MAR 2009] REVISITING TRADITIONAL 173 LEGAL RESEARCH METHODS. discussions about legal research, the term authority is used to refer both to the types of legal information and to the degree of persuasiveness of legal information Legal materials or law books can be classified into three general categories: 21 Primary Sources Primary sources are recorded authoritative statements of legal rules by governmental institutions to be enforced by the State. ‘They are further subdivided into mandatory and persuasive authorities 2.1.1 Mandatory Authority Mandatory authority is the authority that a given court is bound to follow. Gonstitutional provisions, statutes, international conventions and treaties, judicial decisions, ances and court administrative rules and regulations, or¢ rules constitute mandatory authorities, As between an official and unofficial citation, one must cite the official sources first. 2.1.2. Persuasive Authority Persuasive authority is that law or reasoning which a given court may, but is not bound to follow. Ifa case is not binding on later courts but contains an excellent analysis and therefore s to read it, itis is the high standing of the court deciding it, or the eminence of provides guid: which happe persuasive authority. Because of the cogeney of its reasoni its author, persuasive authority may tend to sway a court even though it is in no way binding upon it.t Other examples of persuasive authorities are Opinions of the Secretary of Justice and administrative agencies and even other foreign judicial opinions which have a significant effect upon Philippine jurisprudence especially when the laws or + RM. Mexscy & DJ, DUNN, LEGAL RESEARCH ILLUSTRATED, 2(@* ed, 2002) 1 fl,p 9, See also E.R POLLACK, FURDAMENTALS OF LEGAL RESEAROM, -12(2d ed, 1962 + NO. Paice, HL Brmiex & R. Bystewnez, EMTECTIVE LEGAL RESEARCH, 8 (ed, 1979) TBP JOURNALMyrna §, Feliciano [VoL. 34 No.1 constitutional provisions were taker from the United State ‘The reason behind this is that the strong influence appear to be rooted in analogous legal concepts, principles and procedures which were obtained during American rule Secondary sources are those materials which are not primary authorities but annotate, discuss or analyze legal doctrines and are considered secondary authorities. These include treatises, looseleat services, restatements, horbooks, casebooks, legal encyclopedias practice manuals, form-books, legal periodical articles, and annot compilations for their annotations. They vary in purpose and quality ranging from authoritative treatises by academic scholars to superficial works by hack writers. The best of these works have persuasive value depending on the prestige of their authors or the quality of their scholarship. Secondary sources can assist in analyzing a problem and their faotnotes provide references to primary sources and other secondary materials.S 2.2.1 Restatements of the Law ' Restatements of the law are a series of important commentaries on American Law which attempt to organize and articulate the rules of American common law, a project of the American Law Institute (ALD. Prepared by notable reporters, scholars and jurists, it covers eleven specific topics: agency, conflict of laws, contracts, foreign affairs law, judgments, property, restitution, security, torts, trusts and unfair competition.’ Now on its third series, features inchude tables of court cases, statutes, etc., conversion tables and cross- references to West’s Key Numbers System and ALR annotations. Example: Restatement (Third) of the Foreign Relations Law of the United States (ALI, 1986). 2.2.2 Looseleaf Services MLL COHEN & K.C. OLSON, LEGAL RESEARCH, 6 (6* ed, 1996) “tha p28. TBP JOURNALMAR 2009] 2.2.3 REVISITING TRADITIONAL 175 LEGAL RESEARGH METHODS Looseleaf services are frequently supplemented research tools n primary which focus on specific subject areas and cor legal sources, finding aids and secondary materials. These publications provide comprehensive and current access to special fields such as family law, labor law, tax law, securities regulations, etc. and are published by commercial entities, like thé Bureau of National Af_airs (BNA) and Commerce Clearing House (GGH),? Examples: BNA’s Labor Relations Reporter CGH Standard Federal Tax Reporter Legal Enoyclpedias Legal encyclopedias are multi-volume sets describing systematically the entire body of law wherein expository statements on principles of law are alphabetically and topically arranged, These texts are non-critical im approach and “provide supporting reference to cases in the footnotes. However, the researcher should realize that one should read the cases cited to see if they are in point, There are no table of cases im the indexes, Leading American national examples are the oe 2d (Am. Jur. 2d) and the Corpus fl ;[VOL. 34.No.1 Myra S Feliciano Corpus Juris: Secundum (CJS) West Pub., 1959 l0lv&5v American Jurisprudence 2d (Am. Jur. 24) Le Coop., 1965-1978. 83 v. Intemational Eneyclopedia of Comparative Law. v. Encyclopedia Juridica Espaitola (F. Six, ed.) 1910. 30v Modern Legal Systems: A Cyclopedia (K. Redden) v Halsbur’s Laws of England. 2d ed. 1952. 42v. Encyclopedia of Public Intemational Law. 1992. 12 v 2.24 Hombooks 22.5 ‘A hornbook is a popular reference to a series of treatises published by the West Publishing Group, cach of which reviews a certain field of law in summary textual form as ‘opposed to a casebook which is a teaching tool and includes many reprints of court opinions. Examples: Prosser on Torts Calamari & Perello on Contracts Practice Manuals Practice manuals provide you with good understanding of the procedural and substantive law as well as “hands on” instructions necessary to file and prosecute your case, Similar to handbooks, they usually cover a specialized area of practice. Examples: Handbook on Trial Advocacy (USAID, 2008) “RM. MERSKY & DJ. DUNN, of ct, note Lat xxv. 2D TOTIP NarMAR 2009] REVISITING TRADITIONAL 177 LEGAL RrSEARCH METHODS 2.2.6 Form-Books American Jurisprudence Trials. 1964-1994. 50v. This set covers matters common to all types of trial practice. It also includes Model Trials on specific types of trials, ie, personal injury, criminal and business-related cases written by experienced trial lawyers. American Jurisprudence Proof of Facts It provides a detailed discussion of what must be proved in virtually every kind of civil or criminal case. Access to the varied topics is made through its subject matter index and a listing of collateral references for cach subject. Tt also contains checklists and planning guides to aid in the establishment of the facts in issue. This set is now on its third series (Am. Jur. Proof of Facts, 3d) 1988-2002 in 65 volumes. Form-books are aids in drafting legal documents and include sample instruments which are standard guides for an attorney. Some form-books are annotated, containing forms of instruments and reference to cases which have favorably construed the provisions or editorial comments. Examples: S. Guevara, Legal Forms, Annotated, 1977 LM. Tafiada & F. A. Rodrigo, Philippine Legal Forms, 1979. 2v. F.C. Fisher, Philippine Legal and Business Forms (# ed., 1948) American Jurisprudence Legal Forms, Annotated. 1953-55. 14 v. with pocket supplements.[VOL. 34No.1 Myrna S, Feliciano ed, 1971 ce Legal For Ame Juisp 1974. 19 Forms, A prudence, Pleading and Practic Annotated, 1956-1959. 23 v., with pocket supplements 2.2.7 Annotations Annotations are explanations or commentaries or extensive notes based on the issues within an opinion of a court usually appended after a reprinted case in a compilation. It is organized into a coherent statement of law but do not question these decisions? or reconcile conflicting decisions regarding the topic. There are two kinds: (a) statutory ~ a brief history of the law and facts of cases interpreting statutes passed by the legislature which are usually found in codes and compilations and cites research references to other secondary materials. Examples: Philippine Annotated Lawes (P.A.L.) U.S. Code Annotated (U.S.C.A.) US. Cade Service US.CS) (b) ‘Textual ~ expository essays of varying lengths on significant legal topics chosen for selected cases with the essays Examples: Supreme Court Reports, Annotated (SGRA), v. 1, 196] to date. Annotations can be located through the use of the Subject-Index of Annotations found in pages 591-624 of volume 3. American Law Reports (ALR), 1* series, 1919- 1948. 175 v. 24 series, 1948-1965 (A.L.R. * Bid, ps4.MAR 2009) REVISITING TRADITIONAL 179 LEGAL RESEARCH METHODS 2d) 100 v. 3% series (A.L.R. 3d), 1965-1980. 100 v. 4% series (A.L.R. 4%), 1980-1992. 90 v 5th series (A.LLR. 3H), 1992 to date Editors select a case in point to illustrate a principle of law that warrants annotations and discusses alll cases involving an issue and gives exceptions to and qualifications, and applications of those principles. To check if an ALR annotation is superseded or supplemented, use the Annotation History Table located at the back of each volume of the ALR Index. Finding Tools Tris the lawyer's job to ascertain the state of the law on a particular issue in order to be able to predict with reasonable certainty the success of a cause of action or the success of a defense. Thus, they are faced with the problem of locating primary authorities on which they and the court will rely on in determining the outcome of a case. Because of the growing mass of information emanating from laws, administrative regulations, and judicial opinions which when published are arranged chronologically, the lawyers need to have subject access to them. They not only need to be updated but they have to locate laws and cases in point in order to appraise their value as precedents. Included in this category are search books, indexes, digests, law dictionaries, directories, tables, citators and other tools which aid in the use of primary and secondary sources. 23.1 Digests Digests are indexes to reported cases, providing brief, unconnected statements of court holdings on points of law which are arranged by subject. They reprint headnotes found in the case reports.180 [VOL. 34 NO.1 Myrna S. Feliciano Examples Philippine Digest. (1901-1945) 13 v. (1946-1966) 8 Refublic of the Philippines Digest ent and supplemé Philippine Report, 1974 to date (UP Law Genter) SCRA Digest. 4v. with Annual Index-Digests Annerican Law Reports (ALR) Digests American Digest System ~ indexes all the decisions reprinted in the National Reporter System in LL units of Decernmial Digests with a General Digest to keep it current. It uses the West’s classification system which divides the law into 7 main classes: Persons, Property, Contracts, Torts, Crimes, Remedies and Government. Each subel: number whi s of topics is assigned a key is cumulative. It has a table of cases and Descriptive Word Index. 2.3.2 Law Dictionaries IBP JOURNAL Dictionaries collect the definitions of legal terms in alphabetical order with citations to sources either from a statute, decision or text. Examples: Ballantine’s Law Dictionary (34 ed., 1969), Black’s Law Dictionary (7 ed., 1999). Bower's Law Dictionary. 1914, 3 v, MY. Gamboa, Dictioary of Intemational Law and Diplomacy. 1973. F, Moreno, Philippine Law Dictionary (2d ed., 1982). 1G. Khan, Jr., Everybody's Dictionary of Philippi Law. 2007. ‘ eeMAR 2009] REVISITING TRADITIONAL 181 i, RESEARCH METHODS Breyclopedic Dictionary of International Lazo (Clive Parry, et al., eds, 1986) JA Sibal, Philippine Legal Encylopedia (1980) Stroud’s Judicial Dictionary of Words and Phrases. 4h ed., 1974. 5 v. West's Legal Thesauiras/Dictionary. Words and Phases. 45 v. 23.3 Citators Gitators are research aids. which provide notational information on the status of a particular case law or the current status of a statute. The purposes of a citator are (0 give the history and the treatment of a decision or statute by means of symbols. Additionally, it can be used to find other decisions similar to or dependent upon the case under consideration. ‘To use a citator, a researcher must have a citation to a decision on a principle of case law or the citation toa statute. Then, onesproceeds to the appropriate volume of the citators which are arranged by jurisdiction and the listing of volumes of case reports or statutes covered. The term “Shepardize” which current use may be defined as the process of checking the status of eases or i h The history of the182 Myra $. Feliciano [VOL. 34 No.1 walid or void, constitutional, unconstitutional, invalid i unconstitutional in part, etc There is a Shepard’s Citator for every state and federal reports, codes, session laws and all the units of the National Reporter System Examples: Dizon's Philippine Citations (1937) A. Paras, Philippine Citations. 2v. 1965 Philippine Citations are found in v. 11 and 13 of the Philippine Digest and v. 7 of the Republic of the Philippine Digest and its supplement Shepard’s Federal Citations 23.4 Indexes Indexes are alphabetical lists of important words and concepts covered in a book, a set of books or research sources that assists the researcher in locating the primary or secondary sources, Examples; RB. Gorospe & L.F. Echiverri. Index to SCRA Annotations, v. 1-327, 1961-2001 (JA, 2002). Index to Official Gazette, 1945-1985. 2 v. (Supreme Court Library Service) SCRA Quick Index Digest, 6 v. Supplemented annually A.LR. Quick Index to 34, 44 and 58, 2.3.5 Directories Law directories lead you to information about lawyers, law firms, law schools, law libraries, courts or administrative agencies. They vary in scope and approach from giving addresses of lawyers, their areas of practice, short bio-data to Phone numbers, law firms’ websites, descriptions of institutions, or functions of agencies and contact persons.MAR 2009} REVISITING TRADITIONAL 183 LEGALRESEARCH METHODS Examples: Supreme Court of the Philippines. Law Lis, 2003. Martindale-Hubbel’s Law Directoy. Av. I Annually. Directory of Asean Legal Scholars. PLY. Quisumbing, M.S. Feliciano & LA. Manguiat, comps.) 1986. West's Legal Director AALS Directory of Laxw Teachers 23.6 Tables ‘Usually, Tables are alphabetical listings of case names or statutes with references to the law reports or publications where the cases or laws ean be located. Another type of table is that which gives the comparative or.parallel citations to i official and unofficial case reports or compilation by statutes, Examples: National Reporter Blue Book ©. Sison, ed. The 1967, 1973 & 1835 Philippine184 3.2 Myrna S, Feliclary [VOL 34 No.1 Gathering the facts from the problem raised and put it on paper, answer five (5) “Ws and one (1) “H” for ¢ ~Who did it and to whom? © What was done? © When was it done? © Where was it done? Why was it done? © How was it done? Analyze the Facts Tn fact analysis, one focuses on five elements common to most problems. The purpose of such analysis is the suggested points of departure in the scarch for legal materials, In considering cach clement, one should concentrate on “catch words,” legal concepts or words in the problem since these will lead to relevant es, legal descriptiv words in law books such as digests, encyclopedias, index treatises, etc, For guidance, use the TARP rulet® as follows: * T-Thing or Subject Matter in the controversy without which the problem would not have arisen. Does the controversy invalve property? Gonuact? Negligence, etc.? Identify all significant things perceptible to the senses involved in the problem. © A~Cause of Action or Ground of Defense. The cause of action is the claim asserted by one person against the other while the ground of defense is the position of one against whom the claim is asserted. Identify the alleged infraction or wrong suffered by the plaintiff or those reasons in law or fact given by the defense why these claims arguably should not be recovered or why the cause may not be successful, Is it a breach of contract? Negligence? "¥¢ This was adopted by Prof. Ervin H. Pollack in FUNDAMENTALS OF LEGAL RESEARCH 14-15 Qu ed., 1962), IBP JOURNALMAR 2009] REVISITING TRADITIONAL 185 LEGAL RESEARGH METHODS Torts? On the defense side, is it impossibility of performan Estoppel? Contributory negligence? R ~ Relief or Object Sought, This element involves the purpose of bringing the suit or presenting the claim, It is the determination of the legal remedy in the light of the problem presented. Is it a suit for damages? Abatement of nuisance? Rese contract? Habeas corpus? ? Parties, Persons or Places. This element includes the relationship of the parties and whether they belong to a special class or group or have similar professional or commercial activities. One must identify the persons who were directly or indirectly involved in the problem. ‘This is also true of activities such as insurance? Banking? Shipping? Practice of law or medicine? Examples of relationship between parties are husband and wife, employer-employee, attorney and client, landlord and tenant, doctor and patient? The purpose behind this identification is to determine if there are special laws that govern the relationship. One should also identify the place where the act occurred for purposes of venue as to where to file such action. 3.2.1 In gathering your facts, you must also ascertain the following likely sources of information: People ~ In any event that occurs, consider clients, witnesses or perhaps to whom the witnesses or victims have spoken about the case is pertinent information. ‘Tangible evidence ~ This might be physical evidence which may be a contract or will in dispute, or the actual weapon used in a Books, periodicals and reports ~ Depending upon the nature of the case, look for police reports, hospital records, business reports, statistics, maps or even scientific, geographic or meteorological information, SI ao186 3.3 3.4 RP ToOTIeNat {VOL. 34. No.1 Mirna 8. Felicino © Expert witne In technical areas such as forensics fingerprints, ballistics, ome need to involve _psyct ts, feaychiatriats, sich ete Identification of Issues Legal issues involve questions about how the law relates to the facts of the case. Sometimes the issue involves only the law, i “What are the clements of the crime of rape?” Sometimes, it contains only facts, Le Is the offended party a minor? But if it is a relationship between law and fact — “Was the offended party a minor when rape was committed by the accused?” ~ your issues indicate how the law relates to the facts of the case because the research is directed towards how the law relates to the particular fact-situation. Note that sometimes there is more than one issue with lots of sub-issues. Arranging the legal issues in a logical order for research Several law professors suggest the following: “fssues and sub-issues are ordered logically according to certain rules or organizing principles. You may place issues in the order that the facts occurred (chronologically) or in the order that they would be presented in court (claim, defense, rebuttal). There are additional organizing principles, but all of them are premised on the theory that you should address issues in the order that allows you to avoid most redundancies and to do the least “doubling back” in your reasoning. For instance, issues such as jurisdiction and statute of limitations precede other issues because if their legal requirements are not met, the entire lawsuit will be dismissed. Another example is that issues dealing with the legal claim or “cause of action” should precede issues dealing with the relief or remedy sought, because only a limited range ofMAR 2009] 3.5 Glas REVISITING TRADITIONAL 187 LEGAL RESEARCH METHODS remedies is available for each cause of action. These are but a few organizing principles in the law These issues are questions that the le process will attempt to answer. It will also increase the efficiency and effectiveness of your rescarch. fying the Problem ‘As a research shortcut, one must also classify the problem into any of the following major subject fields; Constitutional Law? Statutory Law? Administrative Law? International Law? Case Law? Procedural Lay Once the subject field is ascertained, use an authoritative or trustworthy source ~ a legal treatise, law review article or even a digest or an annotation. 4 APPROACHES IN SEARGHING FOR AUTHORITY Generate research vocabulary using your factual analysis, Perhaps a dictionary or thesaurus can generate a list of relevant words and phrases that appear in one or more legal research sources. 4.1 Law Finding Techniques!? To ascertain the appropriate law or case to the problem, there are four law finding techniques in using the library: 1 CL Kunz, DA. ScHMEDeMANN, C.P. ERLINDER, MP. DOWNS & AL. BATESON, "THE PRocess or ‘LEGAL RESEAKCH, SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES, 10(2>4ed., 1989). # EH. POUAGK, iy note | at 17-18, TBP JOURNAL188 IBP JOURNAL #11 412 413 414 [Vo. 34 No.1 Myma 8. Feliciano Descriptive Word/Index or Fact Method This technique requires the use of the subject index to a book afer the analysis of the facts in the problem using the rule, Usually, the fact or descriptive word can be found in the index of a digest or a legal encyclopedia or a book which points to the pages or section of the publications, Table of © Topic or Analytic Method After classifying the problem as to what subject field it belongs, the researcher can go directly to a particular book on the subject and scan the table of contents to find where the topic appears. If you are consulting a legal encyclopedia or digest, there is a scope note which indicates the coverage of the topic. Once you obtain the appropriate material you want, locate the page or section which should provide the cases or law in point, Known Authority, Statute or Case Method When the name of an applicable case or citation of a law known, proceed to table of cases found in a digest, an annotated report or compilation of statutes or some other sources such as casebook or textbook. Usually, the reference following the name of the case or statute is to the section of the set containing the information needed. Definition Method This method can only be utilized when the solution to a problem depends on the meaning of a legal or non-legal term or phrase. The word or phrase is usually found in a dictionary or a digest under the term “Words and Phrases” wherein the words are arranged alphabetically and gives references to cases which have defined the word or phrase. For this purpose, one can consult the multi-volume dictionary, Words and Phrases publised by West Publishing Company. ‘Sometimes, a case or statute is popularly known by a name such as “Manila Bay case” or the “NIPAS law.” The Philippine Annotated Laws carried a Table of Popular names for earlier laws but for US sources, one may consult the DecennialMAR 2009 REVISITING TRADITIONAL 189 TRGAL RESEARCH METHODS Digests of the American Digest System and the Shepard's Acts ar Name es by Pop Sources to Obtain Background Information ‘There are sources such as code commentaries, treatises and legal periodical articles wherein one can elicit background information on a specific statute ‘The Spanish laws and royal decrees are contained in the Boletin Oficial and Gaceta de Manila which can be found in the University of San Agustin Law Library in Cebu Gity. As for the carly issuances issued by U.S. Military Governor, one can consult the General Orders, 1900. ‘This was followed by the U.S. Philippine Commission, Minutes of Public Sessions from 1901-1904; Executive Jounal, February 1, 1909-1913 which contained bills, resolutions and committee reports. Separate volumes of Executive Orders and Proclamations were published from 1901 to 1941 Some volumes of these titles are found in the National Library and photocopies in the U.P. Law Library. One can trace the history of an article of the Civil Code or the Revised Penal Code by examining the end of each provision. If the number at the end of the article is enclosed in parenthesis, it means that one has to search the cited article in the Spanish Civil Code or Penal Code and read the appropriate commentaries. If at the end of the provision, the number contains an (a), it means that former provision was amended by the latest edition but if the parenthesis encloses a (n), it means that it is a new provision. The rationale behind the new Civil Code provision can be elicited from the Report of” the Code Commission on the Civil Code. For the discussion on the Civil Gode, consult Carmelo V, Sison, editor of the Civil Code Reader which was published by the UP Law Center in 2005. TBP JOURNAL190, [VOL. 34.No.1 Myrna S. Feliciano 5 RESEARCH IN PHILIPPINE STATUTE LAW PY. Seco, i ited tee G stitution The constitutional history of the Philippines had undergone several periods starting from the Spanish era to the Filipino concept of government during the revolutionary period and the structure of the Philippine government during the American Regime up to 1934 Pursuant to the ‘Tydings-McDuffie Law, the Philippine Legislature ehacted on May 5, 1934, a law calling for a Constitutional Convention of 202 delegates. After six months, the Constitution was ratified by a plebiscite that was held on May 14, 1935. Another plebiscite was held on June 18, 1940, establishing a bicameral system, a Commission on Elections, and reducing the term of President and Vice-President to four years and limiting it only to eight consecutive years." ‘The discussions of the provisions of the 1935 Constitution can be located in the following sources: © PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION RECORD, July 30, 1934 to February 8, 1935. 11 v. (House of Representatives, 1965) + S. Lauret (ED), RECORDS OF THE PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. 7V. (1966). ‘The last volume contains a subject index and the provisions of the 1935 Constitution which give the location in the different volumes where the discussions took place. «© AM. Arucgo, THE FRAMING OF THE PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION, 2 v. (1936-37). © V. Francisco (ed.), Jounal of the Constitutional Convention of the Philippines. 5 v. (1961-65). PHILIPrINE POLITICAL Law 85 (11* ed, 1962). MiMAR 2009) REVISITING TRADITIONAL 191 LEGAL RESEARCH METHODS. * Philippine Lawyers Association THE | PHILPPINe CONSTITUTION; ORIGINS, MAKING, MEANING AND APPLICATION. 44 Thi arranged according to topics and all the discussions on a certain subject are placed together. Excellent aids in the study and interpretation of the 1935 Constitution are! Malcolm, Philippine Constitutional Law (1946) * V.G, Sinco, Philippine Political Law (11% ed., 1962). © LM. Tafada & EM. Fernando, Constitution of the Philippines, Annotated, 1947. Qv. On August 24, 1970, Republic Act No. 6132 was enacted, calling for a Constitutional Convention. When the Convention was in session, , 1972 by President ines under Martial Law. On Proclamation 1081 was issued on Septembet Ferdinand E. Marcos placing the Philip ber 29, 19) the Convention approved its proposed Constitution ancl Pres. Marcos submitted it before the Citizens’ Assemblies on January 5, 1973 and on January 17, Proclamation No, 1102 announced the ratification of the 1973 Constitution. The validity of this Proclamation was questioned in Favellana v. Executive Secretayy' wherein the Supreme Court dismissed the petition and indicated that there is no further judicial obstacle to the New Constitution being considered in force and in effect. There are no records of the 1971 Constitutional Convention because of the imposition of martial law. However, the University of the Philippines Law Library collected the papers of twenty Constitutional Convention delegates, the most complete papers of which belong to Dr. Augusto Caesar Espiritu. Known as the “Con-Con Archives,” each collection is divided into committees: first, an alphabetical arrangement of the Organic Committecs; second, the Administrative and Ad-Hoc Committees; and third, the Gouncils. There are “GR Nox. 36164-65, 96142, 96936 & 96288, March 31, 1973 IBP JOURNALMyrna S. Feliciano [VOL. 34No.1 separate bound volumes of the Resolutions, access to which is the: Author, Subject and Title Index. Due to the bulk of the collections, they were transferred to the House of Representatives Library Among the notable books on the 1973 Constitution are: © J.G. Bernas, SJ., The 1973 Philippine Constitution Noles and Cases. 2 v. (1983), @ E.M. Fernando, The Constitution of the Philippines. 2d. ed. (1977) LM. Tafiada & Carreon, Political Law of the Philippines. 2 v. * HS. De Leon and EMS. Lugue, Textbook on the New Constitution (1982). © RG. Martin, 1973 Constitution of the Philippines; Notes, Comments and Problems © PV. Fernandez. Philippine Constitutional Law; Gases, Notes and Materials. 1977 ed. 2v. The ouster of President Marcos due to the People Power Revolution on February 25, 1986 paved the way for a Provisional or Freedom Gonstitution under President Corazon C, Aquino. Pursuant to its Article V, a Constitutional Commission was constituted, composed of 48 members on April 3, 1986. After 133 days, the proposed new Constitution consisting of 18 articles and 321 sections was submitted to the President on October 15, 1986. It was ratified by the people in a plebiscite on February 2, 1987. The New Charter is described as “pro-life, pro-people, pro-Filipino, and anti-dictatorship.” Although it is basically patterned after the 1973 Constitution, the New Constitution consists of 100 new sections which primarily deal with: social justice and human rights; the national economy and patrimony; the family, education, science and technology, arts, culture and sports; and local government and autonomous regions.'5MAR 2009] 5.2 REVISITING TRADITIONAL 193 LEGAL RESEARCH METHODS Discussions on the provisions of the 1987 Constitution are found in the five-volume Records of the Constitutional Commission and its three- volume Journal. ‘The printed index to it is available at the UP Law Library. Access can be had through the article, subject and name of the sponsor or discussant. One can also consult the House of Representatives, Index of the Journal of the Constitutional Commission, prepared by the Olfice of the Secretary-General Special Task Force (370 p.) which include the Rules of the published in April 20 Scoretary-Genera CD-rom by CL These ConCom proceedings are also available in, ia, For background information, consult The Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines; Draft Proposal of the 1986 U.P. Law Constitution Project submitted to the Constitutional Commission on June 5, 1986 in 2 volumes. ‘The Commentaries and interpretations on the 1987 Constitution are: Joaquin Be ., The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, A Commentary (2003), 1259 p. © Isagani Cruz, Constitutional Law (2003), © Hector de Leon. Philippine Constitutional Law (2003-2004) 2 v. © Ambrosio B, Padilla, The 1987 Constitution, With Comments and Cases. 2 v. (1987). * Vicente V. Mendoza, Judicial Review of Constitutional Questions; Cases and Materials. 360 p. (2002). ‘Treaties and Internati ts ‘Treaties are pacts between two or more sovereign nations. If the treaty is between two nations, itis called a bilateral agreement while a treaty between three or more nations is a multilateral agreement. ‘The official text of treaties entered into by the Philippines is published in the Official Gazette (O.G.). Initially, the Department of Foreien Affairs Treaty Series (DFATS) began publication in August 1947 at irregular intervals but discontinued in 1965. ‘This task was taken on by the University of the Philippines Law Center in publishing the Philippine IBP JOURNAL194 5.3 ‘Myrna S. Feliciano, [VOL 34NO.1 Tieaty Series (PTS), vow on its Gi volume. ‘The Philippine Treats Index, 1946-1982 was published by the Foreign Service Institute of the reign Affairs. [tis divided into two parts: Bilateral Index which is arranged alphabetically by country; and. the Multilateral Index which is arranged by subject. Each entry contains the citation as to where to find the text of the treaty. Department of ‘Treaties entered into by the Philippines are registered with the U.N. Scerctary-General and published in the United Nations Treaty Series (U.N-TS). The most comprehensive source for modern treaties, the U.N-TS. has published all treaties registered by member-nations. ‘The treaties appear in their original language, as well as in English/Spanish and French translations, if appropriate. Initially, indexes to this Treaty Series are published for every one hundred volumes but lately, the indexes cover every fifty volumes. The indexes have chronological listings of treaties and subject arrangements with Alphabetical listing of countries under each topic. The Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Seeretary-General, published by the United Nations is « bi-annwwally revised listing of multilateral cenventions arranged by subject. Each treaty provides citations, current information as to the status of the treaty, the number of signatories, and the text of the reservations made by the individual state signatories. This is arranged alphabetically by subject. Sua rMAR 2009] REVISITING TRADITIONAL 195 LEGAL RESEARCH METHODS February 1, 1986. A total of 30 President Corazon ©, Aquino under the Freedom Constitution. Congress convened on July 27, 1987 pursuant to the 1987 Constitution anel has enacted 2,884 Republic Acts to date. The latest law is RA 9520 which is the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008. Thus far, there has been a total of 17,755 statutes since 1900. Executive Orders were issued by Presently, the text of statutes is published in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of gencral circulation. Laws are also published since 1946 by the National Printing Office (now the Government Printing Office) in the multi-volume set, Laws and Resolutions. One can also obtain slip laws cither from Congress or the Office of the President. Recently, the Gongress of the Philippines produced five (5) GDs of the Laws and Resolutions, 98-13% Congress, 1992-2007. Another official source is the Philippine Permanent and General Statutes published by the UP Law Genter in seven (7) volumes. A subject ich volume with a Disposition Table which gives the status of each law. The complete text of, statutes with its amendments is printed in bold face and the original form of the provision is in the footnotes index is found in There are secondary sources published by the Central Lawbook Gompany entitled Vital Legal Documents and the GD-ROMs of Lex Libris, PhilJuris, AccessLaw and ‘lai. 5.3.1 Legislative History To determine legislative intent of a provision of law, one examines the legislative history of the statute. One can utilize the index to the annual Congressional Record or Congressional Joumal which have subject approaches. If the index is not available, use the History of Bills and Resolutions of either the House of Representatives and Senate of the Philippines. ‘The search for legislative intent should begin with the Laws and Resolutions volume or the Official Gazete where the original number of the House or Senate Bill is given in left side margin Crvit Cone, art. 2, aramended by Exec. OrderNo, 200. Gf Tafiada v. Twwera, G.R. No. 63915, December 29, 1985, 146 SCRA 446 (1986), IBP JOURNAL |(Vo. 34No.1 196 Myra 8. Faician we the title, With this bill number, the next st Bills and Resolutions indicating the session of history of the bill is outlined ‘ under the bill number with page references ‘Always locate the second reading of to the Congressional Record, the bill where the debate or discussion of the law is made. ‘Sometimes, the hearings of the committees of both Houses on the bill are also recorded. ‘These reports are by far the most important and are frequently cited. 54 Administrative Rules and Regulations ‘An administrative regulation is a subsidiary law designed to explain or carry out the details of statutes that govern an administrative agency. The term “rule” is likewise defined as “any agency statement of general applicability that implements or interprets a law, fixes and describes the procedures in, or practice requirements of, an agency, including its regulations; including memoranda or statements concerning the internal administration or management of an agency not affecting the rights of, or procedure available to the public,” On the other hand, the term “agency” means any department, jon, authority, or officer of the National bureau, office, commis Government authorized by law or executive order to make rules, issue licenses, grant rights or privileges, occupation or business, and officials in the exercise of disciplinary power as provided by law.!* within the framework of its authority, each agency issues regulations which, when properly. published in the Official Gazette (Q.G.) or newspaper of general circulation have the force and effect of law. Since November 23, 1989, the date of effectivity of the Administrative ode of 1987, each rule as provided in Section 4, Book VII of the Gode shall become effective fifteen (15) days from the date of filing with the University of the Philippines Law Center unless a different date is fixed by law, or specified in the rule in cases of imminent danger to public health, safety and welfare, the existence of which Exec: Onder No 299 (1987) hercinaficr ted as ADM CODE OF 1987, Book VI, see Ans. CODE OF 1967, Hook VII, ec. 2, as implemented by Memorandum Circular No. 11,4. 19%, 1BP JOURNAL.MAR 2009} REVISITING TRADITIONAL 197 LEGAL RESEARCH METHODS must be expressed in a statement accompanying the rule, Every rule establishing an offense or defining an act which pursuant to law is punishable as a crime or subject to a penalty shall, in all ecretaries, Heads of published in full text. Thus, all Department Bureaus, Commissioners, and other governmental agencies are directed to file three (3) certified copies of every rule adopted by their respective department, bureau, commission or agency with the UP Law Center Rules and regulations to be filed with the UP Law Center shall, among others, include: a) Statements of general applicability which implement or interpret law; b) Statements of general applicability which fix and describe the procedure in, or practice requirements of an agency; ©) Amendments or repeal of any prior rule; d) Regulations affecting private rights, privilege, occupation, or business; ¢) Administrative disci procedure, ary action and the governing rules of Rules and regulations which need not be filed with the UP Law Center include the following: a) Those which are interpretative regulations and those merely internal in nature, that is, regulating only the personnel of the administrative agency and not the public; b)_ Instructions on the case studies made in petitions for adoption; ©) Rules laid down by the head of a government agency on the assignments or workload of his personnel or the wearing of uniforms; 4) Rules and regulations affecting only a particular or specific sector and circularized to them; IBPJOURNAL198 Myrna §. Feliciano [VOL. 34. No.1 ¢) Instructions by administrative supervisors concerning the rules and guidelines to be followed by their subordinates in the performance of their duties; f) Memoranda or statements concerning the internal administration or management of an agency not affecting the rights of, or procedure available to, the public; Memorancit or circulars merely disseminating any. law, executive order, proclamation and issuances of other government agencies ‘The court shall take judicial notice of the certified copy of each rule duly filed or as published in the bulletin or the codified rules. Pursuant to Administrative Code of 1987, the UP Law Genter published The National Administrative Register (NAR), a quarterly bulletin beginning in 1990 which sets forth the text of rules duly filed together with a complete index and appropriate tables. Any rule which is unduly cumbersome or otherwise inexpedient or a codification may be omitted from the bulletin but it should contain a notice stating the general subject matter of the emitted rule, how copies thereof may be obtained and its availability in the UP Law Genter for perusa’ or reproduction. Thus far, the UP Law Genter has published the Department of Fustice Rules and Regulations in 2003 and the four-volume Rules of Procedure of Administrative Agencies, published from 2008 to 2006. Several agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission issue their rules and regulations in separate pamphlets and bulletins which may be obtained through subscription or purchase from them. ‘The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Annual Reports contains circulars and Monetary Board regulations issued for that year as well as compilations,MAR 2009} 5.6 REVISITING TRADITIONAL 199 LEGAL RESEARCH METHODS concemed. The text of the ordinance shall be disseminated and posted in Filipino or English and in a language or dialect understood byy the people in that local government unit, The gist of all ordinances with penal sanctions shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the province where the local legislative body is located. In the case of highly urbanized and independent component cities, in addition to being posted, ordinances or resolutions should be published once in a local or any newspaper of general circulation.'9 Compilations of tax ordinances ot ordinances affecting business in cities are usually published by private companies. Court Rules: The Rules of Court govern the pleading, practice and procedure before all courts in the Philippines. These Rules consists of five major parts dealing with civil actions, special proceedings, criminal procedure,2? evidence,2! and legal ethics. Pursuant to Sectién 13 of the Family Courts Act,” the Supreme Court has promulgated the following Rules: (1) Rule on Examination of a Child Witness; (2) Rule on Juveniles in Conflict With the Law: (3) Rule on Declaration of Absolute Nullity of Void Marriages and Annulment of Voidable Marriages? (4) Rule on Legal Separation? (5) Rule on Provisional Orders;?” (6) Rule on Custody of Minors and "Rep. Act No. 7160, otherwise known asthe L ® Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, effective December 1, 2000, ‘ Resse Rules on Esdence (Res 126-15200 [VoL. 34No.1 Myrna S. Feiciano Writ of Habeas Corpus in Relation to Gustody of Minors; (7) Rule on Guardianship of Minors;# (8) Rule on Adoption; (9) Rule on Commitment .of Children!) and (10) Rule on Violence Against Women and Their Children.** “The other rules promulgated by the Supreme Court are: 1991 Revised Rule on Summary Procedure approved by Supreme Court Resolution en Bane dated 15 October 1991; * Interim Rules of Procedure on Corporate Rehabilitation, AM. No. 00-8-10-SC, effective December 15, 2000; © Interim Rules of Procedure Governing Intra-Corporate Controversies Under RA 8799, AM. No. 01-2-048C, effective April 10, 2001; «Rules on Electronic Evidence, A.M. No. 01-7-01-SC, effective August i, 2001; © Transfer of Cases from the Securities and Exchange mmission to the Regional Trial Courts, AM. No. 00-8-10- SG, effective October 1, 2001; * Rule 140 on Discipline of Judges of Regular and Special Courts and Justices of the Court of Appeals and the Sandiganbayan, as amended by A.M. No, 1-8-10-SG, effective October 1, 2001 © Rule on Search and Seizure in Civil Actions for Infringement of Intellectual Property, AM. No. 02-1-06-SC, effective February 15, 2002; AM. No. 03-01-0486, effective Mareh 15,2003, ® AM No, 03-02-05-80, effective May 1, 2008, MAM. No, 024640250, effective August 2, 2002, 31 AM. No, 02-1-19.80, effective April 15,2002, HAM.No. IBP JOURNAL. 04-10-11-86, effective Novernber 15, 2004.MAR 2009] REVISITING TRADITIONAL, 201 LEGAL RESEARCH METHODS Amendment to the Rule on Summary Procedure of Criminal jolations of BP Ble Cases to Include Within Its Coverage 2, Otherwise Known as “The Bouncing Checks Law,” A.M No. 00-11-01-SG, effective April 2, 2002; Rule on Provisional Orders, A.M. No. 02-11-12-SC, effective March 15, 2003; Fixing the Lifetime of Bonds in Civil Actions or Proceedings, A.M. No. 05-03-18-SG, effective September 1, 2003; Mode of Appeal in Cases Formerly Gognizable by the Securities and Exchange Commission, A.M. No. 04-9-07-SC, effective October 15, 2004; Rule 141 on Legal Fees, A.M, No, 04-2-04-SG, effective August 16, 2004; New Code of Judicial Conduct for the Philippine Judiciary, AM. No. 03-05-01-SC, effective June 1,-2004; Code of Conduct for Court Personnel, A.M. No, 03-06-13- SG, effective June 1, 2004; Court-Annexed Mediation on Wheels, A.M. No. 04-2-04-SC, August 16, 2004. Rule on Guidelines to Be Observed by Trial Court Judges and Clerks of Court in the Conduct of Pre-trial and Use of Deposition-Discovery Measures, A.M. No. 03-1-09-SG, effect August 16, 2004; 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice, AM. No. 02-8-13-SC, effective August 1, 2004; Amendments to the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure to Govern Death Penalty Cases, A.M. No. 00-5-03-SC, effective October 15, 2004; Rule on Administrative Procedure in Sexual Harassment Gases and Guidelines on Proper Work Decorum in the - Judiciary, AM. No. 03-03-13-SC, effective January 3, 2005; IBPJOURNAL202 IBP JOURNAL a) Myma 8, Fetiviane [VOL 34.No.1 Rule of Procedure in Cases of Civil Forfeiture Pr n and Freezing of Monetary Instrument, Propert or Proceeds Representing, Involving or Relating to An Unlawful Activity or Money Laundering Offense Under K 9160, as amended, AM, No. 05-11-04-SC, December 15, 2005; Rules of Procedure in Election Contests Before the Courts Involving Elective Municipal and Barangay Officials, A.M. No. 07-4-15-SC, effective May 15, 2007; Rule on DNA Evidence, A.M. No. 06-11-5-SG, October 15, 2007; effective Rule on the Writ of Amparo, AM. No. 07-9-12-SC, October 24, 2007; Re. SC Access to Justice for the Poor Project Information, Education, Communication (IEC) Guidelines for Municipal nation Officers, A.M. No, 05-2-01-SC, Maich 13. Court Infor 2007: Rules on Children Charged Under RA No. 9165 or the N02, A.M. S Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2! 8-2-SG, effective November 5, 2007 Amendments to Rules 41, 45, 58 and 65 of the Rules of Court, A.M. No. 07-7-12-SC, December 4, 2007; Rule on the Writ of Habeas Data, A.M. No. 08-1-16-SC, effective January 22, 2008 Rule of Procedure for Small Claims Cases, A.M. No. 08-8-7- SG, effective October 1, 2008, Court Rules were also issued by the following appellate courts: 2002 Internal Rules of the Court of Appeals, A.M. No. 02-6- 13-GA, effective August 22, 2002; b) Revised Rules of the Sandiganbayan, A.M. No. 02-6-07-SB, effective October 1, 2002;MAR 2009) Ru TRADITIONAL 20 LEGAL RESEARCH METHOD! Specific Amendments to the 2002 Internal Rules of the Court of AY A.M. No, 02-6-18-GA, effective Februar dR t rt of Tax Appeals, A.M. No. 05-11-07-8G, effective December 15, 2005. The Supreme Court issued four rules affecting the practice of law © Bar Matter No. 85 ) regarding Mandatory Continuing Legal Education for lawyers, effective September 15, 2000; © Bar Matter No. 1161 on Reforms in the Bar Examinations, effective July 15, 2004 © Bar Matter No. 1755 on Rules of Procedure of the Cornmi September 25, 2007. on on Bar Discipline, effecti Recently, Bar Matter No. 2012 has been issued on the Proposed Rules on Mandatory Legal Aid Service for Practice Lawyers ¢ effect on July L, 2009. To research further on the Rules of Court, one can consult the annotations made on the different rules such as the followir Y. and Noche, Maria Concepcion, OL ed. 2v © Feria, J Annotated. 2 © Herrera, Oscar M. Remedial Law. 1997-2000. 7 v. ‘* Regalado, Florenz, Remedial Lae Compendium. 2002-2004. 2 Moran, M. Comments on the Rules of Court. 1979-1980, 6 v © Paras, Edgardo L, Rules of Court. 1990 ed. 5 v © Francisco, Vi ente, Rules of Court. 1966-68, 7v. © Magsalin, Mariano. Commentaries on the Rules of Court. 1989. 4 v: IBP JOUR?204 Myma S. Feliciano [VOL. 34No.1 6, RESEARCH IN GASE LAW Case law simply means court opinions. It is divided into two categories: (a) conventional decisions which enforce all rulings rendered by regularly or specially constituted courts of justice; and {b) subordinate decisions, which include all the rulings made by administrative and legislative tribunals. Court decisions are compiled chronologically in volumes called case reports. ‘After the title of a case, there is a syllabus which summarizes the rules of law enunciated consultation with the ponente or author of the decision. the case arranged by subject which is prepared by the court reporter, in 6.1 Supreme Gourt Decisions ‘The official text of Supreme Court decisions are printed initially as advance decisions or popularly known as G.R.s (General Registry), They are available at the Office of the Clerk of Court of the Supreme Gourt. Subsequently, these decisions are published in the Philippine Reports since 1901 to date and in the Qffcial Gazette on a selective basis. ‘The latest elecisions are also available in the Supreme Court website, wwiiv.supremecourt.gov.ph. ‘The unofficial secondary sources of Supreme Gourt decisions arc published in the Supreme Caurt Reports Annotated (SCRA) by the Central Lawbook Company since January 1961 to date. Other important decisions of the Supreme Court are reproduced in the Lawyers Reviaw and Supreme Court Advanced Decisions (SCAD) published by the Rex Printing Co, since 1994. For those unpublished decisions of the Supreme Court since 1946, ‘Judge David Nitafan compiled them in the two-volume Supreme Court Unpublished Decisions from March 1946-1960. 1 Likewise, text of Supreme Court decisions are available in CD-roms such as Supreme Court Decisions 1996 - October 2008 issued by the Supreme E-Library and updated every 6 months; Lex Libris- Jurisprudence by CD Asia Technologies; Philfuris; ‘law (Instant CD), and le-iran! A Century of Philippine Supreme Court Decisions, 1901 ~ ‘Septomber 3, 2007, 2 CDs produced by the Agoo Computer College. TBP JOURNALMAR 2004] OLL REVISELING TRADITIONAL 205 LEGAL RESEARCH METHODS Finding Tools For a subject approach t the Supreme Gourt decisions, th 13-volunie Philippine Digest covers the period 1901-1945. ‘Volume 6 which is the Desk-Book contains a full list of titles and nd Spanish-English cross-references, English: glossaries as well as the complete table of cases from v. 1, 1901 tov. 46, 1924 of the Philippine Reports. ‘The continuing Table ‘of Cases in subsequent volumes of the Philippine Reports is found in volumes 9, 11, and 13. A Philippine citator appears in volumes 11 and 13 wherein reported cases are arranged by volume and page indicating the subsequent cases which cited them and the unreported cases are arranged alphabetically by title. ‘This Digest was continued by the Republic of the Philippines Digest covering the period July 4, 1946 through September 1958, including all cases not published as well as cases reported in the Philigpine Reports and the Official Gazette in eight (8) volumes. Volume 7 contains the Philippine citator while Volume 8 has the Table of Cases. Volut 9 to I7 are gz digests of Supreme Court decisions Volume 18 contains supplements cov. from October 1958 to December 196 the Philippine citator and table of cases. Subsequently, paper supplements to Volumes 9 to 18 were published covering decisions from January 1967 through December 1971, All of these sets were published by the Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Go. under the editorship of James M, Henderson and Pacifico A. Agabin. The index to the Supreme Court Reports Annotated is the SCRA Quick-Index Digest in four volumes, Volumes 1-2 covers volume I to 36 (January 1961 to December 1970); Volume 3 covers volume 37 to 61 (January 1971 to December 1974); and Volume 4 covers volumes 37 to 101 (January 1971 to December 1980). Annual Digests Supplements was first printed in 1975, Atenco de Manila published their own Index to Cases decided by the Supreme Court, 1961-1975. Celso L. Magsino has also authored a Compendium of Philippine Jurispredence, 1945-1980 in nine volumes and 1989 Supplements in two volumes. IBP JOURNAL206 Myra’ Feliciano [VoL. 34.No.1 To cater to students and bar reviewers, Atty. Daniel T Martinez came out with Summary of Supreme Gourt Rutings in wor volumes, annually from 1987 to 1996. Arranged according to the corresponding eight bar subjects, it gives a detailed outline and analysis at the beginning of each chapter, together with Research Aids that lists earlier cases decided by the Supreme Gourt on the specific points touched by the Ruling, Unfortunately, this was discontinued. ‘The Philippine Law Report, published monthly by the UP Law Genter since 1974 to date, contains case digests of important ‘cases as well as texts of important laws. The UP Law Center has also published Supreme Court Decisions Title Index, 1945-1975, (2v.) and supplemented from 1976-1982 (2 v.) and 1982-1985, Qv). ‘The most current digest is entitlecl Case Digests of Supreme Court Dacisions which is prepared monthly by the Committee headed initially by then Senior Justice, now Chief Justice Reynato 8. Puno, since 1988, Each isue contains a title and subject inclexes arranged alphabetically by subjects. 6.2 Gourt of Appeals Decisions Initially, the decisions of the Court of Appeals (GA) appeared in the Appelate Court Reports. The daly Soe eles Seas 2MAR 200") en ae : LEGAL RESEARGH METHODS nbayan Decisions Jential Decree No. 1606, as amended by Republic Act No Presid 7975 and 8249 bestowed exclusive original jurisdiction on the Sandiganbayan over violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Republic Act No. 1379 and Chapter II, ion 2, Tide VII, Book Two of the Revised Penal Code. Only one volume of the ‘Sandiganbayan Reports was published containing decisions ftom December 3, 1979 to February 29, 1980, 7. AMERICAN LEGAL SOURGE One consults laws and decisions of the United States only if our laws were copied from them and its principles of law were adopted in the Philippines. For example, the concept of due process of law found in our Constitution was inherited s important to locate laws and decisions from the from the United States. Thus, ‘American jurisdiction 7A Research in US Federal Statutory Law 7.1.1 Federal Constitution The text of the U.S, Constitution is found in several publications, from pamphlets to annotated texts, from constitutional treaties to hornbooks as appendices. Ik is also found in the beginning volumes of the US. Code US.C.), the US. Code Annotated (US.C.A) and the US. Code Service (USGS). One of the most extensive and authoritative volume is the Constitution of the United States of American, Analysis and Interpretation, edited by Johnny H. Killian and published by the Congressional Research Service. 7.1.2 Federal Statutes ‘The search for legislative intent begins with the U.S, Stabutes-at- Farge (Stat.) where the original number of the law is given on the upper left margin. With this bill number, the next step is to tum to the Index of the Congressional Record in the section entitled ‘History of Bills and Resolutions’ which outlines the action taken together with page references to the Congressional Record. The citations to the original bill are also published in TBP JOURNALIBP JOURNAL sna 8, Felician (VOL. 34.No.1 at-Large. “The US ¢ Naws (USCCAN) prints the ‘ text of the act and the abbreviated version of the committee reports pertaining (© the act, Selected statutes are published in the U.S. Law Week (U by the Bureau of Internal Affairs, Loc LW), a looseleaf service published The US. notes to sources of the text and to previous laws, It is the olficial code published by the U.S nment Printing Office and every five years, a new updated code is published. is divided into 40 titles or subjects and contains Its index is comprehensive and carries a list of citations of the U.S. Statutes-at-Large with parallel citations to tiles and sections where the laws are codified in U-S. Code. ‘The U.S. Code Annotated (US.C.A,) and the US. Code Seroice (U.S.C) are unofficial publications of the West Publishing Co. and Lexis Law Publishing, Go., respectively. They contain federal statutes, annotations, fe, notes or commentaries of decisions that have interpreted the statutes nd information on the legislative history of the statutes Treaties and International Agreements ‘The texts of treaties are published in the U.S. Statutes-at-Large until 1950. Since then, these treaties have been published in a separate series titled United States Treaties and Other International Agreements (US.T.) and each treaty is published in pamphlet form called Treaties and Other International Acts Series (LIAS) with a given series number. The Department of State issues annually a book entitled Treaties in Force which is an official index to the current U.S, treaties and agreements and offers citations to. all major treaty publications such as the U.N: Treaty Series (U.N.TS,) The American Society of International Law has been publishing the bi-monthly Inéenational Legal Materials (1.LM.) since 1962 which contain the texts of treaties of major significance and although selective, provides access to many recent documents reflecting U.S. International law developments.NLAIN £002] 7.22 LRESEARCH METHODS. ‘The U.S. Federal Supreme Court decisions are officially |. Reports (U.S.) and its alternative texts in y by the published in the the Supreme Court Reporter (S.Ct.) published commercial West Publishin Lawyer's Ed, (L. Ed.), first and second editions published by the Lexis Publishing Company. Both of these reports carry editorial summaries and headnotes for each case and access to the headnotes is provided by Digests, companion sets to the Reporter. ‘The difference between them is that Supreme Court Reporter carries a key number system which is used for court decisions throughout the country while the Lawyer's Edition it Reports g Company and the U.S. Supreme C contains legal analyses or annotations on issues arising in about four decisions per volume together with summaries of selected briefs submitted by the lawyers who argued the cases. U.S. Law Week (US.L.W,), a Looseleaf service published by the Bureau of National Affaiis, prints important current decisions of the U.S. Federal Supreme Court and digests of decisions of federal appellate and district courts, and state courts, Federal Appellate and District Court Decisions In the federal court system, the general trial courts are known as U.S. District Courts in 94 districts. There are several specialized trial courts such as the Bankruptcy Courts, the Court of Federal Claims and the Court of International Trade. The intermediate appellate courts are the U.S. Gourt of Appeals divided into 13 circuits. Except for slip decisions, these courts have no official reports. Thus, the decisions of these courts are published unofficially by West Publishing in the Federal Reports, 1st to 3rd series, (F, 3rd), Federal Supplement (€. Supp.) and the Federal Rules Decisions (F.R.D.) which contain a limited number of U.S. District Court decisions not published in the Federal Supplement dealing with procedural rules under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. However, the F.R.D. also IBP JOURNAL210 [VOL. 34.No.1 Myrna S. Feliciano contains articles, speeches and conference reports on fecleral procedural issues Decisions of State Courts Decisions of State Courts are published in two forms: as official reports, which are issued under the auspices of the courts themselves as authoritative texts of their decisions and as unofficial reports issued by commercial publishers. These state.official reports must be cited in briefs before that court and usually contain the decisions of the high court for that state (usually the Supreme Court), although a few states issue more than one series of official reports to cover decisions of their intermediate appellate court. ‘The major comprehensive unofficial reporting system is the ‘West Publishing Company's National Reporter System and the online systems of Lexis and Westlaw. The National Reporter System includes a series of regional reporters _ publishing the decisions of appellate courts of the 50. states and the District of Columbia. This system divides the United ~ States into seven regions, and publishes the decisions of the appellate courts of the states in each region together in one series of volumes. They are supplemented by separate reporters for the most litigious states, namely California Reporter, the Illinois, and New York Together with the West's Federal Court Report, the National Reporter System comprises a uniform system tied =f togeber by the key number indexing and digesting scheme, Then gat ep System which contain the opinions some intermediate appellateMAR REVISITING TRADITIONAL 2 LEGAL RESEARCH METHOD! ©) North Western Reporter (N.W.), North Western Reporter econd series (N.\W. 2d) ~ Iowa, Mich., Minn.m N ND. S.D, Wi d) Pacific Reporter (P.), Pacific Reporter, second series (P. 2d) ~ Alaska, Ariz., Cal., Golo, Harv., Idaho, Kan., Mont. Nev., N.M., Okla., Ore., Utah, Wash., Wyo. ©) South Eastam Reporte (S.E.), South Eastern Reporter second series (S.E, 2d) ~ Ga., N.C, S.C., Va., W. Va. {) Snuthem Reporta (So.), Southern Reporter, second series (So. 2d) ~ Ala., Mla., La,, Miss 8) South Western Reporter (S.W South Western Reporter, Ark., Ky., Mo., Tenn., Tex. second series (S.W. 2d) These are supplemented by separate reporters for the most litigious states, namely, California Reporter (Gal. Rptr.), Mino’ Decisions (Mil. Dec.) and the New York Supplement (N.YS.), all in their second series. Although each state report is covered by a digest, th dex to all these reporters is the American Digest System which consists of three sets of digests that provide small-paragraph summaries of court opinions written by every federal and every state court that publishes its opinions using the West key-number system. ‘These three digests are: * General Digests — contain the most recent summaries every month and provides cumulative tables in every tenth volume indicating which key number appear in which volumes * Decennial Digests ~ contain summaries covering 10-year periods which are recompiled from the General Digests. Due to the inereased case law, Wests compiles these digests every five years starting with the Ninth Decennial Digests, 1976-1981 and 198 1-1986. * Century Digests — contain summaries for cases written from 1658-1896. IBP JOURNSMyrni'S.Feticiano [VOL. 34.No.1 that contain the complete text Another important set of of selected mmentaries of {opinions swith extensive annot 16 the American Law Reports (A.L-R.) publi the Lawyers Gooperative Publishing Gompany. ‘The Amencan Law Reports, first to filth series (ALR, ALAR. 2d, ALR, 36, ALR. 4%, ALR. 58) are devoted to general and state legal issues while the American Law Reports, Federal Series (A.L.R. Fed) is for issues of federal Lav. ions Each annotation be th a table of contents, a detailed table listing the jurisdictions of the cases discussed as well as research references which lead to subject index, encyclopedias, digests, practice aids and periodical articles. The AER Quick Index covering ALR 3d, ALR 4, and ALR 5% carries a History Annotation Table which shows whether your ALR annotation citation is current, supplemented, or replaced. 8. ELECTRONIG SQUGES OF LAW Electronic access to information has become more important to the practice of law especially as to the way legal the advantages of electronic legal research? First of all, it stores a large amount of ng a small amount of space. Second, the research time is reduced or easily manipulated. Lastly, it is partable because legal research can be done anywhere. 8.1 Media for Electronic Legal Research ‘The media for electronic legal research are diskettes or the soft magnetic disks which ean store 720 kilobytes to 1.44 megabytes of data. CD-Roms or the compact disc read-only memory using a computer with CD-Rom drive and can store a large amount of digital information of up to 650 megabytes of data. They can cither be CD Recordable (data that has been written cannot be altered) or CD Rewritable where data can be written in an unlimited number of times. -search in the Internet is conducted. What are information while ta 8.2 CDs Available Local and in the UP Law Library Lex Libris is produced by CD Asia and its products are Laws, 1901 to date; Jurisprudence, 1901 to date; Taxation, Local Autonomy andMAR 2009) REVISITING TRADITIONAL 213 LEGAL RESEARCH METHODS Local Gove nent; Environment and Natural Resources; Department of Justice Opinions of the Secretary of Justice; Labor and »: Trade, Commerce & Industry; Securities and Exchange Commission; National Administrative Elections, Family Law; Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas; Compendium of Philippine Customs Laws and Regulations; Bureau of Internal Revenue Legal Information System; National Adm dings; Impeachment Proceedings Social Legislat trative Register; 1986 ‘Constitutional Commission Pre ‘of President Joseph Estrada; and Jurisprudence, Supreme Court Reports, 1901 to date, 3 CDs. Access to Law is a multimedia resouree company that publishes the two-volume of Laws Annotated Series which is a collection of major Philippine laws, also in CD-ROMs. Its website service is www.1- \ccesslaw.com, i-Law is an instant CD of Supreme Court decisions from 1901 to February 2005. ‘The Supreme Gourt E-Library is composed of Supreme Court decisions from 1995 to October 30, 2008 in one GD which is updated regulatl> Atty. Fernando B. Duque produced 2 GDs, namely, Philippine Legal Forms, expanded version, which document forms, pleadings, abstract ‘of recent laws, Supreme Court circulars, court jurisdictions and a glossary and The Family Lawyer which contains Family Court rules and Family Law jurisprudence. Exeryone’s Legal Forms and Philippine Legal & Goverment Forms are CDs compiled by Atty. Ralph A. Sarmiento which is a collection of more214 83 IBP JOURNAL Myma §. Feliciano [VoL. 34.No.1 Proceedin of the Preparatory Commission on Gonstitua 1 Reforms, West Group Law School Salut ced in Law School; International Humanitarian Law by the International Committee ‘on Red Cross (ICRO), Geneva ~ also produced a CD entitled Healing the World Through Time No Peace Without justice ~ proceedings of the Diplomatic Conference for the Establishment ofa Criminal Gourt; World Development Sources ~ World Bank Reports from 1996- 1998; U.S. Supreme Court (USSG) — decisions of the Court from 1993-1987 and includes leading decisions from 1783; UNBIS CD-ROM — bibliographic output to UN publications with an index to UN databases; University of Ottawa Faculty of Law — collection on Civil Law, ‘Common Law, customary law, mixed system and Muslim law; Refecorld (UN Human Rights Commission) Anformation USA (US Information Service) TIARA ~ treaties entered into by the United States as of January 1998; WitionDise ~ produced by HLW. Wilson Co.. itis an index to articles to 700 legal periodicals by subject and author from 1990-1998 The LAWREV Library on Lexis and JLR database on Westlaw provides a comprehensive access to hundreds of law reviews. Online = The Internet and the World Wide WebMAR 2009) REVISETEN LEGAL RESE RAUL RON 412 RCH METHODS “Online” means using a computer that is connected to other computers. The Internet is basically a collection of computers linked together, One part of the Intern the World Wide Web (www), 4 collection of graphical interfaces that makes moving between pages and Websites simple. ‘The best way to use the Web is to have a graphical interface or browser for searching, such as Netscape or Microsoft's Internet Explorer.!* When one browses the World Wide Web, one uses cither a search engine or a specific address or URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protoccl). Depending on the search engine, you can search for any search terms or all search terms provided or exclude other terms# from the compiled indexes. Most major search engines provide features to assist researchers. Examples of these search engines are Google and Yahoo (Wet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracles) which has structured search and free style search through key words Ap://cere yahoo.com accordingly. se Other Internet tools are called meta-search engines wherein these will submit the same query to many other search engines, sparing the researcher the trouble of entering it many times at many different sites. Examples are: Metacrawler Atiy:/Atceze. metacrawler,com: Find-It! ee itool Dogpile http://www.dogpile.com and216 Myrna 5, Feliciano pete, peatincs ae e including full text of opinions trom federal and state courts as well as laws Lately, William §. Hein & Co. which is 4 leading preservation s in reprint and publisher of long ont-of-print legal research materi microfilm format established HEIN ON LINE hutp://heinonline.org on subscription basis. Other website links in the public domain are: (1) Supreme Court of the Philippines htep://vww.supremecourtgov.ph; (2) Chan Robles hup://www.chanrobles.com; (3) Arellano Law Foundation Lawphil hup://wwwlawphil.net; (4) Pinoy Law hetp://www.pinoylaw.com; (6) Congress of the Philippines htep://wwrw.congress.gov.ph; (6) Olfice of the President http://www.ops.gav.ph; (7) Securities and Exchange Commission _htip://wwwsecgovph and (8) _—‘Findlaw hetp://wwv.findlaw.com., among others Other websites which provide leads to legal information or for researching substantive law inelude the following: Virtual Law Library http://www ke indiana.edu/law/v-lib: which is arranged by subject, it ineludes link {0 sites of specialty arcas of law, law firms, government resources, law journals and search engines; (2) Cornell's Legal Information Institute http://www law.cornel .edu/index.huml; (3) Law Grawler hi tp://wwwlawerawler.com; (4) Catalaw p:/ /anwrw.catalaw.com: and 6 CCglaw hutp://www.ceglaw.com/links/ htm! 9 READING AND UPDATING THE LAW: Once the statute applicable to the problem at hand is located, read its provisions and cite it accordingly, As for compiled cases applicable on the problem, read the cases and make an internal evaluation. Separate the obiter dicta from the ratio decidendi of the cases. Look for the similarity of fact-situation and the problem searched. One should also make an external evaluation by searching for background information on subsequent history and critical comments regarding the issues being researched through legal periodical articles, surveys, annotations and treatises. However, the researcher i i and statutes. He or she nPING TRADITIONAL 217 MAR 2009) ARCH METHODS 10, WRITING THE MEMORANDUM OF PLEADING accuracy in legal research, accuracy in legal Good legal writing req analysis and reasoning and requires awareness of the purpose as well as the audience of the memorandum or pleading. Pay attention to the grammar, the substantive content, the lucidity of arguments and its development, the preciseness of the words used and the completeness of the citations. In orderto correctly cite legal sources, use the Philippine Manual of Legal Citations: . Il. CONCLUSION There is no uniform rule as to how extensive a research should be in solving a legal problem. This is influenced by extrancous factors such as time limitation, availability of materials, the nature of the problem, the legal measures being adopted, and of course, the research habits and attitudes of the Jawyers or researchers. But in any situation, take note that COMMON SENSE has a significant bearing on the "research procedure, ~000-