STATUTORY LAW V.

CASE LAW

STATUTES

 Article 7 of the Civil Code of the Philippines

Laws are repealed only by subsequent ones, and their violation or

non-observance shall not be excused by disuse, or custom or practice to
the contrary.

When the courts declare a law to be inconsistent with the

Constitution, the former shall be void and the latter shall govern.

Administrative or executive acts, orders and regulations shall be valid

only when they are not contrary to the laws and the Constitution.

 The Hierarchy of Statutes / The Legal Pyramid

While there are a variety of types of laws that govern, there is a

hierarchy to the Philippine Legal System

The legal pyramid is as follows:

I. Constitution

II.  Statutes

III.  Administrative Regulations (carry the same weight as

statutes)

IV.  Case law (court opinions)

 Hierarchy of Legal Authority

 When we refer to 'authority' or 'primary authority', we mean "the law."
The law being a constitutional or statutory provision, an administrative
regulation or a court opinion.  'Secondary authority' refers to material that is
NOT the law, but that which leads you to the law or helps to explain the
law. Secondary authority is located in legal dictionaries, encyclopedias,
jurisprudences,  finders, among others.

 'Authority' or 'primary authority' is divided into two

types, mandatory and persuasive.  For authority to be mandatory, the court
in your jurisdiction (determine jurisdiction at the outset even if the matter is
not being litigated) MUST follow the legal rule(s) set forth in the authority
you are relying on for your legal situation. Persuasive authority is
everything else.  Secondary authority is always persuasive.  Do not rely on
secondary authority unless there is absolutely no primary authority that
supports your position.