The legal system used in the early 1990s was derived for the

most part from those of Spain and the United States. Civil code
procedures on family and property and the absence of jury trial
were attributable to Spanish influences, but most important
statutes governing trade and commerce, labor relations, taxation,
banking and currency, and governmental operations were of
United States derivation, introduced at the beginning of the
twentieth century.
Judicial power is vested in a Supreme Court and in such lower
courts as may be established by law. The 1981 Judicial
Reorganization Act provides for four main levels of courts and
several special courts. At the local level are metropolitan trial
courts, municipal trial courts, and municipal circuit trial courts. The
next level consists of regional trial courts, one for each of the
nation's thirteen political regions, including Manila. Courts at the
local level have original jurisdiction over less serious criminal
cases while more serious offenses are heard by the regional level
courts, which also have appellate jurisdiction. At the national level
is the Intermediate Appellate Court, also called the court of
appeals. Special courts include Muslim circuit and district courts in
Moro (Muslim Filipino) areas, the court of tax appeals, and the
Sandiganbayan. The Sandiganbayan tries government officers
and employees charged with violation of the Anti-Graft and
Corrupt Practices Act.
The Supreme Court, at the apex of the judicial system, consists of
a chief justice and fourteen associate justices. It has original
jurisdiction over cases affecting ambassadors, other public
ministers, and consuls, and over petitions for injunctions and writs
of habeas corpus; it has appellate jurisdiction over all cases in
which the constitutionality of any treaty, law, presidential decree,
proclamation, order, or regulation is questioned. The Supreme
Court also may hear appeals in criminal cases involving a
sentence of life in prison. Article 3 of the Constitution forbids the
death penalty "unless, for compelling reasons involving heinous
crimes, the Congress hereafter provides for it."
The Supreme Court also regulates the practice of law in the
Philippines, promulgates rules on admission to the bar, and
disciplines lawyers. To be admitted to the Integrated Bar of the

Philippines, candidates must pass an examination that is

administered once annually. Professional standards are similar to
those of the United States; the Integrated Bar Association's code
borrows heavily from the American Bar Association's rules. Some
30,000 attorneys practiced law in the Philippines in the mid1980s ,
more than one-third of them in Manila. Counsel for the indigent,
while not always available, is provided by government legal aid
offices and various private organizations. Many of the private
groups are active in representing "social justice" causes and are
staffed by volunteers.
Members of the Supreme Court and judges of lower courts are
appointed by the president from a list of at least three nominees
prepared by the Judicial and Bar Council for every vacancy. The
Judicial and Bar Council consists of a representative of the
Integrated Bar, a law professor, a retired member of the Supreme
Court, and a representative of the private sector. Presidential
appointments do not require confirmation. Supreme Court justices
must be at least forty years of age when appointed and must
retire at age seventy. According to Article 11 of the constitution,
members of the Supreme Court "may be removed from office on
impeachment for, and conviction of, culpable violation of the
Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high
crimes, or betrayal of public trust." The House has exclusive
power to initiate cases of impeachment. The Senate tries such
cases, and two-thirds of the Senate must concur to convict
someone. The judiciary is guaranteed fiscal autonomy.
The armed forces maintain an autonomous military justice
system. Military courts are under the authority of the judge
advocate general of the armed forces, who is also responsible for
the prosecutorial function in the military courts. Military courts
operate under their own procedures but are required to accord the
accused the same constitutional safeguards received by civilians.
Military tribunals have jurisdiction over all activeduty members of
the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The traditional independence of the courts had been heavily
compromised in the Marcos era. Because the 1973 constitution
allowed Marcos to fire members of the judiciary, including
members of the Supreme Court, at any time, anyone inclined to

oppose him was intimidated into either complying or resigning.

None of his acts or decrees was declared unconstitutional. The
thirteen Marcos-appointed Supreme Court justices resigned after
he fled, and Aquino immediately appointed ten new justices.
The Philippines has always been a highly litigious society, and the
courts often were used to carry on personal vendettas and family
feuds. There was widespread public perception that at least some
judges could be bought. Public confidence in the judicial system
was dealt a particular blow in 1988 when a special prosecutor
alleged that six Supreme Court justices had pressured him to "go
easy" on their friends. The offended justices threatened to cite the
prosecutor for contempt. Aquino did not take sides in this dispute.
The net effect was to confirm many Filipinos' cynicism about the
impartiality of justice.
Justice was endlessly delayed in the late 1980s. Court calendars
were jammed. Most lower courts lacked stenographers. A former
judge reported in 1988 that judges routinely scheduled as many
as twenty hearings at the same time in the knowledge that
lawyers would show up only to ask for a postponement. One tax
case heard in 1988 had been filed 50 years before, and a study of
the tax court showed that even if the judges were to work 50
percent faster, it would take them 476 years to catch up. Even in
the spectacular case of the 1983 murder of Senator Benigno
Aquino, the judicial system did not function speedily or reliably. It
took five years to convict some middle-ranking officers, and
although the verdict obliquely hinted at then-Chief of Staff General
Fabian Ver's ultimate responsibility, the court never directly
addressed that question.
The indictment of former Minister of Defense Enrile on the charge
of "rebellion with murder" shows that the courts can be
independent of the president, but also that powerful people are
handled gently. Enrile was arrested on February 27, 1990, for his
alleged role in the December 1989 coup attempt in which more
than 100 people died. Because Enrile was powerful, he was given
an air-conditioned suite in jail, a telephone, and a computer, and a
week later he was released on 100,000 pesos (for value of
the pso--see Glossary) bail. In June 1990, the Supreme Court
invalidated the charges against him. A further test of the court

system was expected in the 1990s when criminal and civil

charges were to be brought against Imelda Marcos. In 1991
Aquino agreed to allow the former first lady, who could not leave
New York City without the permission of the United States
Department of Justice, to return to the Philippines to face charges
of graft and corruption. Swiss banking authorities agreed to return
approximately US$350 million to the Philippine government only if
Marcos were tried and convicted. Marcos did not seem to be
reluctant to face the Philippine courts.
Data as of June 1991