LEGAL RESEARCH HIERARCHY OF COURTS

1. Finding and assembling of authorities that bear on a

question of law
a. Requisites:
i. Finding and assembling of authorities
ii. Bears on a question of law.

CHAPTER I

1. Magallano vs Ermita

CHAPTER II

FIVE CONSTITUTIONS

1. Malolos Constitution
2. 1935 Constitution
3. 1943 constitution
4. 1973 constitution
5. 1987 constitution

**Freedom constitution was considered as a provisional

constitution.

1987 Constitution
1. Democratic and Republican state
2. Sovereignty resided in the people and all government
authority emanated from them.
JUDICIARY Classification of Legal Sources

1. Supreme Court created by the constitution Classification by Authority

2. Other courts created by BP 129 as amended by RA
7691 1. Primary Sources/ Authority
3. The appropriation of the Judiciary shall not be reduced a. Only authorities that are binding with the courts.
by the Legislature. b. Sources are the statutes or statutory laws
4. SECTION 30. No law shall be passed increasing the ➢ Mandatory Primary Authority - created by jurisdiction in
appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court as provided which the law operates like the Philippines
in this Constitution without its advice and concurrence. ➢ Persuasive Mandatory Authority - created by other
5. jurisdiction but which have the persuasive value to our
courts; spanish and american laws and jurisprudence.
CHAPTER III - this is important specially when there are no
Philippine laws and jurisprudence on the subject.
Two Primary Sources of the Law:
2. Secondary Authority or Sources
1. Statutes or statutory Law a. These are the commentaries or books, treaties,
a. Written enactment of the will of the legislative writings, journal articles, discuss or comment on
branch primary authorities.
b. Also known as enactment of congress b. Included also the opinions of DOJ. SEC.
c. Consists of the constitution and legislative c. NOT BINDING ON COURTS BUT have
enactments persuasive effect or the degree of
d. Treaties, statues proper, municipal legislation, persuasiveness.
court rules, administrative orders and rules and
presidential issuances. Classification by Source
2. Jurisprudence or Case Law
a. Cases decided or written opinion by courts and 1. Primary sources
by persons performing judicial functions. a. Published by the issuing agency itself or the
b. All rulings in administrative and legislative official repository, the Official Gazette.
tribunals b. For supreme court decision - Philippine Reports
c. For RAs and other statues - Official Gazette
 2. Secondary Sources
a. Unofficial sources generally referred as CHAPTER IV
commercially published
b. Those are not published by government RESEARCH OF STATUTE LAW
agencies 1. It does not end with consulting the law itself
c. For SC decision - SCRA by central bookstore 2. It extends to the intent of each provision or even the
words used in law
Legal research for statute law uses the latest technology
due to: HOW DOES A BILL BECOMES A LAW
1. No complete and updated published or printed search
tools or law finders for statute law
2. No complete compilation of statute law from 1901-
present was available.

IN FINDING THE LAW - ultimate GOAL is to locate mandatory

primary authorities which have bearing on the legal problem at
hand. Next alternative is to find any relevant persuasive
mandatory authority.

Classification by Character

Law Finders
➔ Refer to indices, citators, encyclopedias, legal
dictionaries, thesauri or digests.
➔ Major problem - no up to date law finders
➔ Search engines used answers for the lack of complete
and updated indexes of legal information.

EFFECTIVE LEGAL RESEARCH can be conducted with one

cardinal rule in mind: ALWAYS START FROM THE LATEST.
Exception: when the research has defined or has provided a
SPECIFIC period.
TAKE NOTE!!

Spirit of the law

- Statcon = the ambiguity of the law
Rule making power of the supreme court
Use of legal research
Differentiate legal research from normal research
LEB VS PIMENTEL

**in appeal cases there is no trial, no hearing, purely questions Actual Case or Controversy
of law
Fundamental in the exercise of judicial power, whether under
the traditional or expanded setting, is the presence of an
Trial court vs Appellate Court actual case or controversy. An actual case or controversy is
TC try cases in determining facts one which involves a conflict of legal rights and an assertion of
AC appeal court’s decision, try cases to resolve factual issues opposite legal claims susceptible to judicial resolution. The
raised in cases case must not be moot or academic, or based on extra-legal or
other similar considerations not cognizable by a court of
justice.

To be justiciable, the controversy must be definite and

concrete, touching on the legal relations of parties having
adverse legal interests. It must be shown from the pleadings
that there is an active antagonistic assertion of a legal right, on
the one hand, and a denial thereof on the other. There must
be an actual and substantial controversy and not merely a
theoretical question or issue. Further, the actual and
substantial controversy must admit specific relief through a
conclusive decree and must not merely generate an advisory
opinion based on a hypothetical or conjectural state of facts.
Legal standing or locus standi The PhilSAT, as a pass or fail exam, dictates upon law
is the "right of appearance in a court of justice on a given schools who among the examinees are to be admitted to any
question." To possess legal standing, parties must show "a law program. When the PhilSAT is used to exclude, qualify,
personal and substantial interest in the case such that [they and restrict admissions to law schools, as its present design
have] sustained or will sustain direct injury as a result of the mandates, the PhilSAT goes beyond mere supervision and
governmental act that is being challenged." The requirement regulation, violates institutional academic freedom, becomes
of direct injury guarantees that the party who brings suit has unreasonable and therefore, unconstitutional.
such personal stake in the outcome of the controversy and, in
effect, assures "that concrete adverseness which sharpens the
presentation of issues upon which the court depends for
illumination of difficult constitutional questions.

the Court exercises only judicial functions and it cannot,

and must not, arrogate upon itself a power that is not
constitutionally vested to it, lest the Court itself violates the
doctrine of separation of powers. For the Court to void R.A.
No. 7662 and thereafter, to form a body that regulates legal
education and place it under its supervision and control, as
what petitioners suggest, is to demonstrate a highly improper
form of judicial activism.

the Court’s exclusive rule making power under the Constitution

covers the practice of law and not the study of law.

To be valid, the supervision and regulation of legal education

as an exercise of police power must be reasonable and not
repugnant to the Constitution.

Right to education is subject to fair,

reasonable, and equitable admission and
academic requirements