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Legal System of The Philippines

The Philippines has a legal system that is influenced by its history of colonial rule. It is based primarily on Spanish and American models, with the Penal Code derived from Spanish law and the Constitution modeled after the U.S. Constitution. However, some aspects such as barangay conciliation panels are uniquely Filipino. The Supreme Court has also implemented mobile courts to increase access to justice. While Philippines law comes from statutes passed by Congress, making it a civil law system, it also incorporates some aspects of common, Islamic, and customary law.

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Frances Ann Teves
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288 views

Legal System of The Philippines

The Philippines has a legal system that is influenced by its history of colonial rule. It is based primarily on Spanish and American models, with the Penal Code derived from Spanish law and the Constitution modeled after the U.S. Constitution. However, some aspects such as barangay conciliation panels are uniquely Filipino. The Supreme Court has also implemented mobile courts to increase access to justice. While Philippines law comes from statutes passed by Congress, making it a civil law system, it also incorporates some aspects of common, Islamic, and customary law.

Uploaded by

Frances Ann Teves
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Legal System in the Philippines When it comes to the subject of Philippine Legal System, we are to dwell on the existing

laws and organized judicial procedures and methods of our country. More often than not, different countries ha e relati ely different forms of legal system which was created and influenced by historic circumstance and experience. !a ing been under the colonial rule of Spain and subse"uently the #nited States, it is not surprising that the Philippines would base much of its laws and court system on the Spanish and $merican models. %he &e ised Penal 'ode , a law which defines and punishes crimes for instance , is mostly deri ed from Spanish criminal law. %he Philippine 'onstitution itself is modeled after the $merican 'onstitution. (espite the similarities of our legal system with that of Spanish and $merican laws, howe er, there are still portions of Philippine law that are original to the Philippines. )or example, the barangay conciliation panels , through which most contro ersies in ol ing residents of the same city or municipality must pass through before they are litigated in court, are uni"uely )ilipino. *t is also noteworthy that unli+e in the #nited States, there is no jury system in the Philippines. ,http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Philippines1.htm-. *n our country , the Supreme 'ourt through former 'hief .ustice !ilario (a ide .r., /.ustice on Wheels0 was created and continuously being implemented and enhanced in our judicial system. 1asically it is a bus that houses a small courtroom and offices complete with court judge assigned ia a rotation scheme, and are staffed by court personnel and a mediator. %he mobile court is custom2built to efficiently ser e its functions. *t is fully air2conditioned and e"uipped with amenities for the judge, the court personnel, the litigants, and their lawyers.

%his program primarily allows court hearings to be held outside the usual courtrooms which aims to ma+e justice e en closer to the less pri ileged as well as to pro ide a more efficient and expedite cases in ol ing them. ,http://www.philstar.com. June 2, 2010-. *n the #nited States they ha e the so called speedy trial , which actually refers to one of the rights guaranteed by the #nited States 'onstitution to defendants in criminal proceedings. %he right to a speedy trial, is guaranteed by the Sixth $mendment intended to ensure that defendants are not subjected to unreasonably lengthy incarceration prior to a fair trial. 3iolations of the principle, such as where the state has failed to bring the case to trial for an 4unreasonable4 length of time, may be a cause for dismissal of a criminal case. ,http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment0 -. Primarily , Philippines is considered a ci il law jurisdiction for our laws come from bills enacted by 'ongress as opposed to a common law jurisdiction which is primarily based on court decisions de eloped by judges through the years. %he modern trend, howe er, is blurring this distinction because most common law jurisdictions ,just li+e the #nited States, 5reat 1ritain are starting to codify their laws. ,http677en.wi+ipedia.org7wi+i7List8of8country8legal8systems- .Laws passed by 'ongress are called 4&epublic $cts,4 followed by their appropriate number. (uring the Marcos $dministration, laws were called 1atas Pambansa, if passed by 'ongress which was then parliamentary in form, and Presidential (ecree if passed by )erdinand Marcos. %he duties carried out by a Member of 'ongress doesn9t only include constituent ser ice, education, political and electoral acti ities, but on top of it is representation by legislation as an important function in our country9s legal

system. : ery time they routinely attend committee hearings and briefings, hold meeting with congressional colleagues drafting, introducing, oting and enacting laws in ol ing local, national and international issues or problems, it gi es us more reason to understand and appreciate the nature and significance of our present legal system. Rep. Magtanggol T. Gunigundo I, has iew on Legal System6 ;ur legal system may be considered as a uni"ue legal system because it is a blend of 'i il, 'ommon, *slamic, and 'ustomary Law. &eligion has a great influence in the legal system of the Philippines. )or the Muslim or *slamic religion, a special law, the 'ode of Muslim Personal Laws were promulgated and special courts were established, the !hari"a courts. %he 'ode of Muslim Personal Laws include all laws relating to personal status, marriage and di orce, matrimonial and family relations, succession and inheritance, and property relations between spouses. *n the Philippines, statutory law includes constitution, treaties, statutes proper or legislati e enactments, municipal charters, municipal legislation, court rules, administrati e rules and orders, legislati e rules and presidential issuances. ;n the "uestion whether or not there is a need to amend the 'onstitution, &ep. 5unigundo answered< first, we ha e to figure out which particular pro ision or pro isions in the 'onstitution no longer effecti e. 1ecause the primal purpose of the law is , it should be responsi e to present situation. !ow can we impro e our Legal System= &ep. 5unigundo * answered< 1etter get people, appoint people who deser e the position, hire people who ha e the right attitude, honest and trustworthy. >ot all laws percei e each

situation uniformly, so we need people who may help to carry out justice as it is ,plain and simple. %o be an agent in effecting change , ma+ing a difference on our system . We cannot eradicate po erty right away, for instance, because po erty is e erywhere. ;ne solution * always belie e is reforming the policy in education .

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