Constitutional Law I Notes
Constitutional Law I Notes
ISAGANI CRUZ
I. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
- The study of maintenance of proper balance between authority as represented by the three
inherent powers of the State and liberty.
- Effect an equilibrium between authority and liberty so that rights are exercised within the
framework of laws.
1. POLICE POWER
o Power of the state to regulate liberty and property for the promotion of the general
welfare.
2. EMINENT DOMAIN
o Enables the state to forcibly acquire private property, upon payment of just
compensation, for some intended public use.
3. TAXATION
o The state can demand from members of society their proportionate shares or
contribution in the maintenance of the government.
III. CONSTITUTION
- “The written instrument enacted by direct action of the people by which the fundamental
powers of the government are established, limited and defined, and by which those powers
are distributed among several departments for their safe and useful exercise for the benefits
of the body politic.” – Justice Malcolm
- Constitution is the BASIC, and PARAMOUNT law to which all other laws must conform
and to which all persons, including the highest officials of the land, must defer. The
constitution must ever remain SUPREME.
o Basic
ORGANIC LAW
Where all the other laws spring from
o Paramount
o Supreme
1. WRITTEN OR UNWRITTEN
o Written constitution – one whose precepts are embodied in one document or set of
documents.
o Unwritten constitution – consists of rules which have not been integrated into a
single, concrete form but are scattered in various sources, such as statues of a
fundamental character, judicial decisions, commentaries of publicists, customs and
traditions, and certain common law principles.
o Constitution does not always need to be written.
2. CONVENTIONAL OR CUMULATIVE
o Conventional constitution – enacted constitution; formally “struck off” at a definite
time and place following a conscious or deliberate effort taken by a constituent
body or ruler.
o Cumulative constitution – evolved constitution; the result of political evolution,
“not inaugurated at any specific time but changing by accretion rather than by
systematic method.”
3. RIGID OR FLEXIBLE
o Rigid constitution – can only be amended by formal and usually difficult process
o Flexible constitution – can be changed by ordinary legislation
2. GOVERNMENT
o Organization of the government, enumerating its powers, etc.
o Structure and power of government
3. SOVEREIGNTY
o Mode or procedure in accordance with which formal changes in the fundamental
law may be brought about.
o Rules and procedure regarding changes in the constitution
o Different from SOVEREIGN RIGHTS
1. ORIGINALIST
o Does not evolve over time
o The way it was written and intended at a specific time/period
2. TEXTUALIST
o Actual text
o Do not go beyond the 4 corners
3. INTENTIONALIST
o What it intends to mean
4. PRAGMATIC
o Realist/practical of the time
5. NATURAL
o Higher above constitution
1. SELF-EXECUTING
o By itself is directly or indirectly applicable without need of statutory
implementation.
o There is no need for legislation as it can be enforced by itself.
o Non-self-executing – one that remains dormant unless it is activate by legislative
implementation.
2. MANDATORY
o “As a rule, therefore, whenever the language used in the constitution is prohibitory,
it is to be understood as intended to be a positive and unequivocal negation; and
whenever the language contains a grant of power, it is intended as a mandate, not
a mere direction.”
3. PROSPECTIVE
o Provisions of the constitution should be given only a prospective application unless
the contrary is clearly intended.
1. AMENDMENT
o Isolated or piecemeal change only
2. REVISION
o Revamp or rewriting of the whole instrument
1. PROPOSAL
o Made directly either by Congress or constitutional convention.
o Congress: vote of at least 3/4 by all the member of the Congress is needed
o Constitutional convention: vote of 2/3 of all the members of the Congress
o Sec. 2, Art. 17: amendment proposed by people through initiative upon petition of
at least 12% of total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district
must be represented by at least 3% of the registered voters therein.
2. RATIFICATION
o Any amendment to or revision shall be valid when ratified by a majority of the
votes cast in a plebiscite held not earlier than sixty days nor later than ninety days
after the approval of such change by the Congress or the constitutional convention
or after the certification by the Commission on Election of the sufficiency of the
petition under sec. 2.
o The requirement for ratification thus involves the people themselves in the
sovereign act of drafting or altering the fundamental law.
2. CONSTITUTION OF 1973
o During the Marcos regime
o Dubious approval and ratification when the country was under martial law
3. FREEDOM CONSTITUTION
o After the people power
o To be effective pending the adoption of 1987 constitution aimed at correcting the
shortcomings of the previous constitutions and eliminating all iniquitous vestiges
of the past regime.
4. CONSTITUTION OF 1987
o Present constitution