LegRes Intro To Law 4

INTRODUCTION TO
LAWS
Source: Legal Research by Ng, Po, and Po
Legal Research 7:30-9:30

Atty. Patricia Gail Cayco-Magbanua
Law and Kinds of Laws
◦ Law is a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by controlling authority, and having binding legal
force. It must be obeyed and followed by citizens subject to sanctions or legal consequences.
◦ In its jural and generic sense, it refers to the whole body or system of law.
◦ In its jural and concrete sense, law means a rule of conduct formulated and made obligatory by legitimate
power of the state.
◦ It is a body of conduct that can be enforced in court.
◦ It also defined as the enforceable rules that govern individual and group conduct in a society. It
establishes standards of conduct, the procedures governing the conduct, and the remedies available when
the rules of conduct are not adhered to.
◦ In the Philippines, it is a mosaic of the Philippine Constitution, statutes, treaties, Supreme Court
Decisions, administrative agency regulations, executive orders, and local ordinances.
Three Basic Category of Laws
◦ Statutory or Enacted Law
◦ This includes Philippine Constitution and Statutes passed by legislative bodies.
◦ Laws that are enacted by the Philippine Legislature are known as Statutes.
◦ Case Law
◦ This includes decisions of the Supreme Court, the courts, and judicial bodies.
◦ This is most often refereed to as “jurisprudence”
◦ Administrative Law
◦ This includes executive orders issued by the President, the regulations issued by governmental regulatory agencies,
and actions of administrative agencies that have the force of law.
◦ These are based upon statutory authority given to agencies that allow them to create more detailed rules that define
responsibilities and permissible actions in their regulatory areas of responsibility.
Purpose of the Law
◦ The purpose of the law is to establish standards that allow individuals to interact with the greatest
efficiency and the least amount of conflict. When conflicts or disputes occur, law provides a mechanism
for resolution that is predictable and peaceful
◦ The functions can be enumerated as follows:
◦ Keep the peace
◦ Shape moral standards
◦ Promote social justice
◦ Maintain the status quo
◦ Facilitate orderly change
◦ Facilitate planning
◦ Provide a basis for compromise
◦ Maximize individual freedom
Primary Sources of Philippine Law
◦ Statutes
◦ These are laws enacted by the Philippine Congress.
◦ Statues declare rights and duties or command or prohibit certain conduct.
◦ This includes any law passed by the national or local government.
◦ Case Law
◦ This is often referred to as jurisprudence.
◦ Judicial decisions applying or interpreting the laws or the constitution shall form part of the legal system of the
Philippines. (Art. 8, New Civil Code)
◦ Case law includes the law created by courts in the absence of enacted law but also the law created when courts
interpret or apply enacted law.
Legislative Power of the Executive
Branch
◦ The executive department is given delegated legislative power by the legislative branch. This power of
subordinate legislation is manifested by the issuance of implement rules and regulations.
◦ Local government units are also given delegated legislative power and this is manifested by the issuance
of ordinances.
Power of Subordinate Legislation of the
Executive
◦ Congress does not have the time and are not equipped to oversee the day-to-day running of the
government and implementation of the laws. Hence, the legislature delegate the task of administering the
laws to administrative agencies.
◦ When a law is enacted, the legislature includes enabling legislation that establishes and authorizes
administrative agencies to carry out the intent of the legislature. This enabling legislation usually
includes a grant of authority to creates rules and regulations necessary to carry out the law.
Precedence of Philippine Laws
◦ The Philippine Legal System is a civil law system.
◦ The Constitution is the highest law of the land. It is the supreme law of the land and all subordinate laws
must vow down to the Constitution.
◦ Not all laws are created equal, some laws are superior and some laws are inferior.
◦ The precedence and hierarchy of laws follow the sequence that it is created.
◦ Where there are conflicts of law, the Philippine Constitution is the supreme law of the land because it
was created first by sovereign people.
◦ The statues have next highest precedence, because they are created by Congress from the authority
derived from the Constitution.
◦ The statutes then take precedence over Implementing rules and regulations, which are written by
agencies in the Executive Branch the put the statute into force.
Doctrine of Hierarchy of Laws
◦
◦ Under the doctrine of hierarchy of laws, an implementing rules and regulations, being are ,ere
subordinate legislation, cannot supersede or negate a law passed by Congress. In the same way, a statute
cannot be contrary to the provisions of the Constitution.
Hierarchy of Laws in the Philippines
1987 Constitution
Statutes
Implementing Rules
and Regulations
Court Decisions
Civil Law System
◦ Civil law system is a legal system that has drawn inspiration largely from the Roman law heritage and
which, by giving precedence to written law, has resolutely opted for a systematic codification of its
general law.
◦ The Philippines mainly follows the Civil Law System.
Common Law System
◦ It is the body of law that develops and derives through judicial decisions as distinguished from legislative
enactments.
Examples of Common Law Doctrines
◦ Precedent
◦ An earlier court decision on an issue that applies to govern or guide a subsequent court in its determination of
identical or similar issues based upon identical or similar facts.
◦ Doctrine of Stare Decisis
◦ A court must follow a previous decisions of a higher court in the jurisdiction when the decision involves issues and
facts similar to those involved in the previous decision.
◦ This doctrine is being applied here in the Philippines.
Philippine Civil Law System with a
Common Law Touch
◦ The Philippines adopted the Civil Law System when it was under the influence of Spain. However, some
political laws were changed by the Americans and some aspects of the Common Law System were
incorporated in the Philippine Legal System in such a way that case laws are observed in judicial cases.
◦ The Philippines adhere to a uniform civil law system, but there is a touch of common law tradition.
◦ However, the application of case laws in the Philippines is different from the truly common law system
because the Civil Code provides t hat only judicial decisions applying or interpreting the laws or the
Constitution shall form part of the legal system of the Philippines.
◦ Common law is composed of the law created by the courts in 2 situations – when there is no law
governing a topic or through interpretation of enacted law where the meaning or application of the
enacted law is unclear.
Private Law and Public Law
◦ Private Law governs the relationships among individual citizens.
◦ Public Law governs the relationship between the state and the people.
Civil Law and Criminal Law
◦ Civil Law is a form of private law and governs the relationships between individual citizens. It governs
the issues that arise between parties over private rights.
◦ Criminal Law is an aspect of public law and relates to conduct which the State considers with
disapproval and which it seeks to control and/or eradicate.
Substantive Law
◦ Substantive Law creates and resolves the issue between the parties. These are legal standards that guide
conduct and that are applied to determine whether or not conduct was legally appropriate.
◦ It creates, defines, and regulates rights.
◦ It includes the rights and duties of citizens, and it provides the basis to resolve issues involving those
rights.
◦ Example – New Civil Code, Revised Penal Code
Procedural Law
◦ Law used to guide parties fairly and efficiently through the legal system such as it provides the time limit
for bringing a law suit, the manner of filing a complaint or petition, and the procedure at trial, among
others.
◦ It prescribes a method of enforcing rights or of obtaining redress for the invasion of rights.
◦ It mainly facilitates the movement of a lawsuit through the legal system.
◦ Examples – Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rules of Evidence
END

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INTRODUCTION TO

Legal Research 7:30-9:30

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