Intro to Law

• Law


  The science of moral laws based on the rational nature of man, governing his free activity for the realization of his individual and social ends, demandable and reciprocal
• Law (specific sense)


  A rule of conduct, just, obligatory, promulgated by legitimate authority, and of common observance and benefit
• Elements of Law

  • Law is a rule of conduct
  • Laws serve as guides of an individual in relation to his fellowmen and to his country
  • Law must be just
  • To obtain stability of the social order and guide human conduct
  • It must be obligatory
  • Should be enforced and followed
  • Law must be promulgated by legitimate authority
  • Law must be enacted for common observance and benefit
• The welfare of the people

  Shall be the supreme law
• Classifications of Law (as to purpose)

  • Substantive Law
  • Adjective Law
• Classifications of Law (as to scope)

  • General or Public Law
  • Special Law
  • Civil, Maritime, and Mercantile Laws
• Sources of Law

  • 1987 Philippine Constitution
  • Statutes and legislative enactments
  • Administrative or Executive orders, regulations, and rulings
  • Judicial decisions or jurisprudence
  • Custom
  • Other sources
• Practice of Law


  Any activity, in or out of court, which requires the application of law, legal procedure, knowledge, training, and experience
• The practice of law is a privilege, not a right
• A bar candidate who is morally unfit cannot practice law even if he passes the bar examination
• Lawyering is a profession, not a business
• Factors considered in determining practice of law


  • Habituality
  • Application of Law, legal principles, practice or procedure
  • Compensation
  • Attorney-Client Relationship
• Constitution is the body of doctrines and practices that form the fundamental organizing principle of a political state
• Constitutional Law

  • Branch of jurisprudence which treats the Constitution, their nature, formation, and amendment, operation, and interpretation
• Political Law


  • Branch of public law which deals with the organization and operations of the governmental organs of the State and defines the relations of the State with the inhabitants of its territory
• Ratification of the 1987 Philippine Constitution

  February 2, 1987
• Political Law


  Branch of public law dealing with the organization and operations of governmental organs of the State and defining the relations of the State with its inhabitants
• The 1987 Philippine Constitution is a written constitution
• Constitutions of the Philippines

  • The 1935 Constitution
  • The 1973 Constitution
  • The 1987 Constitution
• The Supremacy of the Constitution and the Role of Courts


  • The Constitution is the fundamental law to which every statute must conform; laws, statutes, or treaties may be nullified if in conflict with the Constitution
  • Branches of the government must discharge their functions within the limits of authority conferred by the Constitution; Courts have the duty to ensure this is so
• Parts of a Constitution

  • Constitution of Government
  • Constitution of Sovereignty
  • Constitution of Liberty
• Preamble: 'We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society, and establish a government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity, the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution'
• Contents of the 1987 Philippine Constitution


  • Article 1: National Territory
  • Article 2: Declaration of Principles and State Policies Principles
  • Article 3: Bill of Rights
  • Article 4: Citizenship
  • Article 5: Suffrage
  • Article 6: Legislative Department
  • Article 7: Executive Department
  • Article 8: Judicial Department
  • Article 9: Constitutional Commission
  • Article 10: Local Government
  • Article 11: Accountability of Public Officers
  • Article 12: National Economy and Patrimony
  • Article 13: Social Justice and Human Rights
  • Article 14: Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture, and Sports
  • Article 15: The Family
  • Article 16: General Provisions
  • Article 17: Amendments and Revisions
  • Article 18: Transitory Provisions
• Civil Law is a collection of laws regulating the private relations of the members of civil society, determining their rights and obligations
• The Civil Code of the Philippines, Republic Act 386, took effect on August 30, 1950
• Catch-All Provisions

  • Article 19: Every person must act with justice, give everyone his due, and observe honesty and good faith
  • Article 20: Every person who causes damage to another shall indemnify the latter
  • Article 21: Any person who causes loss or injury to another contrary to morals, good customs, or public policy shall compensate the latter
  • Article 22: Every person who acquires something at the expense of another without just or legal ground shall return the same
  • Article 23: Even when an act causing damage to another’s property was not due to the fault of the defendant, the latter shall be liable for indemnity if benefited
  • Article 24: In all relations when one party is at a disadvantage, the courts must be vigilant for his protection
  • Article 25: Though
• Article 24: 'In all contractual, property or other relations when one of the parties is at a disadvantage on account of his moral decadence, ignorance, indigence, mental weakness, tender age or handicap, the courts must be vigilant for his protection'
• Article 25: 'Thoughtless extravagance in expenses for pleasure or display during a period of acute public want or emergency may be stopped by order of the courts at the instance of any government or private charitable institution'
• Article 26: 'Every person shall respect the dignity, personality, privacy and peace of mind of his neighbors and other persons. The following and similar acts, though they may not constitute a criminal offense, shall produce a cause of action for damages prevention and other relief: Prying into the privacy of another’s residence; Meddling with or disturbing the private life or family relations of another; Intriguing to cause another to be alienated from his friends; Vexing or humiliating another on account of his religious beliefs, low station in life, place of birth, physical defect, or other personal condition'
• Types of persons under the Civil Code

  • Natural Persons
  • Juridical Persons
• Natural Persons


  Are human beings (start at birth and exit by death)
• Juridical Persons


  Are created by fiction of law
• Juridical Persons include

  • State and its political subdivisions
  • Other corporations, institutions and entities for public interest or purpose created by law
  • Corporations, partnerships, and associations for private interest or purpose to which the law grants a juridical personality, separate and distinct from that of each shareholder, partner or member
• Marriage is a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with the law for the establishment of conjugal and family life
• Marriage is the foundation of a family and an inviolable social institution whose nature, consequences, and incidents are governed by law and not subject to stipulation, except that marriage settlement may fix the property relations during the marriage within the limits provided by this Code
• Requisites of Marriage

  • Essential Requisites
  • Formal Requisites
• Essential Requisites of Marriage

  • Legal capacity of the contracting parties who must be a male and a female
  • Must be 18 years old or above
  • Not under any impediment mentioned in Articles 37 (incestuous marriages) and Article 38 (void marriages under public policy)
  • Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer
• Formal Requisites of Marriage

  • Authority of the solemnizing officer
  • A valid marriage license
  • A marriage ceremony which takes place with the appearance of the contracting parties before the solemnizing officer and their personal declaration that they take each other as husband and wife in the presence of not less than two witnesses of legal age
• By virtue of their marriage


  • The husband and wife are obliged to live together, observe mutual love, respect and fidelity, and render mutual help and support
  • The husband and wife shall fix the family domicile. In case of disagreement, the court shall decide
  • The spouses are jointly responsible for the support of the family. The expenses for such support and other conjugal obligations shall be paid from the community property and, in the absence thereof, from the income or fruits of their separate properties
  • The management of the household shall be the right and duty of both spouses
  • When one of the spouses neglects his or her duties to the conjugal union or commits acts which tend to bring danger, dishonor or injury to the other or to the family, the aggrieved party may apply to the court for relief
  • Either spouse may exercise any legitimate profession, occupation, business or activity without the consent of the other. The latter may object only on valid, serious, and moral grounds
• All things which are or may be the object of appropriation are considered property under the Civil Code, which may be immovable (real property) or movable (personal property)