The Judicial Branch

Article VIII
• Section 1, Article VIII of the 1987 Philippine Constitution states that:

“The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such
lower courts as may be established by law.
Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to:
o settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally
demandable and enforceable, and
o to determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of
discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the
part of any branch or instrumentality of the Government.

• The role of judiciary is important because this branch interprets the

meaning of laws, applies laws to individual cases, and decides if
laws violate the Constitution.
STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION
Hierarchy of Courts in
the Philippines
 STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION

• The Philippine Judiciary branch is comprised of regular courts tasked

to administer justice – two (2) review courts and two (2) trial courts

• Review courts:
• Supreme Court
• Court of Appeals
• Trial courts:
• Regional Trial Courts
• Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, Municipal Circuit
Trial Courts, and Municipal Trial Courts in Cities
THE SUPREME COURT
 THE SUPREME COURT

• The Supreme Court is the highest court in the Philippines.

• It is the final court that decides in any and all judicial issues.
• It can review, revise, reverse, modify, or affirm final judgments and
orders of the lower court.
• The most common reason by which a case reaches the Supreme
Court is through an appeal from a decision rendered by a lower court.
Appealed cases generally originate from cases tried in the trial courts.
The Supreme Court does not entertain cases originally filed before it
that should have been filed first with the trial courts.
 FUNCTIONS

There are two categories in the functions of the Supreme Court:

• Administrative Functions - supervision and control over the judicial

branch of the government and its employees; declare rules for the
admission into the practice of law, for legal assistance to the
underprivileged, and the procedural rules to be observed in all courts
throughout the country.
• Judicial Functions - settlement of actual controversies involving rights
which are legally demandable and enforceable; judicial review or the
power of the Supreme Court to inquire into the constitutionality of
the acts of both the executive and legislative branches of
government.
 COMPOSITION

As indicated in Article VIII

of the 1987 Philippine
Constitution, the Supreme
Court is composed of:
 1 Chief Justice
 14 Associate Justices
 APPOINTMENTS TO THE JUDICIARY

• By virtue of Article VIII, Section 8,

appointments to the judiciary are made by
the President of the Philippines based on a
list submitted by the Judicial and Bar Council
which is under the supervision of the
Supreme Court.
 APPOINTMENTS TO THE JUDICIARY

• Judicial and Bar Council’s principal function is to screen prospective

appointees to any judicial post.

• It is composed of the Chief Justice as ex-officio chairman, the

Secretary of Justice and representatives of Congress as ex-officio
members, and a representative of the Integrated Bar, a professor of
law, a retired member of the Supreme Court and a representative of
the private sector as members.
 QUALIFICATIONS
• No person shall be appointed Member of the Supreme Court or any
lower collegiate court unless he is:
1. a natural-born citizen of the Philippines;
2. at least 40 years of age;
3. must have been a judge of a lower court or engaged in the practice of
law in the country for 15 years or more; and
4. must be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity and
independence.

• The Congress shall prescribe the qualifications of judges of lower

courts, but no person may be appointed judge thereof unless he is a
citizen of the Philippines and a member of the Philippine Bar.
 TENURE OF SERVICE

• The term of office of Supreme Court members is not fixed.

• Their tenure during good behavior is until they reach seventy (70)
years old or become incapacitated to perform their duties. They can
be removed from their position only through impeachment.
 Notable Chief Justices

Cayetano Arellano Jose Abad Santos Claudio Teehankee Hilario Davide Maria Lourdes Sereno
COURT OF APPEALS
 COURT OF APPEALS (CA)

• The Court of Appeals is the second highest tribunal in the country

which was established on February 1, 1936 by virtue of
Commonwealth Act No. 3. The current form of the Court of Appeals
was constituted through Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, as amended
by Executive Order No. 33, s. 1986, Republic Act No. 7902, and
Republic Act No. 8246.

• Court of Appeals has jurisdiction over appeals from the decision of

the Regional Trial Courts.
 COMPOSITION AND QUALIFICATIONS

• The Court of Appeals is composed of one presiding justice and 68

associate justices, all of which are appointed by the President from a
shortlist submitted by the Judicial and Bar Council.

• The qualifications for the justices of the Supreme Court also apply to
members of the Court of Appeals.
REGIONAL TRIAL COURTS
 REGIONAL TRIAL COURTS (RTC)

• Regional Trial Courts are called second level courts and are divided
into thirteen (13) judicial regions (further subdivided into several
branches).

• RTCs are called appellate courts because these courts hear appeals
and review the decisions of lower courts.
COURTS OF FIRST LEVEL
 MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURTS & MUNICIPAL CIRCUIT TRIAL COURT

• Every municipality in the Philippines has a municipal trial court.

• It is called municipal court if it covers only one municipality; it is
called municipal circuit court if it covers two or more municipalities.

METROPOLITAN TRIAL COURTS & MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURTS IN CITIES

• Municipal trial courts inside the Metropolitan Area are called

Metropolitan trial courts.
• Municipal trial courts in cities outside Metropolitan Manila are
called Municipal trial courts in cities.
SPECIAL COURTS
 SPECIAL COURTS

• Aside from these four (4) regular courts, the Judicial branch has also
special courts.
• Special courts are bodies within the judicial branch of government
that generally address only one area of law or have specifically
defined powers. These are the:
o Sandiganbayan
o Court of Tax Appeals
o Shari ’a Courts (Shari ’a District Courts and Shari ’a Circuit Courts)
 SANDIGANBAYAN

• To attain the highest norms of official conduct among officials and

employees in the government, the creation of a special graft court to be
known as the Sandiganbayan was provided for in Article XIII, Section 5 of
the 1973 Constitution.
• This court was formally established through Presidential Decree No. 1606,
which was signed into law on December 10, 1978.
• Philippine’s Sandiganbayan is the oldest specialized anti-corruption court in
the world.
• It is a special court that has exclusive jurisdiction over cases (including
graft, corruption, and other offenses) committed by public officers and
employees and those in government-owned and controlled corporations
in relation to their position and office.
 COURT OF TAX APPEALS

• The Court of Tax Appeals (CTA), which is of the same level as the
Court of Appeals, was created by virtue of Republic Act No. 1125,
which was signed into law on June 16, 1954. Its present-day form was
constituted through RA 1125, as amended by Republic Act No. 9282
and Republic Act No. 9503.

• Court of Tax Appeals has exclusive appellate jurisdiction to review by

appeal not only civil tax cases but also those that are criminal in
nature (such as criminal offenses arising from violations of the
National Internal Revenue Code or Tariff and Customs Code).
 SHARI ’A COURTS

• Shari ’a District Courts and Shari ’a Circuit Courts

has the power similar to the regular courts, but
settle legal conflicts between Muslim Filipinos
in the sphere of customary and personal laws.
 KATARUNGANG PAMBARANGAY

• As of July 15, 2020, The Official Gazette of the

Philippine Government mentioned under the topic
of Philippine Judiciary the existence of Katarungang
Pambarangay.
• Presidential Decree No. 1508, or the
Katarungang Pambarangay Law, took effect on
December 11, 1978, and established a system of
amicably settling disputes at the barangay level.
• This system of amicable settlement of dispute
aims to promote the speedy administration of
justice by easing the congestion of court
dockets. The court does not take cognizance of
cases filed if they are not filed first with the
Katarungang Pambarangay.
References:
https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/sc-logo.png
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/64/RP_Court_of_Appeals.png
https://www.kindpng.com/picc/m/161-1616891_court-of-tax-appeals-in-the-philippines-hd.png
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/90/Sandiganbayan_-_Anti-Graft_Court_of_the_Philippines.svg/1200px-Sandiganbayan_-_Anti-Graft_Court_of_the_Philippines.svg.png
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/Regional_Trial_Court.svg/1200px-Regional_Trial_Court.svg.png
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/images/uploads/Judiciary-chart-July-021.jpg
https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/philippine/ph-lawyers-slain-03232021124056.html/@@images/image
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Supreme_Court_of_the_Philippines.jpg/640px-Supreme_Court_of_the_Philippines.jpg
https://assets2.rappler.com/F6AF087D38284FB6BCA7CE10E9E22475/img/F73F61137A8E4472865322FC60F8C908/facade_court_of_appeals_2_mark_saludes.jpg
https://www.homestratosphere.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/vintage-old-justice-courthouse-columns-nov162019-min.jpg
https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/Hp1v9fIqNXhOV471Jl2zyp_MqOI=/2257x1693/smart/filters:no_upscale()/column-corinthean-157192255-crop-592f4e7b5f9b585950332bc6.jpg
https://www.facebook.com/isbpi2015/photos/a.637883733086616/637883739753282/
https://www.facebook.com/PSLIZAMBASULTA/photos/a.536422886868750/683579305486440/
https://imgv2-1-f.scribdassets.com/img/document/120241705/original/c4fe924129/1636416973?v=1
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Cayetano_Arellano.jpg
https://www.arellano.edu.ph/sites/default/files/web-cover-logo_0_0.png
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/NDS_obverse_1000_Philippine_peso_bill.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Chief_Justice_Jose_Abad_Santos.jpg/1200px-Chief_Justice_Jose_Abad_Santos.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/8608/16199259607_827b5f3cb9_b.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/8669/16197771160_b89a958e7f_b.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Chief_Justice_Maria_Lourdes_Sereno.jpg
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/about/gov/judiciary/