REM 1-2

• Substantive Law


  That part of the law which creates, defines, and regulates rights, or which regulates the rights and duties which give rise to a cause of action
• Procedural Law


  The adjective law, which prescribes rules and forms of procedure in order that courts may be able to administer justice
• Test for determining whether a rule is procedural or substantive


  • Whether the rule really regulates procedure, that is, the judicial process for enforcing rights and duties recognized by substantive law and for justly administering remedy and redress for a disregard or infraction of them
  • If the rule takes away a vested right, it is not procedural
  • If the rule creates a right such as the right to appeal, it may be classified as a substantive matter
  • If it operates as a means of implementing an existing right then the rule deals merely with procedure
• Issuances from the Executive Department pertaining to the protection and enforcement of constitutional rights, pleading, practice, and procedure in all courts cannot prevail over the exclusive rule-making power of the Supreme Court
• To give primacy to the DOJ policy as provided in DOJ Circulars over the exclusive rule-making power of the Court is to gravely contravene the Constitution and evade that same constitutional power
• The 1987 Constitution molded an even stronger and more independent judiciary. Among others, it enhanced the rule-making power of this Court
• The power to promulgate rules of pleading, practice and procedure is no longer shared by this Court with Congress, more so with the Executive
• Plea Bargaining is a rule of procedure within the Supreme Court's exclusive domain
• Plea bargaining in criminal cases is an essential component of the administration of justice
• Plea bargaining in criminal cases is clearly a procedural mechanism geared towards promoting an efficient, inexpensive and speedy disposition of cases
• Doctrine of hierarchy of courts

  Direct recourse to the high court is not allowed if a lower-ranked court exercises concurrent jurisdiction
• Exceptions to the doctrine of hierarchy of courts

  • There are genuine issues of constitutionality that must be addressed at the most immediate time
  • The issues involved are of transcendental importance, such that the imminence and clarity of the threat to fundamental constitutional rights outweigh the necessity for prudence
  • In cases of first impression
  • The constitutional issues raised are better decided by the [Supreme] Court
  • The time element presented in the case cannot be ignored
  • When the subject of review is an act of a constitutional organ
  • When petitioners rightly claim that they had no other plain, speedy, and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law
  • When the petition includes questions that are dictated by public welfare and the advancement of public policy, or demanded by the broader interest of justice, or the orders complained of were found to be patent nullities, or the appeal was considered as clearly an inappropriate remedy
• Doctrine of judicial stability or doctrine of non-interference


  The orders and decisions of a competent court cannot be altered, modified, or amended by a co-equal court
• The rationale for the doctrine of judicial stability is founded on the concept of jurisdiction—a court that acquires jurisdiction over the case and renders judgment therein has jurisdiction over its judgment, to the exclusion of all other coordinate courts, for its execution and over all its incidents, and to control, in furtherance of justice, the conduct of ministerial officers acting in connection with this judgment
• Suppletory application of the Rules of Court in administrative bodies

  Although a special rule may primarily govern a specific case, the Rules of Court may still be applied by analogy or in a suppletory character
• There should be no suppletory application of the Rules of Court when the governing rule is adequate
• Liberal construction of the procedural rules

  Proper when substantial justice requires it
• Rules of procedure are tools designed to facilitate the attainment of justice, and courts must avoid their strict and rigid application which would result in technicalities that tend to frustrate rather than promote substantial justice
• Relaxation of the rules may only be done when there is sufficient justification to do so
• Reasons that may provide justification for a court to suspend strict adherence to procedural rules

  • Matters of life, liberty, honor, or property
  • The existence of special or compelling circumstances
  • The merits of the case
  • A cause not entirely attributable to the fault or negligence of the party favored by the suspension of the rules
  • A lack of any showing that the review sought is merely frivolous and dilatory
  • The fact that the other party will not be unjustly prejudiced thereby
• Jurisdiction


  The power and authority—conferred by the Constitution or statute—of a court to hear and decide a case
• Aspects of jurisdiction


  • Jurisdiction over the subject matter
  • Jurisdiction over the parties
  • Jurisdiction over the issues of the case
  • Jurisdiction over the res or the thing which is the subject of the litigation
  • Jurisdiction over the remedy
• Jurisdiction


  The power or authority of a court to hear and decide a case
• Decisions or orders issued by courts outside their jurisdiction are void
• Aspects of jurisdiction


  • Jurisdiction over the subject matter
  • Jurisdiction over the parties
  • Jurisdiction over the issues
  • Jurisdiction over the res
  • Jurisdiction over the remedy
• Jurisdiction over the subject matter


  The power to hear and determine the general class to which the proceedings in question belong
• Jurisdiction over the parties


  The power of the courts to make decisions that are binding on the parties and is based on due process
• Jurisdiction over the issues


  The power and authority to decide over matters which are either disputed by the parties or simply under consideration
• Jurisdiction over the res


  The court's authority over the object or thing subject of the litigation as well as its power to bind the same with its judgment
• Jurisdiction over the remedy


  The authority of a tribunal to take cognizance and pass upon the propriety of petitioner or complainant's reliefs sought
• Jurisdiction over the subject matter that is conferred by law to a (B)body,(A) agency, or (T)tribunal cannot be waived or restricted by the stipulation of the parties
• Estoppel does not confer jurisdiction over the subject matter
• Tijam vs. Sibonghanoy


  • The exception, not the rule, concerning the affirmative defense of lack of subject-matter jurisdiction
  • The general rule still remains: The issue of jurisdiction may be raised at any stage of the proceedings, even on appeal, and is not lost by waiver or by estoppel
• Violation of due process is a jurisdictional defect
• Proper service of summons is imperative
• Jurisdiction over the parties is required regardless of the type of action — whether the action is in personam, in rem, or quasi in rem
• Objections to a court's jurisdiction over the person of the respondent must be raised at the earliest possible opportunity; otherwise, objections to the court's jurisdiction over the person are deemed waived
• There can be no waiver of such right to object if the respondent is not even aware of the proceedings even if it has been ongoing for several years
• When analysing markets, a range of assumptions are made about the rationality of economic agents involved in the transactions
• Jurisprudence is consistent that objections to a court's jurisdiction over the person of the respondent must be raised at the earliest possible opportunity; otherwise, objections to the court's jurisdiction over the person are deemed waived