Criminal Law I JD 1-7

Laurino, Charlene Yet D.

1. How to answer Bar Exams?

The framework used in answering bar exam is called ReLACS. It is

like a golden rule in answering bar examination question. ReLACS
stands for Reply, Legal Basis, Analysis, and Conclusion. By using this
framework anyone would be ensure to have written a clear, concise, and
complete answer.

 Reply – Providing clear and concise immediate response to the

question.
 Legal Basis – Provide the law, doctrine jurisprudence or rule that
applies to the issue at hand.
 Analysis – Application and Interpretation of the legal basis to the
issue and facts of the case at hand
 Conclusion – State the result of your analysis and answer to the
issue.

According to Atty. Reynulfo C. Tatad Jr.’s online article entitled

“Techniques in Answering Bar Questions,” the following rules can be
used in answering essay questions:

a. Definition type of question – It should be answered directly and

with precision.
b. Enumeration – If you can enumerate all, write it in bulleted or
numbered form to highlight that the fact that you know all of them.
But if you cannot enumerate all, write it in paragraph form so that it
would not easily be noticeable that you missed something.
c. Distinction – Compare in a systematic and orderly manner. If the
question involves distinguishing a term apart from the other, lay
down the basis of the distinction first and to continue stating how
one term is different from the other. However, if the tenor requires
one to “compare” one term from the other, lay down not only bases
of their differences, but also, their similarities.
d. Jurisdiction – Craft his response on question of jurisdiction.
 e. Citing legal provisions – It can be favorable if the citation is
accurate and definite. However, if the examinee is enveloped in
doubt as to the writing the exact provision, he must craft his
response in this question.
f. Quoting Supreme Court decisions - Citing the case title down to its
general reference number and or its SCRA numbers would appear
quite appealing to the examiner. However, in case of doubt, one
must craft his response in this type of question.
g. Emphasizing Case Doctrines Or Jurisprudence - It is high time to
outlive those days wherein we only we live with the words
“Jurisprudence provides…” or “The Supreme Court held that…”
and start to expose ourselves to the new statements when it
comes to quoting the highest court of this country.
h. Analysis Of The Facts And The Law - one will apply the legal basis
to the facts stated in the problem. It is not proper to use the
statements “in the case at bench” or “in the case at bar” when
answering.
i. Concluding Words - Adhere to the application of the Mirror
Principle in the Reply and Conclusion part of the ReLACS. The
principle requires that both the foregoing parts should be crafted in
a manner that it mirrors the structure of the question

2. How to make a Case Digest?

The following guidelines show how to make an efficient Case Digest:

A. Tickler refers to the topic of the case or an easy guide to the

doctrine observed in the Case.
B. Header includes case title, case number, date and ponente
C. Facts refer to the relevant information sufficient to recall and to
prove the matter required to be proved. It must also provide the
allegations and defenses of the parties.
D. Issue pertains to the main matter in the particular subject we are
writing the digest for.
E. Held refers to the ruling of the court. It has four parts which must
be properly observed:
 First Paragraph – Quick answer to the issue. If it is a close-
ended question, immediately answer it by stating yes or no
or if it an open-ended question, address the issue
accordingly.
 Second Paragraph – State the applicable law, doctrine,
jurisprudence used by court in deciding the case.
 Third Paragraph – It is the application of law to the case.
 Fourth Paragraph – It simply states the concluding
sentences.