INTRODUCTION

TO LAW
Meaning of law in general

In its widest and most compre-

hensive sense, the term law means
any rule of action or any system of
uniformity.
In general, it determines not only
the activities of men as rational be-
ings but also the movement or mo-
tions of all objects of creation,
whether animate or inanimate.
General divisions of law

1. Law (in strict legal sense) which is

promulgated and enforced by the
state; and
2. Law (in the non-legal sense)
which is not promulgated and en-
forced by the state.
The first, is state law while the second
includes divine law, natural law, moral
law and physical law.
Subjects of law

1. Divine law
2. Natural law
3. Moral law
4. Physical law
5. State law
Subjects of law

1. Divine law- the law of religion and

faith which concerns itself with the
concept of sin (as contrasted with
crime) and salvation.
Source: Promulgated by God and
revealed or divulged to mankind
by means of direct revelation.
Subjects of law

Sanction: It lies in the assurance

of certain rewards & punishments
in the present life or in the life to
come.
2. Natural law- the divine inspiration in
man of the sense of justice, fairness,
and righteousness, not by divine reve-
lation or formal promulgation, but by
internal dictates of reason alone.
Subjects of law

1. Binding force- Natural law is

ever present and binding on all
men everywhere and at all times.
Every man has a basic under-
standing of right and wrong based
on an understanding of the fun-
damental standard or criterion of
good and evil.
Subjects of law
2. Compared to divine law- natural
law and divine law are very similar,
they are not the same. Divine
law; as the law of religious faith, is
made known to man by means
of direct revelation. Natural law is
said to be impressed in man as
the core of his higher self at the
very moment of being or, perhaps,
even before that.
Subjects of law

3. Place in state law- Natural law

has been regarded as the rea-
sonable basis of state law.
3. Moral law- we are speaking of total-
ity of the norms of good and right
conduct growing out of the collective
sense of right and wrong of every
community.
Subjects of law

1. Determination of what is right and

wrong- the mores or ways of life
were then evolved which were al-
ways considered right and correct,
and obedience to them was de-
manded by the group.
2. Sanction- no definite sanction like
imprisonment and/or payment of
Subjects of law

fines or damages for violation of

purely moral law. If violated there
is spontaneous social reaction
like public displeasure, contempt or
even indignation.
3. Binding force- not absolute. It
varies with the changing times, condi-
tions/convictions of people.
Subjects of law

4. Place in state law- moral law, to a

great extent, influences or shapes
state law.
Subjects of law

4. Physical law- in the operation or

course of nature, there are uniformi-
ties of actions and orders of sequence
which are the physical phenomena
that we sense and feel. They are
known as the laws of physical sci-
ence or physical law.
Subjects of law

1. Order or regularity in nature

Ex. Law of physical science like
chemistry, physics
2. Called law only by analogy
Ex. Law of gravitation
Law of chemical combination
Subjects of law

5. State law- the law that is promul-

gated and enforced by the sate.
1. Other terms used- also called posi-
tive law, municipal law, civil law or im-
perative law. Ex. law on obligations &
contracts, administration of justice,
election
Subjects of law

2. Binding force: Enforced by the

state, with the aid of physical force, if
necessary.
3. Concern of state law- different from
divine law, natural law and moral law.
It does not concern itself with viola-
tions of the latter rules of action un-
less they also constitute violations of
its commands.
Concepts of (state) law

1. General sense- mass of obligatory

rules established for the purpose
of governing the relations of per-
sons in society.
2. Specific sense- rule of conduct,
just, obligatory, promulgated by
legitimate authority and of com-
mon observance and benefit.
Characteristics of law

1. It is a rule of conduct
2. It is obligatory
3. It is promulgated by legitimate au-
thority
4. It is common observance and
benefit
Necessities and functions of law

1. What would life be without law?

2. What does law do?
3. What is our duty as members of
society?
Sources of law

1. Constitution
2. Legislation
3. Administrative or executive or-
ders, regulations, and rulings
4. Judicial decisions or jurisprudence
5. Custom
6. Other sources
Doctrine of precedent or stare de-
cisis- means the decisions of a supe-
rior court on a point of law are binding
on all subordinate courts.
Rule in case of doubt in interpreta-
tion or application of laws
Our Civil Code provides that “no
judge or court shall decline to render
judgment by reason of the silence,
obscurity or insufficiency of the laws.”
(Art. 9, Civil Code) “ In case of doubt
in the interpretation or application of
laws, it is presumed that the law-
making body intended right and
justice to prevail.” Art. 10
Rule in case of doubt in interpreta-
tion or application of laws
Better to serve justice than deny it
because of too strict interpretation of
the law, courts must resolve in favor
of the former, for the ultimate end of
the law is justice.
Organs of social control
-In addition to legal institutions, na-
tional and local- there are churches,
corporations, political parties,trade
Law compared with other means of
social control
1. Laws are made and administered
by the only institutions in society
authorized to act in behalf of the
entire citizenry.
2. Only the legal institutions within
the society can make rules, regu-
lations and orders with which the
entire citizenry must comply.
Law compared with other means of
social control
3. People associated with an organi-
zation can ordinarily terminate
their relationship and thereby free
themselves from the impact of its
rules and regulations.
4. The sanctions or techniques of
control through law are more var-
ied and complex than the tech-
niques available to organizations
Law compared with other means of
social control
such as churches, labor unions
and political parties.
5. Before the law operates against
an individual, various procedural
steps are required.
Organization of courts: three main
divisions of power
1. Regular courts
Ex. Regional Trial Courts (RTC)
Court of Appeals (CA
Supreme Court (SC)
2. Special courts
Ex. Sandiganbayan
Court of Taxa Appeals (CTA)
3. Quasi-judicial agencies
Organization of courts

3. Quasi-judicial agencies
Ex. Civil Service Commission
(CSC)
Commission on Election
National Labor Relations
Commission (NLRC)
Classification of law

1. As to its purpose:
a. Substantive law
b. Adjective law
2. As to its subject matter
a. Public law
b. Private law
Law on obligations and contracts de-
fined
It is the body of rules which deals
with the nature and sources of
obligations and the rights and du-
ties arising from agreements and
the particular contracts.
Civil Code of the Philippines
The law on obligations and
contracts is found in Republic Act
No. 386 otherwise known
 as the Civil Code of the
Philippines. When we speak of
civil law, we refer to the law found
primarily in our Civil Code.
-The Civil Code of the Philippines
is based mainly on the Civil Code
of Spain which took effect in the
Phil. on December 7, 1889.
-Approved as Republic Act No 386
on June 18, 1949 and took effect on
August 30, 1950. It is divided into
four books.
-Book IV of the Civil Code deals with
Obligations and Contracts.
-General provisions on Obligations
are contained in Title I, Art. 1156-
1304 and Contracts on Title II, Art.
1305-1422.
Conclusive presumption of knowl-
edge of law
-Ignorance of the law excuses no one
from compliance therewith. (Art. 3,
Civil Code)
-Everyone is conclusively presumed to
know the law.
The following reasons have been
advanced for this presumption:
1. The laws will not be binding until
they are actually known, then social
Conclusive presumption of knowl-
edge of law
life will be impossible, because
most laws cannot be enforced due to
their being unknown to many;
2. It is almost impossible to prove the
contrary when a person claims
ignorance of the law;
3. It is absurd to absolve those who
do not know the law and
Conclusive presumption of knowl-
edge of law
increase the obligations of those
who know it, and
4. In our conscience, we carry
norms of right and wrong, and a
sense of duty, so that our reason in-
dicates many times what we have to
do and in more complicated juridical
relations, there are lawyers who
should be consulted.
Conclusive presumption of knowl-
edge of law
5. Evasion of the law would be fa-
cilitated and administration of justice
would be defeated if persons could
successfully plead ignorance of the
law to escape the legal conse-
quences of their acts, or to excuse
non- performance of their legal
duties.