Notes Dated: September 30,2023

NOTES FOR LEGAL RESEARCH

Basic legal system starts;

1. A body of laws

2. Some source with the power necessary to create and alter those laws

3. Some institutions or process with the authority to administer

Genesis of a Constitution

-constitution is the basis of the legal system of any state. Ph legal system involves;

• Civil law
• Common law
• Islamic law- PD 1083
• Indigenous law- RA 8371

LEGAL HISTORY

1. Pre-Spanish period

• Maragtas code- family relations

• Penal Code of Kalantiao-family relations and criminal law

2. Spanish Regime

• Codigo Penal de 1870 in 1887 and many more

3. Philippine Republic of 1898

• Malolos Constitution -which proclaims popularity sovereignty, civil and political rights.

4. American Era and the Commonwealth

• established American sovereignty

• property and Spanish law were abrogated
• organic laws are enforced Ph bill of 1902, Jones law & Tydings Mcduffie

5. Japanese Occupation

• 1943 constitution was drafted and ratified by KALIBAPI

6. Philippine republic 1946-1972

• inaugurated on July 4,1946

• 1935 constitution served as a fundamental law

7. Martial law Period

• 1973 was established -parliamentary form of government

• 1973 encountered several amendments (amendment 3, the power of the president and prime
minister was merged. In amendment 6, president at the time can exercise its legislative power
until martial law cease or end. Amendment 7 barangay and system of governance have been
continued. And many more amendments .....)

8. Post EDSA revolution and Continuation of the republic

• Provisional Constitution no. 32 which is the making of a freedom constitution. Adopted the
provision of Article 1,3 and many more.

9. 1987 constitution

• republican and a presidential system -unitary and centralized government with the principle of
separation of powers as a basic feature
• have 3 branches: executive, legislative, judiciary
• exercise of the functions allotted to each department under the constitution, each department
is supreme, coordinate, and coequal with each other.
• 13 principles have been transferred from 1973 to 1987 constitution

Sources of law

A. Classification by Authority

• may be cited in support of an action theory or hypothesis

• it is binding on the court.

1. Primary- Mandatory (ONLY PH) is law created by the jurisdiction in which the law operates in Ph and
Persuasive (US) (Laws / Jurisprudence depending on the source) law created by other jurisdiction
especially there is no Philippine authority available in the Ph.

a. Law created by the government

• Legislative-promulgate statutes
• Executive- presidential issuances
 • Judiciary- judicial doctrines embodied in decisions.

GOT THE LAW FROM OG-PHILIPINNE REPORTS (PRIMARY)

2. Secondary-SCRA

• these are commentaries or books, treatise, writings, journal articles that explains, discuss or
comment a primary authority.
• may include opinions of BSP, DOJ, and SEC.
• these materials are not binding on courts but they have persuasive effect and/or the degree of
persuasiveness
• with regards to commentaries, pr books, treaties and etc., the reputation or expertise of the
author is a consideration.

NOTE! It depends since PDF has signature and Word are susceptible for manipulation. In sourcing legal
materials, you should be able to identify if its primary or secondary.

Classification by Source:

A. Primary- those published by the issuing agency itself. Example is Official Gazette or if DENR release
issuances of law then it is considered as primary. -Official Gazette -Philippine Reports are the Supreme
Court decisions

B. Secondary- SCRA is secondary source. Commercially published and not published by a govt agencies
belongs to secondary.

Rule of thumb: If primary source is not available then secondary source will be cited. Official Government
online source of law/case;

• Official Gazette-primary
• Supreme Court E-library-primary
• CD ASIA online
• Judiciary. Portal
• Fluxfun Larc

B. Classification by Character

• refers to the nature of the subject treated in books

• these are finding tools at best to locate the primary source. It does not persuade nor do they
themselves have any primary or persuasive authority.
a) Statute- all laws passed by congress and other
b) Case- jurisprudence
c) Case reports- indexes of the law. Its somehow a summary of the laws/cases.
 Main source of Philippine law

1. Constitutions

2. Statutes

3.Treaties

4. Judicial decisions

5.Conventions

How effective legal research done:

1. Cardinal rule: Always start from the latest exempt when the period is defined or specified.

2. Rule of Thumb: When there is a conflict between online and printed source, printed source always
prevails.

3. Approaches in searching for authority generate vocabulary using factual analysis.

4. Steps in using index and table of contents of law books

• Identify all major words of the problem at the center

• Identify broader categories of a major words
• Identify synonyms and antonyms of the major words
• Look all these synonyms and antonyms in the indexes and table of contents.

5. The Cartwheel Technique

• to develop the habit of phrasing every word involved in the problem in different ways.
• Think outside the box
• Know the institutional background of the particular topic.

6. Effective Legal Research

• requires a working knowledge of the legal rules and legal institutions. The fundamental tools of
legal research and the process of devising and implementing a coherent and effective research
design.