands
of the West towards the Moluccas” and
subsequently landed in the Visayan islands and
founded the City of Cebu in 1565. Manila was later
founded as a capital city in 1571. The foundation of
Spanish sovereignty over the Philippines had been
laid.
a. In General
Five components:
a. The law – to govern the conduct of the people and
regulate the relations among individuals and between
the individual and the sovereign.
b. The judiciary – which provided the mechanism for
the adjudication of disputes among individuals and
between the individual and the government of state.
c. The law enforcement agencies – to uphold the law
and enforce the decisions rendered by judiciary.
- Cuerpo de Cuadrilleros – the municipal police under
the local government officials
- Guardia Civil – the national constabulary, the forces
of which were assigned to particular provinces under
the provincial commanders who reported directly to
the governor and captain general
d. The prison system – for public punishment of those
who violated the law.
- Municipal jails
- Provincial jails
- Major penitentiaries such as the Bilibid Prison and
those in Cavite, Zamboanga and Marianas
- Penal farms or colonies in Palawan, Davao, Cotabato
and Zamboanga
e. Legal profession – group of persons with legal
training manned the judicial posts and acted as
advocates of individuals in protecting their rights.
- Lawyers who were either appointed to the judiciary
and public prosecution or were the practicing lawyers
- Those who had some legal training who were either
notaries or clerks appointed to assist the courts
Hierarchical structure of the judicial system:
The Crown
- King is the unquestioned head of Spanish
government
- As an absolute ruler, had the power to reverse the
rulings of the Council of the Indies
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The Council of the Indies
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- Decisions of the Real Audencia in certain cases were
appealable to the Council of the Indies in Serville,
Spain
- When the Council was abolished in 1834, its judicial
functions were assumed by a newly created Tribunal
Suprema de Espana de Indias
- Creation of the King – the unquestioned head of
Spanish government
The Real Audiencia
- Supreme tribunal in the Philippines
- Both had civil and criminal jurisdiction in cases of
appeal from the alcalde mayor or Corregidor
- Performed other functions aside from its judicial
duties
- The Governor had supreme judicial powers in the
Philippines. Even after the establishment of the
Audencia, the Governor continued participating in the
judicial affairs as President of the Audencia
The Alcaldes-Mayores (CFI)
- Alcalde mayor in pacified areas
- Corregidor in unpacified areas
- Acted as appellate judge for suits originating from
the gobernadorcillo
The Gobernadorcillos (Justice of the Peace Courts)
- base of the judicial structure;
- who governed the town or pueblo;
- had jurisdiction over all civil cases arising among
Indios, Chinese mestizos and Chinese that involve
small sums and petty criminal cases
Special Courts:
a. Ecclesiastical Courts – for the religious
b. Army and Navy Courts – for military personnel
c. Commercial Court – for merchants
d. Contentious Court – complaints against the
administration of the government
e. Treasury Court – for cases involving the royal
treasury, including cases of smuggling, etc.
f. Probate Court – adjudication of probate cases
The judicial system included the Department of
Public Prosecution which represented the
government and its institutions in the enforcement
of the law and in all civil and criminal actions to
which the state was a party.
Publication during the Spanish Period:
Jurisprudencia Civil
Jurisprudencia Criminal
C. THE AMERICAN PERIOD – with the establishment
of the American military government following the
surrender of Manila to the American army, provost
courts and military commissions were created. At the
same time, civil courts were
recognized for certain civil purposes. Subsequently, by
Act No. 136 of the Philippine Commission, the existing
courts were abolished and in their place were
substituted the courts provided in said act..
Thereafter, Congress of the United States, through
the Philippine Bill and. Later, the Jones Law, approved
and confirmed the organization of the courts thus
established. As ultimately evolved, the judiciary
system instituted was substantially modeled upon
English and American prototypes. However, no
division was made of the tribunals into courts of law
and courts of equity as they were known and
distinguished in England and most jurisdictions of the
United States. The same tribunal dispenses both legal
and
equitable relief.
The Audiencia Territorial de Manila (Supreme Court)
o Chief Justice
o Eight Associate Justices
Court of First Instance
The Municipal and the Justice of the Peace Courts
Note: The uncivilized part of the Archipelago were
wholly unfitted to exercise the right of trial by jury.
D. THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM AT PRESENT
I. TRIAL COURTS OF LIMITED JURISDICTION – limited
to civil suits involving relatively smaller amounts of
money and to minor violations of criminal laws. These
are the tribunals in which most of the controversies
that occur in the community are heard and at least
provisionally decided. They are the courts closest to
the people. In this level, justice
be administered fairly and with dignity.
a. Metropolitan trial courts
b. Municipal trial courts
c. Municipal circuit trial courts
II. TRIAL COURTS OF GENERAL JURISDICTION –
involves an amount of money or a potential criminal
sentence, beyond the jurisdictions of the MTC, MCTC,
MTC.
a. Regional Trail Courts (Court of First Instance)
b. Shari’a courts under the Muslim code.
III. THE INTERMEDIATE APPELLATE COURT – is the
body that generally has exclusive appellate
jurisdiction over the decisions of the Regional Trial
Courts and other quasi-judicial agencies.
a. Court of Appeals
i. Presiding Justice
ii. 50 Associate Justice
b. Special appellate courts:
The Sandiganbayan – appellate jurisdiction over
certain criminal cases decided by the Regional
Courts, and also original jurisdiction over certain
types of criminal cases
Court of Tax appeals – act only on protests of private
persons adversely affected by the tax and customs
laws.
IV. THE COURT OF LAST RESORT (Supreme Court) – at
the top of the hierarchy which determines with
17
finality what the law is and should be. It has the power
Page
to review on appeal or certiorari final judgments and
Page
18
order of lower courts in certain cases such as when
errors or questions of law are invoked and where the
Constitution or validity of statues are involved. It has
original jurisdiction over petitions for certiorari,
prohibition, mandamus, quo warranto and habeas
corpus.
i. Chief Justice
ii. 14 Associate Justice
DOCTRINE OF PRECEDENT
a. STARE DECISIS, ET NO QUITA MOVERE – what has
been settled must not be disturbed.
RES JUDICATA – a matter finally decided on its merits
by a court having competent jurisdiction and not
subject to litigation again between the same
b. REVERSAL – has reference to the action of the
Supreme Court on a lower court judgment in the same
particular controversy. When the Supreme court
reviews the judgment of the lower court in a case and
concludes the lower court reached an erroneous
result in the case, it will reverse, set aside the lower
court’s judgment.
OVERRULES – one of the past decisions of the
Supreme court, the conclusiveness of that earlier
decision as a settlement of its particular controversy
is not affected, but the overruled decision is no longer
an authoritative precedent for other cases that may
arise in the future.
c. RATIO DECIDENDI - is the holding of the principle of
law on which a case was decided. It sets the precedent
and is binding on courts in the future.
OBITER DICTUM – is the language in a decision that is
not necessary to the decision.
d. BINDING – also called mandatory; when it comes
from the decisions of Supreme Court and it is the ratio
decidendi of the case.
PERSUASIVE – if the dicta comes from a respected
justice, it may be persuasive to the Court. Persuasive
authority can come from decisions of appellate courts
in other jurisdictions.
FORMS OF DECISIONS
MAJORITY OPINION / UNANIMOUS
CONCURRING
SEPARATE CONCURRING OPINION
SEPARATE OPINION
DISSENTING
CASE LAW MATERIALS
1. Decision proper
a. Decisions of the Supreme Court Official:
i. Advance Sheet – after the finality of the decision,
they are published in mimeographed form; made
available to the bench and the bar at the earliest date
possible, much earlier than their publication
ii. Official Gazette – official publication of the
government printed by the Bureau of Printing; the
decisions of the Supreme Court are published under
the section “Decisions of the Supreme Court”
iii. Philippine Reports – from August 8, 1901, printed
by the Bureau of Printing, now the Government
Printing Office; arranged according to dates of their
promulgation
iv. Philippine Reports (Reprints) – the destruction of
libraries and reserve copies of Philippine Reports in
the Bureau of Printing during the war necessitated the
reprinting of these reports and the undertaking
was entrusted by the Supreme Court to the Lawyer’s
Cooperative Publishing Co.
v. Jurisprudence Filipina – Spanish edition of the
Philippine Reports, also printed by the Bureau of
Printing; arranged in the same order as that of the
Philippine Reports
Unofficial:
a. Philippine Decisions
b. Philippine Reports Annotated
c. Philippine Reports Annotated (Central)
d. Supreme Courts Reports Annotated (SCRA)
e. Supreme Court Decisions (SCD)
f. Philippine Law and Jurisprudence (PHILJUR)
g. Supreme Court Unpublished Decisions (SCUD)
h. Supreme Court Advance Decisions (SCAD)
i. Supreme Court Excerpts (SCEX)
j. Summary of Supreme court’s Rulings
k. Citations: excerpts of Supreme Court Decisions
l. Title Index to Supreme Court Decisions 1945 – 1978
m. Supreme Court Decisions Title Index 1982-1985
n. The Sandiganbayan Reporter
o. The PCGG Reporter
b. Decision of the Court of Appeals
i. Appellate Court Reports
ii. Advance Sheets
iii. Official Gazette
iv. Courts of Appeals Reports
v. Court of Appeals Reports Annotated
c. Decisions of the Sandiganbayan
i. Sandiganbayan Reports
ii. Sandiganbayan Reporter
d. Decisions of the Court of Tax appeal
i. Official Gazette
ii. Court of Tax appeals Digest of Cutoms and Real
Property Tax cases
iii. Court of Tax appeals Digest of internal Revenue
Cases by Colon Publication
e. Decisions of the Regional Trail courts
f. Decisions of the Municipal, Municipal Circuit and
Metropolitan Trial Courts
2. Subordinate Decisions
a. Decisions of the Senate electoral tribunal and
house of representative electoral tribunal
1. HRET Reports: Final Orders, Resolutions and
Decisions – 7 vols.
19
Page
Page
20
b. Decisions of administrative agencies exercising
quasi-judicial powers
Agencies with implied quasi-judicial powers –
agencies mostly with investigative functions:
i. Department of Foreign Affairs
ii. Commission on Immigration and Deportation
iii. Office of the President
iv. Secretary of Justice
v. National Wages Council
vi. Philippine Patens Office
vii. Bureau of Land Transportation
viii. Civil Service Commission
ix. Professional Regulatory Commission
x. Tanodbayan (Ombudsman)
Agencies with express quasi-judicial powers –
agencies given judicial functions over cases which
would otherwise go the regular courts of justice were
it not for the grant of such powers to these agencies.
i. Insurance Commission
ii. National Labor Relations Commission
iii. Commission on Elections
iv. Government Service Insurance System
v. Social Security System
vi. National Seamen Board
vii. Commission on Audit
1. COA Regulations and Jurisprudence by Central book
Supply
viii. Employee’s Compensation Commission
ix. Civil Aeronautics Board
Administrative Bodies and Agencies exercising
quasi-judicial functions prepared by UP Law Center
1. Department of Finance
a. Bureau of Internal Revenue
b. Bureau of Customs
c. Insurance Commission
d. Central Board of Assessment Appeals
e. Fiscal Incentives Review Board
f. Phil. Export and Foreign Loan Guarantees Corp.
g. Phil. Crop Insurance Corp.
2. Department of Justice
a. Land Registration Authority
b. Commission on Immigration and Deportation (now
Bureau of Immigration)
3. Department of Agriculture
a. Sugar Regulatory Authority
b. National Irrigation Administration
c. National Meat Inspection Commission
d. National Food Authority
e. Quedans Guarantee Fund Board
f. Phil. Coconut Authority
g. Bureau of Plant Industry
4. Department of Public Works and Highways
a. Bureau of Research and Standards
b. Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System
c. Local Water Utilities Administration
5. Department of Labor and Employment
a. National Labor Relations Commission
b. Phil. Overseas and Employment Administration
c. National Manpower and Youth Council
d. National Maritime Polytechnic
e. Employee’s Compensation Commission
f. National Wages Council
g. Bureau of Labor Relations
h. Bureau of Working Conditions
i. National Conciliation and Mediation Board
6. Department of Health
a. Bureau of Food and Drugs
b. Phil. Medical Care Commission
c. Dangerous Drugs Board
d. Bureau of Research and Laboratories
e. Bureau of Licensing and Regulation
7. Department of Trade and Industry
a. Bureau of Trade Regulation and Consumer
Protection
b. Videogram Regulatory Board
c. Board of Investments
d. Bureau of Patents, Trademark and Technology
e. Export Processing Zone Authority
f. Garments and Textile Export Board
g. Bureau of Product Standards
8. Department of Environment and Natural Resources
a. Land Management Bureau
b. Environment Management Bureau
c. Forest Management Bureau
d. Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau
e. National Electrification Administration
f. National Quarantine Office
9. Department of Transportation and Communication
a. Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory
Board
b. Maritime Industry Authority
c. Philippine Ports Authority
d. Toll Regulatory Board
e. Civil Aeronautics Board
f. National Telecommunications Bureau
g. Bureau of Air Transportation (Air Transportation
Office)
10. Others
a. Professional Regulatory Commission
b. Security and Exchange Commission
c. Social Security Commission
d. Central Bank
e. Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board
f. National Bureau of Investigation
g. National Land Titles and Deeds Authority
h. Register of Deeds
c. Publications of Administrative Agencies Exercising
Quasi-Judicial Functions
2. Commission on Elections
- The COMELEC has not published its decisions
21
3. Civil Service Commission
Page
Page
22
- Civil Service Board of Appeals have been published
by author Rivera
- annually
4. Commission on Audit
- COA Regulations and Jurisprudence – 1998 by JV Go
published by Central Book Supply
- COA Decisions Digest (1994-2000) by Reynaldo
Montalbo
5. National Labor Relations Commission
- Has not published its decisions
6. Insurance Commission
- Has not published its decision
7. Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board
- Human Settlements Regulatory Commission Legal
Digest, 1981, 3 vols.
8. Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board
- Book entitled Jurisprudence on Agrarian Relations by
Ibay, 1973
9. Securities and Exchange Commission
- SEC Decisions, 1977-1981, published by Legal
Database Systems
- The decision making powers of the SEC were
transferred to the regular courts by virtue of the
Securities Regulation Code, RA 8799
10. Bureau of Internal Revenue
- Complete Numbered BIR Rulings by the Career
Development Center
- Digest of BIR Rulings by E.O. Ordono, 1986 to 1998
11. Intellectual Property Office
- The IPO has not published its decision
d. Computerized Legal Research Services
1. Lex Libris – produced by CD Asia, Inc., with the
following databases:
a. Laws (Philippine Edition), Vol. I;
b. Taxation (Phil. Edition), Vol. II;
c. Jurisprudence (The Phil. Supreme Court Reports),
Vol. III
d. Department of Justice (Opinions of the Secretary),
Vol. IV
e. Local Autonomy and Local Government, Vol. V
f. Environment and Natural Resources, Vol. VI
g. Labor and Social Legislation, Vol. VII
h. Elections, Vol. VIII
i. Trade, Commerce and Industry, Vol. IX
j. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Vol. X
k. Securities and Exchange Commission, Vol. XI
2. Philjuris – contains a digitized compilation of the
decisions and resolutions of the Supreme Court. It is
produced by Gigabytes Research Systems, Inc.
Chapter 6
LAW BOOKS OF SECONDARY AUTHORITY
Works which are not primary authority but which
digest, discuss or analyze legal provisions, judicial
decisions or define and explain legal doctrines and
terms are considered secondary materials. These
secondary sources can help analyze a problem and
provide research references to both primary sources
and other secondary materials.
A. CASE DIGESTS – are compilations of paragraphs
containing concise summaries of points in cases,
grouped under appropriate headings, the chief of
which are alphabetically arranged. Each paragraph in
case digests is complete in itself when it has concisely
and accurately stated the point decided with
reference to precise facts.
1. Philippine Digest – this publication of Lawyers
Coop. was designed as a companion set to the
Philippine Reports. It has a general scheme of
digesting cases and a system of numerous references
of such American counterparts as those of the Lawyer
Reports Annotated, the American Law Reports, and
the United States Court Reports with modifications to
suit Philippine law.
2. Republic of the Philippines Digest – this
publication also by the Lawyers Coop., dubbed
“Republic Digest” for short, starts from where the
Philippine Digest leaves off, cover all decisions of the
Supreme Court from July 4, 1946 through September
1958, published and unpublished. The set comprises
Volumes 1 to 7 of digest paragraphs, classified under
pertinent topics, and Volume 8 devoted to an
alphabetically arranged table of cases. Vols. 9-17
cover decisions from 1958 to 1966.
3. Velayo’s Digest – covers not only decisions of
Supreme Court but also those of the Court of Appeals.
The main set of 25 vols. Covers the leading cases of
the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals from
1942 to 1960
4. SCRA Quick-Index Digest – this publication by
Central Lawbook Supply, Inc. has three volumes. The
first two volumes condenses Volumes 1 to 36 of SCRA,
while the third volume covers Volumes 37 to 61 also
of SCRA up to 1974. Every year thereafter, yearly
digests have been coming out
5. Compendium of Philippine Jurisprudence –
authored by Celso L. Magsino and published by Rex
Book Store, it has 12 volumes containing digests of
decisions of the Supreme Court from 1945 to 1980
6. Other Digests – the other digests are:
a. Armando C. Castillo, Digest of Supreme Court
Decisions, 9 vols. (1951-1964)
b. Napoleon Garcia, Complete Monthly Digest of
Supreme Court Decisions
c. Navarrete, Digest-Index (of Supreme Court
Decisions), for 1957 and 1959
d. Jurado, Leading Cases in Civil Law (Supreme Court),
for 1958-1960
23
e. Daniel T. Martinez, Summary of Supreme Court
Rulings, starting from 1986 following the topic
Page
classification in
Page
24
the bar examination 52 . Succession, Wills
f. Jesus M. Elbinias, Philippine Judicial Weekly 53 . Tariff and Customs Code
g. Supreme Committee, Supreme Court Digest 54 . Taxation
B. TREATISES AND TEXTBOOKS – expositions by legal 55 . Torts and Damages
writers on statutory law and case law pertaining to a 56 . Transportation, Admiralty and Maritime Law
particular subject and published in book form. 57 . Trial Practice
1 . Administrative Law C. BAR REVIEWERS – bar review materials are very
2 . Agency helpful to fourth year law students and those
3 . Agrarian Reform reviewing for the bar. They are also very important to
4 . Arbitration Law legal researchers because they present a concise
5 . Banking presentation of the law, legal doctrines and leading
6 . Building Code Supreme Court decisions in capsulized form. They are
7 . Business Law usually very current and include the latest SC
8 . Church Law decisions.
9 . Citizenship Florenz Regalado’s Remedial Law compendium
10 . Civil Law Albano Civil Law reviewer
11 . Civil Procedure (see Rules of Court) Bernas The 1987 Philippine constitution –reviewer
12 . Civil Service Law primer
13 . Commercial Law Francisco Pre-week Memory Aidfd in all Bar subjects
14 . Constitutional Law 1997 edition
15 . Construction Law D. LEGAL PERIODICALS – the most serious and highly
16 . Cooperative reputed legal periodical are the academic law reviews
17 . Corporation Law are published by virtually all accredited law schools as
18 . Credit Transactions training grounds for student editors. They contain
19 . Criminal Law (Penal Code) both articles by established scholars
20 . Education Act and student-written comments and case notes. Both
21 . Election Law lead articles and comments are marked by extensive
22 . Evidence footnotes, making them useful research tools.
23 . Firearm Law In addition to general law reviews, there is an ever
24 . Insurance growing number of specialized academic journals,
25 . Intellectual Property focusing on topics from ecology to industrial relations.
26 . International Law (Public and Private) Most of these are student-edited, but a few
27 . Introduction Law specialized scholarly journals, such as the American
28 . Agrarian Reform (With Taxation and Coops.) Journal of Legal History and the Journal of Legal
29 . Investments Law History and the Journal of Legal Studies, are edited by
30 . Judges and Courts faculty.
31 . Labor and Social Legislation Legal Periodicals - Ateneo Law Journal
32 . Land Titles and Deeds Court of Agrarian Relations Journal
33 . Legal Ethics Far Eastern Law Review
34 . Legal Medicine Francisco College of Law Journal
35 . Legal Research and Writing Integrated Bar of the Philippines Journal
36 . Muslim Law Lawyers Journal
37 . Natural Resources The Lawyers Review
38 . Negotiable Instruments Law Lyceum Law Review
39 . Obligations and Contracts
40 . Parliamentary Law MLQ Law Quarterly
41 . Partnership Philippine International Law Journal
42 . Persons and Family Relations Philippine Labor Law Journal
43 . Philosophy, Legal Philippine Law Journal (of UP)
44 . Political Law Philippine Lawyers Association Journal
45 . Property Philippine Tax Journal
46 . Rental Law San Beda Law Journal
47 . Roman Law Tax Quarterly of the Philippines
48 . Rules of Court The Law Review (UST)
University of the East Law Journal
25

49 . Sales
50 . Securities Act University of Manila Law Gazette Journal
Page

51 . Statutory Construction University of San Carlos Law Review

Page
26
Leading Law Journal in the Philippines – Philippine
Law Journal of the UP College of Law which has been
in existence since 1910. It is distinguished by its
scholarly articles, reviews and commentaries. It is
exchanged with leading universities in the United
States and Europe and its articles by leading Filipino
academicians and students of the College of Law are
recorded in bibliographic listings around the world
Newspapers daily case digests – started by Justice
Federico B. Moreno
Manila Times
Daily Mirror
Bulletin Today
Times Journal
Daily Express
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Philippine Star
Business Day
E. LEGAL ENCYCLOPEDIA – while a textbook deals
with one subject or phrase of a subject of the law,
encyclopedia treats of all subjects. It is a
comprehensive treatise of the entire field of the law.
This whole field of the law is divided into topics
arranged in alphabetical order. It presents in concise
form, brief but comprehensive statements of the
current law upon said topics.
A legal encyclopedia as distinguished from law
dictionaries is a subject-book which presents to the
user the means of making his own definitions. It deals
with a whole field of law as distinguished from treatise
which treats of a portion of the subject. It
gives a literary statement of the law as distinguished
from digests which presents isolated summaries of
points of law.
Cyclopedia of Philippine Law – first attempt to
publish a legal encyclopedia in the Philippines, to be
authored by Alvir & Associates. However, only the
first volume containing a textual treatment of the
law from A to C was publish.
Encyclopedia of Philippine Law and Jurisprudence
(Pedro Venida) – only its first volume had been
published
Philippine Tax Reporters – specialized encyclopedia
on taxation; advertised as a 25-volume cyclopedia,
with annual supplements; deals extensively with the
National Internal Revenue Code, special tax laws, tax
rulings, circulars, decisions and treatises. After three
volumes, it stopped.
The Philippine Legal Encyclopedia – Jose Agaton R.
Sibal; published by Central Law Book Publishing Co.
F. LAW DICTIONARIES – are useful for identifying the
definitions of words in their legal sense or use. For
each word or phrase, a short definition is given. Some
also provide a citation to a court case or other
reference having the source of the word or
phrase.
Diccionario de Administracion de las Islas Filipinas
– published in 1887
Diccionario Juridico Recopilador – Martinez de San
Agustin, 1922; a study which included chronological
and alphabetical indexes of Philippine legislation and
jurisprudence.
Philippine Law Dictionary – Federico B. Moreno,
1972; it defined legal terms and phrases that, as part
of our law and jurisprudence, was necessary to a law
practitioner. Those definitions are related to
Philippine codes or statues and/or the authoritative
court decisions where they may be found by citation
to specific provisions of law or to reported cases.
Dictionary of International Law and Diplomacy –
Gamboa
Philippine Labor Dictionary – Isidro (1966)
Dictionary of Insurance Terms and Phrases –
Tiopanco (1976)
Chapter 7
SEARCH MATERIALS AND FINDING TOOLS
There have been a large volume of statutory law and
case law that have been churned out by our legislative
mill and judicial branch of government since 1900 and
the legal researcher needs some means of subject
access into this large body of law. The effective
operation of the doctrine of precedent requires that
prior decisions be easily available. Without a topical
approach to legal sources, researchers could not find
existing decisions or statues on point. We therefore
need search materials and finding tools for legal
research. The purpose of these materials and tools is
not to persuade, nor do they themselves have any
primary or persuasive authority. They are only means
for locating primary sources. It is then necessary to
read those primary sources to determine their
applicability to a particular situation. In legal research,
as in other sense of relevance – a keen appreciation of
which sources are legally and factually relevant to the
specific inquiry.
A. CITATORS – supply references to decisions in which
other cases have been cited, reviewed, affirmed,
reversed, overruled, criticized or commented upon,
and to cases in which statutes have been construed,
and to statutes in which prior acts have been
amended, renewed or repealed.
Philippine Citations – first citator published in the
Philippines; Dizon (1937); 2 volumes which contain
complete citations found in Vols. 2 to 64 of the
Philippine Reports and in the Official Gazette to April
1947 (including occupation issues) of the decisions of
the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals as well
as of Philippine laws, including Royal Decrees and
27
Orders, Ordinances of the City of Manila, and other
matters. This citatory provides the researcher with
Page
knowledge at a glance whether a given reported
Page
28
Philippine decision has been overruled, criticized,
limited in its application, distinguished or followed in
subsequent reported decisions. Likewise, by
consulting the citations to codes and statutes, the
researcher will have before him all reported Philippine
decisions wherein a particular Philippine statute has
been cited, invoked, applied, construed or discussed.
Philippine Citations – next citatory publish in the
Philippines in 1964 by Paras; 2 vols., Volume 1 deals
with citations covering Vols. 1 to 82 of the Philippine
Reports and issues of the Official Gazette from 1942
to 1962. Volume 2 contains code citations, statute
citations, and citations of administrative rules as well
as Spanish laws applied to the Philippines.
Philippine Citator – contained in Volume 11 of the
Philippine Digest. It lists all the citations in the
Philippine Reports, the Supreme Court of Spain, the
United States Supreme Court, the other Federal
Courts, and the courts of various states and
territories of the United States. Citations in the
decisions of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals,
and Court of Tax Appeals, reported in Vol. 52 of the
SCRA Quick-Index
UP Law Library – with card indexes to legal
periodicals
C. BIBLIOGRAPHIES – a list of descriptions of
published materials either relating to a given subject,
or by a given author. A Pbibliography of law books
may refer to a list of an author’s legal works, or of the
literature bearing on a particular subject or field
of law.
1. Philippine Legal Bibliography – Justice Federico B.
Moreno (1973)
2. Handbook on Legal Bibliography – Andres Soriano
(11984)
3. A Guide to Philippine Legal Materials – Fortunato
Gupit and Daniel Martinez (1993)

Official Gazette are contained in the Citator which

forms part of the 1956 Official Gazette Desk Book. For
1959 Supreme Court Decisions, a citatory is offered in
Navarrete’s Digest-Index. Citations are also included
in each volume of the
Philippine Reports.
B. INDEXES – usually means a subject-index which is
like the index found in textbooks, statutes, etc. A
subject index is an alphabetically arranged topical
words in which, by means of references under each
topic, materials relating to these topics
expressed in appropriate words is digested.
1. Indexes to the “Public Laws of the Philippine Islands
2. Indexes to the Public Laws of the Commonwealth
3. Laws and Resolutions Index
4. Philippine Annotated Laws (P.A.L.) Index
5. Index to Republic Acts – Moran
6. Subject Index to Presidential Decrees and other
Presidential Issuances (until 1978)
7. Index Guide of Vital Legal Documents
8. Index – Isabelo Moran (Presidential Decrees)
9. Index in the Philippine Permanent and General
Statutes
10. Commonwealth Acts Annotated – Guevarra
11. Public Laws of the Commonwealth – Jacobo
12. Guevarra’s Annotated Laws
13. Philippine Treaties Index
Philippine Digest – Vols. 18-19
Republic of the Philippines Digest – Vols. 6, 9 11 and
13
Ateneo de Manila Libraries’ Index – covering 1911 to
29

1975 of Supreme Court Decisions

Title Index to Supreme Court Decisions – Milagros
Page

Santos Ong; 1945-1978 with 1978-1982 supplement

Page
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