LEGAL MEDICINE

is a branch of medicine which

deals with the application of
medical knowledge to the purposes
of law and in the administration of
justice.
It is the application of basic and
clinical, medical and paramedical
sciences to elucidate legal matters.
Is primarily the application of medicine
to legal cases while forensic medicine
concerns with the application of medical
science to elucidate legal problems.
On the other hand, medical
jurisprudence (juris-law, prudentia-
knowledge) denotes knowledge of law in
relation to the practice of medicine.
It concerns with the study of the rights,
duties and obligations of a medical
practitioner with particular reference to
those arising from doctor-patient
relationship.
Distinction Between an Ordinary
Physician and a Medical Jurist:

1. An ordinary physician sees an

injury or disease on the point of
view of treatment, while a
medico-jurist sees injury or
disease on the point of view of
cause.
2. The purpose of an ordinary
physician examining a patient
is to arrive at a definite
diagnosis so that appropriate
treatment can be instituted,
while the purpose of the
medical jurist in examining a
patient is to include those
bodily lesions in his report and
testify before the court or
before an investigative body;
thus giving justice to whom it
is due.
3. Minor or trivial injuries are
usually ignored by an ordinary
clinician inasmuch as they do
not require usual treatment.
Medical jurist must record all
bodily injuries even if they are
small or minor because these
injuries may be proofs to
qualify the crime or to justify
the act.
Principles of Stare Decisis:

A principle that, when the court

has once laid down a principle
of law of interpretation as
applied to a certain state of
facts, it will adhere to and apply
to all future cases where the
facts are substantially the same.
1. Constitution
2. Criminal Law
- deals with offences
- the State is a party represented by public
prosecutor and the accused is the other party

Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860

- defines offences and prescribes punishments
3. Civil Law or Case Law
- deals with disputes between two
individuals or parties
- Plaintiff is the party bringing the action
- Defendant is the party complained of
4. Common Law
- is made by judges when they deliver
decisions in individual cases
 Criminal Action Civil Action

Criminal action is one by which the A civil action is one by which a party
State prosecutes a person for an act sues another for the enforcement or
or omission punishable by law. protection of a right, or the prevention
or redress of a wrong

A criminal action is commenced by a A civil action is commenced by a

complaint or information filed by the complaint or petition by a private
fiscal. person.

A criminal action is brought in the

name of the state with the private A civil action is brought in the name of
complainant as a mere witness for the the real party in interest (for example
state (for example People of the Patient John Doe vs. Dr. Juan Dela
Philippines vs. Doctor Juan Dela Cruz) Cruz)
5. Procedural/Remedial Law

Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.P.C.) 1973

- it provides the mechanism for punishment of
offences
- deals with actual procedure in trials, appeals,
references, revisions and transfer of criminal cases

Indian Evidence Act (I.E.A.) 1872

- deals with Law of Evidence (different
categories of evidence, procedure of collection,
preservation and use of evidence) applicable to all judicial
proceedings in any court
-common to both criminal and civil procedure
Some basic principles
Governing Applications and
Effects of Laws:

1. Ignorance of the law excuses no

one from compliance therewith or
“ignorantia nominem excusat”
2. Laws shall have no retroactive
effect, unless the contrary is
provided (Art. 4, Civil Code):
3. rights may be waived, unless the
waiver is contrary to law, public
order, public policy, morals or good
customs, or prejudicial to a third
person with a recognized by law
(Art. 6, Civil Code):
4. Customs which are contrary to law,
public order or public policy shall
not be countenanced (Art. 11, Civil
Code). A custom must be proved as
a fact according to the rules of
evidence (Sec. 12, Civil Code):
4. Laws are repealed only by
subsequent ones, and their violation
or non-observance shall not be
excused by disuse, custom or
practice to the contrary.
When the court declares a law to be
inconsistent with the constitution,
the former shall be void and the
latter shall govern.
Administrative or executive acts,
orders and regulations shall be valid
only when they are not contrary to
the laws or the constitution (Art. 7,
Civil Code):
• Evidence means and includes: (1) all statements
which the Court permits or requires to be made
before it by witnesses, in relation to matters of fact
under inquiry, (2) all documents produced for
inspection of the Court (S.3, I.E.A.). For the
evidence to be accepted by the Courts, it must be
properly identified as to what it is, and where it was
found. The evidence of eyewitnesses is positive.
The evidence of doctor or an expert is only an
opinion which is corroborative.
1. Autoptic or Real Evidence:
this is an evidence made known
or addressed to the senses of
the court. It is not limited to
that which is known through
the sense of vision but is
extended to what the sense of
hearing, taste, smell and touch
is perceived.
2. Testimonial/Oral Evidence:
a physician may be commanded
to appear before a court to give
his testimony. While in the
witness stand, he is obliged to
answer questions propounded by
counsel and presiding officer of
the court. His testimony must be
given orally and under oath or
affirmation.
a. Ordinary Witness:
a physician who testifies in court
on matters he perceived from his
patient in the course of physician-
patient relationship is considered
as an ordinary witness.

b. Medical Expert Witness

1) Direct Evidence:
that which proves the fact in dispute
without the aid of any inference or
presumption. The evidence presented
corresponds to the precise or actual point
at issue.
2) Circumstantial Evidence:
the proof of facts from which, taken
either singly or collectively, the
existence of a particular fact in dispute
may be inferred as a necessary or
probable consequence.
3) Hearsay : It is any statement made by any person
about what he did not personally witness, or evidence
he obtained from a third party, which is presented in the
Court in order to assert that the facts contained in the
statement are true
3. Documentary Evidence:
• Sections 61 to 90 of Indian Evidence Act,
1872, deal with documentary evidence. The
contents of the documents may be proved
either by primary or by secondary evidence
(S.61, I.E.A.).

Primary evidence means the document itself

produced for inspection of the Court (S.62,
I.E.A.). Documents must be proved by primary
evidence except in certain cases (S.64, I.E.A.)
Secondary evidence means, certified copies,
copies made from the original by mechanical
processes, copies made from or compared
with the original, oral account of the contents
of a document (S.63, I.E.A.). Evidence must
conform to the matters in issue, and is
admitted on the basis of relevance and
admissibility.
 Three Types of Documentary Evidence

(1) Medical Certificates : They refer to ill- health,

insanity, age, death, etc. They are accepted in a
Court of law, only when they are issued by
a qualified registered medical practitioner.

(2) Medicolegal Reports : They are reports

prepared by a doctor on the request of the
investigating officer, usually in criminal
cases, e.g., assault, rape, murder, etc.
(3) DYING DECLARATION: It is a written or
oral statement of a person, who is dying as a
result of some unlawful act, relating to the
material facts of cause of his death or bearing on
the circumstances (S.32, I.E.A.). If there is time,
Executive magistrate should be called to record
the declaration. Before recording the statement,
the doctor should certify that the person is
conscious and his mental faculties are normal
(compos mentis)
4. Physical Evidence:
these are articles and materials
which are found in connection with
the investigation and which aid in
establishing the identity of the
perpetrator or the circumstances
under which the crime was
committed, or in general assist in
the prosecution of a criminal.
Different types of physical
evidences:

a) Corpus Delicti Evidence –

objects or substances which
may be a part of the body of
the crime.
b) Associative Evidence – these are
physical evidences which link a
suspect to the crime. The offender
may leave clues to the scene such
as weapon, tools, garments,
fingerprints or foot impression.
c) Tracing Evidence – these are
physical evidences which may
assist the investigator in locating
the suspect.
1. Photographs, audio and/or video tape,
micro-film, photostat, xerox, voice tracing,
etc.
2. Sketching – if no scientific apparatus to
preserve evidence is available then a
rough drawing of the scene or object to be
preserved is done.
3. Description – this is the putting into
words the person or thing to be preserved.
a. Skin Lesion – kind, measurement,
other descriptive information of the
lesion itself, location, orientation.
b. Penetrating Wound (Punctured, Stab
or Gunshot) – kind, shape, other
information from the wound itself,
location, orientation, direction, other
structures involved, complications
and foreign elements that may be
present.
c. Hymenal laceration – location,
degree, duration, complication.
d. Person – those requirement in
portrait parle
4. Manikin Method – is a miniature model
of a scene or of a human body indicating
marks of the various aspects of the
things to be preserved.
5. Preservation in the Mind of the Witness
– a person who perceived something
relevant for proper adjudication of a case
may be a witness in court if he has the
power to transmit to others what he
perceived.
6. Special Methods – special way of treating
certain type of evidence may be
necessary.
 STANDARD OF PROOF

1.Criminal cases- the prosecution must provide evidence of

a sufficient quality to convince the Court "beyond
reasonable doubt" that the accused is guilty.

2. Civil cases- standard is based on the "balance of

probabilities", so that the Court should be certain of more
than 50% of the defendant’s culpability.