- INTRODUCTION TO LAW
at all times, There is in every man a basic understanding of
THE GENERAL NATURE OF LAW
law means any rule of action or any system of uniformity.
Thus, law, in general, determines not only the activities
of men as rational beings but also the movements or motions
of all objects of creation, whether animate or inanimate.
General divisions of law.
(1) Law (in the strict legal sense) which is promulgated
and enforced by the state; (state law )and
(2) Law (in the non-legal sense) which is not promulgated and
enforced by the state, includes divine law, natural law, moral
law, and physical law.
Subjects of law.
State law, divine law, natural law, and moral law are
comprised in the definition of law as a rule of action. They
apply to men as rational beings only. On the other hand,
physical law operates on all things, including men, without
regard to the latter’s use of their willpower and intelligence.
It is called law only figuratively speaking.
laws with which the state is not
directly concerned.
Divine law.is the law of religion and faith which concerns itself
with the concept of sin (as contrasted with crime) and
salvation.
(1) Source - It is formally promulgated by God and revealed or
divulged to mankind by means of direct revelation. (depends
upon one’s religious belief)
(a) Under the Old Testament, divine law is
embodied in the Ten Commandments. It is believed by
Christians that these laws were formally given by God
through Moses, the great Hebrew prophet and leader.
(b) Of course, divine law differs according
to what one believes to have been established and
communicated to mankind by revelation. Thus, to the
Mohammedans, divine law is embodied in the Muslim
Quoran.
(2) Sanction. - The sanction of divine law lies in
the assurance of certain rewards and punishments in the
present life or in the life to come.
Natural law may then be defined as the divine inspiration
in man of the sense of justice, fairness, and righteousness,
not by divine revelation or formal promulgation, but by
internal dictates of reason alone. ( law of nature od
metaphysics) (reasonable basis for state law)
(1) Binding force= binding on all men everywhere and
right and wrong based on an understanding of the fundamental
standard or criterion of good and evil. In other words, there are
some acts or conduct which man knows in his heart and
his conscience, not by theorizing, but by the dictates of his
moral nature, are simply good or bad or evil.
Thus, we know that killing for the sake of killing or
stealing for the sake of stealing is bad or evil because it is
contrary to what we believe is just, fair or righteous. When
we speak of this inward instinct of justice, fairness and
righteousness in man as divinely inspired by the dictates
of his higher nature, we are talking about natural law or the
law of nature.
(2) Compared to divine law.
While natural law and divine law are very similar, they are not,
however, the same. Divine law, as the law of religious faith, is
made known to man by means of direct revelation. On the
other hand, natural law is said to be impressed in man as the
core of his higher self at the very moment of being or, perhaps,
even before that.
(3) Place in state law. -Natural law has been regarded
as the reasonable basis of state law.
Moral law. we are speaking of the totality of the norms of good
and right conduct growing out of the collective sense of right
and wrong of every community. **(ethical perspective) (not
absolute coz based on community, and differs in perspective,
time situation, conditions) (what may be moral to others may
not be moral to other) (same sex marriage, abortion)**
(1) Determination of what is right and wrong. -– "At a
comparatively early stage of their existence human beings
learned that it was good for the welfare of the group that the
privilege to determine what is right and what is wrong was
not left to each member of the group. The mores or ways of
life were then evolved which were always considered right and
correct, and obedience to them was demanded by the group."
2. Sanction. - As distinguished from state law, there is no
definite legal sanction (punishment imposed by law like
imprisonment and / or payment of fines or damages) for
violation of purely moral law. "If a member of the community
disregards the moral norms, a spontaneous social reaction is
produced in the form of public displeasure, contempt or even
indignation. If, on the other hand, there is conformity to the
moral norms, there is created spontaneous social response
which may be in the form of public pleasure, approval or even
joy."
3. Binding force. - Moral law is not absolute. It varies with the
changing times, conditions or convictions of the people. For
example, polygamy is considered immoral (it is also a crime) in
the Philippines, whereas, it is allowed in some parts of the
world. Today's fashions in women's dress are socially allowed
but at different times, they would have been morally
condemned.
4. Place in state law. - Moral law, to a great extent, influences
or shapes state law.
Physical law. "In the operation or course of nature, there are
uniformities of actions and orders of sequence which are the
physical phenomena that we sense and feel. They are known
as the laws of physical science or physical law."
**(law of gravity) (law of inertia, inevitable) (something to do
with science)**
1. Order or regularity in nature. - A law of physical science,
being addressed to objects which have no power to disobey, is
in reality nothing more than an order or regularity in nature by
which certain results follow certain causes.
2. Called law only by analogy. - In other words, this order or
regularity is called law only by analogy. "Examples of physical
law are many. The more conspicuous ones are the law of
gravitation and the law of chemical combination."
State law. The kind of law, however, which particularly
concerns us in this work is the state law or the law that is
promulgated and enforced by the state.
=positive law, civil law, imperative law, municipal law
**(law on obligation and contracts) (entire governmental
process)**
1. Other terms used. - This law is also called positive law,
municipal law, civil law, or imperative law. It is the law that we
refer to when we speak of law in connection with obligations
and contracts, marriage, the administration of justice, the
conduct of elections, and the entire governmental process
itself.
2. Binding force. - As a rule of action, only state law is enforced
by the state, with the aid of its physical force, if necessary.
3.Concern of state law. - The fields of state law are different
from those of divine law, natural law, and moral law. State law
does not concern itself with violations of the latter rules of
action unless they also constitute violations of its commands. A
full examination of divine law properly belongs to the fields of
philosophical theology; of natural law, to metaphysics; of moral
law, to ethics; and of physical law, to physical science or
physics.
Leaving aside these topics, we proceed now with the
consideration of state law.
** 3 main branches of Gov,
Art. 6 of 1987 Constitution= Legislative (promulgate law)=
Congress, lower house( house of the representative, partylist)
upper house (senators)
Art, 7 of 1987 Constitution = Executive (implementation of
law)= President, Cabinet Members
Art. 8 of 1987 Constitution = Judiciary (courts, supreme
courts (court of last resort), they interpret the Law.)
Concepts of (state) law.
The term law may be understood in two (2) concepts: in the
general or abstract sense, and in the specific or material
sense.
(1) In its general sense, the term refers to all the laws taken
together. It may be defined as "the mass of obligatory rules
established for the purpose of governing the relations of
persons in society." Examples of the use of law in this sense
are: "law of the land," "rule of law and not of men," "equality
before the law," "enforcement of the law," etc.
(2) In its specific sense, the term has been defined as "a rule of
conduct, just, obligatory, promulgated by legitimate authority,
and of common observance and benefit."(I Sanchez Roman 3.)
It has this second connotation when we refer to a particular
statute or legal rule, e.g ., the law on obligations and contracts.
Characteristics of law.
The characteristics of law (in its specific sense) are:
ROPC
1. It is a rule of conduct. - Law tells us what shall be done and
what shall not be done. As a rule of human conduct, law takes
cognizance of external acts only; (what should/shouldn’t do )
2. It is obligatory. - Law is considered a positive command
imposing a duty to obey and involving a sanction which forces
obedience; (not observance, may sanctions)
3. It is promulgated by legitimate authority. - In a democratic
country, like the Philippines, the legitimate or competent
authority is the legislature. Under the Constitution, laws called
"statutes" are enacted by Congress which is the name of the
legislative branch of our government; local government units
are also empowered to enact ordinances which have the
binding force of laws; and
4. It is of common observance and benefit. - Law is intended
by man to serve man. It regulates the relations of government
to maintain harmony in society and to make order and co-
existence possible. Law must, therefore, be observed by all for
the benefit of all.
**Local Legislative Authority
in PROVINCE
= Board members/
In City
=Sanguniang Panglusod/
In Municipality
=Sanguniang Bayan
In Brgy.
=Kagawad
**Local Executive Authority
in PROVINCE
= Governor
In City
= Mayor
In Municipality
= Mayor
In Brgy.
= Chairmain
Necessity and functions of law.
1. What would life be without law? If we can answer this
question, we can answer the more basic question of whether
law is necessary. If life without law would be the same as it is
now, obviously law is not necessary. Society comes into
existence because its members could not live without it. The
need for internal order is as constant as the need for external
defense. No society can be stable in which either of these
requirements fails to be provided for.
2. What does law do?
=It has been said that law secures justice, resolves social
conflict, orders society, protects interests, controls social
relations. Life without basic laws against theft, violence, and
destruction would be solitary, nasty, brutish, and short. Life
without other laws such as those regulating traffic, sanitation,
employment, business, redress of harm or of broken
agreements, etc. - would be less orderly, less healthful, less
wholesome, etc.
3. What is our duty as members of society? No society can last
and continue without means of social control, without rules of
social order binding on its members. The sum of such rules as
existing in a given society, under whatever particular forms, is
what, in common speech, we understand by law or is also
referred to as the legal system. Since we find law necessary,
every citizen should have some understanding of law and
observe it for the common good.
Sources of law.
The principal sources of law in the Philippines are the
Constitution, legislation, administrative rules and regulations,
judicial decisions, and customs.
1.Constitution. - With particular reference to the Constitution of
the Philippines, it may be defined as "the written instrument by
which the fundamental powers of the government are
established, limited, and defined, and by which these powers
are distributed among the several departments for their safe
and useful exercise for the benefit o f the people."
**(Fundamental/Highest/ Supreme Law), Judiciary will be the
one to promulgate/ power of authority**
It is often referred to as the fundamental law or supreme law or
highest law of the binding land on because all individual it is
promulgated citizens and by the all people agencies
themselves, of the government. the legislature It (as is the well
law as to administrative which all other or laws enacted by
executive acts, orders and regulations having the force of law)
must conform. This means that laws which are declared by the
courts to be inconsistent with the Constitution shall be void and
the latter shall govern.
2. Legislation. - It consists in the declaration of legal rules by a
competent authority. It is the preponderant source of law in the
Philippines. Acts passed by the legislature are so-called
enacted law or statute law. Legislation includes ordinances
enacted by local governments units.
3. Administrative or executive orders, regulations, and rulings. -
They are those issued by administrative officials under
legislative authority. Administrative rules and regulations are
intended to clarify or explain the law and carry into effect its
general provisions. Administrative acts are valid only when
they are not contrary to the laws and Constitution. (Art. 7, Civil
Code.)
4. Judicial decisions or jurisprudence. - The decisions of the
courts, particularly laws or the Constitution Supreme Court,
applying or interpreting the laws, or the Constitution form part f
the legal system of the Philippines. (Art. 8, Ibid.) The decisions
a superior court on a point of law are binding on all subordinate
courts. This is called the doctrine of precedent or stare decisis.
The Supreme Court, however, may reverse or modify any of its
previous rulings. Until then, the decisions of the Supreme
Court applying or interpreting the laws or the Constitution are
"laws" by their own right because they declare what the laws
say or mean. Unlike rulings of the lower courts, which bind the
parties to specific cases alone, its judgments are applied to all.
(Phil. Veterans Affairs Office vs. Segundo, 164 SCRA 365.)
(5) Custom. - "It consists of those habits and practices which
through long and uninterrupted usage have become
acknowledged and approved by society as binding rules of
conduct." It has the force of law when recognized and enforced
by the state. (M.J. Gamboa, op. cit ., p. 15.) For instance, in a
contract for services rendered where no definite compensation
is stipulated, the compensation to be paid may be ascertained
from customs and usages of the place. (see Smith vs. Lopez, 5
Phil. 78.)
A custom must be proved as a fact according to the rules of
evidence. (infra.) (Art. 12, Civil Code.) It may be applied by the
courts in the absence of law or statute exactly applicable to the
point in controversy. But customs which are contrary to law,
public order or public policy are not countenanced. (Art. 11,
Ibid.)
(6) Other sources. - To the above may be added principles of
justice and equity, decisions of foreign tribunals, opinions of
textwriters, and religion. They are, however, only
supplementary, that is, they are resorted to by the courts in the
absence of all the other sources. They are, however,
notbinding on the courts. (Ibid ., pp. 11, 14.)
Rule in case of doubt in interpretation or application of laws.
Our Civil Code provides that "no judge or court. shall decline to
render judgment by reason of the silence, obscurity or
insufficiency of the laws." (Art. 9, Civil Code.) "In case of doubt
in the interpretation or application of laws, it is presumed that
the lawmaking body intended right and justice to prevail." (Art.
10, Ibid.)
In our country, courts are not only courts of law but also of
justice. Faced with a choice between a decision that will serve
justice and another that will deny it because of a too strict
interpretation of the law, courts must resolve in favor of the
former, for the ultimate end of the law is justice. (Pangan vs.
Court of Appeals, 166 SCRA 375.) This is particularly true
where what is at stake is the life, liberty, or property of an
individual, and more so if he is poor or disadvantaged.
Organs of social control.
Law is not an end in itself. It may be viewed as a means of
social control - the control of social behaviour that affects
others. (Howards and Summers, op. cit ., p. 38.)
In modern pluralistic societies, there are many organs of social
control. For instance, in the Philippines, in addition to legal
institutions - national and local - there are churches,
corporations, political parties, trade associations, schools,
labor unions, professional organizations, social clubs, families,
and host of others. Such organizations, through rules,
regulations and orders, control some of the behavior of their
members.
Law compared with other means of social control.
There are several basic differences between social control
through law and control through other methods, to wit:
(1) Laws are made and administered by the only institutions in
society authorized to act in behalf of the entire citizenry.
Churches, for example, act only for their members;
(2) Only the legal institutions within the society can make
rules, regulations and orders with which the entire citizenry
must comply. The rules, etc ., of social and economic
organizations, for example, govern only limited numbers;
(3) People associated with an organization can ordinarily
terminate their relationship and thereby free themselves from
the impact of its rules and regulations. Citizens of a state,
however, cannot do this unless they choose to leave the
geographical area in which the state is sovereign;
(4) The sanctions or techniques of control through law are
more varied and complex than the techniques available to
organizations such as churches, labor unions, and political
parties. Expulsion is usually the most powerful technique
available to such organizations to secure compliance with their
rules, etc. For the employee, it is the loss of his job.
Aside from imprisonment and deportation, there are many
other sanctions available to the law, including denial or
revocation of license, confiscation of property, imposition of
civil liability for certain kind of conduct, dissolution of
organizations, and denial of privileges. A sanction is remedial if
the object is the indemnification of the person who has suffered
damages or injury from a violation of law, and penal if the
object is the punishment of the violator; and
(5) Before the law "operates" against an individual, various
procedural steps are required. Thus, the individual
mustordinarily be given a hearing and a fair opportunity to
show why he should not, for example, be ordered to pay
money to a claimant, or be deprived of his liberty. Such steps
are commonly referred to as "due process" of law.
Organs of social control other than those provided by law are
generally not required to comply with such procedures in acting
against individuals except when their rules provide therefor.
(Ibid ., pp. 43-44.)
Organization of courts.
Under the Constitution, the judicial power or the power to
decide actual cases and controversies involving the
interpretation and application of laws, is "vested in one
SupremeCourt and in such lower courts as may be established
by laws." (Art. VIII, Sec. 1 thereof.) The judiciary, composed of
the courts, is one of the three (3) main divisions of powerin our
system of government.
1. Regular courts. - The Philippine judicial system consists of a
hierarchy of courts resembling a pyramid with the Supreme
Court at the apex. Under present legislation, the other courts
are: (a) one Court of Appeals, (b) Regional Trial Courts sitting
in the different provinces and cities, and (c) Metropolitan Trial
Courts in Metropolitan areas established by law; Municipal
Trial Courts in cities not forming part of a metropolitan area,
and in municipalities; and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts in
areas defined as municipal circuits. Circuit courts exercise
jurisdiction over two (2) or more cities and/ or municipalities.
The Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, and the Regional
Trial Courts are considered courts of general or superior
jurisdiction.
2. Special courts. - Aside from these courts, there is, under the
Constitution, a special anti-graft court, the Sandiganbayan.
(Art. XI, Sec. 4 thereof.) It forms part of the judicial hierarchy
together with the Court of Tax Appeals, a special tax court
created by law, on the same level as the Court of Appeals.
3. Quasi-judicial agencies. - Administrative bodies under the
executive branch performing quasi-judicial functions, like the
National Labor Relations Commission, the Securities and
Exchange Commission, Land Transportation Franchising and
Regulatory Board, Insurance Commission, etc ., and the
independent Constitutional Commissions (Civil Service
Commission, Commission on Elections and Commission on
Audit) do not form part of the integrated
judicial system.
Their functions are described as "quasi-judicial" be-
cause they involve also the settlement or adjudication of
controversies or disputes.
Classifications of law.
The methods for classifying law are many. For our
purposes, it would be best to consider the main classifications
of law, first, as to its purpose, and second, as to its nature.
(1) As to its purpose:
(a) Substantive law or that portion of the body of
law creating, defining, and regulating rights and duties
which may be either public or private in character.
An example of substantive private law is the law on
obligations and contracts; and
(b) Adjective law or that portion of the body of
law prescribing the manner or procedure by which
rights may be enforced or their violations redressed.
Sometimes this is called remedial law or procedural law.
The provision of law which says that actions for the
recovery of real property shall be filed with the Regional
Trial Court of the region where the property or any
part thereof lies, is an example of private adjective law.
Rights and duties are useless unless they can be
enforced. It is not enough, therefore, that the state regulates
the rights and duties of all who are subject to the law; it
must also provide legal remedies by which substantive law
may be administered. Hence, the need for adjective law.
The adjective law in the Philippines is governed by the
Rules of Court promulgated by the Supreme Court and by
special laws.
(2) As to its subject matter:
(a) Public law or the body of legal rules which regulates the
rights and duties arising from the relationship of the state to the
people.
An example of public law is criminal law, the law which defines
crimes and provides for their punishment. In legal theory, when
a person commits a crime, he violates not only the right of the
individual victim but primarily that of the state because the
crime disturbs the and order of the state.
Also included are: international law or that law which governs
the relations among nations or states; constitutional law or that
which governs the relations between the state and its citizens;
it establishes the fundamental powers of the government;
administrative law or that which governs the methods by which
the functions of administrative authorities are to be performed;
and criminal procedure or that branch of private law which
governs the methods of trial and punishment in criminal cases;
and
(b) Private law or the body of rules which regulates the
relations of individuals with one another for purely private ends.
The law on obligations and contracts come under this heading
because it deals with the rights and obligations of the
contracting parties only. The state, however, is also involved in
private law; it enforces private law but simply as an arbiter and
not as a party. (see M.J. Gamboa, op. cit.,p. 98.)
Included in private law are civil law, commercial or mercantile
law, and civil procedure. Civil procedure is that branch of
private law which provides for the means by which private It is absurd to absolve those who do not know the law and
rights may be enforced. Law on obligations and contracts. increase the obligations of those who know it; and
defined.
“The law of obligations and contracts is the body of rules In our conscience, we carry norms of right and wrong, and a
which deals with the nature and sources of obligations and the sense of duty, so that our reason indicates many times what
rights and duties arising from agreements and the we have to do and in more complicated juridical relations, there
particular contracts." (Ibid.; see Art. 1307.) are lawyers who should be consulted (A. Tolentino, op. cit .,
pp. 18-19.); and
Civil Code of the Philippines.
The law on obligations and contracts is found in Republic Act "Evasion of the law would be facilitated and the administration
No. 386, otherwise known as the Civil Code of of justice would be defeated if persons could successfully
the Philippines. When we speak of civil law, we refer to the law plead ignorance of the law to escape the legal consequences
found primarily in our Civil Code. The Civil Code of the of their acts, or to excuse non-performance of their legal
Philippines is based mainly on the Civil Code of Spain which duties. The rule, therefore, is dictated not only by expediency
took effect in the Philippines on December 7, 1889. (Mijares but also by necessity." (Ibid ., p. 7; Zulueta vs. Zulueta, 1 Phil.
vs. Neri, 3 Phil. 196.) It was approved as Republic Act No. 386 254.)
on June 18, 1949 and took effect on August 30, 1950. (Lara vs.
Del Rosario, 94 Phil. 778.) Thus, ignorance of the provisions of the law imposing a penalty
It is divided into four (4) books. for illegal possession of firearms, or punishing the possession
of prohibited drugs, does not constitute a valid excuse for their
Civil Code provisions on obligations violation.
and contracts.
Book IV of the Civil Code deals with obligations and contracts.
The general provisions on obligations are contáined in Title I,
Articles 1156-1304, while those on contracts, in Title II, Articles
1305-1422. The general rules of law governing contracts are
also applicable to the particular kinds of contracts (like sale,
agency, partnership, barter, etc.) in addition to the special
provisions of law governing each type of contract.
Book IV also contains new provisions dealing with
natural obligations which are found in Title III, Articles
1423-1430.

Conclusive presumption of knowledge of law.

Ignorance of law excuses no one from compliance
therewith. (Art. 3, Civil Code.)

"Everyone, therefore, is conclusively presumed to know the

law." This presumption is far from reality but it has been
established because of the obligatory force of law.

The following reasons have been advanced for this

presumption:

If laws will not be binding until they are actually known, then
social life will be impossible, because most lawscannot be
enforced due to their being unknown to many;

It is almost impossible to prove the contrary when a person

claims ignorance of the law;