Introduction to Law

Introduction to Law

• Law is a rule of action or a system of uniformity in its broadest sense

General Divisions of Law

• Law has 2 divisions: with the strict legal sense, or a non-legal sense
• Law with strict legal sense is promulgated and enforced by the state: State Law
• Law in the non-legal sense isn't promulgated/enforced by the state, and includes divine, natural, moral, and physical law

Subjects of Law

• State, divine, natural, and moral law apply to men as rational beings as a rule of action
• Physical law applies to all things, including men, regardless of willpower/intelligence, only called law figuratively

Divine Law

• Divine law is law of religion/faith, deals with sin and salvation
• God formally promulgates/reveals divine law to mankind
• Divine law's sanction are rewards/punishments in this life or the afterlife

Natural Law

• Natural law is man's divine inspiration of justice, fairness, and righteousness based on internal reason
• Natural law is present and binding on all people always with a fundamental understanding of good and evil
• Natural law is impressed in man as the core of his higher self
• Divine law becomes known through direct revelation

Moral Law

• Moral law constitutes the norms of right/good conduct from a community's collective sense of right and wrong
• Moral law lacks definite legal sanction, only approval/disapproval from the group
• Moral law isn't absolute and varies and can even influence state law

Physical Law

• Physical law consists of uniformities of actions/sequences in physical phenomena, like gravity or chemical combinations

State Law

• State law, or positive law, municipal law, civil law or imperative law, is promulgated and enforced by the state
• Only state law is enforced by the state, with physical force if needed
• State law in its general sense comprises all laws, governing relations of persons in society
• State law in specific sense is a just, obligatory rule of conduct, promulgated by legitimate authority, and of common observance and benefit

Characteristics of State Law

• State Law acts as a rule of conduct, and tells what shall/shan't be done
• State Law is obligatory and involves a duty to obey and sanction to enforce it
• Has to be promulgated by legitimate authority, such as the legislature in the Philippines
• State Law must be of common observance and benefit all.

Significance of Law

• Internal order is as important as external defense in any society
• Law secures justice, resolves conflict, orders society, protects interests and controls social relations
• Citizens should understand and observe law to ensure the common good

Sources of Law

• Constitution: Written instrument establishing, limiting, and defining government powers and distributing them among departments
• Legislation: Declaration of legal rules by a competent authority; includes acts (statute law) and local ordinances
• Administrative Orders: Issued by administrative officials under legislative authority and valid if consistent with laws/constitution
• Judicial decisions: The courts decisions, especially the Supreme Court, interpreting laws/Constitution and binding on subordinate courts (stare decisis)
• Custom: Long, uninterrupted habits/practices acknowledged/approved by society as binding rules when recognized/enforced by the state
• Other sources: Justice/equity principles, foreign decisions, textwriter opinions, and religion are supplementary and not binding

Organization of Courts

• Regular courts: A hierarchy in the Philippine judicial system with the Supreme Court at the top
• Court of Appeals
• Regional Trial Courts
• Metropolitan Trial Courts
• Municipal Circuit Trial Courts
• The Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, and the Regional Trial Courts are considered courts of general or superior jurisdiction
• Special Courts: Anti-graft court (Sandiganbayan) and Court of Tax Appeals within the judicial hierarchy
• Quasi-judicial agencies: Administrative bodies in the executive branch performing quasi-judicial functions; examples include:
• National Labor Relations Commission
• Securities and Exchange Commission
• Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board
• Insurance Commission
• Independent Constitutional Commissions: Civil Service Commission, Commission on Elections, Commission on Audit are not part of the integrated system, but are quasi-judicial as well

Classifications of Law

• According to purpose:
• Substantive law: Creates/defines rights/duties, either public or private (e.g., Law on Obligations and Contracts)
• Adjective/Remedial/Procedural Law: Prescribes the manner of enforcing rights or redressing violations
• According to subject matter:
• Public law: Regulates rights/duties arising from the relationship between the state and people (e.g., criminal, international, constitutional, administrative law)
• Private law: Regulates relations of individuals for private ends (e.g., law on obligations and contracts, civil, commercial, mercantile law)

Law on Obligations and Contracts

• The body of rules deals with the nature and sources of obligations and the rights and duties arising from agreements and contracts

Civil Code of the Philippines

• Republic Act 386 contains the law on obligations and contracts, which is divided into four books
• Book IV specifically addresses obligations and contracts

Meaning of Obligation

• Obligation originates from the Latin "obligatio," which means "lying" or "binding"
• Obligation is a legally recognized tie that binds someone to render something to another, like doing or not doing something
• Article 1156 of the Civil Code defines obligation as a juridical necessity to give, to do, or not to do

Meaning of Juridical Necessity

• Obligation's juridical necessity means courts can enforce fulfillment if not complied with, or demand its economic value

Essential Requisites of an Obligation

• Passive subject (debtor/obligor): Person bound to fulfill the obligation and has a duty
• Active subject (creditor/obligee): Person entitled to demand fulfillment and has a right
• Object/Prestation: Conduct required of the debtor, consisting of giving, doing, or not doing something
• Juridical/Legal Tie: The binding element connecting the parties to the obligation

Forms of Obligations

• An obligation can be manifested or incurred
• Oral
• In writing
• Party oral and partly in writing

Difference Between Obligation, Right, and Wrong

• Obligation is the act/performance enforceable by law
• Right is the legal power to demand a prestation from another
• Wrong is violating another's legal rights, also termed injury

Kinds of Obligations

• Real obligation(obligation to give): Subject matter is a thing the obligor must deliver to the obligee
• Personal obligation(obligation to do or not to do): Subject matter is an act to be done or not done
• Positive personal obligation is to do or render service
• Negative personal obligation is obligation not to do or not to give

Sources of Obligations

• Law: Obligations imposed by law itself (e.g., paying taxes or family support); must be clearly set forth
• Contracts: Obligations arising from parties stipulations in agreements, presumed valid and enforceable
• Quasi-contracts: Obligations arising from lawful, voluntary, unilateral acts to prevent unjust enrichment
• Crimes/Acts Punished by Law: Obligations arising from civil liability resulting from criminal offenses
• Quasi-delicts/Torts: Obligations arising from damage caused by fault/negligence without a pre-existing contract

Kinds of Quasi-Contracts

• Negotiorum Gestio: The voluntary management of property/affairs of another without their knowledge/consent
• Solutio Indebiti: Juridical relation created when something is received without the right to demand it, unduly delivered through mistake

Civil Liability Due to Crimes

• Restitution: Returning the object of the crime
• Reparation: Paying for caused damages
• Indemnification: Compensation for consequential damages

Requisites for Quasi-Delict Liability

• There must be an act or omission
• Fault or negligence exists
• Damage must be caused
• A direct cause-and-effect relation between act/omission and damage is present
• There is absence of pre-existing contractual relation between the parties