Week 1-2: Definition & Concept of Law

Week 1-2 (Definition and concept of law; Sources of law; Law vs. Morality, Justice, Social Justice, Equity; Classifications of Law) 1. According to Sanchez Roman, Law is defined as a rule of conduct, just and obligatory, laid down by legitimate authority for common observance and benefit. 2. Law is...

Week 1-2 (Definition and concept of law; Sources of law; Law vs. Morality, Justice, Social Justice, Equity; Classifications of Law) 1. According to Sanchez Roman, Law is defined as a rule of conduct, just and obligatory, laid down by legitimate authority for common observance and benefit. 2. Law is rule of conduct just obligatory prescribed by legitimate authority ordained for the common observance and benefit 3. Necessity of Law: Life without law would be the same as it is now but no society can be stable in which either of the requirements in internal order or external defense fails to be provided for. 4. Functions of Law: Law secures justice, resolves social conflict, orders society, protects interests, control social relations. Life without basic laws (theft, violence and destruction) would be solitary, nasty, brutish, and short. Life without other laws (traffic, sanitation, and business) would be less orderly, less healthful, and etc. Functions of Law 5. Social Justice is neither communism, nor despotism, nor atomism, nor anarchy,' but humanization of laws and the equalization of social and economic forces by the State so that justice in its rational and objectively secular conception may at least be approximated (Calalang vs. Williams). 6. Morality referred to in the law is public and necessarily secular, not religious. 7. Equity is the principle by which substantial justice may be attained in cases where the prescribed or customary forms of ordinary law are inadequate. (Reyes v. Lim) 8. Justice: While Article 19 may have been intended as a mere declaration of principle, the “cardinal law on human conduct” expressed in said article has given rise to certain rules, e.g., that where a person exercises his rights but does so arbitrarily or unjustly or performs his duties in a manner that is not in keeping with honesty and good faith, he opens himself to liability. 9. State Law: Law in the strict legal sense which is promulgated and enforced by the State. 10. Divine Law: Law in the non-legal sense which is not promulgated and enforced by the State. It is formally promulgated by God and revealed to mankind by means of direct revelation. It may be embodied in Ten Commandments; believed to be formally given by God through Moises, the great Hebrew prophet and leader. Also, it may be embodied in the Muslim Quoran, or any other religious teachings and writings. 11. Natural Law: Divine inspiration in man of the sense of justice, fairness, and righteousness, not by divine revelation of formal promulgation but by internal dictates of reason alone. Compared to divine law, natural law is said to be impressed in man as the core of his higher self at the very moment of being or, perhaps, even before that. 12. Moral Law: totality of the norms of good and right conduct and influences or shapes state law. May or may not be punishable depending on the absence of state law. Disregarding moral norms create spontaneous social reaction like public displeasure, contempt or even indignation. It is not absolute and varies with the changing times, conditions, or convictions of the people. 13. Substantive Law: the portion of the body of law creating, defining, and regulating rights and duties which may be either public or private in character such as law of obligation and contracts. 14. Adjective Law: portion of the body prescribing the manner or procedure by which rights may be enforced or their violations redressed. Sometimes called remedial or procedural law. 15. Public Law: body of legal rules which regulates the rights and duties arising from the relationship of the state to the people. 16. Criminal Law: defines crimes and provides for their punishment. 17. International Law: governs the relations among nations or states. 18. Constitutional Law: governs the relations between the state and its citizens which establishes the fundamental powers of the government. 19. Administrative Law: governs the methods by which the functions of administrative authorities are to be performed. 20. Private Law: the body of rules which regulates the relations of individuals with one another for purely private ends (civil law, commercial law or civil procedure). State is an arbiter and not as a party in a private law. 21. Civil law system: Was not a law administered by judges but one expounded by professors. It grew up not in a court but in universities, and in the form in which it was taught there it was not in actual effect anywhere. It is markedly professorial. Professors are teachers and writers. They' are concerned with lucidity, clarity of exposition and with consistency of structure and terminology. But their cloistered and sheltered existence also results in a certain remoteness from life. 22. Common law system: developed as a case law, casuistic, often incoherent, frequently inconsistent in terminology, cautiously moving from step to step by trial and error, but close to life, with a strong sense of reality and a flavor of judicial individuality. 23. Constitution: sometimes defined as the fundamental law of a State, containing the principles upon which the government is founded, regulating the division of the sovereign powers, and directing to what persons each of these powers is to be confided, and the manner in which it is to be exercised. 24. According to Judge Thomas Cooley the Constitution is a body of rules and maxims in accordance with which the powers of sovereignty are habitually exercised. 25. Unwritten Constitution: Refers to the constitution not codified in a structured manner. Evolves over a long period with a new set of laws and guidelines being added as time progresses. 26. Written Constitution: Refers to the constitution codified and compiled in a structured and cohesive manner. 27. Judge Thomas Cooley: Former Judge of Michigan Supreme Court. He wrote the Constitutional Limitations (1871) and The General Principles of Constitutional Law in the United States of America (1880). 28. Constitution of the Philippines: According to Justice Malcolm, it may be defined as that written instrument by which the fundamental powers of the government are established, limited, and defined and by which these powers are distributed among the several departments or branches for their safe and distributed exercise for the benefit of the people. 29. George Arthur Malcolm: an American lawyer who emerged as an influential figure in the development of the practice of law in the Philippines in the 20th century. 30. Statute: an act of the legislature as an organized body, expressed in the form, and passed according to the procedure, required to constitute it as part of the law of the land. 31. Statutes enacted by the legislature are those passed by the Philippine Commission, the Philippine Legislature, the Batasang Pambansa, and the Congress of the Philippines. 32. Other laws which are of the same category and binding force as statutes are Presidential Decrees issued by the President in the exercise of his legislative power during the period of martial law under the 1973 Constitution. 33. Executive Orders: by the President in the exercise of her legislative power during the revolutionary period under the Freedom Constitution. 34. Jurisprudence: This means that the decisions or principles enunciated by a court of competent jurisdiction on a question of law do not only serve as guides but also as authority to be followed by all other courts of equal or inferior jurisdiction in all cases involving the same question until the same is overruled or reversed by a superior court. Article 8 of the New Civil Code also provides this. 35. Traditional International Law: A body of rules and principles of action which are binding upon civilized states in their relation with one another. 36. Schwarzenberger's International Law: The body of legal rules which apply between sovereign states and such other entities as have been granted international personality. 37. Public International Law: is the body of legal rules, which applied between Sovereign States and other International Personalities. 38. Private International Law: also Called as 'Conflict of Law' deals with cases involving foreign element. 39. Customs: have the force of law only when they are acknowledged and approved by society through long and uninterrupted usage. 40. Requisites before the court considers custom: Must be proved as fact according to the rules of evidence. Must not be contrary to law. Must be a number of repeated acts. Must have been uniformly performed. Must be a judicial intention to make a rule of social conduct. Must be acknowledged and approved by society through long under interrupted usage. 41. Local Government Units: The political and territorial subdivisions of the State 42. Local Ordinance: local laws applicable to their respective jurisdictions. 43. Requisites of a valid ordinance: must not contravene the Constitution or any statute; must not be unfair or oppressive; must not be partial or discriminatory; must not prohibit but may regulate trade; must be general and consistent with public policy; and must not be unreasonable. 44. Executive Orders: Acts of the President providing for rules of a general or permanent character in implementation or execution of constitutional or statutory powers shall be promulgated in executive orders. (Administrative Code of 1987, Book III, Chapter 2, Section 2) 45. Administrative Orders: Acts of the President which relate to a particular aspect of governmental operations in pursuance of his duties as administrative head shall be promulgated in administrative orders. (Administrative Code of 1987, Book III, Chapter 2, Section 3) 46. Natural Law: It is the divine inspiration in man of the sense of justice, fairness, and righteousness, not by divine revelation of formal promulgation but by internal dictates of reason alone. Week 3-4 (Basic Construction and Interpretation of Constitution, Statutes in general, Criminal law, Social and Labor Law, Rules of Court, Tax Statutes; The Legal Profession) 1. Primary task of constitutional construction: To ascertain the intent of purpose of the framers of the constitution as expressed in its language. 2. Purpose of our Constitution: To protect and enhance the people's interests. 3. Constitution is not merely for few years, but is also needs to endure through a long lapse of ages. It must be adaptable to various human crisis of human affairs, but it also must be solid permanent and substantial. 4. Constitution must be construed as a dynamic process intended to stand for a great length of time to be progressive. 5. Constitution's primary source in order to ascertain the constitution is the language itself. 6. Words must be understood in their common or ordinary meaning except when technical terms are employed. 7. Do not construe the constitution in such a way that its meaning would change. 8. Apart from its language, courts may refer to the following in construing the constitution: history, proceedings of the convention, prior laws and judicial decisions, contemporaneous constructions, consequences of alternative interpretations 9. These aids are called Extraneous aids because though their effect is not in precise rules their influence describes the essentials of the process. 10. Contemporaneous construction and writings: May be used to resolve but not to create ambiguities. 11. In construing statutes, contemporaneous construction are entitled to great weight 12. When it comes to the constitution, it has no weight and will not be allowed to change in any way its meaning. 13. Constitutional provisions should not be construed separately from the rest. It should be interpreted as a whole and be harmonized with conflicting provisions. 14. Generally, constitutional provisions are self-executing 15. Rule: Constitutional provisions are self-executing except when provisions themselves expressly require legislations to implement them. 16. Self-executing provisions: provisions which are complete by themselves and becomes operative without the aid of supplementary legislation. 17. Verba Legis/Plain meaning Rule: There can be no harmonization where one law specifically amends another. Where the provision of law is clear and unambiguous, so that there is no occasion for the court’s seeking legislative intent, the law must be taken as it is, devoid of judicial addition or subtraction. 18. In the interpretation and construction of statutes, the primary rule is to ascertain and give effect to the intention of the Legislature 19. In case of doubt as to what a provision of a statute means, the meaning put to the provision during the legislative deliberations may be adopted. 20. Leges posteriores priores contrarias abrogant: As between two laws, one passed later prevails. 21. General law does not repeal special law, generally 22. Expressio unius est exclusio alterius: General rule: where a general word or phrase follows an enumeration of particular and specific words of the same class or where the latter follow the former, the general word or phrase is to be construed to include, or to be restricted to, persons, things or cases akin to, resembling, or of the same kind or class as those specifically mentioned. 23. Penal statutes are strictly construed against the State and liberally construed in favor of the accused. 24. Penal laws cannot be given retroactive effect, except when they are favorable to the accused. 25. Nullum crimen sine poena, nulla poena sine legis: there is no crime without a penalty, there is no penalty without a law. 26. Article 22 of the Revised Penal Code states that: Penal Laws shall have a retroactive effect insofar as they favor the persons guilty of a felony, who is not a habitual criminal, as this term is defined in Rule 5 of Article 62 of this Code, although at the time of the publication of such laws a final sentence has been pronounced and the convict is serving the same. 27. General welfare legislations and labor law: To implement the social justice and protection-to labor provisions of the Constitution; Construed liberally in favor of the beneficiary/employee. 28. Article 4 of Labor Code: All doubts in the implementation and interpretation of the provisions of this Code, including its implementing rules and regulations, shall be resolved in favor of labor. 29. Rules of Court: Pursuant to Section 6 of the Revised Rules of Court, the Rules shall be liberally construed in order to promote their objective of securing a just, speedy and inexpensive disposition of every action and proceeding. 30. Tax statutes: must be construed strictly against the government and liberally in favor of the taxpayer. 31. Power to tax involves power to destroy 32. Taxation is a destructive power which interferes with the personal property rights of the people and takes from them a portion of their property for the support of the government. 33. Law frowns against exemption from taxation because taxes are the lifeblood of the nation 34. Construction is the process of drawing warranted conclusions not always included in direct expressions or determining the application of words to facts in litigation. 35. Interpretation is the art of finding the true meaning and sense of any form of words. 36. The aids to construction are those found in the printed page of the statute itself; known as the Intrinsic aids. 37. Extrinsic aids those extraneous facts and circumstances outside the printed page 38. Constitution Article VIII, Sec. 5(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. 39. Art. 8, Sec. 5 (5) vests this power of control and regulation in the Supreme Court. 40. The constitutional power to admit candidates to the legal profession is a judicial function; involves the exercise of discretion. 41. The practice of law is a privilege granted only to those who possess the STRICT INTELLECTUAL AND MORAL QUALIFICATIONS required of lawyers who are instruments in the effective and efficient administration of justice. (In Re: Argosino, 1997). 42. Practice of law is any activity, in or out of court which requires the application of law, legal procedure, knowledge, training and experience. To engage in the practice of law is to give notice or render any kind of service, which or devise or service requires the use in any degree of legal knowledge or skill (Cayetano v. Monsod, 201 SCRA 210). 43. Section 1, Rule 138: Any person heretofore duly admitted as a member of the bar, or hereafter admitted as such in accordance with the provisions of this rule, and who is in good and regular standing, is entitled to practice law. 44. Good moral character is not only a condition precedent relating to his admission into the practice of law, but is also a continuing imposition in order for him to maintain his membership in the bar (Ong v. Delos Santos) 45. Good moral character is essential in those who would be lawyers. This is imperative in the nature of the office of a lawyer, the trust relation which exists between him and his client, as well as between him and the court. 46. Good moral characteris what a person really is, as distinguished from good reputation, the estimate in which he is held by the public in the place where he is known. (In the Matter of the Disqualification of Bar Examinee Haron S. Meling in the 2002 Bar Examinations) 47. Resident of the Philippines: Ratio: His/her duties to his client and to the court will require that he be readily accessible and available. 48. At least 21 years of age: Ratio: Maturity and discretion are required in the practice of law. 49. Sec. 14, Art. XII, 1987 Constitution: The practice of all professions in the Philippines shall be limited to Filipino citizens save in cases prescribed by law. 50. Citizen of the Philippines: Ratio: Citizenship ensures allegiance to the Republic and its laws. 51. Requirements to be admitted to Philippine Bar: 1. Good moral character; 2. resident of the Philippines; 3. at least 21 years of age; 4. citizen of the Philippines; 5. must produce before the Supreme Court satisfactory evidence of good moral character; 6. pass the Bar examinations; 7. no charges against him, involving moral turpitude, have been filed or are pending in any court in the Philippines; 8. Must have complied with the Academic requirements: a) Had pursued and satisfactorily completed in an authorized and recognized University or college which requires for admission the completion of a 4-year high school course. b) The course of study prescribed therein for a Bachelor’s degree in Arts or Sciences. c) A 4-year bachelor’s degree in law with completed courses in civil law, commercial law, remedial law, criminal law, public and private international law, political law, labor law and social legislation, medical jurisprudence, taxation, and legal ethics.; 9. Take the lawyer’s oath; 10. Sign the Roll of Attorneys and receive from the Clerk of Court of the SC a certificate of license to practice 52. Four-fold Duties of a Lawyer: His duties towards the courts; His duties towards the society; His duties towards his colleagues in the profession; and His duties to his client. 23. Lawyer's Oath: I, do solemnly swear that I accept the honor, privilege, duty, and responsibility of practicing law in the Philippines as an Officer of the Court in the interest of our people. I declare fealty to the Constitution of the Republic of Philippines. In doing so, I shall work towards promoting the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace. I shall conscientiously and courageously work for justice, as well as safeguard the rights and meaningful freedoms of all persons, identities and communities. I shall ensure greater and equitable access to justice. I shall do no falsehood nor shall I pervert the law to unjustly favor nor prejudice anyone. I shall faithfully discharge these duties and responsibilities to the best of my ability, with integrity, and utmost civility. I impose all these upon myself without mental reservation nor purpose of evasion. So help me, God. Week 11 (General Provisions of the Civil Code): 1. Code: Collection of laws of the same kind; a body of legal provisions referring to a particular branch of law. 2. Civil code: Collection of laws which regulate the private relations of the members of civil society, determining their respective rights and obligations, with reference to persons, things, and civil acts. 3. New Civil Code of the Philippines which was approved by Congress on June 18, 1949 is Republic Act No. 386 4. Article 2 of the New Civil Code: Laws shall take effect after fifteen days following the completion of their publication either in the Official Gazette, or in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines, unless it is otherwise provided. 5. In general, a law may provide for its own date of effectivity 6. If the law is silent as to its own date of effectivity, then it shall take effect only after 15 days following its complete publication. 7. Example of a law that provides for its own effectivity: Family Code of the Philippines 8. The 15-day period may either be on the 15th day or on the 16th day depending on the language used by the Congress in fixing the effectivity date of the statute. 9. "If the law declares that it shall become effective ""15 days after its publication,"" it means that its effectivity is on the 15th day after such publication." 10. "If the law declares that it shall be effective ""after 15 days following its publication,"" its effectivity is on the 16th day thereafter." 11. In Tañada case, the Court ruled that Article 2 does not prelude the requirement of publication in the Official Gazette even if the law itself provides for the date of its effectivity since the clear object of the law is to give the general public adequate notice of the various laws which are to regulate their actions and conduct as citizens. 12. "Without such notice and publication, there would be no basis for the application of the maxim "ignorantia legis non excusat" 13. "In the resolution of the motion for reconsideration in the Tañada case, the Court explained that the clause ""unless it is otherwise provided"" Article 2 of the New Civil Code refers to the date of effectivity and not to the requirement of the publication itself. The latter cannot in any event be omitted." 14. Pursuant to Executive Order No. 200, passed by President Corazon Aquino on June 18, 1987, amending Sec. 2 of the Civil Code, publication of laws may now be either in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines. 15. If the law does not, therefore, specify the medium or place of publication, it can only be published in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation in printed form. 16. Publication must be in full or it is no publication at all since its purpose is to inform the public of the contents of the laws. 17. To be a newspaper of general circulation, it is enough that it is published for the dissemination of local news and general information. 18. "The clause ""unless it is otherwise provided"" refers to the date of effectivity and not to the requirement of publication itself, which cannot in any event be omitted." 19. The legislative may, in its discretion, provide that the usual 15-day period shall be shortened or extended. 20. Laws in Article 2, should refer to all laws, all statues, including those of local application and private laws, shall be published as a condition for their effectivity. 21. Article 3 of the New Civil Code: Ignorance of law excuses no one from compliance therewith. 22. The presumption of knowledge of laws under Article 3 of the Civil Code is conclusive. Everyone is conclusively presumed to know the law. 23. The laws referred to under Article 3 of the Civil Code are those of the Philippine laws. Article 3 applies to all kinds of domestic laws, whether civil or penal, substantive or remedial. However, the article is limited to mandatory and prohibitory. It does not include those which are merely permissive. 24. While ignorance of the law is no excuse, ignorance of fact may excuse a party from the legal consequences of his conduct. 25. """A"", after the war, could not find his wife and believing her to be dead, married a second time. The first wife turned out to be alive. Is ""A"" liable for bigamy?" No. 26. Article 4 of the New Civil Code: Laws shall have no retroactive effect, unless the contrary is provided. 27. Laws shall have prospective effect unless the contrary is expressly provided. 28. A retroactive law is one intended to affect transactions which occured, or rights which accrued, before it became operative, and which ascribes to them effects no inherent in their nature, in view of the law in force at the time of their occurence. 29. Lex porspicit, non respicit: In general, laws are to be construed as having only prospective operation. The law looks forward, not backward. This is due to the unconstitutional result of retroacting a law's application; it divests rights that have already become vested or impairs obligations of contract. 30. Exceptions to the general rule of Art. 3: if the law itself provides for retroactivity; penal laws favorable to the accused; if the law is procedural; when the law is curative; when the law creates new substantive rights. 31. The law itself may provide for it retroactivity. This is the meaning of the clause "Unless the contrary is provided" 32. The rule that a statute will be given retroactive effect, if it so expressly provides, has 3 exceptions with a constitutional basis: retroactivity of a penal statute will make it an ex post facto law; retroactive effect of the statute will result in impairment of obligation of contracts; law impairs a vested right. 33. An ex post facto law is one that would make a previous act criminal although it was not so at the time it was commited. (Sec. 22, Article 3, 1987 PH Constitution) 34. A law impairs an obligation of contract if it has retroactive application so as to affect existing contracts concluded before its enactment. (Sec. 10, Art. 3, 1987 PH Constitution) 35. A law enacted in the exercise of police power to regulate or govern certain activities or transactions could be given retroactive effect and may reasonably impair vested rights or contracts. 36. Penal laws shall have a retroactive effect in so far as they favor the person guilty of a felony, who is not a habitual delinquent, although at the time of the publication of such laws a final sentence has been pronounced and the convict is serving the same. (Art. 22, RPC) 37. Remedial statutes or statutes relating to remedies or modes of procedure, which do not create a new or take away vested rights, but only operate in furtherance of the remedy or confirmation of rights already existing, do not come within the legal conception of a retroactive law. 38. The retroactive application of procedural laws is not violative of any right of a person who may feel that he is adversely affected. 39. A curative statute is enacted to cure defects in a prior law or to validate legal proceedings, instruments or acts of public authorities which would otherwise be void for want of conformity with certain existing legal requirements. 40. Article 5 of the New Civil Code: Acts executed against the provisions of mandatory or prohibitory laws shall be void, except when the law itself authorizes their validity. 41. If the law commands that something to be done, it is mandatory. 45. If the law commands that something should not be done, it is prohibitory. 46. If the law commands that what it permits to be done should be tolerated or respected, in which case, it is permissive or directory. 47. Acts executed against the provisions of mandatory or prohibitory laws are void. 48. The rule that acts are executed against the provisions of mandatory or prohibitory laws are void is subject to the ff. exceptions: When the law itself authorizes its validity although generally they would have been void. When the law makes the act valid, but punishes the violator. Where the law merely makes the act voidable, that is, valid unless annulled. Where the law declares the act void, but recognizes legal effects as arising from it. 49. Article 6 of the New Civil Code: Rights may be waived, unless the waiver is contrary to law, public order, public policy, morals or good customs or prejudicial to a third person with a right recognized by law. 50. Elements of Rights: Subject, Object, Efficient Cause 51. The subject of rights are persons for rights exist only in favor of persons. 52. Two kinds of subject: active subject - entitled to demand the enforcement of the right; passive subject - duty-bound to suffer its enforcement 53. Things and services constitute the object of rights. 54. The efficient cause is the fact that gives rise to the legal relation. 55. Rights may be classified into civil and political 56. Political rights are those referring to the participation of persons in the government of the State. 57. Civil rights: The rights of personality (sometimes called human rights), family rights, and patrimonial rights. 58. "Waiver is defined as ""a voluntary and intentional relinquishment or abandonment of a known existing legal right, advantage, benefit, claim, or privilege; the voluntary abandonment or surrender, by a capable person, of a right known by him to exist, with the intent that such right shall be surrendered and such person forever deprived of its benefit.""" 59. In order that a person may be considered to have validly renounced a right, the ff. requisites should be present: the person making the waiver possesses the right; he has the capacity and power to dispose of the right; the waiver must be clear and unequivocal manner although it may be made expressly or impliedly; the waiver is not contrary to law, public policy, public order, morals, good customs, or prejudicial to a third person with a right recognized by law. 60. Where one lacks knowledge of a right, there is no basis upon which waiver of it can rest. 61. Article 7 of the New Civil Code Laws are repealed only by subsequent ones, and their violation or non-observance shall not be excused by disuse, or custom or practice to the contrary. When the courts declared a law to be inconsistent with the Constitution, the former shall be void and the latter shall govern. Administrative or executive acts, orders and regulations shall be valid only when they are not contrary to the laws or the Constitution. 62. Laws are repealed in two ways: express or implied 63. An express repeal is that contained in a special provision of a subsequent law, known as the repealing clause, and the latter identifies or designates the law to be abolished. 64. Implied repeal takes place when the provisions of the subsequent law are incompatible with those of an earlier law and there is no express repeal. 65. Implied repeals are not to be favored because they rest only on the presumption that because the old and the new laws are incompatible with each other, there is an intention to repeal the old. 66. Requisites of Implied Repeal: the laws cover the same subject matter, and the latter is repugnant to the earlier 67. When there is a conflict between a general law and a special statute, the special statute should prevail since it evinces the legislative intent more clearly than the general statute. 68. When a law which expressly repeals a prior law is itself repealed, the law first repealed shall not be thereby revived unless expressly so provided. 69. When a law which impliedly repeals a prior law is itself repealed, the prior law shall thereby revived, unless the repealing law provides otherwise. 70. Article 8 of the New Civil Code: Judicial decisions applying or interpreting the laws or the Constitution shall form a part of the legal system of the Philippines. 71. Under the principle of separation of powers, the judicial department has no power to enact laws because the same is the exclusive province of the legislative department. 72. Judicial decisions: evidence the laws' meaning, breadth, and scope and, therefore, have the same binding force as the laws themselves. 73. Decisions of the Supreme Court, although in themselves not laws, are evidence of what the law means. 74. Article of 8 of the New Civil Code embodies the basic principle of "stare decisis et non quieta movere" (to adhere to precedents and not to unsettle established matter) that enjoins adherence to judicial precedents embodied in the decision of the Supreme Court. 75. Stare decisis simply means that for the safe of certainty, a conclusion reached in one case should be applied to those that follow if the facts are substantially the same, even though the parties may be different. 76. The doctrine of stare decisis enjoins adherence to judicial precedents. It requires courts in a country to follow the rule established in a decision of the Supreme Court thereof. The doctrine of stare decisis is based on the principle that once a question of law has been examined and decided, it should be deemed settles and closed to further amendments. 77. Article 9 of the New Civil Code No judge or court shall decline to render judgement by reason of the silence, obscurity or insufficiency of the laws. 78. Is Article 9 applicable to criminal prosecutions? Yes. 79. The judge may not decline to render a judgement. Instead, the judge must dismiss the criminal action. 80. "Applying the rule ""nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege"" (there is no crime when there is no law punishing it), the judge must dismiss the case if somebody is accused of a non-existent crime." 81. Article 10 of the New Civil Code: In case of doubt in the interpretation or application of laws, it is presumed that the lawmaking body intended right and justice to prevail. 82. The rule expressed in Article 10 of the Civil Code is to be applied only in case of doubt. 83. dura lex sed lex: The law may be hard, but it is still the law. 84. Article 11 of the New Civil Code: Customs which are contrary to law, public order or public policy shall not be countenanced. 85. Article 12 of the New Civil Code: A custom must be proved as a fact, according to the rules of evidence. 86. "Custom is a ""rule of conduct formed by repetition of acts, uniformly observed as a social rule, legally binding and obligatory.""" 87. The ff. are the requisites before a custom may have the force of suppletory rule: plurality of acts; uniformity; general practice by the great mass of the social group; continued performance for a long period of time; obligatory; must not be contrary to law, morals, or public order 88. Customs are not subject to judicial notice because they must be proven as a fact, according tot he rule of evidence. 89. Article 13 of the New Civil Code: When the laws speak of years, months, days, or nights, it shall be understood that years are of 365 days each; months, of 30 days; days, of 24 hours; and nights, from sunset to sunrise. If months are designated by their name, they shall be computed by the number of days which they respectively have. In computing a period, the first day shall be excluded, and the last day included. 90. Section 31, Chapter 8, Book 1 of the 1987 Administrative Code of the Philippines provides that: """Year"" shall be understood to be 12 calendar months; ""month"" of 30 days, unless it refers to a specific calendar month in which case it shall be computed according to the number of days the specific month contains; ""day,"" to a day of 24 hours; and ""night,"" from sunset to sunrise." 91. In computing a period the first day is excluded while the last day is included. Week 12 (Human Relations Provisions of the Civil Code) 1. Article 19 of the New Civil Code: Every person must, in the exercise of his rights and in the performance of his duties, act with justice, giver everyone his due, and observe honesty and good faith. 2. Article 20 of the New Civil Code: Every person who, contrary to law, willfully or negligently causes damage to another, shall indemnify the latter for the same. 3. Article 21 of the New Civil Code: Any person who wilfully causes loss or injury to another in a manner that is contrary to morals, good customs or public policy shall compensate the latter for the damage. 4. Principle of damnum absque injuria: Under this principle, the proper exercise of a lawful right cannot constitute a legal wrong for which an action will lie. Although the act may result in damage to another, for no legal right has been invaded. Well-settled is the maxim that damage resulting from the legitimate exercise of a person’s rights is a loss without injury for which the law gives no remedy.” 5. Damnum absque injuria: Damage resulting from the legitimate exercise of a person’s rights is a loss without injury. 6. Principle of abuse of right: A right, though by itself legal because recognized or granted by law as such, may nevertheless become the source of some illegality. When a right is exercised in a manner which does not conform with the norms enshrined in Article 19 and results in damage to another, a legal wrong is thereby committed for which the wrongdoer must be held responsible. 7. The exercise of a right ends when the right disappears, and it disappears when it is abused especially to the prejudice of others. 8. The elements of abuse of rights are the following: the existence of a legal right or duty; which is exercised in bad faith; and with the sole intent of prejudicing or injuring another. 9. The existing rule is that a breach of promise to marry per se is not an actionable wrong. 10. When the man made use of the promise of marriage as a subtle scheme or deceptive device to entice the woman to the sexual act, and such promise is the proximate cause why the woman gave herself unto the man in a sexual congress but the man had, in reality, no intention of marrying her, is the man liable for damages? Yes. He is liable for damages under Article 21 of the Civil Code. 11. The essential feature is seduction, that in law is more than mere sexual intercourse, or a breach of a promise of marriage; it connotes essentially the idea of deceit, enticement, superior power, or abuse of confidence on the part of the seducer to which the woman has yielded. 12. When there is no seduction and the woman voluntarily gave herself to the man because of love and mutual passion (or mutual lust), can the Court deny recovery of damages? Yes. The Court can deny recovery of damages under Article 21 of the Civil Code. 13. When the groom led the bride to believe that the wedding would push through and they went through all the wedding preparations but two days prior to the scheduled ceremony the groom walked out of the same, can the Court held the groom liable for damages to the bride? Yes. The Court can held the groom liable for damages to the bride under Article 21 of the Civil Code because his act was contrary to good customs. 14. If where the plaintiff has actually incurred expenses for the wedding and the necessary incidents thereof, does the plaintiff has right to recover money or property? Yes. The plaintiff has the right to recover money or property advanced by him or her upon the faith of such promise. 15. If the man forcibly abducted a woman and had carnal knowledge with her against her will, and thereafter promised to marry her in order to escape criminal liability, only to thereafter reneged on such promise after cohabiting with her for 21 days, is the man liable for damages? Yes. The man is liable for moral and exemplary damages pursuant to Article 21. Week 13 (Persons) 1. A person is any being susceptible of rights and obligations or it is every physical or moral, real or juridical, and legal being susceptible of rights and obligations or being the subject of legal relations. 2. Personality is the aptitude to be the subject, active or passive of juridical relations. 3. Two kinds of persons: Natural and Juridical 4. Natural persons are human beings. 5. Juridical persons are artificial beings susceptible of rights and obligations or of being the subject of legal relations. 6. Civil personality is synonymous to “juridical capacity,” the latter being defined as “the fitness to be the subject of legal relations.” In other words, it is simply the aptitude to be the subject of rights and obligations. In the absence of civil personality, no rights may be acquired and no obligations may be incurred. 7. Capacity to act, on the other hand, is the power to do acts with legal effect. 8. Juridical capacity and capacity to act are distinguished, as follows: Juridical capacity: inherent in every natural person, may only be lost (in the case of natural person) through death, cannot be limited or restricted. Capacity to act: not inherent but may only be acquired, may be lost through other means, can be limited or restricted. 9. Article 37 of the New Civil Code: Juridical capacity, which is the fitness to be the subject of legal relations, is inherent in every natural person and is lost only through death. Capacity to act, which is the power to do acts with legal effect, is acquired and may be lost. 10. Article 38 of the New Civil Code: Minority, insanity, or imbecility, the state of being deaf-mute, prodigality, and civil interdiction are mere restrictions on capacity to act, and do not exempt the incapacitated person from certain obligations, as when the latter arise from his acts or from property relations, such as easements. 11. Article 39 of the New Civil Code: The following circumstances, among others, modify or limit capacity to act: age, insanity, imbecility, the state of being a deaf-mute, penalty, prodigality, family relations, alienage, absence, insolvency and trusteeship. The consequences of these circumstances are governed in this Code, other codes, the Rules of Court, and in special laws. Capacity to act is not limited on account of religious belief or political opinion. A married woman, twenty-one years of age or over, is qualified for all acts of civil life, except in cases specified by law. 12. Article 38 enumerates some of the restrictions on one's capacity to act. Since these are mere restrictions, it does not mean that the person suffering therefrom is not possessed of capacity to act. 13. Article 39 enumerates circumstances which modify one's capacity to act. 14. The limitations or restriction mentioned in Articles 38 and 39 are limitations or restriction on capacity to act. 15. Although the capacity to act of incapacitated persons are restricted or limited, they are not exempt from certain obligations, as when these obligations arise from his acts or from property relations. 16. Minority is defined as the state of a person who is under the age of legal majority and a... is a person below 18 years of age since majority commences upon attaining the age of 18. 17. A minor is limited in his capacity to act. He may not enter into a contract as a general rule. 18. A contract entered into by a minor, without the consent or assistance of a guardian, is either voidable or unenforceable. 19. An imbecile is a person who while advanced in age has the mental capacity comparable to that of a child between two and seven years of age. 20. An insane person is one whose mental faculties are diseased. 21. In criminal law, the imbecile is exempt in all cases from criminal liability. The insane is not so exempt if it can be shown that the acted during a lucid interval. 22. During lucid interval, the insane acts with intelligence. 23. Contracts entered into during a lucid interval are valid, but the lucid interval must be proven as a matter of fact 24. Insane or demented persons cannot give their consent to a contract. 25. An insane person cannot make a valid will or testament 26. Being a deaf-mute is not by itself a disqualification for giving consent. 27. Only deaf-mutes who do not know how to write are declared by law incapable of giving consent. 28. Civil interdiction is an accessory penalty imposed upon an accused who is sentenced to a principal penalty not lower than reclusion temporal which is a penalty ranging from 12 years and one day to 20 years. 29. Civil interdiction produces the following effects during the time of sentence: deprivation of the rights of parental authority or guardianship; deprivation of marital authority; deprivation of the right to manage his property; and deprivation of the right to dispose of his property by any act or any conveyance inter vivos. 30. Prodigality does not limit the capacity of a person to act. He may enter into contracts and make wills disposing of his property. 31. What determines civil personality in natural persons: It is birth that determines civil personality. 32. But the fetus is considered born for civil purposes only when: It is alive at the time it is completely delivered from the mother’s womb (or after the cutting of the umbilical cord), if the fetus had an intra-uterine life of at least seven months; or It survives for at least 24 hours after its complete delivery from the maternal womb, if it had an intrauterine life of less than seven months. 33. Civil personality of conceived child: A conceived child, although as yet unborn, has a limited and provisional personality. Its personality is essentially limited because it is only for purposes favorable to the child. Its personality is provisional because it depends upon the child being born alive later under the conditions mentioned above. 34. Consequences of civil personality of conceived child: It can acquire rights but it cannot incur obligations. 35. A conceived child enjoys the following rights: the right to be a done of simple donations, but acceptance shall be made by persons who would legally represent him if he were already born; the right to receive support from his progenitors; he may not be ignored by his parents in their testament; otherwise, it may result in preterition of a forced heir that annuls the institution of the testamentary heir, even if such child should be born after the death of the testator; a conceived child may be designated as beneficiary in an insurance policy. 36. Under the law, a child already conceived at the time of the death of the decedent is capable of succeeding provided it be born later under the conditions prescribed in Article 41 of the Civil Code. 37. When necessary to determine personality of conceived child? There is a need to establish the civil personality of the unborn child if his juridical capacity is the issue involved. 38. Effect of death upon civil personality: The civil personality of a natural person is extinguished by death. 39. Civil personality of State and its political subdivisions: Their personality begins as soon as they have been constituted according to law. 40. Other corporations, institutions, and entities for public interest or purpose, created by law: Their personality begins as soon as they have been constituted according to law. 41. Private corporations: A corporation formed or organized under the Corporation Code of the Philippines commences to have corporate existence and juridical personality and is deemed incorporated from the date the Securities and Exchange Commission issues a certificate of incorporation under its official seal. 42. Partnership: To be considered a juridical person, a partnership must comply with the following requisites: Two or more persons bind themselves to contribute money, property, or industry to a common fund; and Intention on the part of the partners to divide the profit among themselves. 43. Sole proprietorship: A sole proprietorship does not possess a juridical personality separate and distinct from the personality of the owner of the enterprise.