Introduction to Law

Introduction to Law

• Law is any rule of action or system of uniformity.

General Divisions of Law

• Law is divided into two groups:
  • Law in the strict legal sense, which the state promulgates and enforces (State Law).
  • Law in the non-legal sense, which the state does not enforce, such as divine, natural, moral, and physical law.

Subjects of Law

• State, divine, natural, and moral law apply to men as rational beings.
• Physical law operates on all things regardless of willpower and intelligence, metaphorically referred to as law.

Divine Law

• Divine law is the law of religion and faith, concerning sin and salvation.
• God formally promulgates divine law through direct revelation to mankind.
• Divine law's sanction involves assurances of rewards and punishments in this life or the afterlife.

Natural Law

• Natural Law is defined as man's divine inspiration of justice, fairness, and righteousness, derived not through divine revelation but through internal reason.
• Natural law is ever-present, binding on all people, based on an understanding of good and evil inherent in human conscience.
• One knows from their heart what is right and wrong.
• Natural law is impressed as the core of one's higher self, while divine law is conveyed through direct revelation.
• Natural law serves as the basis for state law.

Moral Law

• Moral law constitutes a community's norms of right and good conduct, based on collective beliefs.
• Violation of moral law has no legal sanction, only group approval or disapproval.
• Moral law is not absolute, changing with time, conditions, or convictions.
• Moral law significantly influences or shapes state law.

Physical Law

• Physical law constitutes uniformities of actions and sequences observed in physical phenomena, such as gravitation and chemical combination.

State Law (Law)

• State law, also known as positive law, municipal law, civil law, or imperative law, is promulgated and enforced by the state.
• In general state law is meant to govern the relations of persons in society.
• Only state law is enforced by the state, possibly using physical force.
• State law is a rule of conduct that is just, obligatory, and of common observance and benefit, promulgated by legitimate authority.

Characteristics of State Law

• State law dictates what should and should not be done.
• State law is a command that imposes an obligation to obey, with sanctions for disobedience.
• Legitimate authority promulgates state law:
  • For example, the legislature (e.g., Congress) in the Philippines.
  • Local governments can enact binding ordinances.
• State law must be observed by all for the common good.

Necessity of Law

• Internal order is as vital to society as external defense.
• A society needs both internal order and external defense to remain stable.

Functions of Law

• Law secures justice, resolves conflicts, orders society, protects interests, and controls social relations.

Citizens' Duty

• Citizens should have some understanding of the law and observe it for the common good due to its necessity.

Sources of Law

• Constitution: It establishes, limits, and defines the fundamental powers of government, distributing these powers for the people's benefit.
• Legislation: Legal rules declared by a competent authority, including acts passed by the legislature (statute law) and local ordinances.
• Administrative Orders: Orders, regulations, and rulings issued by administrative officials under legislative authority, valid only if consistent with laws and the constitution.
• Judicial Decisions/Jurisprudence: Court decisions, especially by the Supreme Court, interpreting laws or the Constitution, forming part of the legal system; superior court decisions bind subordinate courts (stare decisis).
• Custom: Long-standing habits and practices acknowledged and approved by society as binding rules with the force of law when recognized and enforced by the state.
• Other Sources: Principles of justice, equity, decisions of foreign tribunals, textwriters' opinions, and religion are supplementary and not binding.

Organization of Courts

• Regular Courts: The Philippine judicial system has a hierarchy resembling a pyramid with the Supreme Court at the apex.
  • Includes the Court of Appeals, Regional Trial Courts, and Metropolitan/Municipal/Circuit Trial Courts.
• The Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Regional Trial Courts have general or superior jurisdiction.
• Special Courts:
  • The Sandiganbayan is a special anti-graft court under the Constitution.
  • The Court of Tax Appeals is a special tax court.
• Quasi-judicial Agencies: Administrative bodies under the executive branch perform quasi-judicial functions. e.g., National Labor Relations Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, and Insurance Commission.
• The Civil Service Commission, Commission on Elections, and Commission on Audit are independent Constitutional Commissions, that are not part of the integrated judicial system.
• "Quasi-judicial" functions involve settling or adjudicating controversies or disputes.

Classifications of Law by Purpose

• Substantive Law: Defines rights and duties, whether public or private. An example is the Law on Obligations and Contracts.
• Adjective Law: Prescribes the manner of enforcing rights or redressing violations, also known as remedial or procedural law.

Classifications of Law by Subject Matter

• Public Law: Legal rules governing the rights and duties arising from the relationship between the state and its people (e.g., criminal, international, constitutional, administrative law, and criminal procedure).
• Private Law: Rules regulating relations between individuals for private ends (e.g., law on obligations and contracts, civil, commercial/mercantile law, and civil procedure).

Law on Obligations and Contracts

• Comprises rules dealing with the nature and sources of obligations, and the rights and duties from agreements and contracts.

Civil Code of the Philippines

• The law resides in RA 386, the Civil Code, divided into four books.
• Book IV of the Civil Code deals with obligations and contracts.

Obligations - Meaning

• The term "obligation" comes from the Latin word "obligatio," denoting "lying" or "binding".
• It is a legally recognized tie binding one party to render something to another, potentially involving giving, doing, or not doing something.

Civil Code Definition of Obligation

• Article 1156 defines an obligation as a juridical necessity to give, to do, or not to do.

Meaning of Juridical Necessity

• Obligation is a juridical necessity because the courts can enforce fulfillment if there is noncompliance, or to ensure economic value.

Essential Requisites of an Obligation

• Passive subject (debtor/obligor): The one bound to fulfill the obligation, with a duty.
• Active subject (creditor/obligee): The one entitled to demand fulfillment, with a right.
• Object/Prestation: The conduct required of the debtor (giving, doing, or not doing), without which the obligation cannot be performed.
• Juridical/Legal Tie: The binding element connecting the parties to the obligation.
  • Ex. Under a contract, Engr. X is obliged to design and install a CCTV system for Mr. Y for Php 30,000. Passive subject - Engr. X Active subject - Mr. Y Object or prestation - design and installation of a CCTV system Juridical or legal tie - agreement or contract

Forms of Obligations

• The form is how an obligation is manifested or incurred.
  • Oral
  • In writing
  • Partly oral and partly in writing

Obligation, Right, and Wrong

• Obligation is the act or performance enforced by law.
• Right is the legal power to demand a prestation from another.
• Wrong is a violation of another's legal rights, also called an injury.
• An obligation requires a corresponding right, and a wrong emerges at the moment a right is transgressed.
  • Ex. If Mr. Y has the right to a designed and installed CCTV system by Engr. X, Engineer X has the obligation to deliver on the contact created.
  • If the contract is broken, this can give rise to action for the enforcment of his right and the indemnity for the loss or damages.

Kinds of Obligation By Subject Matter

• Real Obligation: (obligation to give), subject matter is a thing that the obligor must deliver.
  • Mr. X (supplier) is bound to deliver a machine to Engr. Y (buyer).
• Personal Obligation: (obligation to do or not to do), where the subject matter is an act to be done or not done.
  • It has two types
    • Positive personal obligation: obligation to do or render service.
      • Ex. Engr. X binds himself to repair the machine of Ms. Y.
    • Negative personal obligation: obligation not to do or give.
      • Ex. Engr. X obliges himself not to build a wall on a certain portion of his lot in favor of Ms. Y who is entitled to a right of way over said lot.

Sources of Obligations

• Law: Obligations imposed by law (e.g., paying taxes, supporting one's family).
  • They are not presumed and must be clearly defined to be demandable.
• Contracts: Obligations arising from the stipulation of the parties (e.g., repaying a loan).
  • A contract arises from the meeting of minds between two parties.
  • Voluntary contracts are presumed valid and enforceable.
• Quasi-contracts: Obligations arising from lawful, voluntary, and unilateral acts to prevent unjust enrichment. (e.g., returning money paid by mistake).
  • Quasi-contract is a juridical relation resulting from lawful, voluntary and unilateral acts.

Kinds of Quasi-Contracts

• Negotiorum gestio: Voluntary management of another's property without their knowledge or consent,.
  • Ex. X went to Baguio. A neighbour saved the house saving it from a fire and had incurred costs. X has the obligation to reimburse Y for expenses because of the quasi-contact principle.
• Solutio indebiti: Juridical relation created when something is received without the right to demand it, delivered through mistake.
• The requisites are: - No right to receive the delivery - Delivery took place through mistake
  • If D gives T money to give to C, it needs to be returned. If D paid $2000 instead of $1000, the $1000 must be returned.
• Quasi-contractual obligations arise from contracts implied by law.
• Crimes/Acts Punished by Law: Obligations from civil liability as a consequence of a criminal offense (e.g., a thief returning stolen goods or a murderer compensating the victim's heirs).
• Often, crimes cause not only moral evil but also material damage with the rule that every person criminally liable is also civilly liable for damages.
• Some crimes cause no material damage with no civil liability to be enforced. However, failure to pay any debt, causing damage to property, with negligence means they may be civilly liable .
• Civil liability extent is determined by the Revised Penal Code and the Civil Code.
  • It includes:
    • Restitution
    • Reparation for damages
    • Indemnification for consequential damages
    • Ex. If X is guilty of stealing Y's car, X will be guilty of returning it, or paying its value of lost plus any damages.
• Quasi-delicts/Torts: Obligations arising from damage caused by fault or negligence without a pre-existing contractual relationship.
  • For instance, the obligation of a family head to pay for damages caused by things falling from their building or the possessor of an animal to pay for damages it caused. A quasi-delict is an act or omission that causes damage.

Requisites for Quasi-Delict Liability

• Act or omission must occur

• Must be fault or negligence

• Damage needs to be caused

• Direct link between action/omission and damage must exist

• No pre-existing contractual relationship

  • If X plays softball and breaks his neighbours window, he is liable due to negligence.

• There are only two sources of Obligations - Law and contracts

  • Because obligations via quasi-contracts, delicts. and quasi-delicts are imposed by law.