Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS
1. Statutory Construction
- is the art or process of discovering and expounding meaning and intention of the authors of the law, where that intention is rendered doubtful by
reason of the ambiguity in its language or of the fact that the given case is not explicitly provided for in the law
- is the drawing of warranted conclusions respecting subjects that lie beyond the direct expression of the text, conclusions which are in the spirit,
though not within the letter of the text
2. Statutory Interpretation is the art of finding the true meaning and sense of any form of words, while Statutory Construction is the process of
drawing warranted conclusions not always included in direct expressions, or determining the application of words to facts in litigation.
Interpretation is limited to exploring the written text. Construction on the other hand is the drawing of conclusions, respecting subjects that lie
beyond the direct expressions of the text.
Dr. Lieber in his work on Hermeneutics gives the following classification of the different kinds of interpretation:
a. Close interpretation – adopted if just reasons connected with the character and formation of the text induce as to take the words in the
narrowest meaning. This is generally known as “literal” interpretation.
b. Extensive interpretation – also called as liberal interpretation, it adopts a more comprehensive signification of the words.
c. Extravagant interpretation – substitutes a meaning evidently beyond the true one. It is therefore not genuine interpretation.
d. Free or unrestricted interpretation – proceeds simply on the general principles of interpretation in good faith, not bound by any specific or
superior principle.
STATUTES
1. Law
a. Definition
Law in its jural and generic sense refers to the whole body or system of law. In its jural and concrete sense, law means a rule of conduct formulated
and made obligatory by legitimate power of the state.
b. Sources of Law
Legislation
Precedent
Custom
Court Decision
2. Statutes
a. Definition
A statute is an act of legislature as an organized body, expressed in form, and passed according to the procedure, required to constitute it as part of
the law of the land.
c. Kinds
As to nature:
public – a general classification of law, consisting generally of constitutional, administrative, criminal, and international law,
concerned with the organization of the state, the relations between the state and the people who compose it, the
responsibilities of public officers of the state, to each other, and to private persons, and the relations of state to one another.
Public law may be general, local or special law:
o General Law – affects the community at large. That which affects all people of the state or all of a particular class.
o Special Law – designed for a particular purpose, or limited in range or confined to a prescribed field of action on
operation.
o Local Law – relates or operates over a particular locality instead of over the whole territory of the state.
private – defines, regulates, enforces and administers relationships among individuals, associations and corporations
As to application:
prospective – applicable only to cases which shall arise after its enactment
retroactive – looks backward or contemplates the past; one which is made to affect acts or facts occurring, or rights occurring,
before it came into force
As to performance/operation:
declaratory
As to scope/duration:
permanent
temporary
Others:
affirmative
negative
e. Parts of a statute
Title – the heading on the preliminary part, furnishing the name by which the act is individually known. It is usually prefixed to the statute
in the brief summary of its contents.
Preamble – part of statute explaining the reasons for its enactment and the objects sought to be accomplished. Usually, it starts with
“whereas”.
Enacting clause – part of statute which declares its enactment and serves to identify it as an act of legislation proceeding from the proper
legislative authority. “Be enacted” is the usual formula used to start this clause.
Body – the main and operative part of the statute containing its substantive and even procedural provisions. Provisos and exceptions may
also be found.
Repealing Clause - announces the prior statutes or specific provisions which have been abrogated by reason of the enactment of the new
law.
3. Other Laws
a. Presidential issuances – are those which the President issues in the exercise of his ordinance power
Executive Orders – Acts of the President providing for rules of a general or permanent character in the implementation or
execution of constitutional or statutory powers
Administrative Orders – Acts of the President which relate to particular aspects of governmental operations in pursuance of his
duties as administrative head
Proclamations – Acts of the President fixing a date or declaring a statute or condition of public moment or interest, upon the
existence of which the operation of a specific law or regulation is made to depend
Memorandum Orders – Acts of the President on matters of administrative detail or of subordinate or temporary interest which
only concern a particular officer or office of the Government
Memorandum Circulars – Acts of the President on matters relating to internal administration which the President desires to
bring the attention of all or some of the departments, agencies, bureaus or offices of the Government, for information or
compliance
General or specific orders – are acts and commands of the President in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
of the Philippines
b. Ordinances – acts passed by the local legislative body in the exercise of its law-making authority.
– barangay ordinance (sangguniang barangay); municipal ordinance (sangguniang bayan); city ordinance (sangguniang
panlungsod); provincial ordinance (sangguniang panlalawigan)
c. Administrative rules and regulations – issued by administrative or executive officers in accordance with, and as authorized by, law have the force
and effect of law or partake the nature of a statute.
4. Effectivity of Laws
Article 2 of the Civil Code provides that “laws shall take effect after 15 days following the completion of their publication in the Official
Gazette, unless it is otherwise provided x x x.”
A. Intrinsic Aids
The term “intrinsic” means internal or within. Intrinsic aids, therefore, are those aids within the statute.
Intrinsic aids are resorted to only if there is ambiguity. In resorting to intrinsic aids, one must go back to the parts of the statute: the title, the
preamble, context or body, chapter and section headings, punctuation, and interpretation.
3. Long title
The title of a statute serves as aid, in case of doubt in the language, to its construction and to ascertaining legislative will. Where the meaning of a
statute is obscure, courts may resort to its title to clear the obscurity. The title may indicate the legislative intent to extend or restrict the scope of
law, and a statute couched in a language of doubtful import will be construed to conform to the legislative intent as disclosed in its title. The title
can be resorted to as an aid where there is doubt as to the meaning of the law or as to the intention of the legislature in enacting it, and not
otherwise.
It became established in the nineteenth century that the long title could be considered as an aid to interpretation. The long title should be read as
part of the context, "as the plainest of all the guides to the general objectives of a statute.
4. Preamble
A preamble is that part of the statute written immediately after its title, which states the purpose, reason or justification for the enactment of law.
It is usually expressed in the form of “Whereas” clauses.
The intent of the law as culled from its preamble and from the situation, circumstances and conditions it sought to remedy, must be enforced.
Preamble used as a guide in determining the intent of the lawmaker.
5. Short title
There is some question whether the short title should be used to resolve doubt.
6. Section Headings
Headnotes, headings or epigraphs of sections of a statute are convenient index to the context of its provisions. They are prefixed to sections or
chapter of a statute for ready reference or classification. In case of doubt or ambiguity in the meaning of the law or intention of the legislature,
they may be consulted in aid of interpretation.
7. Punctuation
Punctuations such as a comma, a semi-colon, and a period are grammatical marks. It is a rule of legal hermeneutics that punctuation marks are aids
of low degree and can never control against the intelligible meaning of written words.
* semi-colon used to indicate a separation in the relation of the thought and what follows a semi-colon must have a relation to the
same matter which precedes it.
* comma & semi-colon both used for the same purpose, namely, to divide sentences and parts of sentences
8. Capitalization of letter
Capitalization of letters is an aid of low degree in the construction of statute.
B. Extrinsic Aids
It is a well-accepted principle that where a statute is ambiguous, courts may examine both the printed pages of the published Act as well as those
extrinsic matters that may aid in construing the meaning of the statute, such as the history of its enactment, the reasons of the passage of the bill
and purposes to be accomplished by the measure.
2. Dictionaries
Dictionaries generally define words in their natural, plain and ordinary acceptance and significance. Where the law does not define the words used
in a statute and the legislature has not intended a technical or special meaning to those words, the Court may adopt the ordinary meaning of the
words as defined in the dictionaries.
3. Legislative History
It is a well-settled rule of statutory construction that where a statute is susceptible of several interpretations or where there is ambiguity in its
language, there is no better means of ascertaining the will and intention of the legislature than that which is afforded by the history of the statute.
Generally speaking, the history of a statute refers to all its antecedents from its inception until its enactment into law. Its history proper covers the
period and the steps done from the time the bill is introduced until it is finally passed by the legislature.
7. Contemporaneous circumstances
Courts may resort to contemporaneous construction or that put upon it at the time of its passage or soon afterwards and universally acquiesced in
and acted upon.
9. Executive construction
It is a construction by an executive or administrative officer directly called to implement the law. The opinions and rulings of officials of the
government called upon to execute or implement administrative laws command much respect and weight. An interpretation embodied in a
circular, directive or regulation is an expressed interpretation.
1. Presumption of Validity
In the absence of evidence demonstrating the alleged confiscatory effect of the provision in question, there is no basis for its nullification in view of
the presumption of validity which every law has in its favor.
2. Presumption of Constitutionality
Laws are presumed constitutional. To justify nullification of law, there must be a clear and unequivocal breach of the constitution. The theory is
that, as the joint act of the legislative and executive authorities, a law is supposed to have been carefully studied and determined to be
constitutional before it was finally enacted. All laws are presumed valid and constitutional until or unless otherwise ruled by the Court.
“In case of doubt in the interpretation and application of laws, it is presumed that the lawmaking body intended right and justice to prevail.”
(Article 10 of Civil Code)
- Construction and interpretation come only after it has been demonstrated that application is impossible or inadequate without them.
It is presumed that the legislature does not intend an absurdity or that absurd consequence shall flow from its enactments and such a result should
be avoided if the terms of the act admit to it by a reasonable construction.
2 requisites:
The statutes must touch the same subject matter.
The latter statute must have an irreconcilable inconsistency and repugnancy with the prior statute.
3 rules to remember:
Laws are repealed only by subsequent ones.
Law A Law B expressly repeals Law A Law C repeals law B = Law A is not revived
Law A Law B impliedly repeals Law A Law C repeals law B = Law A is revived
A general law does not repeal a special law, unless it is so expressly provided or they are incompatible.
Plainly put, public policy is that principle of the law which holds that no subject or citizen can lawfully do that which has a tendency to be injurious
to the public or against the public good. As applied to contracts, in the absence of express legislation or constitutional prohibition, a court, in order
to declare a contract void as against public policy, must find that the contract as to the consideration or thing to be done, has a tendency to injure
Statutes as a Whole
Statutes should be construed as a whole; one portion may be qualified by others
Legislative Intent must be ascertained from the statute as a whole
Legislative intent is the vital part, the essence of the law. The intent of the legislature is the law, and the key to, and the controlling
factor in, its construction or interpretation. Intent is the spirit which gives life to legislative enactment. It must be enforced when
ascertained, although it may not be consistent with the strict letter of the statute. The term “intent” includes two concepts, that of
purpose and that of meaning, It has been held, however, that the ascertainment of legislative intent depends more on a determination of
the purpose and object of the law.
Optima statuli interpretatix est ipsum statutum – the best interpreter of the statute is the statute itself
Ut res magis valeat quam pereat. – because a statute is enacted in whole and not in parts or sections, which implies that one part is as
important as the other, the statute should be construed and given effect as a whole.
3 approaches in determining the legislative intent:
o Literal Rule
o Purpose Rule
o Golden Rule – depart from the ordinary meaning
Verba Legis
plain meaning rule
Where the statute is clear, plain and free from ambiguity, it must be given its literal meaning and applied without interpretation. This
plain meaning rule or verbal legis derived from the maxim index animi sermo est (speech is the index of intention) rests on the valid
presumption that the words employed by the legislature in a statute correctly express its intention or will and preclude the court from
construing it differently.
Spirit and Purpose of the Law
The intent or spirit of the law is the law itself. For this reason, legislative intent or spirit is the controlling factor, the leading star and
the guiding light in the application and interpretation of a statute. The spirit, rather than the letter, of a statute determines its
construction; hence a statute must be read according to its spirit or intent.
Statute of Later Date Prevails
because it favors the latest intention of the legislature
Generalia Specialibus Non Derogant
Special provisions prevail over a general one.
A special law prevails over a general law.
When the law does not distinguish, courts should not distinguish
Ubi lex non distinguit, nec nos distinguere debemus. The rule, founded on logic, is a corollary of the principle that general words and
phrases in a statute should ordinarily be accorded their natural and general significance. The rule requires that a general term or phrase
should not be reduced into parts and one part distinguished from the other so as to justify its exclusion from the operation of the law. In
other words, there should be no distinction in the application of a statute where none is indicated.
Exceptions in the Statute
Where the law does not make any exception, courts may not except something unless compelling reasons exist to justify it.
General and Special Terms
General terms should not be given a restricted meaning.
General terms in a statute are to receive a general construction, unless retrained by the context or by plain inferences from the scope
and purpose of the act.
General terms or provisions in a statute may be restrained and limited by specific terms or provisions with which they are associated.
Special terms in a statute may sometimes be expanded to a general signification by the consideration that the reason of the law is
general.
Special terms refer exclusively to a specific or particular class.
Ejusdem generis
The general rule is that where a general word or phrase follows an enumeration of particular and specific words of the same class or
where the latter follows the former, the general word of phrase is to be construed to include, or to be restricted to, persons, things or
cases akin to, resembling, or of the same kind or class as those specifically mentioned. This canon of statutory construction is known as
ejusdem generis (or the same kind or specie).
Penal Statutes against the State and liberally in favor of the accused
Remedial Statutes procedural laws; made by the Supreme Court; liberally construed; made to improve another law
Substantive Statutes in case of doubt, the judge should presume that the lawmaking body intended right and justice to prevail
create rights and impose duties
Labor Statutes doubt should be resolved in favor of the worker or laborer
Tax Statutes in favor of the taxpayer
Mandatory and Directory following tests: terminology; materiality of the provisions; consequences; penalty
Temporary Statutes for a fixed time only
General Statutes examples: Constitution, Revised Penal Code, New Civil Code
Special Statutes within a particular class only
Local Statutes within territorial limits only