LEGAL RESEARCH

SOURCES AND
CLASSIFICATION
OF LAW

TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED
A. Sources of Law
B. Classification of Law
C. Structure of Government

1. Executive Department
2. Legislative Department
3. Judicial Department

SOURCES OF LAW
The Philippine legal system may be considered as

unique legal system because it is a blend of civil law

-Roman- , common law Anglo American- , muslim
-Islamic- law and indigenous law. However, like
other legal systems, there are two main sources of
law;

1. Statues or Statutory Law

2. Jurisprudence or Case Law

STATUTES OR
STATUTORY LAW

Statutes or Statutory Law

Statutes or Statutory Law

Legislative Enactments

JURISPRUDENCE OR
CASE LAW

JURISPRUDENCE OR CASE LAW

SUPREME COURT

JURISPRUDENCE OR CASE LAW

THE TRIBUNALS

MUSLIM LAW

MUSLIM LAW
QURAN

SUNNAH

IJMA

CLASSIFICATION OF
LAW

Classification of Law
Classification

1. Substantive Law
2. Procedural Law

General Classification

1. Natural Law
2. Positive Law

Under Natural Law

1. Physical Law
2. Moral Law
3. Divine Law

SUBSTANSIVE VS PROCEDURAL
SUBSTANSIVE LAW

PROCEDURAL LAW

A substantive law creates, defines or regulates

rights concerning life, liberty or property, or the

powers of agencies or instrumentalities for the
administration of public affairs, whereas rules of
procedure are provisions prescribing the method
by which substantive rights may be enforced in
courts of justice.

A procedural law, on the

other hand, is a law that

creates and controls the
process of enforcing the
rights and duties under
substantive law.

GR L-6120 Primicias v. Ocampo

SUBSTANSIVE VS PROCEDURAL

CRIMINAL LAW VS CIVIL LAW

CRIMINAL LAW
Criminal law, on the other

hand, is the law of public

rights and duties; put another
way, it is the law that creates
and controls wrongs committed
against the whole community.
Criminal law violations are
called crimes. Specific
examples include laws against
assault, burglary, and robbery .

CIVIL LAW
Civil law is the law of

private rights and duties. A

specific example of a civil
law is a law providing that all
contracts for the sale of real
property must be in writing.
any violation of it is a wrong
between the parties, not a
wrong against the whole
community.

CRIMINAL LAW VS CIVIL LAW

GOVERNMENT
STRUCTURES

EXECUTIVE
DEPARTMENT

EXECUTIVE POWER
HEAD OF STATE

EXECUTIVE POWER
Commander-in-Chief of the AFP

OTHER MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

Department of Agrarian
Reform

Department of Agriculture

OTHER MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

Department of Budget and

Management

Department of Education

OTHER MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

Department of Energy

Department of Environment
and Natural Resources

OTHER MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

Department of Finance

Department of Foreign
Affairs

OTHER MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

Department of Health

Department of Interior
and Local Government

OTHER MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

Department of Justice

Department of Labor and

Employment

OTHER MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

Department of National
Defense

Department of Public
Works and Highways

OTHER MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

Department of Science
and Technology

Department of Tourism

OTHER MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

Department of Social
Welfare and Development

Department of Trade and

Industry

OTHER MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

Department of Transportation
and Communication

National Economic and

Development Authority

LEGISLATIVE
DEPARTMENT

oComposed of not more

than 250 members.

oFor a term of 6 years
oNo term of more than 3

consecutive years
o20 percent shall come

from partylist
representatives from
national, regional and
sectional parties.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

oComposed of 24

senators.
oTerm of not more than

six years.

SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES

Lead by:
Senate
President
Pro Tempore
Majority
Leader
Minority
Leader
36 Permanent
committees.

5 oversight
committees.

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Senate Electoral
Tribunal (SET)

9 members

3 Justices of
The Supreme
Court
6 members of
the Senate.

JUDICIAL
DEPARTMENT

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT
JUDICIAL POWER RESTS WITH THE SUPREME COURT
AND THE LOWER COURTS, AS ESTABLISHED BY LAW
(A RT. VIII, SEC . 1 OF T H E 198 7 CONST IT UT ION). IT S
DUTY IS TO SETTLE ACTUAL CONTROVERSIES
INVOLVING RIGHTS WHICH ARE LEGALLY DEMANDABLE
AND ENFORCEABL E (ART. VIII SEC. 1 (2 )).

HISTORY OF
THE
JUDICIARY
The royal audencia was established
on May 5, 1583, composed of a
president, four oidores (justices)
and a fiscal. The audencia
exercised both administrative and
judicial functions. Its functions and
structure were modified in 1815
when a chief justice replaced its
president and the number of justices
was increased. It came to be known
as the Audencia Territorial de
Manila with two branches, civil
and criminal. A royal decree
issued on July 24, 1861 converted
it to a purely judicial body with its
decisions appealable to the Court
of Spain in Madrid. A territorial
audencia in Cebu, and audencia for
criminal cases in Vigan were
organized on February 26, 1898.

Philippine Revolution and First Republic

In the three phases of the revolution: 1896-1897; 1898; 1899-1901,
the exigencies of war prevented the thorough organization of the
administration of justice. Katipunan councils, then the provisional
governments of Tejeros, Biak-na-Bato, and the Revolutionary
Republic proclaimed in Kawit, essentially had General Emilio
Aguinaldo exercising decree-making powers instituting ad hoc
courts and reviewing any appeals concerning their decisions.
In 1899, when the Malolos Constitution was ratified, it provided
for a Supreme Court of Justice. President Aguinaldo proposed the
appointment of Apolinario Mabini as Chief Justice, but the
appointment and the convening of the Supreme Court of Justice
never materialized because of the Philippine-American War.

American military rule

During the Philippine-American War, General Wesley
Merrit suspended the audencias when a military
government was established after Manila fell to American
forces in August, 1898. Major General Elwell S. Otis reestablished the Audencia on May 29, 1899 by virtue of
General Order No. 20, which provided for six Filipino
members of the audencia.

Establishment of the
Supreme Court
With the establishment
of civil government,
Act No. 136 of the
Philippine Commission
abolished the audencia
and established the
present Supreme Court
on June 11, 1901, with
Cayetano Arellano as
the first chief justice
together with associate
justicesthe majority
of whom were
Americans.

Commonwealth: Filipinization of the Supreme Court

With the ratification of the 1935 Constitution, the

membership was increased to 11 with two divisions of five
members each. The Supreme Court was Filipinized upon
the inauguration of the Commonwealth of the Philippines
on November 15, 1935. The composition of the court was
reduced by virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 3. It
provided for a Supreme Court, headed by a chief justice
with six associate justices.

World War II and the Third Republic

During World War II, the National Assembly passed legislation granting emergency
powers to President Manuel L. Quezon; Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos was made
concurrent Secretary of Justice and acting President of the Philippines in unoccupied
areas. After his capture and execution at the hands of the Japanese, the
Commonwealth government-in-exile had no system of courts.
Meanwhile, the Japanese organized the Philippine Executive Commission in
occupied areas on January 8, 1942, which gave way to the Second Republic in
October 14, 1943. By the end of World War II, the regular function of the courts
had been restored, beginning with the appointment of a new Supreme Court on June
6, 1945. On September 17, 1945, the laws of the Second Republic were declared
null and void; a Supreme Court decision on Co Kim Cham v. Eusebio Valdez Tan
Keh and Arsenio P. Dizon recognized this.

Martial law
The Supreme Court was
retained during the martial law
years under rules similar to the
1935 Constitution, but with the
exception few key factors, e.g.:
The 1973 Constitution further
increased the membership of
the Supreme Court to 15, with
two divisions;
The process by which a chief
justice and associate justices
are appointed was changed
under to grant the president
(Ferdinand Marcos during this
time) the sole authority to
appoint members of the
Supreme Court. There were
five chief justices that were
appointed under this provision.

SUPREME
COURT OF THE
PHILIPPINES
Currently led by
Chief Justice Maria
Lourdes Sereno
Appointed on August
24, 2012
Set to retire in year
2030
Mandatory retirement
upon reaching 70
years of age

SUPREME
COURT OF THE
PHILIPPINES
14 Justices of the Supreme
Court
Justice Presbitero J. Velasco, Jr.
Justice Antonio T. Carpio
Justice Teresita J. Leonardo-De
Castro
Justice Arturo D. Brion
Justice Diosdado M. Peralta
Justice Lucas P. Bersamin
Justice Mariano C. Del Castillo
Justice Jose P. Perez
Justice Jose C. Mendoza
Justice Bienvenido L. Reyes
Justice Estela M. Perlas-Bernabe
Justice Marvic Mario Victor F.
Leonen
Justice Francis H. Jardeleza
Justice Alfredo Benjamin S.
Caguioa

FUNCTIONS OF THE JUDICIARY

Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies
involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine
whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess
of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the Government.
Administrative Power - (5) Promulgate rules concerning the protection and
enforcement of constitutional rights, pleading, practice, and procedure in all courts, the
admission to the practice of law, the Integrated Bar, and legal assistance to the
underprivileged. Such rules shall provide a simplified and inexpensive procedure for
the speedy disposition of cases, shall be uniform for all courts of the same grade, and
shall not diminish, increase, or modify substantive rights. Rules of procedure of special
courts and quasi-judicial bodies shall remain effective unless disapproved by the
Supreme Court.
(6) Appoint all officials and employees of the Judiciary in accordance with the
Civil Service Law.
ARTICLE 8 SECTION 1, 1987 Philippine Constitution
ARTICLE 8 SECTION 5 and 6, 1987 Philippine Constitution

FUNCTIONS OF THE JUDICIARY

The Supreme Court shall have the following powers:
(1) Exercise original jurisdiction over cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and over
petitions for certiorari, prohibition, mandamus, quo warranto, and habeas corpus.
(2) Review, revise, reverse, modify, or affirm on appeal or certiorari, as the law or the Rules of Court may provide,
final judgments and orders of lower courts in:
(a) All cases in which the constitutionality or validity of any treaty, international or executive agreement, law,
presidential decree, proclamation, order, instruction, ordinance, or regulation is in question.
(b) All cases involving the legality of any tax, impost, assessment, or toll, or any penalty imposed in relation
thereto.
(c) All cases in which the jurisdiction of any lower court is in issue.
(d) All criminal cases in which the penalty imposed is reclusion perpetua or higher.
(e) All cases in which only an error or question of law is involved.
(3) Assign temporarily judges of lower courts to other stations as public interest may require. Such temporary
assignment shall not exceed six months without the consent of the judge concerned.
(4) Order a change of venue or place of trial to avoid a miscarriage of justice.
(5) Promulgate rules concerning the protection and enforcement of constitutional rights, pleading, practice, and
procedure in all courts, the admission to the practice of law, the Integrated Bar, and legal assistance to the
underprivileged. Such rules shall provide a simplified and inexpensive procedure for the speedy disposition of cases,
shall be uniform for all courts of the same grade, and shall not diminish, increase, or modify substantive rights. Rules
of procedure of special courts and quasi-judicial bodies shall remain effective unless disapproved by the Supreme
Court.
(6) Appoint all officials and employees of the Judiciary in accordance with the Civil Service Law.
ARTICLE 8 SECTION 5, 1987 Philippine Constitution

SUPREME COURT OF THE PHILIPPINES

COURT OF APPEALS
The Court of Appeals is the second
highest tribunal in the country, which
was established on February 1, 1936 by
virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 3. The
current form of the Court of Appeals was
constituted through Batas Pambansa Blg.
129, as amended by Executive Order No.
33, s. 1986, Republic Act No. 7902, and
Republic Act No. 8246.
The jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals
are as follows:
Original jurisdiction to issue writs of
mandamus, prohibition,
certiorari, habeas corpus, and
quo warranto, and auxiliary
writs or processes, whether or
not in aid of its appellate
jurisdiction;
Exclusive original jurisdiction over
actions for annulment of
judgments of Regional Trial
Courts; and
Exclusive appellate jurisdiction over
all final judgments, resolutions,
orders or awards of Regional
Trial Courts and quasi-judicial
agencies, instrumentalities,
boards or commission.

COURT OF APPEALS
The Court of Appeals shall also have the power to try cases and conduct hearings,
receive evidence and perform acts necessary to resolve factual issues raised in
cases falling within its original and appellate jurisdiction, including the power to
grant and conduct new trials or proceedings. Composed of one presiding justice
and 68 associate justices.
The Court of Appeals is composed of one presiding justice and 68 associate
justices, all of which are appointed by the President from a shortlist submitted by
the Judicial and Bar Council. The associate justices shall have precedence
according to the dates (or order, in case of similar appointment dates) of their
respective appointments. The qualifications for the justices of the Supreme Court
also apply to members of the Court of Appeals.
The current presiding justice of the Court of Appeals is Andres Reyes Jr., who is
set to retire on May 11, 2020.

COURT OF TAX APPEALS

The Court of Tax Appeals
(CTA), which is of the same
level as the Court of
Appeals, was created by
virtue of Republic Act No.
1125, which was signed into
law on June 16, 1954. Its
present-day form was
constituted through RA
1125, as amended by
Republic Act No. 9282
and Republic Act No. 9503.
Composed of one presiding
justice and 8 associate
justices.
The Court of Tax Appeals
has jurisdiction over cases
involving taxation whether
involving criminal offenses
or not.

SANDIGANBAYAN
To attain the highest norms of
official conduct among officials
and employees in the
government, the creation of a
special graft court to be known as
the Sandiganbayan was provided
for in Article XIII, Section 5 of
the 1973 Constitution. This court
was formally established
through Presidential Decree No.
1606, which was signed into law
on December 10, 1978.
Through Article XI
(Accountability of Public
Officers), Section 4 of the 1987
Constitution, the Sandiganbayan
was carried over to the postEDSA Revolution republic. The
current form of the
SANDIGANBAYAN was
constituted through PD 1606, s.
1978, as amended by Republic
Act No. 7975 and Republic Act
No. 8245.

SANDIGANBAYAN
SANDIGANBAYAN handles
cases in violation of Republic
Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and
Corrupt practices act and serves
as and appellate court over final
judgments, resolution, or orders
of regional trial courts whether
in the exercise of their own
original jurisdiction or of their
appellate jurisdiction.
In case private individuals are
charged as co-principals,
accomplices or accessories with
the public officers or
employees, including those
employed in government-owned
or controlled corporations, they
shall be tried jointly with said
public officers and employees in
the proper courts which shall
exercise exclusive jurisdiction
over them.