ARTICLE VIIISECTION 5

The supreme court shall have the following powers:

(1) Exercise original jurisdiction over cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and over petitions for certiorari, prohibition, mandamus,

quo warranto, and habeas corpus.

Original Jurisdiction of Supreme Court over cases affecting ambassadors, etc.

(1) Diplomatic agents of a foreign country

(2) Privileges and Immunities

Original jurisdiction of Supreme Court over petitions for certiorari, etc.

(1) The Supreme Court exercises original jurisdiction over petitions for the issuance of Writs of:

• Certiorari-a writ issued from a superior court

requiring a lower court to transmit the records of a case to the superior court for the purposes of review.

• Prohibition-a writ by which a superior court

commands a lower court to desist from further proceedings in an action or matter.

• Mandamus-an order by a superior court commanding a

lower court, a board or a corporation to perform a certain act which is its or his duty to do.

• Quo warranto-an action by the government to recover an

office or franchise from an individual unlawfully holding it.

Petition for Quo Warranto vs. Jovito Palparan

• Habeas Corpus-a writ issued in order to bring somebody

who has been detained into court, usually for a decision on whether the detention is lawful.

Aquino v. Enrile

(2) Review, revise, reverse, modify, or affirm on appeal or certiorari as the law or the Rules of Court may provide, final judgments and orders of lower courts in:

(a) All cases in which the constitutionality or validity of any treaty, international or executive agreement, law, presidential decree, proclamation, order, instruction, ordinance, or regulation is in question.

(b) All cases involving the legality of any tax, impost, assessment, or toll, or any penalty imposed in relation thereto.

(c) All cases in which the jurisdiction of any lower court is in issue.

(d) All criminal cases in which the penalty imposed is reclusion perpetua or higher.

(e) All cases in which only an error or question of law is involved.

Exclusive appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

(1)Cases of great public interest

(2)Elevation of the cases to supreme court(a) By appeal(b) By Certiorari

(3)Cases involving only an error or question of law

(3) Assign temporarily judges of lower courts to other stations as public interest may require. Such temporary assignment shall not exceed six months without the consent of the judge concerned.

Assignment temporary-under the provision, temporary assignments of judges of lower courts may be made only by the Supreme Court.

Assignment permanent-if the transfer is a permanent one, it can only be effected with the consent of the judge and by extension of a new appointment by the President.

Assignment within the same region-the station of the judge is the place where he is assigned by law to hold regular sessions.

(4) Order a change of venue or place of trial to avoid a miscarriage of justice.

Supreme Court allows change of venue for trial of Filipino broadcaster’s suspected killers

(5) Promulgate rules concerning the protection and enforcement of constitutional rights, pleading, practice, and procedure in all courts, the admission to the practice of law, the Integrated Bar, and legal assistance to the underprivileged. Such rules shall provide a simplified and inexpensive procedure for the speedy disposition of cases, shall be uniform for all courts of the same grade, and shall not diminish, increase, modify substantive rights. Rules of procedure of special courts and quasi-judicial bodies shall remain effective unless disapproved by the Supreme Court.

Rule-making power of the Supreme Court

(1) Protection and enforcement of constitutional rights

(2) Pleading (3) Practice of law(4) Procedure(5) Admission to the practice of law or to the bar(6) Integrated bar(7) Legal assistance to the underprivileged

Limitations on the rule-making power of the Supreme Court

(1) Such rules shall provide a simplified and inexpensive procedure for the speedy disposition of cases;

(2) They shall be uniform for all courts of the same grade;

(3) They shall not diminish, increase, or modify substantive rights.

SUBSTANTIVE LAW/RIGHTS

Substantive law

• Part of law which creates, defines, and regulates rights concerning life, liberty, or property, or the powers of agencies and instrumentalities for the administration of public affairs.

• Constitution• Civil code• Code of commerce• Insurance Code• Corporation Code• National Internal Revenue Code• Revised Penal Code

Procedural law (adjective or remedial)

• Governed by the Rules of Court promulgated by the Supreme Court and by special laws.

• Includes the rules relating to courts and their jurisdiction, pleadings, remedies, trial, and evidence.

(6) Appoint all officials and employees of the Judiciary in accordance with the Civil Service Law.

ARTICLE VIIISECTION 6

The Supreme Court shall have administrative supervision over all courts and the personnel thereof.

ARTICLE VIIISECTION 7

(1) No person shall be appointed Member of the Supreme Court or any lower collegiate court unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines. A Member of the Supreme Court must be at least forty years of age, and must have been for fifteen years or more a judge of a lower court or engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines.

Qualifications for members of the Supreme Court.

(a) A natural-born citizen of the Philippines(b) At least 40 years of age(c) He must have, for fifteen years or more, been a

judge of a lower court or engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines.

(d) A person of proven competence, integrity, probity and independence.

(2)Congress shall prescribe the qualifications of judges of lower courts, but no person may be appointed judge thereof unless he is a citizen of the Philippines and a member of the Philippine Bar.

Qualifications for members of any lower collegiate court:

(a)Natural-born citizen of the Philippines(b)Prescribed by congress

Qualifications of Judges of Lower courts:(1) Constitutional

(a) He must be a Citizen

(b) He must be a member of the Philippine Bar.(c) He must be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity and independence.

(2) Statutory

The administration of Justice

(1) Nature

“Compared to other public functions and duties, the dispensing of justice, being extremely important, is both delicate and singular. To sit in judgment over one’s fellowmen, to pass upon their controversies involving their rights and fortunes, and in criminal cases, determine their innocence or guilt, which decision affects and involves their freedom, their honor, even their lives, is no ordinary chore or business. It is a serious task, weighty and fraught with great responsibility and of far-reaching effects, a task earnest and solemn almost partaking of the divine.”

-Dissenting: Justice M. Montemayor in Ocampo vs. Secretary of Justice

(2) Character and fitness of Judges

“There can be no surer guarantee for a true administration of justice than the God-given character and fitness of those appointed to the bench. The judges may be guaranteed a fixed tenure of office during good behavior and a salary that cannot be decreased, but if they are of such a staff as allows them to be subservient to one administration after another, or to cater to the wishes of one litigant after another, the independence of the judiciary will be nothing more than a myth or an empty deal...”

(3) Judicial standards more exacting

Chief Justice Reynato Puno