CENTRO ESCOLAR UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF LAW AND JURISPRUDENCE

Introduction to Law
First Semester, School Year 2017-2018

Syllabus1

Atty. Marie Arcie Anne M. Sercado Bernardo

Email: amsercado@gmail.com

Course requirements:

Recitation and Attendance 50%

Midterm Examination 20%
Final Examination 30%
Total 100%

I. Preliminaries and Brief Historical Background

Feliciano, Myrna S. The Legal System of the Philippines, Chapters 1-5, Access from
http://www.aseanlawassociation.org/legal-phil.html.
In re: Max Shoop, 41 Phil. 21 (1920).
Rubi v. Provincial Board of Mindoro, 39 Phil. 660 (1919).

II. Actors and Institutions

A. Law Schools and Legal Education
Constantino, Renato. “The Miseducation of the Filipino” in Journal of Contemporary Asia Vol. 1.,
No.1. (1970). Access from http://eaop.ucsd.edu/198/group-
identity/THE%20MISEDUCATION%20OF%20THE%20FILIPINO.pdf.
Kennedy, Duncan. Legal Education and the Reproduction of Hierarchy: A Polemic Against the
System, 32 J. Legal Educ. 591 (1982). Access from
http://www.duncankennedy.net/documents/Photo%20articles/Legal%20Education%20and%20th
e%20Reproduction%20of%20Hierarchy_J.%20Leg.%20Ed..pdf.
Cortes, Irene R. “Legal Education in a Changing Society” in Emerging Trends in Law: Albino Z.
SyCip Professor of Law Lectures, UP College of Law, 1983, pages 71-92.

1
This syllabus is based on the Legal History outline of Professor Ryan P. Oliva of the UP College of Law.

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Hilbay, Florin T. “Grand Mannerisms: Reflections on Greatness and Grandeur” in In the Grand
Manner: Looking Back, Thinking Forward, Danilo L. Concepcion, et al. (Eds.) UP College of Law,
2012, pages 1-18.
Agabin, Pacifico A. “What Exactly is Teaching Law in the Grand Manner” in In the Grand Manner:
Looking Back, Thinking Forward, Danilo L. Concepcion, et al. (Eds.) UP College of Law, 2012, pages
19-37.
Magallona, Merlin M. “A Note on Radicalization and the Legal Academy: What is the Role of the
Legal Academy.” Paper delivered during the Sixth Law Deans’ Meeting of the Association of Pacific
Rim Universities, November 12, 2015, EDSA Shangri-La, Manila.
Agabin, Pacifico A. “Addressing Radicalization Through Education: The Role of the Legal Academy.”
Paper delivered during the Sixth Law Deans’ Meeting of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities,
November 12, 2015, EDSA Shangri-La, Manila.
B. The Supreme Court
Mendoza, Vicente V. Judicial Review of Constitutional Questions: Cases and Materials, Chapter 1,
Historic Basis of the Power of Judicial Review, 2004, pages 1-39.
C. Law Firms and the Legal Market
Pampolina, Jonathan T. et al. You, Me and the Firm: Tracing the Historical Development of Philippine
Legal Practice from Solo Practice to Law Firms, 81 PHIL. L.J. 879 (2007). Access from
http://plj.upd.edu.ph/you-me-and-the-firm-tracing-the-historical-development-of-philippine-legal-
practice-from-solo-practice-to-law-firms/.
Harper, Steven J., Chapter 5,”The Transformation of Big Law Firms” in the Lawyer Bubble: A
Profession in Crisis, Basic Books, 2013, pages 67-97.
The Legal 500: The Client’s Guide to the Asia Pacific Legal Profession (John Pritchard, ed.), 2016,
Section on the Philippines.
In re: Petition of SyCip Salazar, 92 SCRA 1(1979).
Dacanay v. Baker and McKenzie, 136 SCRA 349 (1985).
Roque, H. Harry, Jr. Globalization of Legal Services: Challenges and Possibilities in the Philippine
Setting. Access from http://www.aseanlawassociation.org/docs/w2_phil.pdf.

III. Human Rights and History

Shelton, Dinah. “An Introduction to the History of International Human Rights Law,” Lecture given
at the International Institute of Human Rights, Strasbourg, France, July 2003. Access from
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1010489.
Agabin, Pacifico A. “Morality of Human Rights of Personality”, in Unconstitutional Essays, UP Press,
1996, pages 241-255.

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A. Privacy
Vivares v. St. Theresa’s College, 737 SCRA 92 (2014).
B. Illegal Searches and Seizures
Stonehill v. Diokno, 20 SCRA15 (1967).
C. Freedom of Information and the Right to Know
Legaspi v. Civil Service Commission, 150 SCRA 530 (1987).
D. Freedom of Religion
Ebralinag v. Division Superintendent of Schools of Cebu, 219 SCRA 256 (1993).
E. Freedom of Speech
Mendoza, Vicente V. Courts and the Press as Partners for Good Government, 85 PHIL. L.J. 986
(2011). Access from http://plj.upd.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/PLJ-volume-85-issue-4-
layout10.pdf.
Vasquez v. Court of Appeals, 314 SCRA 460 (1999).
Iglesia ni Cristo v. Court of Appeals, 259 SCRA 529 (1996).
F. Labor and the Right to Strike
Bisig ng Manggagawa sa Concrete Aggregates, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Commission, et al.,
226 SCRA 499 (1993).
G. Indigenous People’s Rights
Cruz v. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, 347 SCRA 128 (2000).
H. Gender and Reproductive Health
People v. Genosa, 419 SCRA 537 (2004).
Garcia v. Drilon, 699 SCRA 352 (2013).
Marcos v. Commission on Elections, 248 SCRA 300 (1995).
Ang Ladlad LGBT Party v. Commission on Elections, 618 SCRA 32 (2010).
Spouses Imbong, et al. v. Ochoa, et al., G.R. No. 204819, April 8, 2014. Access from
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/microsite/rhlaw/
I. Individual Liberty
City of Manila v. Laguio, Jr., 455 SCRA 308 (2005).
White Light Corporation v. City of Manila, 576 SCRA 416 (2009).
J. Right to a Balanced and Healthful Ecology

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Metro Manila Development Authority v. Concerned Residents of Manila Bay, 574 SCRA 661 (2008).
Oposa v. Factoran, 224 SCRA 782 (1993).
K. Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Manila Prince Hotel v. Government Service Insurance System, 267 SCRA 408 (1997).
Gearty, Connor. Can Human Rights Survive?, Cambridge UP, 2006. Access from
http://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/schoolofhumanitiesandsocialsciences/l
aw/pdfs/2005Hamlynlecture.pdf

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