UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES COLLEGE OF LAW LEGAL BIBLIOGRAPHY Syllabus 1 Semester, A.Y. 2015-2016 RYAN HARTZELL C. BALISACAN Lecturer Course Description: This is an introductory course on legal bibliography, aiming to introduce first year law students to the primary sources of information necessary to conduct legal research and writing. The orientation of the course is primarily practical, with emphasis on imparting the necessary knowledge and skills that will enable students to source necessary legal materials and utilize appropriate tools (in both “traditional” and online platforms) for the purpose of addressing a legal query. Through this course, students will be acquainted with common environments in which they will likely deploy their legal research skills and to which they will be exposed as upper class students, law interns and junior lawyers. Course Objective: At the end of the course, the students are expected to demonstrate competency in analyzing basic legal problems, preparing research plans and identifying proper legal resources necessary to tackle them, and writing basic legal research memoranda addressing them. In addition, students are likewise expected to be well-versed in the basic conventions on legal citation and conscious of the principles of academic/intellectual honesty in undertaing scholarly work. Course Methodology: The class will be conducted through recitations and, where applicable, lectures. Demonstrations will also be conducted as appropriate (especially for tutorials on legal research software). To underscore the skills-based component of the course, students will also be required to conduct archival (at the UP Law Library) and field research, as well as submit occasional short papers, as assigned. The terminal requirement of the course is a legal research memorandum.Course Requirements: Class Participation - 30% Midterm Examination - 30% Final Paper (Memorandum) - 40% Course Outline: I. _ Introduction to the Course I The Context of Legal Research in the Philippines - Historical overview of the legal system - Current legal system and government structure Read: * Feliciano, Myrna, LEGAL SYSTEMS IN ASEAN ~ PHILIPPINES (2005). Available at: http://www. aseanlawassociation.org/Iegal- phil.html; Chapter 1 (Historical Overview) and Chapter 3 (Government and the State). IL. Legal Bibliography and Legal Research: Utility and Application ~ Legal research in law school - Legal research in legal practice ~The UP Law Library and other repositories of legal information IV. Sourcing Legal Materials a, Research on constitutional law - Primary Sources: The Philippine Constitutions - Secondary Sources: Proceedings and Commentaries - Lex Libris databases Read: * Santos, Antonio, A GUIDE TO PHILIPPINE LEGAL INFORMATION (2013); pp. 70-75= * Mendoza, Vicente. | FROM — MCKINLEY’S INSTRUCTIONS TO THE NEW CONSTITUTION (1978); pp. 1-53 Research on statute law The Official Gazette - Bills of the Senate and House of Representatives Legislative history - Philippine treaties and other international agreements - Lex Libris databases Read: * Santos, Antonio, A GUIDE TO PHILIPPINE LEGAL INFORMATION (2013); pp. 76-88. . Research on administrative rules, local legislation and internal issuances - The Office of the National Administrative Register - Ordinance Power of the President - Administrative rule-making of agencies - Local legislative process - Lex Libris databases Read: * Santos, Antonio, A GUIDE TO PHILIPPINE LEGAL INFORMATION (2013); pp. 89-96. * Executive Order No. 292 (Administrative Code of 1987), Book VIL, Chapters 1-2 and Book III, Title 1 Chapter. * Republic Act No. 7160 (Local Government Code of 1991), Sections 48-59. Research on jurisprudence - Philippine Reports = Supreme Court Reports Annotated - Analyzing court decisions - Lex Libris databasesRead: * Santos, Antonio, A GUIDE TO PHILIPPINE LEGAL, INFORMATION (2013); pp. 104-151 * 1987 Constitution, Article VII, Sections 4 and 5. * Internal Rules of the Supreme Court e. Research on United States case law - The United States court system ‘The United States National Reporter system Westlaw databases “Shepardizing” cases f. Research on international/comparative law - International Treaties and Agreements - “Soft law” - Documents of the United Nations and other international organs - Decisions of international courts and tribunals - Annotations, travaux preparatoires, and treatises/writings of highly qualified publicists V. Law Journals/Reviews - Law reviews and their place in legal scholarship - Editorial processes and practices - Index of Philippine Law Journal articles - Westlaw databases Read: © Tan, Oscar. Foreword: Sisyphus’ Lament Part I: The Next Ninety Years and the Transcendence of Academic Legal Writing, 79 PHIL. L. J. 1 (2004). * Tan, Oscar. Foreword: Sisyphus’ Lament Part IV: Style and the Seduction of the Supreme Court, 79 Pritt. L. J 876 (2004). * Posner, Richard. Against the Law Reviews, LEGAL AFF., Nov-Dec 2004 at 57. Available at: http://www legalaffairs.org/issues/ November- December-2004/review_posner_novdec04.msp* Rodel, Fred. Goodbye to Law Reviews, 23 VA. L. REV. 38 (1936). Available at: http:/ /digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/fss_papers/27 622utm_source=digitalcommons law yale.edu%2Ffss papers%2F2762éutm_medium=PDFé&utm_campaig °DFCoverPa: VI. Legal Citation Systems Uniform System of Citation (The “ Bluebook”) Philippine Manual of Legal Citations VIL. Editing and Proofreading Editing and proofreading - Common proofreading marks and symbols Read: © Tan, Oscar. Foreword: Sisyphus’ Lament Part II: Editing, or the Student’s Art of not being One’s Own Worst Enemy, 79 PHIL. L. J. 249 (2004). VIII. Copyright and Fair Use Copyright law and restrictions to the use of, and access to, research materials - The Doctrine of Fair Use Read: © Republic Act No. 8293 (Intellectual Property Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 10372), Sections 172- 179; 184-185; and 187. IX. Plagiarism - Rules for attribution and in-text citation - Common pitfalls - Responsibility for plagiarized work Read:X. Legal Writing + Inthe Matter of the Charges of Plagiarism, etc. Against Associate Justice Mariano Del Castillo, A.M. No. 10-7-17-SC, 12 October 2010. * Bills, Robert. Plagiarism in Law School: Close Resemiblance of the Worst Kind, 31 STA. CLARA L. REV. 108 (1990), Clear, effective and efficient legal writing Avoiding the “legalese” trap Read: * Painter, Mark. LEGAL WRITING 201: 30 SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE READABILITY OR HOW TO WRITE FOR JUDGES, NOT LIKE JUDGES. Available at: http://www. plainlanguagenetwork.org/legal/legal writing. pdf * Kimble, Joseph. THE GREAT MYTH THAT PLAIN LANGUAGE IS NOT PRECISE. Available at: http:/ /www.plainlanguagenetwork.org/kimble/ gre at4.pdf XI. Conducting Legal Research Issue-spotting and issue analysis Suveying the literature - Identifying sources Preparing and executing a research plan - Preparing an outline Writing the legal memorandum/article