Condition sine qua non: Before the Ratio legis (Spirit of the law)

court may use its power to construe, there

- Moving away from the literal
must be ambiguity in the language of the
interpretation
statute. For where there is no ambiguity,
there is no room for construction, only for - Interpretation according to the
application. spirit of reason of the law
Verba legis (Plain meaning rule)

General rule: The intent of the legislature General rule: The spirit or intention of a
is found in the language of the statute. statute prevails over the letter of it.
- Where the statute is clear, plain Maxims:
and free from ambiguity, it must be given
its literal meaning and applied without ratio legis et anima legis (the
interpretation. reason of the law is its soul);

- Where the law speaks in clear
and categorical language, there is no
room for interpretation. There is only
room for application.
- Law cannot be changed under the
guise of interpretation.
Maxim:
index animi sermo est (speech is
the index of intention)
Verba legis non est
recedendum (from the words of a statute
there should be no departure)
Presumption: The words employed by the
legislature in a statute correctly express
its intention or will and preclude the court
from construing it differently.
Thus, what is not clearly provided
in the law cannot be extended to those
matters outside its scope
ratione cessat lex et cessat lex
(when the reason of the law ceases, the
law ceases)
Presumption: The letter of the law is its
body; the spirit (reason), the soul; and
the construction of the former should
never be so rigid and technical as to
destroy the latter.
Undesirable consequences were
never intended by a legislative measure.
What is within the spirit is within the
law:
• Don’t literally construe the law if it will
render it meaningless, lead to ambiguity,
injustice or contradiction
• The spirit of the law controls its letter
• Spirit or intention of a statute prevails
over the letter

Reasons: • A law should accordingly be so

construed as to be in accordance with,
- A statute, being the will of the
and not repugnant to, the spirit of the law
legislature, should be applied in exactly
the way the legislature has expressed
itself clearly in the law.

- The duty of the court is limited

to inquiring into the legislative intent and,
once this is determined, to making said
intent effective.
Intent or spirit of law

• It is the law itself. Doctrine of necessary implication

• Controlling factor, leading star and • So-called gaps in the law develop as the
guiding light in the application and law is enforced.
interpretation of a statute.
• StatCon rule: to fill in the gap is the
• A statute must be according to its spirit doctrine of necessary implication
or intent.
• Doctrine states that what is implied in a
• The courts cannot assume an intent in statute is as much a part thereof as that
no way expressed and then construe the which is expressed
statute to accomplish the supposed
• Ex necessitate legis – from the
intention; otherwise they would pass
necessity of the law
beyond the bounds of judicial power to
usurp legislative power. • Every statutory grant of power, right or
privilege is deemed to include all
incidental power, right or privilege
Construction according to the spirit:
• In eo quod plus sit, simper inest
A statute may therefore be et minus – greater includes the
extended to cases not within the literal lesser
meaning of its terms, so long as they
• Necessity:
come within its spirit or intent.
o includes such inferences as may
1. Construction to accomplish purpose
be logically be drawn from the purpose or
Statutes should be construed in the light
object of the statute, from what the
of the object to be achieved and the evil
legislature must be presumed to have
or mischief to be suppressed.80
intended, and from the necessity of
Construction which gives effect to the
making the statute effective and operative
evident purpose sough to be attained by
the enactment of the statute must be o excludes what is merely
followed. plausible, beneficial, or desirable
Hence, as between two statutory • must be consistent with the Constitution
interpretations, that which better serves or to existing laws
the purpose of the law should prevail.
• an implication which is violative of the
law is unjustified or unwarranted
Reason: Laws are not just mere
composition, but have ends to be achieved
and that the general purpose is a more
important aid to the meaning of a law
than any rule which grammar may lay
down.

When not used: cessante ratione legis,

cessar et ipsa lex (when the reason of the
law ceases, the law itself ceases)
CASUS OMISSUS (Case of Omission)
Casus omissus pro omisso habendus est.
- A person, object, or thing omitted
from an enumeration in a statute
must be held to have been omitted
intentionally.
This needs two laws. In expressio unius,
it’s just the enumeration you are looking
at, not another law.
This rule is not absolute if it can be
shown that the legislature did not intend
to exclude the person, thing or object
from the enumeration.
If such legislative intent is clearly
indicated, the COURT may supply the
omission if to do so will carry out the
intent of the legislature and will not do
violence to its language.
COA of the Province of Cebu v Province of
Cebu: This case is about the effects of a
new law on an old law. The Special
Education Fund (SEF) allowed the use of
part of the realty and cigarette taxes for
extension programs and scholarships.
When the Cebu provincial office used it to
pay for salaries of teachers and scholars,
COA said those were not chargeable to the
SEF since RA 5447, which created the
SEF, was deemed repealed by the Local
Govt Code. Because the two retained
sections in the LGC omitted the
scholarship grants, the court ruled that
what was omitted must have been omitted
intentionally, and so may not be included.
Stare decisis
Judicial decisions applying or
interpreting the laws or the Constitution
shall form part of the legal system of the
Philippines. (Art. 8, NCC)
Maxim: legis interpretato legis vim obtinet
(the authoritative interpretation of a
statute acquires the force of the law by
becoming a part thereof)
- As of the date of the date of
enactment
- Interpretation establishes the
contemporaneous legislative intent
stare decisis et non quieta movere
(one should follow past precedents and
should not disturb what has been settled.)
- When the Supreme Court has
once laid down a principle of law as
applicable to a certain state of facts, it will
adhere to that principle and apply to all
future cases where the facts are
substantially the same
- Assures certainty and stability in
the legal system
*The interpretation of a statute
remains to be part of the legal system
until the Supreme Court overrules it and
the new doctrine overruling the old is
applied prospectively in favour of parties
who relied on it in good faith.
*Judicial ruling cannot be given
retroactive effect if to do so will impair
vested rights and the parties relied on it in
good faith.
Maxim: lex prospicit, non respicit (the law
looks forward, not backward)
*Only Supreme Court sitting en
banc may modify or abandon an
established principle of law, not any
division (Sec. 4 Par. 3, Art. VIII)40
Exception: If the Court has stated in a
decision not a principle of law but a mere
obiter dictum (a thing said in passing), a
division may validly reject or disregard it.
*The Court has the duty to
formulate guiding and controlling
constitutional principles, precepts or
doctrines. The power to issue guidelines is
not judicial legislation, the Court merely
defines what the law is
*The court should interpret the law as a
whole
• Obiter dictum – opinion expressed by a
court upon some question of law which is
not necessary to the decision of the case
before it; not binding as a precedent
• The principle presupposes that the facts
of the precedent and the case to which it
is applied are substantially the same.
• Where the facts are dissimilar, then the
principle of stare decisis does not apply.
• The rule of stare decisis is not absolute.
It does not apply when there is a conflict
between the precedent and the law.
• The duty of the court is to forsake and
abandon any doctrine or rule found to be
in violation of law in force
• Inferior courts as well as the legislature
cannot abandon a precedent enunciated
by the SC except by way of repeal or
amendment of the law itself

• Judicial interpretation of a statute and is

of greater weight than that of an
executive or administrative officer in the
construction of other statutes of similar
import.

• It is an invaluable aid in the construction

or interpretation of statutes of doubtful
meaning.

• Supreme Court has the constitutional

duty not only of interpreting and applying
the law in accordance with prior doctrines
but also of protecting society from the
improvidence and wantonness wrought by
needless upheavals in such interpretations
and applications

• In order that it will come within the

doctrine of stare decisis, must be
categorically stated on an issue expressly
raised by the parties; it must be a direct
ruling, not merely an obiter dictum