Philippine Legal System: Civil & Common Law

Philippine Legal System as 'Mestizo'

• The Philippine legal system is rooted in Philippine, Spanish, and American cultural norms, traditions, and heritage.
• The system blends various traditions due to the country's colonization by Spain and America.
• The French civil law tradition was transplanted from the Spanish.

Civil Law Tradition

• Rules are established by elected legislators following constitutional guidelines.
• According to the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the Philippines functions as a democratic and republican State with sovereignty residing in the people.
• The supreme power rests with the people.

Common Law Tradition

• Transplanted from the U.S., adapted from England's Laws.
• Common law is judge-made, based on fairness and justice in individual cases.
• The Philippines predominantly follows civil law, but legislators may incorporate common law principles.

Hierarchy and Sources of Law

• Laws are organized by applicability and hierarchy.
• Any legislation must align with higher-ranking laws.

The Constitution

• The 1987 Philippine Constitution is the supreme law.
• Any conflicting laws or issuances are invalidated.
• An example cited is laws imposing the death penalty which could be deemed void by violating the right to life.

Statutes, Presidential Decrees, Treaties & General Principles of Internal Law

• Statutes refer to laws enacted by Congress through its legislative authority.
• Certain Presidential Decrees from the Marcos era remain valid if consistent with the Constitution.
• Treaties are agreements between two or more states.
• If the Senate concurs, a treaty becomes part of the law.
• General principles of international law and customary law are equally enforceable.

Administrative Issuances

• Government agencies issue these when exercising rule-making powers.
• Certain agencies possess implementing rule-making powers.
• Administrative issuances that conflict with the law or the constitution are void.

Local Government Ordinances

• Local Government Units (LGUs) create ordinances that CANNOT violate national laws.

Supreme Court Decisions

• Interpretations of laws by the Supreme Court become part of the law.

Medical Jurisprudence

• Deals with Supreme Court decisions related to legal disputes involving medical concepts.
• It's a collection of decided cases involving medical practice issues.
• Jurisprudence is derived from the Latin term juris prudentia, study of law.

Personhood

• Philippine law recognises two types of persons: natural and juridical.
• Natural persons include those who are considered human beings.
• Juridical persons are created by law, like corporations and partnerships.

Natural Person

• According to the Civil Code, birth determines personality, and conceived children are considered born for favorable matters.
• Rights are granted at birth.

Civil Code, Article 41

• A fetus is considered born if it is alive when completely delivered.
• A conceived child CAN inherit, provided that it is born alive.

Theory of Conception

• A key question concerns when life begins: at fertilization, implantation, or viability?
• The Constitution protects the unborn from conception.

Legitimacy of a Child

• A legitimate child is born to married parents, while those born out of wedlock are illegitimate.
• Legitimacy is generally presumed.

Grounds for Impugning Legitimacy

• As per the Family Code, legitimacy can only be challenged if it was physically impossible for the husband to have had sexual intercourse with his wife during the first 120 days of the 300 days before the child's birth.

Conception During Marriage

• According to the Family Code if a marriage is terminated with the mother remarrying within 300 days;
• A child is born less than 180 days after the second marriage; provided it is within 300 days of the first marriage's end, it is considered a child of the first marriage.
• If born 180 days after the second, it is a child of the second.

Marriage

• Marriage is viewed as a special contract between a man and a woman for establishing conjugal and family life.
• Only unions between a man and a woman are legally recognised, excluding LGBTQIA+ relationships.

Annulment

• The Family Code outlines reasons for annulment such as:
• Lack of parental consent for those 18-20 years of age
• Unsound mind
• Fraud
• Force
• Intimidation
• Undue influence
• Physical incapacity
• Sexually transmissible disease

Fraud

• As per the Family Code it constitutes
• Non-disclosure of prior crimes
• Concealed pregnancy by another man
• Concealed STD
• Concealed addiction, alcoholism, or homosexuality

Sex and Gender

• Silverio v. Republic: Gender affirmation surgery is NOT a valid ground for legal change of sex.
• Republic v. Cagandahan: Intersex individuals should determine their gender.

Death

• According to the Organ Donation Act, death is defined as irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions or brain function.
• Two types: cardiopulmonary and neurological.

Presumption of Death

• After seven years absence, a person is presumed dead except for succession purposes
• Succession requires ten years of absence, or five if the person was over 75.

Extraordinary Circumstances

• Someone missing for four years under circumstances is proclaimed dead
• This applies to persons on vessels lost at sea, missing airplanes, or in the armed forces.

Obligations and Contracts

• Obligation: juridical necessity to give, to do, or NOT to do.
• Obligations arise from: law, contracts, quasi-contracts, acts/omissions punished by law, and quasi-delicts.

Quasi-Contracts

• Lawful, voluntary, unilateral acts prevent unjust enrichment.

Quasi-Delicts

• One must pay for damages caused to another.

Criminal Law

• A branch defining crimes and providing punishment.
• A crime violates a public law.

Stages of Execution

• Key concept in criminal law, determining appropriate penalty.

Stages

• Consummated: all elements present.
• Frustrated: all acts performed, but the felony isn't produced due to independent causes.
• Attempted: Starts commission but doesn't complete it.

Justifying Circumstances

• Actions in accordance with the law.

Article 11. Justifying Circumstances

• Self-defense:
  • Unlawful aggression.
  • Reasonable necessity.
  • Lack of sufficient provocation.

Battered Wife Syndrome

• Cycle of abuse accepted as self-defense, even NOT during acute battering.
• Battering cycle: tension-building, acute battering, tranquil/loving.

Exempting Circumstances

• Grounds for exemption from criminal liability due to a lack of voluntary or negligent action.

Article 12. Exempting Circumstances

• Imbecility or insanity.
• Under fifteen years of age.
• Over fifteen and under eighteen, without discernment.

Mitigating Circumstances

• Reduce penalty but don't eliminate responsibility.

Article 13. Mitigating Circumstances

• Incomplete justifying/exempting circumstance.
• Under eighteen or over seventy years of age.
• No intention to commit so grave a wrong.
• Sufficient provocation.
• Vindication of grave offense.
• Impulse so powerful as to cause passion/obfuscation.
• Voluntary surrender or confession.
• Physical defect restricting action.
• Illness diminishing will-power.

Aggravating Circumstances

• Increase penalty as they demonstrate ones moral depravity

Article 14. Aggravating Circumstances

• Abuse of public position.
• Contempt/insult to public authorities.
• Insult/disregard to offended party's rank/age/sex.
• Abuse of confidence.
• Crime in Chief Executive's presence.
• Night time/uninhabited area/band.
• Calamity.
• Armed men.
• Recidivism.
• Reward/promise.
• Inundation/fire/poison.
• Premeditation.
• Craft/fraud/disguise.
• Superior strength.
• Treachery.
• lgnominy.
• Unlawful entry.
• Persons under 15.

Alternative Circumstances

• Aggravating/mitigating based on nature and effects: relationship, intoxication, education.

Persons Criminally Liable

• Principals: directly participate, force/induce, cooperate.
• Accomplices: cooperate in execution.
• Accessories: profit, prevent discovery, provide escape.

Article 246: Parricide

• Killing a spouse, ascendant, or descendant.

Article 247

• Death due to spouse caught having sex with another.

Article 248: Murder

• Killing with treachery, superior strength, price, premeditation, cruelty.

Article 263

• Serious physical injuries and their penalties.
• Incapacitation for more than 30 days constitutes a serious physical injury.

Article 255

• Infanticide; killing a child less than 3 days old.

Article 256

• Intentional abortion.

Article 259

• Abortion practiced by a physician or midwife
• Discusses possible reproductive health rights.

Article 262

• Mutilation; removing an essential organ.

Article 266

• Rape and carnal knowledge.