Professional Documents
Culture Documents
EH308
LLB -1
Library work on Classification of Legal Sources
I.
Classification by Authority
A. Primary Sources/Authority
- The only authority that is binding with the courts
- These are the two sources of law; the Constitution, statutes passed
by the congress, Decisions promulgated by the Supreme Court,
lower courts and other quasi-judicial agencies, Executive Issuances,
treaties, local ordinances and rules and regulations of government
agencies.
- The actual law or those laws created by each of the three branches
of government: Legislative, Executive and Judiciary.
Legislative; Act, Commonwealth Act, Batas Pambansa, and
Republic Act.
o Presidential decrees or laws issued by Pres. Marcos during
Martial law and Executive orders by Pres. Aquino can be
classified as legislative acts, there being no legislature
during these two periods.
Executive; Presidential issuances (Presidential Decrees,
Executive Orders, Memorandum Circular, and Administrative
orders, Proclamations, etc.), rules and regulations through its
various departments, bureaus and agencies.
Judiciary; Promulgates judicial doctrines embodied in decisions.
Further subdivided into:
i.
Mandatory primary authority
- Law created by the jurisdiction in which the law operates ;
ii.
Persuasive mandatory authority
- Law created by other jurisdictions but which have persuasive
value to our courts, e.g., Spanish and American laws and
jurisprudence.
- Used specially when there are no Philippine authorities available
or;
- When the Philippine statute or jurisprudence under
interpretation is based on either the Spanish or American law;
Primary persuasive authorities are important especially when there are no
Philippine laws and jurisprudence on the subject.
B. Secondary authority or sources
- Commentaries or books, treaties, writings, journal articles that
explain, discuss or comment on primary authorities.
- Opinions of the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange
Commission or circulars of the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
II.
III.
-
Classification by Character
Refers to the nature of the subject treated in books
Categorizes books as:
a)
b)
c)
d)