CHAPTER 1

SCRA - Supreme Court Reports Annotated

- continuing publication of SC decisions published by Centralbooks
PH reports - simply cited as PHIL

101 SCRA 223 -- 101st volume of the SCRA p223

SC Decisions - cited by GR number, date of promulgation, names of parties involved, ponenteor name of publication

Digesting Cases
1 Get Proper Citation then retrieve entire text of decision
2 Read decision first (Do not peek at dispositive portion)

Take at least 2 readings

1st - gist of the case, familiarize with issues
2nd - allows you to appreciate novelty of the issues, arguments presented + how SC resolves

1 - list down pertinent facts, disregard unnecessary info

2 - list down issues raised + arguments that support it
3 - note down how SC resolved each issue

Research Sources & Materials

Primary materials
- laws or enactments of Congress, issuances of Executive dept. And pronouncements of judicial branch
- actual law
Secondary sources
- annotated works by legal scholars, articles, opinions, law journals, gazettes (examine, evalutae or comment on any legal issue)
- explanatory notes that discuss, analyze, describe, explain or critique

Manner and Style of Writing

Clearly, Correctly and Concisely
Style - SC came out with a Manual for Judicial writing
- used for contemplating an active practice as it proves guidelines in actual form & style of pleadings

Law Subjects

CHAPTER 2
Law
General & Abstract Sense:
- science of morals founded on rationale nature of man that governs his free activity for the realization of the individual & social ends of life under an
aspect of mutual condition dependence
Specific & Concrete Sense:
- rule of conduct, just, obligatory, formulated by legitimate power for common observance and benefit

- law or statues -- enactments of the legislative branch of government

- formal expression of sovereign will through legislature

PH Civil Code - refers to all laws not only to those of general application
Effectivity - Article 2 of CC - Laws shall take effect after 15 days ff the completion of its publication either in the OG or in a newspaper of gc in the PH
Covered: presidential decrees & EO, Administrative rules, regulations enforcing or implementing existing laws
Ordinances - promulgated by respective local legislative bodies of local government units as governed under the Local Government Code

Legislative Process
1 - Bill is files by lawmaker
2 - Calendared for 1st reading
3 - 1st reading - title is read & referred to appropriate committee
Committee - bill is scrutinized thru public hearings -- Committee Report
4 - 2nd reading -- sponsorship, interpellation & amendments
Sponsorship - essential & salient features is presented + rationale for bill’s enactment
Interpellations - debate over the bill takes place
Amendments stages: Committee amendments - formulated by committee/s that reported out the bill
Individual amendments - proposed by individual legislators in plenary session
May or may not be accepted by the sponsor of the bill
Deadlock ensues - division of the house will be called
5 - 3rd reading - bill is read again; passed to the other chamber for same procedure

Conflicting provisions - bicameral conference will be constituted in order to thresh out conflicting provisions
After conclusion -- Committee Report will be sent to both houses for approval (reconciled version of bill)
Passed by Congress
- transmit to Office of the President
- President may approve or veto the bill
VETO - back to house of origin, revise and approve by 2 houses (2/3 vote)
- passed back to president (no sign w/in 30days - automatically approved)
Enrolled bill theory
The enrolled bill rule is a principle of judicial interpretation of rules of procedure in legislative bodies. Under the doctrine, once a bill passes a
legislative body and is signed into law, the courts assume that all rules of procedure in the enactment process were properly followed.

Classification of Laws
Substantive law
- “which defines and created certain rights”
- creates, defines, regulates rights concerning life, liberty or property, power of agencies or instrumentalities for administration of public affairs

Procedural law
- prescribes method of enforcing the rights or obtaining redress for their invasion
- prescribes the manner on how we enforce or rpeserve our rights
- Rules of Court

Statutory law
- enactments by a competent legislative body
- manifested in a formal written instrument with force & effect of law for its compliance

Common law
- comprises the body of those principles and rules of action, relating to govt and security of persons & property, which derive authority solely from usages
& customs of immemorial antiquity, or from judgments and decrees of the courts recognizing, affirming and enforcing such usages & customs
- law that has for its source the decisions laid out by the court of the land

SC: between common law principle and statutory principle, latter prevails

Kinds of Law
General law - affect people, property and transactions w/in territorial jurisdiction
Special law - statutes that pertani to a particular area; prescribes its own penalties
Local law - ordinances promulgated by local legislative body
Public law - enactment of the legislature pertaining to a general area of law
Private law - issuances that defines rights, regulates action, enforcers & administers relationships among private entities
Remedial law - statutes that provide for procedure which one may enforce a right or reddress grievance
Curative law - correct mistakes or irregularities committed prior to its enactment
Penal law - defines crimes, prescribes its elements & imposes corresponding penalties
Prospective law - applicable to acts, situations, events occurring after its enactment
Retrospective law - effectivity applies to specific acts, situations, events which were committed prior to its enactment
Affirmative law - directs the doing of an act, declares what shall be done
Mandatory law - require mandates a course of action

Sources of Law
Enactments of the PH Congress (Republic Acts)
- numbered according to sequence within which they were passed & signed into law by the President
- point in reckoning the number of the law is when it was signed into law
- NOT ALL LAWS are called Republic Acts
Prior to 1987 Constitution
- Batasan Pambansa -- legislative body; unicameral parliament
- Batas Pambansa -- enactments
Ex. BP22 - Bouncing Checks Law
- Commonwealth Act
- dwindling in number
Decisions of the Supreme Court
- interprets how a law is applied
- “jurisprudence”
- have force & effect of law (art 8 CC)

Court’s Duty to Every Case

Civil Code (art9) - no judge or court shall decline to render judment by reason of the silence, obscurity or insufficiency of the laws
- not to refrain from rendering judgment just because applicable law admits 2 or more differing applications
- proper way is to either interpret or construe said law in order to effectuate the legislative intent
- judges are duty-bound to render judgment despite the silence of the law, ambiguity, may also not refuse to discharge their function based on perosnal
religious or moral beliefs

- court cannot legislate

- even legislator, thru art 9, recognizes that in certain circumstances, the court do and must legislate to fill in gaps in the law
- mind of legislator - finite & cannot envisage all possible cases
- human mind - no infinite capacity to anticipate all situations
- 2 centuries before -- founding fathers of American Consti: courts may have to legislate to supplu omissions or to clarify the ambiguities in the American
Consti & statues
- Alexander Hamilton: judicial legislation may be justified but denies that the power of Judiciary to nullify statues may give rise to Judicial tyranny
- ART 9 NOT A LICENSE FOR COURTS TO ENGAGE IN JUDICIAL LEGISLATION
- Duty of the court: apply & interpret the law, not to make or amend it

Statutory Construction
 - Black: branch of law dealing with the interpretation of laws enacted by a legislature
Judicial function -- required when a statute is invoked & different interpretations are in contention
- art or process of discovering and expounding the meaning and intention of the authors of the law with respect to its application to a given case, where that
intention is rendered doubtful, amongst others, by reason of the fact that the given case is not explicitly provided for in the law
- Legal hermeneutics - systematic body of rules which are recognised as applicable to the construction & interpretation of legal writings
- deals with interpretation & construction of the laws with end in view of ascertaining its true meaning, intent and proper application
- comes into play when law is ambiguous (different meanings)
- When the law speaks in clear and categorical languagem there is no room for interpretation, vacillation or equivocation - there is only room for
application
- discipline learned would assist the law professional in the proper appreciation, interpretation and ultimately application of the law

Interpretation and Construction of Laws

Interpretation
Drawing of the true nature, meaning and intent of the
law thru examination of its provisions
Does not go outside of the context of the statue
Limits the person to what the law provides thru an
examination of its language, words, phrases & style
Comes only after it has been demonstrated that application is impossible or inadequate w/o them
Very last functions which a court should exercise
Construction
Process of using tools, aid, references extant fromt eh
law in order to ascertain its nature, meaning and intent
Has to go outside of the language of the statute & resort
to extrinsic aids
Allows the person to utilize other reference materials or
tools in order to ascertain the true meaning of the law
Only allowed if the process of interpretaion fails or is
inadequate to thresh out the meaning of the law

Effectivity & Application of the Laws

CHAPTER 3
Legal Profession
- art & science of utilizing one’s legal knowledge & training in the proper advocacy of the rights & interests of one’s client before a court of law & other
fora
Characteristics:
1 a duty of public service
2 a relation as an “officer of the court”
3 a relation to clients in the highest degree fiduciary
Fiduciary - A relationship in which an individual places complete confidence, trust, and reliance in someone
4 a relation to colleagues at the Bar
Practice of Law
- any activity, in or out of the court which requires the applciation of law, legal procedure, knowledge, training & experience
- to perform acts which are characteristics of the profession
- to give notice or render any kind of service, which device or service requires the use in any degree of legal knowledge or skill
- present when individual holds himself out to the public as lawyer & demands compensation for ff services:
a) Opinions - imparting legal knowledge
b) Appearances - actual physical presence as advocate in behalf of a client
c) Preparation of pleadings and contracts - due preparation, execution & filing of pleadings, memoranda, motions & other paper incident to actions &
special proceedings; drawing of contracts, deeds & other instruments of conveyance

Qualifications for Admission to the Bar

- Good moral character
- passing the Bar exams
- taking lawyer’s oath
- receiving certificate from the Clerk of Court (license to practice)

The Bar Examination

- annual examination conducted by SC to determine fitness of prospective law graduates for their admission to the bar & to practice of law
Sundays
1st - Political Law & Public International Law --- Labor and Social Legislation
2nd - Civil Law --- Taxation
3rd - Mercantile Law --- Criminal Law
4th - Remdial Law --- Legal Ethics & Practical Exercises

Disciplinary Mechanism
- lawyers may be disbarred or suspended for misconduct
- consequence of acts showing their unworthiness as officers of the court
- lack of moral character, honesty, probity and good demeanor
- Rules of Court Rule 138 Sec 27: lawyers may be disbarred for any of the ff grounds
a) Deceit
b) Malpractice
c) Gross misconduct in office
d) Grossly immoral conduct
e) Conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude
f) Violation of teh lawyer’s oath
g) Willful disobedience of any lawful order of a superior court
 h) Willfully appearing as an attorney for a party w/o authority to do so
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines
- national organization of all lawyers in the PH
- administered by a Governing Board composed of 9 Governors representing 9 regions of IBP
- elects National President & Executive VP of the IBP from among themselves or from outside the Board