The Judiciary

Jenny Lou Maullon – Guansing

Teacher, San Luis Senior High School
The Judicial
Department
Section 1
“The Judicial Power shall
be vested in one Supreme
Court and in such lower
courts as may be
established by law.
Section 1
Judicial power includes the
duty of the courts of justice
to settle actual controversies
involving rights which are
legally demandable and
Section 1
enforceable, and to
determine whether or not
there has been a grave abuse
of discretion amounting to
lack or excess of jurisdiction
Section 1
on the part of any branch or
instrumentality of the
government.”
Judicial Power
• vested in the Supreme Court
and all lower courts
• provisions for the Judicial
power are contained in
Article VIII, 1987 Constitution
Judicial Power
• power to apply laws to
contests or disputes
concerning legally recognized
rights and duties between the
State and private persons,
Judicial Power
or between individual
litigants in cases properly
brought before judicial
tribunals.
Supreme Court
• the highest court in the land;
• the final arbiter of
controversies and disputes
brought by the parties to the
courts of law
Scope of Judicial Power
• adjudicating power
• power of judicial
review
• incidental powers
Adjudicating Power
• the power to settle
legal disputes
Adjudicating Power
• includes the duty of courts to:
- settle actual controversies
involving rights which are legally
demandable and enforceable
(power to settle legal disputes)
Adjudicating Power
- determine whether there has
been a grave abuse of discretion
amounting to lack or excess of
jurisdiction on the part of any
branch or instrumentality of the
government
Power of Judicial Review
• power of the Supreme
Court to interpret and
make judgments with
respect to the law
Power of Judicial Review
• includes the power to:
- pass upon the validity or
constitutionality of the laws of
the State and the acts of other
departments of government
Power of Judicial Review
• includes the power to:
- interpret them
- render binding judgments
Classification of Courts
• Constitutional Courts
• Statutory Courts
Constitutional Courts
- only the Supreme Court
is a constitutional court in
the sense of being a
creation of the
Constitution.
Statutory Courts
- all other courts, including
the Sandiganbayan, are
statutory courts in the sense
that they are creations of law
Statutory Courts
- referred to as lower
courts in the Constitution,
meaning courts below that
of the Supreme Court
Organization of Courts
• Regular Courts
• Special Courts
Regular Courts
The Judicial system
consists of a hierarchy of
courts resembling a pyramid
with the Supreme Court at
the apex.
Regular Courts
Under the Judiciary
Reorganization of 1980, the
other courts are:
-Court of Appeals
-Regional Trial Court
Regular Courts
-Metropolitan Trial Court /
Municipal Trial Court /
Municipal Circuit Trial Court
Special Courts
Aside from the regular
courts, there are under
present laws special courts:
-Sandiganbayan
-Court of Tax Appeals
Quasi – Judicial Bodies
• administrative bodies under the
executive branch performing
quasi – judicial functions like:
-National Labor Relations Commission
-Securities and Exchange Commission
Note:
“Each court shall
has its own
jurisdiction”
Jurisdiction:
• the power and authority of a
court to hear, try, and decide
a case. It may be:
General, Limited, Original, Appellate,
Exclusive, Concurrent, Criminal, Civil
General Jurisdiction:
• when it is empowered to
decide all disputes which
may come before it except
those assigned to other
courts (e.g. jurisdiction of the RTC)
Limited Jurisdiction:
• when it has authority to
hear and determine only a
few specified cases (e.g.
jurisdiction of special courts)
Original Jurisdiction:
• when it can try and decide
a case presented for the first
time
Appellate Jurisdiction:
• when it can take a case
already heard and decided
by a lower court removed
from the latter by appeal
Exclusive Jurisdiction:
• when it can try and decide
a case which cannot be
presented before any other
court
Concurrent Jurisdiction:
• when any one of two or
more courts may take
cognizance of a case
Criminal Jurisdiction:
• that which exists for the
punishment of a crime
Civil Jurisdiction:
• that which exists when the
subject matter is not of a
criminal nature
Section 4:
“The Supreme Court shall be
composed of a Chief of Justice
and fourteen Associate Justices. It
may sit en banc or in its
discretion, in divisions of three,
five, or seven Members…”
Composition:
• 1 Chief Justice
• 14 Associate Justices
Activity:

Judges
Justices
Answer the following:
• What are the instances that
you have heard about the
Supreme Court?
• How do you think a person
becomes a judge or a justice?
Answer the following:
• What do you think are the
duties of the judges and
justices?
Qualifications for the Justices
of the Supreme Court:
• must be a natural-born
citizen of the Philippines
• must be at least 40 years of
age
Qualifications for the Justices
of the Supreme Court:
• must have, for 15 years or
more, been a judge of a lower
court or engaged in the practice
of law in the Philippines
Qualifications for the Justices
of the Supreme Court:
• must be a person of
proven competence,
integrity, probity and
independence
Qualifications of Judges of
Lower Courts
• Constitutional:
-Must be a citizen of the
Philippines
-Must be a member of the
Philippine Bar
Qualifications of Judges of
Lower Courts
• Constitutional:
-Must be a person of proven
competence, integrity,
probity and independence
Qualifications of Judges of
Lower Courts
• Statutory:
-Congress is given the authority
to prescribe additional
qualifications for judges of lower
courts.
Tenure of Office:
• Members of the Supreme
Court and judges of the
lower courts shall enjoy
their office during good
behavior
Tenure of Office:
• Members of the Supreme
Court shall enjoy the position
until they are removed in the
long and complicated process
of impeachment
Tenure of Office:
• Hold office until they reached
70 years or become
incapacitated
• until dismissed by members
of the SC for a probable cause
Powers of the
Supreme Court
• exercise original jurisdiction
over cases affecting
ambassadors, other public
ministers and consuls, and over
petitions for certiorari,
prohibition, mandamus, quo
warranto and habeas corpus
Certiorari:
• individual action
• a writ issued by a superior court
requiring a lower or a board of officer
exercising judicial function to
transmit the records of a case to the
higher tribunal for purposes of review
Prohibition:
• a written order by which a
superior court commands a lower
court or corporation, board, or a
person to desist from further
proceedings in action or matter
Mandamus:
• an order issued by a high
court commanding a lower
court or a corporation board,
or person to perform a certain
act, which is its duty to do
Mandamus:
• orders a compliance or
performance of an act
Quo Warranto:
• an action by the government
to recover an office or
franchise from an individual or
corporation usurping or
unlawfully holding it
• review judgments of lower
courts. Cases involving
constitutionality, legality of
any tax, reclusion perpetua
and errors or questions of
law
• assignment of judges to
the lower courts
• order a change of venue
for trial
• promulgate rules of court
• appoint officials of the
judiciary and hire
employees for the
judicial branch
Judicial and Bar Council:
• tasked to nominate
appointees to the
Judiciary
Composition of JBC:
• Chief Justice, as the ex
officio chairman
• Secretary of Justice
• Representative of Congress,
as ex officio member
Composition of JBC:
• Integrated Bar of the
Philippines (IBP)
representative
• Professor of Law
Composition of JBC:
• retired Member of the
Supreme Court
• Private sector
representative
Rendering Court Decisions:
• once a decision is
reached, a Supreme Court
Justice is assigned to write
an opinion
Rendering Court Decisions:
• the opinion is certified by
the Chief Justice and
served on the parties
concerned
Rendering Court Decisions:
• dissentions and
abstentions must be
explained
• the view must explain facts
of law
Special Courts:
• Court of Tax Appeal
• Sandiganbayan
• Ombudsman
Court of Tax Appeal:
• has exclusive jurisdiction
over tax appealed by private
citizens and commercial
firms who protect the
amount of taxes imposed
Sandiganbayan:
• decides cases involving
graft ad corruption by the
government and its
employees
Ombudsman:
• investigates cases of graft
and corruption
• also known as
Tanodbayan