JUDICIARY BRANCH

Group 3
Judiciary Branch Contents

Courts

Guidelines and Qualifications

Members of Judiciary
Judicial Branch

• The Judicial branch holds the power

to settle controversies involving
rights that are legally demandable
and enforceable.
• This branch determines whether or not
there has been a grave abuse of
discretion amounting to lack or excess
of jurisdiction on the part and
instrumentality of the government.
Judiciary

 Is the system of courts that interprets and

applies the law in the name of the state. The
judiciary also provides a mechanism for the
resolution of disputes.
 Under the doctrine of the separation of powers, the
judiciary generally does not make law (that is, in a
plenary fashion, which is the responsibility of the
legislature) or enforce law (which is the
responsibility of the executive), but rather
interprets law and applies it to the facts of each
case.
Judiciary

 This branch of the state is often

tasked with ensuring equal justice
under law. It usually consists of a
court of final appeal (called the
“supreme court” or
“constitutional court”), together
with lower courts.
Judicial Department

 Judicial power rests with the Supreme Court

and the lower courts, as established by law
(Art. VIII, sec. 1 of the 1987 Constitution). Its
duty is to settle actual controveries involving
rights which are legally demandable and
enforceable (Art. VIII Sec. 1(2)).
 The judiciary enjoys fiscal autonomy. Its
appropriation may not be reduced by the
legislature below the appropriated amount the
previous year (Art. VIII, sec. 2).
Supreme Court  The highest court in the
Philippines. It has an
administrative supervision over
all courts and the personnel.
 The court consists of 14
associate justices and 1 Chief
The Supreme Court colloquially referred to as the
Justice.
Korte Suprema or the highest court in the
 The powersPhilippines.
of the Supreme
Court are defined in Article VIII of
the 1987 Constitution.
 These functions may be
generally divided into two-judicial
functions and administrative
functions.
Supreme Court  The administrative functions of
the Court pertain to the
supervision and control over the
Philippine judiciary and its
employees, as well as over
members of the Philippine bar.
The
TheSupreme
courtCourt
iscolloquially
further referred to as the
authorized
Korte Suprema or the highest court in the
to promulgate the rules for
Philippines.
admission to the practice of
law, for legal assistance to the
underprivileged, and the
procedural rules to be
observed in all courts.
Court of Appeal  Is the Philippines’ second-
highest judicial court, just after
the Supreme Court. The court
consists of 68 Associate Justices
and 1 Presiding Justice.
 The Court of Appeals was
established
The Supreme Court under Batas
colloquially referred to as the
Korte Suprema or the highest court in the
Pambansa Bilang 129 known as
Philippines.
“The Judiciary Reorganization
Act of 1980”. The Court is
composed of one Presiding
Justice and sixty eight (68)
Associate Justices.
Court of Appeal  They are all appointed
by the President. The
court sits by divisions,
each division being
composed
The of three
Supreme Court colloquially referred to as the
members. The
Korte Suprema or the Court
highest
Philippines.
court in the

may sit en banc for the

purpose of exercising
administrative,
ceremonial or other non-
adjudicatory functions.
SandiganBayan  The Sandiganbayan is a
special court which was
established under
Presidential Decree No.
1606. Its rank is equivalent
Theto the Court
Supreme Court of Appeals.
colloquially referred to as the
 The SB ororSandiganbayan
Korte Suprema the highest court in the
Philippines.
tries and decides criminal
and civil cases against
government officials and
employees accused of graft
and corruption and similar
other cases.
SandiganBayan  The Sandiganbayan shall sit in
five (5) divisions of three
justices each. The five (5) may
sit at the same time. The first
three division shall be in Cebu
City for cases coming from the
TheVisayas region,
Supreme Court andreferred
colloquially the fifth
to as the
Korte Suprema or the highest court in the
division shall be in Cagayan de
Philippines.
Oro City for cases coming from
the Mindanao region.
 The Ombudsman act of 1989
Republic Act No. 6770
 Philippine Laws Against Graft
and Corruption
SandiganBayan  Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy -
The State shall maintain
honesty and integrity in the
public service and take positive
and effective measures against
graft and corruption.
ThePublic
Supreme Court colloquially referred to as the
office is a public trust
Korte Suprema or the highest court in the
and must atPhilippines.
all times be
accountable to the people,
serve them with utmost
responsibility, integrity, loyalty,
efficiency, act with patriotism
and justice and lead modest
lives.
Court of Tax Appeal  Is the special court of limited
jurisdiction, and has the same
level with the Court of Appeals.
The court consists of 8 Associate
Justices and 1 Presiding Justice.
 Previously, only decision,
judgement, ruling or inaction of the
The Supreme Court colloquially referred to as the
Commissioner of Internal
Korte Suprema or the Revenue,
highest court in the
the Commissioner of Customs, the
Philippines.
Secretary of Finance, the Secretary
of Trade and Industry, or the
Secretary of Agriculture, involving
the National Internal Revenue Code
and the Tariff and Customs Code on
civil matters are appeallable to the
Court of Tax Appeals.
Court of Tax Appeal  The expanded jurisdiction
transferred to the CTA the
jurisdiction of the Regional Trial
Courts and the Court of Appeals
over matters involving criminal
violation and collection of
revenues
The under
Supreme Court the referred
colloquially National to as the
Korte Suprema or the highest court in the
Internal Revenue Code and Tariff
Philippines.
and Customs Code. In addition,
it also required jurisdiction over
cases involving local and real
property taxes which used to be
with the Regional Trial Court and
the Court of Appeals.
Regional Trial Court Regional Trial Courts were established
among the thirteen regions in the Philippines
consisting of Regions I to XII and the National
Capital Region (NCR). There are as many
Regional Trial Court in each region as the law
mandates. Regional Trial Court shall
exercise exclusive original jurisdiction in all
criminal cases not within the exclusive
The Supreme Court colloquially referred to as the Korte
jurisdiction of any court, tribunal or body,
Suprema or the highest court in the Philippines.
except those now falling under the exclusive
and concurrent jurisdiction of the
Sandiganbayan which shall hereafter be
exclusively taken cognizance of by the latter.
RTC Criminal Courts typically try cases of
serious crimes like murder and robbery, as
opposed to petty crimes, which reduce the
burden of court cases.
Municipal Trial Court
 PROCEDURE IN THE MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURTS (CRIMINAL) RULE 123
 Section 1. Uniform Procedure.
 The procedure to be observed in the Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial
Courts and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts shall be the same as in the Regional Trial
Courts, except (a) where a particular provision expressly or impliedly applies only to
either of said courts; and (b) in criminal cases governed by the Rule on Summary
Procedure in Special Cases adopted on August 1, 1983, namely, (1) Violation of
traffic
The laws,
Supreme rules
Court and regulations;
colloquially (2)theViolations
referred to as of the
Korte Suprema rental
or the law;court
highest (3) Violations of
in the Philippines.
municipal or city ordinances; and (4) All other criminal cases where the penalty
prescribed by law for the offense charged does not exceed six months
imprisonment, or a fine of one thousand pesos (P1,000.00) or both irrespective of
other imposable penalties, accesory or otherwise, or the civil liability arising
therefrom; Provided, however, that in offenses involving damage to property
through criminal negligence, said Rule shall govern where the imposable fine does
not exceed ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00)
Municipal Trial Court

 Every municipality in the Philippines has its own

Municipal Trial Court. It is referred to as such if it
covers
The only
Supreme Court onereferred
colloquially municipality; otherwise,
to as the Korte Suprema it isin the
or the highest court called
Philippines.
Municipal Circuit Trial Court if it covers two or more
municipalities.
Metropolitan Trial Court

 Municipal Trial Courts in the towns and cities in the

Metropolitan Manila area, as ditinguished from the other
political subdivisions in the Philippines, are referred to as
Metropolitan
The Trialreferred
Supreme Court colloquially Courts.
to as the Korte Suprema or the highest court in the Philippines.
 In cities outside Metropolitan Manila, the equivalent of the
Municipal Trial Courts are referred to as Municipal Trial
Courts in Cities.
Guidelines and Qualifications for Appointment in the Judiciary

• Members of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals,

Court of Tax Appeals
• Natural-born citizen of the Philippines;
 At least 40 years old;
 At least 15 years of practice as a judge of a lower court;
or at least 15 years of law practice in the Philippines.
• Members of the Sandiganbayan
• Natural-born citizen of the Philippines;
 At least 40 years old;
 At least 10 years of practice as a judge of a court of
record; or At least10 years of law practice in the
Philippines; or At least 10 years holding an office
requiring admission to the bar as a prerequisite.
Guidelines and Qualifications for Appointment in the Judiciary

• Judges of the Regional Trial Courts*

• Natural-born citizen of the Philippines;
 At least 35 years old;
 At least 10 years of law practice in the Philippines; or
At least 10 years holding an office requiring admission
to the bar as a prerequisite.
• Judges of the First Level Courts**
• Natural-born citizen of the Philippines;
 At least 30 years old;
 At least 5 years of law practice in the Philippines; or At
least 5 years holding an office requiring admission to
the bar as a prerequisite.
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