Chapter 12 the Judicial Department

8/9/2019 Chapter 12 the Judicial Department

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THE JUDICIAL

DEPARTMENTchapter 12


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Judicial Departmentplays an indispensable role in the governmentas the administrator of justice.

The without the judiciary. It prgovernment and consequently the tatewill not survive eserves the cohesiveness ofthe di!erent governmental organs" alwaysseeing to it that they function in accordancewith the #onstitution.$nd inasmuch as the %hilippines is agovernment of laws and not of men" the

judiciary protects the very essence ofdemocracy being guardian of rights and legalprocesses.


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Independence of the Judiciary

In order for the judiciary to functione!ectively and impartially" the#onstitution provides safeguards for itsindependence" to wit&

1. The upreme #ourt" as a constitutionalbody" cannot be abolished by law

passed by the #ongress'2. (embers of the upreme #ourt can onlybe removed through impeachment'


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). The upreme #ourt cannot be deprived ofits minimum and appellate jurisdiction'

*.appellate jurisdiction of the # may notbe increased without its advice orconcurrence'

+. $ppointees to the judiciary are now

nominated by the Judicial and ,ar #ounciland no longer subject to con-rmation bythe #ommission on $ppointments

. The upreme #ourt has administrativesupervision over all inferior courts andpersonnel'


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/. # has e0clusive power to discipline judges justices of inferior courts'

.(embers of the judiciary have security oftenure'

3. (embers of the judiciary may not bedesignated to any agency performing quasi4

judicial or administrative functions'15. alaries of judges may not be reduced'11. The judiciary enjoys -scal autonomy'12. The upreme #ourt alone can initiate the 6ules

of #ourt'1). It alone may order temporary detail of judges'

and1*. It can appoint all o7cials and employees of the

judiciary.


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Judicial %ower8The judicial power shall be vested in one upreme

#ourt and in such lower courts as may be established

by law.

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 lac9 or e0cess of

jurisdiction on the part of any branch or

instrumentality of the :overnment.;


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Jurisdiction Jurisdiction is the power andauthority of the court to hear anddecide cases. Judicial power is

e0ercised by the various courtswithin their respective jurisdictions"so that if judicial power is e0ercisedwithout or in e0cess of jurisdiction"then the decisions of the courts aresaid to be null and void.


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6ole of #ongress. The various courts have theirrespective jurisdiction.III? is

#onstitutionally prescribed so that itcannot be lessened or ta9en away bythe #ongress.


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@inds of Jurisdiction Jurisdiction could be 8general or limited";8original or appellate"; and 8e0clusive orconcurrent.;$ court has a general jurisdiction when it isempowered to hear and decide all disputes-led before it e0cept those falling in the

jurisdiction of other courts


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a court has an original jurisdiction ifit is empowered to hear and decide

cases -led for the -rst time


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$ court has e0clusive jurisdiction if italone has authority to hear anddecide a case -led before it


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$ppointments$rt. >III" ec. 3

The members of the # and judges of lower courts

shall be appointed by the %resident from the list of

at least ) nominees prepared by the J,# for

vacancy. uch appointments need no

con-rmation.

Cor the lower courts" the %resident shall issue the

appointments w in 35 days from the submission of

the list


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uali-cations$rticle >III provides the quali-cations of a (ember of the

upreme #ourt or any lower collegiate court&a. Ee must be a natural4born citiFen of the %hilippines'b. ,e at least forty years of age'c. (ust have been a judge of a lower court or engaged in

the practice of law in the %hilippines for -fteen years ormore' and

d. must be a person of proven competence" integrity"probity" and independence.

. The quali-cations of judges in lower courts shall beprescribed by #ongress" but the quali-cations mustinclude %hilippine citiFenship and membership in the%hilippine ,ar.


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Tenure

Justices and judges can holdo7ce until they reach the age ofseventy or become

incapacitated to discharge theduties of their o7ce.

They must be in good behavior

during their tenure' otherwisethey =judges? may be disciplinedor dismissed by the upreme#ourt =sitting en banc?.


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Judicial and ,ar #ouncil The Judicial and ,ar #ouncil =J,#? is a constitutional bodyunder the supervision of the upreme #ourt that has theprincipal function of recommending appointees to the

Judiciary. The Justices or (embers of the upreme #ourt and judgesof the lower courts are among the o7cials who areappointed by the %resident.Cor their appointments to be valid" they must -rst benominated by the J,#.Cor every vacant seat in the judiciary" the #ouncil preparesa list of at least three nominees from which the %resident

shall select and appoint.If there is a vacancy for judgeship in a court" the J,# must-rst provide a list of at least three nominees. Crom the listthe %resident shall select whom he shall appoint.


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#omposition. The J,# is composed of seven

members&a. The #hief Justice as e0 o7cio #hairman'b. The ecretary of Justice as an e0 o7cio

member'

c. $ representative of the #ongress as e0o7cio member'

d. $ representative of the Integrated ,ar'e. $ professor of law'f. $ retired (ember of the upreme #ourt'

andg. $ representative of the private sector.


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The e0 o7cio members are the #hief Justice" ecretary of Justice" andrepresentative of the #ongress.

The four others are called regularmembers.

The e0 o7cio members are those who byreason of their o7ce are also members of

the #ouncil. The regular members are appointed by the%resident for a term of four years with theconsent of the #ommission on

$ppointments. The ecretary of the #ouncil" who shall bein4charge with the records 9eeping" is the#ler9 of the upreme #ourt.


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Ciscal $utonomy

$rt. >lll" ec. ) of the 13 /#onstitution states that Gthe

Judiciary shall enjoy -scal

autonomy. $ppropriations forthe judiciary may not bereduced by the legislature below

the amount appropriated for theprevious year and" afterapproval" shall be automaticallyand regularly releasedG.


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ection ) see9s to insure the independence the

judiciary. The appropriations for the judiciary may

not be reduced as provided above but they may beincreased. The constitution ta9es into account the

fact that the administration f justice" in the past" has

always been at the bottom list of priorities ingovernment budgetary appropriations. The

prohibition against reduction by #ongress of the

appropriation for the judiciary below the amountsappropriated for the previous year assures" at least"

that the minimal -nding requirements of the

judiciary will be met.


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alaries of Judges JusticesCi0ed by law' may not be decreased duringtheir continuance in o7ce.

annual salary of the #hief Justice of the # H

40K $ssociate Justices of the upreme #ourt H 32K annual salary of the %residing Justice of the#ourt of $ppeals H 26K

o7cials with the ran9 of secretary ofdepartment" the $ssociate Justices of the #ourtof $ppeals and o7cials with equivalent ran9 H24K


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#omposition of the upreme#ourt

The upreme #ourt is composedof 1+ members&1. #hief Justice' and

2. fourteen $ssociate Justices.$ny vacancy must be -lled withinninety days from its occurrence.


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,ayan (una v. 6omulo The rule on the needed vote for thedeclaration of unconstitutionality of a treaty in13 / #onstitution requires “the concurrenceof a majority of the Members who actually

took part in the deliberations on the issues inthe cases and voted thereon” %reviously no less than 2 ) of the #ourt wereneeded for a declaration ofunconstitutionality" now as few as + membersof the #ourt can declare unconstitutionality"this number being a majority of the quorum of

of the 1+ member #ourt.


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Division #aseIf the #ourt sits in division" at least three members must ta9epart in the deliberations and hearings of the case" and musthave the same vote thereon in order to resolve the case.If the required number is not obtained" the case shall bedecided en banc.


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Cortich v. #orona The petitioners -led motions for reconsideration of a )42

decision of the pecial econd Division that were denied

by a 242 vote. $s a denial was not supported by a majority

of the decision" they as9ed for the elevation of the issue

to the banc in accordance with the above quoted

provision.

The court held that following the rule of reddendo singula

singulis" the word 8decided; must refer to 8cases;" while

the word 8resolved; must refer to 8matters;. This rather

strained interpretation militates against another rule of

construction" w c is that one must not distinguish if the

#onstitution does not.


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%rohibitionsIt must be noted that the (embers of the upreme #ourt and the lower

courts cannot be designated to any agency performing quasi4judicial or

administrative functions.

$n agency is said to perform a 8quasi4judicial; function if it acts li9e a

court in that it hears and decides cases even if it is not a court.

$dministrative agencies are under the e0ecutive branch and may bedelegated quasi4judicial powers in deciding speci-c cases which it

could competently and e7ciently resolve.

Justices and judges cannot be designated to these agencies in

accordance with the principle of separation of powers.

If they are allowed to be designated to administrative agencies" then

they are li9ewise performing e0ecutive function" thus violating the said

principle.


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$ctual case

$n actual case or controversyinvolves a con ict of legal rights"an assertion of opposition legal

claims susceptible of judicialresolution. The case must not be moot or

academic or based on e0tra4legalor other similar considerationsnot cogniFable by a court of

justice.

t < it


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enate v.


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%roper %arty

%roper party is one who hassustained or is in immediatedanger of sustaining an injury as

a result of the act complained of

l ll


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Tileston v. Mllmann$ physician questioned the constitionality of

a law prohibiting the use of contraceptives"

upon the ground that it might prove

dangerous to the life or healht of some of his

patients whose physical condition would not

enable them to bear the rigors of childbirth.

The court dismissed the challenge" holding

that the patients of the physician not the

physician himself were the proper parties.


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%EIB#K $ v. :imeneF

$n organiFation of ta0payers andcitiFens was held to be a properparty to question the

constitutionality of a lawproviding for special retirementbene-ts for members of the

legislature.


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This general rule" however" is subject to the

following e0ceptions&

1. In criminal cases" the constitutional questioncan be raised at any time in the discretion of

the court.

2. In civil cases" the constitutional question can be

raised at any stage if it is necessary to the

determination of the case itself.

). In every case" e0cept where there is estoppel"

the constitutional question may be raised at any

stage if it involves the jurisdiction of the court


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ecessity of Deciding#onstitutional uestion

The reason why courts will as much

as possible avoid the decision of a

constitutional question can betraced to the doctrine of separation

of powers w c enjoins upon each

department a proper respect for

the acts of the other departments


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Baurel v. :arcia

The court will not pass upon a

constitutional question although

properly presented by the record ifthe case can be disposed of on

some other ground such as theapplication of a statute or general

law.


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unconstitutionality

Eave two views& orthodo0 view and modern

viewIn %rt&o'o( )!e* " unconstitutional act is

not a law' it confers no rights" it imposes no

duties' it a!ords no protection' it creates no

o7ce and considered never e0isted at all.

In Mo'er# )!e* " it simply refuses torecogniFe the constitutionality of a statute.


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%artial Mnconstitutionality

Requisites &1. The Begislature must be willingto retain the valid portion=s?"

usually shown by the presence ofa separability clause in the law'and

2. The valid portion=s? can standindependently as a law.

%owers of the upreme #ourt


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%owers of the upreme #ourt The powers of the upreme #ourt are

e0pressly provided in ection +" $rticle >III.

Its powers are classi-ed into&

1. its original jurisdiction'

2. its appellate jurisdiction'

). power to temporarily assign judges' =

*. power to change venue'

+. rule4ma9ing power'

. power to appoint court personnel' and

/. administrative supervision over lower courts.

Kriginal jurisdiction


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Kriginal jurisdictionmeans the authority to settle cases -led

for the -rst time.

$mong the cases which can be -led and

settled for the -rst time in the upreme

#ourt are&

1? cases a!ecting ambassadors" other public

ministers and consuls' and

2? petitions for certiorari" prohibition"

mandamus" quo warranto" and habeas corpus.

The rst set of cases involves diplomatic agents" who under


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The -rst set of cases involves diplomatic agents who under

international law are considered representatives of the tates where

they are nationals.

$n ambassador" being a representative or e0tension of a sovereign

tate" has immunity from suits in the receiving state.

The immunity is based on the international law doctrine of tate

immunity and the equality of sovereign statesE+AMPLE the ambassador of M. . cannot be sued for a criminal

o!ense committed in the %hilippines" unless the immunity or

privilege is waived.

N%TE, Cilipino ambassadors are not immune from suits here in the

%hilippines.

$ consul" li9ewise" although a diplomatic agent" has no diplomatic

immunity.

C ! ! i i l i il i


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Cert!orar! is a special civil actionwhich is -led by a person who isaggrieved by any tribunal" board oro7cer e0ercising judicial or quasi4

judicial functions that had actedwithout or in e0cess of its or his

jurisdiction" or with grave abuse ofdiscretion amounting to lac9 or e0cessof jurisdiction" and there is no plain andspeedy remedy in the ordinary courseof law.its purpose is to IN-ALIDATE a

judgment rendered without or in e0cess

of authority or jurisdiction.

Pro&!"!t!o# is a special civil action -led by a


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p y

person aggrieved in the proceedings of any

tribunal" corporation" board" o7cer or person"

whether e0ercising judicial" quasi4judicial or

ministerial functions" which proceedings are

without or in e0cess of its or his jurisdiction" or with

grave abuse of discretion amounting to lac9 or

e0cess of jurisdiction" and there is no plain and

speedy remedy in the ordinary course of law.its purpose is to .T%P a tribunal or person from

further engaging in proceedings done without or in

e0cess of authority or jurisdiction.


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Ma#'a/us is a special civil action -ledby a person aggrieved by any tribunal"corporation" board" o7cer or person" whounlawfully neglects the performance of anact which the law speci-cally enjoins as aduty resulting from o7ce" trust" or station"or unlawfully e0cludes another from theuse and enjoyment of a right or o7ce towhich such other is entitled" there is noplain" adequate" and speedy remedy inthe ordinary course of law.Its purpose is T% C%MPEL theperformance of a ministerial duty or dutymandated by law to be performed undercertain circumstances.


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uo 1arra#to is a special civil action instituted by the

%hilippine :overnment against a person" public o7cer" or

association which usurps" unlawfully holds" intrudes into an

o7ce" position" or franchise.

Its purpose is T% REC%-ER an o7ce or position from a

usurper or from an o7cer" who has forfeited his o7ce" and

a franchise from a false corporation =one without legal

personality?.

Ha"eas corpus is a special proceeding the purpose of

which is to grant speedy remedy for the release of a person

illegally con-ned or detained" or for the grant of rightful

custody over a child or person to someone from whom the

custody is withheld or to whom it rightfully belongs.


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Temporary $ssignment of Judges


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p y $ g g The upreme #ourt also has the power to 8assign temporarily judges of

lower courts to other stations as public interest may require.

uch temporary assignment shall not e0ceed si0 months without the

consent of the judge concerned.;

This power reinforces the independence of the upreme #ourt from the


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#hange of >enue The #ourt is empowered to order a change of venue or place of trial to

avoid a miscarriage of justice.

>enue refers to the place where the trial is conducted.

The 6ules of #ourt provide the rules on venue" which are clearly

intended for the speedy" impartial" and convenient disposition of cases.

If instead of being convenient" venue causes miscarriage of justice" the

upreme #ourt has the power to change the venue.


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6ule4(a9ing %ower The #ourt has the power to promulgate rules concerning&

=a? The protection and enforcement of constitutional rights'

=b? %leading" practice" and procedure in all courts'

=c? The admission to the practice of law'

=d? The Integrated ,ar of the %hilippines' and

=e? Begal assistance to the under4privileged.

uch rules shall provide a simpli-ed and ine0pensive 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. 6ules of procedure of special courts and quasi4judicial bodies

shall remain e!ective unless disapproved by the upreme #ourt.

This power of the upreme #ourt is the basis for ma9ing the 6ules of

#ourt.


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%ower to $ppoint Its Kwn%ersonnel The #ourt has the power to appoint all o7cialsand employees of the Judiciary in accordance

with the #ivil ervice Baw. $lthough the power

to appoint is vested in the %resident" the

upreme #ourt has the power to appoint

o7cials and employees of the Judicial

Department. Eowever" the appointment must

be in accordance with the #ivil ervice Baw.

m n s ra ve


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m n s ra veupervision.ection " $rticle >III states that the upreme #ourt has

administrative supervision over all courts and its personnel.

This is one of the constitutional safeguards for the

independence of the judiciary.

During the e!ectivity of the 13)+ #onstitution" the

Department of Justice had administrative supervision over

the lower courts which compromised the independence of

the courts as their decisions were often swayed by the

e0ecutive department.

,ut with the transfer of supervision to the upreme #ourt"

courts are empowered and freed from the political

pressures of the e0ecutive branch.

D i i f h


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Decisions of the upreme#ourt

# lt ti


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#onsultation The upreme #ourt is a collegiate court" in that it is

composed of many members and its decisions are reached

through consultation or thorough deliberation of its

members.

#onsultation is necessary before the case is assigned to a

member for the writing of the opinion of the #ourt. Justicesof the #ourt must discuss with each other and vote on the

settlement of the case before a certi-cation is given

assigning the writing of the opinion to a member.

Cor members who did not participate" abstained" or

dissented from a decision or resolution" they must e0plain

and state their reason for it. The same requirements must

also be observed by lower collegiate courts.


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%eriod for 6endering Judgments


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%eriod for 6endering Judgments.

$fter the trial and parties already

submitted the case for decision" thecourt is duty bound to render the

decision within a certain period of time.

$ case or matter is deemed submitted

for decision or resolution upon the -ling

of the last pleading" brief" ormemorandum required by the 6ules of

#ourt or by the court itself.


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$nnual 6eport

# to submit" within )5 days fromthe opening of each regular

session of #ongress" to the %res.and to #ongress an annual report

on the operations and activities

of the Judiciary = Sec. 1 ! "rt. #$$$ ?


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Chapter 12 the Judicial Department

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