The Ten Commandments of The Judiciary
The Ten Commandments of The Judiciary
MANUEL M. LAZARO
The following are the DOs and DONTs of the Judiciary, to wit:
1
Speech delivered at the IBP 1st Regional Convention, 19 November 1983
2
Dela Paz v. Inatan, 64 SCRA 540
3
Professional Ideas of the Lawyer, p. 54
4
Conde v Superable, 29 SCRA 727
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF THE JUDICIARY
MANUEL M. LAZARO
- Judges should not only be impartial, but should also appear
impartial.5
5
Fernandez v. Presbitero, 79 SCRA 61
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF THE JUDICIARY
MANUEL M. LAZARO
10. THOU SHALT NOT REMAIN STATIC BUT MOVE WITH THE
DYNAMISM OF THE LAW
- Law is a living and pulsating thing; it is inexorably growing.
- A Judge should make a conscious effort to study the law and
jurisprudence and keep abreast not only with legal developments
but also with social, political, economic and even cultural
developments.
- Judge should never stop to study and to ponder, for law is never
static, it moves and should move with the times.
The lawyer's oath is not mere facile words, drift and hollow, but a
sacred trust that must be upheld and kept inviolable. ( Sebastian vs.
Calis, 1999)
It is NOT a mere ceremony or formality for practicing law. Every lawyer
should at all times weigh his actions according to the sworn promises
he made when taking the lawyer's oath. ( In Re: Argosino, 1997, In Re:
Arthur M. Cuevas, 1998).