Professional Documents
Culture Documents
OF STATUTES
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
suppress or correct
Cannot be given a meaning inconsistent with language used by
legislature
PENAL STATUTES
TAX LAWS
o
o
INSURANCE LAW
o
o
RETIREMENT LAWS
ELECTION RULES
RULES OF COURT
PRINCIPLES
o Liberally construed in order to promote their objective of securing a
just, speedy and inexpensive disposition of every action and
proceeding
o
Prospective Statues
o Operates upon acts and transactions which have not occurred when
statute takes effect
o Regulates the future
Retrospective
o One which takes away or impairs vested rights acquired under existing
o
laws
Creates new obligations and imposes new duties or attaches new
PENAL STATUTE
PROCEDURAL LAWS
CURATIVE STATUTES
Retroactive in character
PRINCIPLES
10 |CONFLICTING STATUTES
EFFECT SHOULD BE GIVEN TO THE ENTIRE STATUTE
whole
Care should be taken that every part thereof be given effect on theory that it
was enacted as integrated measure and not hodge-podge of confliction
provisions
Construction that would render provision inoperative should be avoided
Inconsistent provisions should be reconciled whenever possible as parts of
coordinated and harmonious whole
legislative will
Effort must be exerted to avoid conflict between statutes
Repeal of laws by implication are not favoured, and the mere repugnancy
between two statutes should be very clear to warrant the Court in holding
that the later in time repeals the other
Statutes treating subject in general terms & another treating part of the same
subject in particularly detailed manner: give effect to both if possible; if
If both statute and ordinance can stand together, effect should be given to
both.
If there is conflict, ordinance must give way
An essential requisite for a valid ordinance is, among others, that it must not
contravene the statute
knowledge and took full cognizance of all existing laws on the same subject
When confronted with apparently conflicting statutes, courts should
endeavour to reconcile the same instead of declaring outright the invalidity of
PRINCIPLES
In case of conflict between the previous article and later article, the latter will
prevail
Whenever two statutes of different dates and of contrary tenor are of equal
theoretical application to a particular case, the statute of later date must
general law
A special law must be intended to constitute an exception to the general law
in the absence of a special circumstances forcing a contrary conclusion
When Courts are confronted with apparently conflicting statutes, they should
not declare outright the invalidity of one against the other, but should
special law unless there is manifest intent to repeal or alter special law
It is a well-settled rule that a substantive law cannot be amended by
procedural law
A general law cannot repeal a special law
In case of conflict between a general provision of a special law and a
prevail
Ordinance should not contravene a statute. In case of conflict between an
which it emanates
Fundamental and paramount law of nation
Supreme law to which all laws and contracts must conform to
Doctrine of Constitutional Supremacy: If a law or contract violates any norm
of constitution, that law or contract is null and void without any force and
effect
executing
Unless it is expressly provided that a legislative act is necessary to enforce a
constitutional mandate, the presumption now is that all provisions of the
constitution are self-executing | WHY? if constitutional provisions are treated
as requiring legislation instead of self-executing, the legislature would have
the power to ignore and practically nullify the mandate of the fundamental
law
Sec 10, 2nd Paragraph, Article X11
o In the grant of rights, privileges, and concessions covering the national
economy and patrimony, the State shall give preference to qualified
Filipinos
The Court, in construing a constitution should bear in mind the object sought
to be accomplished by its adoption and the evils, if any, sought to be
prevented or remedied
A doubtful provision will be examined in the light of the history of the times,
and the condition and circumstances under which the constitution was
framed
Not one provision of the constitution is to be separated from all the others, to
be considered alone, but that all the provisions bearing upon a particular
subject are to be brought into view and to be interpreted as to effectuate the
SUPREMA LEX
STARE DECISIS
form part of the legal system of the Philippines (Supreme Court decisions)
Also known as: Rule of precedents
If one case has been decided in one way, the another case, involving the
CONCLUSION
give way
There is no hard and fast rule in the construction and interpretation of the
Constitution
PRINCIPLES
Retroactive Effect
A constitutional provision should be construed so as to give it effective
operation and suppress the mischief at which it is aimed, hence, it is the spirit