Peralta vs. Director of Prisons Case Digest – GR No.

L-49, November 12, 1945

Case Title: WILLIAM F. PERALTA, petitioner, vs. THE DIRECTOR OF PRISONS, respondent.
Case Nature: ORIGINAL ACTION in the Supreme Court. Habeas corpus.
Docket Number: No. L-49
Counsel: William F. Peralta, Solicitor General Tañada, City Fiscal Mabanag
Ponente: FERIA

Dispositive Portion:
In view of all the foregoing, the writ of habeas corpus prayed for is hereby granted and it is
ordered that the petitioner be released forthwith, without pronouncement as to costs. So
ordered.

Facts of the Case:

William Peralta was prosecuted for the crime of robbery and was sentenced to life
imprisonment as defined and penalized by Act No. 65 of the National Assembly of the
Republic of the Philippines.

The petition for Habeas Corpus is based on the contention that the Court of Special and
Exclusive Criminal Jurisdiction created by Ordinance No. 7 was a political instrumentality of
the military forces of Japan and which is repugnant to the aims of the Commonwealth of
the Philippines for it does not afford a fair trial and impairs the constitutional rights of the
accused.

Issue/s:
Is the creation of a court by Ordinance No. 7 valid?

Ruling:
Yes. Since the criminal jurisdiction established by the invader is drawn entirely from the law
martial as defined in the usages of nations.
All judgment of the political complexion of the courts during the Japanese regime ceased to
be valid upon reoccupation of the islands.

E-SCRA
REASONS OF THE DRAFTERS OF THE CONSTITUTION.-
The drafters of our Constitution, taught by the unerring lessons of human experience, came
to the conclusion that mistake is one of the most irretrievable human weaknesses. To
reduce to the minimum, the effects of such innate human weakness, they provided in our
fundamental law that appeals to the highest tribunal of the land may be enjoyed by any
accused.