MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY – MARAWI CITY

COLLEGE OF LAW
Legal Research and Bibliography
Course Title: Legal Research and Bibliography Year and Section: 1st Yr Sections 2&3
Semester: 1st Semester, A.Y. 2022-2023 Schedule: Tue (2-4pm/ 4-6pm)
Units: 2 Lecturer: Atty. Jeanan Ashya Gubat, CPA
Course Description: This course will introduce structures to the methodology of legal
research; including case study and analysis; bill drafting; legislation, reporting analysis and
preparation of critical paper on any subject approved by the faculty teaching it

Outline of Course Content

I. Introduction to Legal Research

A. What is legal research

-Process of providing information to a query. It seeks to answer a legal question

B. Need for legal research

- To Provide competent representation and uphold the standards of the legal

profession.

-Aid in the process of analyzing a legal question

C. Legal research as an essential lawyering skill

-Search engine for legal question

D. Standard of legal research required

Read Domingo-Regala v. Sultan

-complainant claims that Ma. Donna Sultan cannot carry out proper
legal research, that is, she cannot find cases in point; neither can she come up with the latest jurisprudence
on the subject matter assigned to her and instead copies verbatim from textbooks

-respondent claims that as a law graduate, she at least has the basic knowledge of law and
legal research

E. Legal research differ from other researches

F. Legal Authority

-Authority that will aid in finding a solution to a legal problem

G. Types of legal authority

1. Primary authority v. Secondary authority

- Primary Authority is the only authority that is binding on the courts. They are the actual law or those
promulgated by the three branches of government: Legislative, Executive and Judiciary. Primary Legal Authorities are
authorized statements of law issued by governmental bodies .

- Secondary authority or sources are commentaries or books, treatise, writings, journal articles that explain,
discuss or comment on primary authorities. Opinions of the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange
Commission or circulars of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. These materials are not binding on courts, but they have
persuasive effect and/or the degree of persuasiveness

-The former is the law itself (Mandatory or Persuasive); while the latter interprets, analyzes, or compiles the
law (Persuasive)

2. Mandatory or Binding authority v. Persuasive authority

-Mandatory primary authority is law created by the jurisdiction in which the law operates like the Philippines
-Persuasive mandatory authority is law created by other jurisdictions, but which have persuasive value to
our courts e.g. Spanish and American laws and jurisprudence. These sources as used specially when there are no
Philippine authorities available or when the Philippine statute or jurisprudence under interpretation is based on either
the Spanish or American law.

H. Sources of authorities

1. Legislature

* Constitution and Statutes

2. Supreme Court of the Philippines

* Cases (Judicial Branch)

3. President

* Treaties, Executive Orders, Administrative Rules & Regulations, Ordinances

4. Administrative bodies

5. Local government units

I. Forms of legal information

1. Primary sources v. Secondary sources

- Primary sources are those published by the issuing agency itself or the official repository, the Official
Gazette.
- For Supreme Court decisions, the primary sources are the Philippine Reports
- Online, the Supreme Court E-Library is complete and updated as soon as the decisions have been certified by
the Chief Justice. The Supreme Court E-Library includes the citation of the Philippine Reports where each case is found
whenever it is available.
- The Secondary Sources are the unofficial sources and generally referred to as those commercially or
institutionally published in print or online.
II. Overview of the Political, Legislative and Judicial Systems of the Philippines

A. Define Constitution

-a body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization
is acknowledged to be governed.
B. Republic of the Philippines as a democratic and republican state
- The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government
authority emanates from them.
- The Philippines is a republic with a presidential form of government wherein power is equally divided
among its three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.
- In a pure democracy, laws are made directly by the voting majority leaving the rights of the minority
largely unprotected.
-In a republic, laws are made by representatives chosen by the people and must comply with a constitution
that specifically protects the rights of the minority from the will of the majority.
C. Philippine national territory

- The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and waters embraced
therein, and all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its
terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains, including its territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves,
and other submarine areas. The waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago,
regardless of their breadth and dimensions, form part of the internal waters of the Philippines.

D. Application of political law in the Philippine national territory

E. Application of criminal law in the Philippine national territory

F. Application of civil law in the Philippine national territory

1. Application of family laws

- binding to all citizens of Philippines even though living abroad

2. Lex rei sitae ("the law where the property is situated")

-real property as well as personal property is subject to the law of the country
where it is situated

3. Lex loci celebrationis (the law of the place where a contract is made)

- the forms and solemnities of contracts, wills, and other public instruments
shall be governed by the laws of the county in which they are situated
 G. Fundamental powers of the Philippine State

1. Police power
-power of the state to regulate liberty and property for the promotion of general welfare
2. Power of eminent domain
-enable the state to forcibly acquire private property, upon payment of just compensation, for some intended
public use
3. Power of taxation
-the state is able to demand from the members of society their proportionate share or contribution in the
maintenance of government

H. Doctrine of separation of powers

- This system revolves around three separate and sovereign yet interdependent branches: the legislative branch (the
law-making body), the executive branch (the law-enforcing body), and the judicial branch (the law-interpreting body).
I. Branches of the Philippine Government

1. Executive

2. Legislative

a. Statutes enacted by the legislative bodies

i. (Public) Acts

ii. Commonwealth Acts

iii. Republic Acts

iv. Batas Pambansa

v. Presidential Decrees

vi. (Statutory) Executive Orders

b. Laws are repealed by subsequent laws

c. Political laws are abrogated by change of sovereignty

d. How a bill becomes a law (Legislative Process)

1.) Filing/Calendaring for First Reading

A bill is filed in the Office of the Secretary where it is given a corresponding number and calendared
for First Reading.

2.)First Reading

Its title, bill number, and author’s name are read on the floor, after which it is referred to the proper
committee.

3.) Committee Hearings/Report

 Committee conducts hearings and consultation meetings. It then either approves the proposed bill
without an amendment, approves it with changes, or recommends substitution or consolidation with similar
bills filed.

4.) Calendaring for Second Reading

The Committee Report with its approved bill version is submitted to the Committee on Rules for
calendaring for Second Reading.

5.)Second Reading

Bill author delivers sponsorship speech on the floor. Senators engage in debate, interpellation, turno
en contra, and rebuttal to highlight the pros and cons of the bill. A period of amendments incorporates
necessary changes in the bill proposed by the committee or introduced by the Senators themselves on the floor.

6.)Voting on Second Reading

Senators vote on the second reading version of the bill. If approved, the bill is calendared for third
reading.

7.)Voting on Third Reading

Printed copies of the bill’s final version are distributed to the Senators. This time, only the title of the
bill is read on the floor. Nominal voting is held. If passed, the approved Senate bill is referred to the House of
Representatives for concurrence.

8.)At the House of Representatives

The Lower Chamber follows the same procedures (First Reading, Second Reading and Third
Reading).

9.)Back to the Senate

If the House-approved version is compatible with that of the Senate’s, the final version’s enrolled
form is printed. If there are certain differences, a Bicameral Conference Committee is called to reconcile
conflicting provisions of both versions of the Senate and of the House of Representatives. Conference
committee submits report on the reconciled version of the bill, duly approved by both chambers. The Senate
prints the reconciled version in its enrolled form.

10)Submission to Malacañang

Final enrolled form is submitted to Malacañang. The President either signs it into law, or vetoes and
sends it back to the Senate with veto message.

3. Judiciary

a. Judicial system

i. Define court

ii. Distinguish Judiciary and Supreme Court

iii. Distinguish Supreme court and Department of Justice

- The Department of Justice is under the executive department of the Philippine
government responsible for upholding the rule of law in the Philippines. It is the government's
principal law agency, serving as its legal counsel and prosecution arm
- The Supreme Court has both original and appellate jurisdiction. It exercises original
jurisdiction (cases are directly filed with the SC in the first instance without passing through
any of the lower courts) over cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls,
and over petitions for certiorari, prohibition, mandamus, quo warranto, and habeas corpus.
iv. Distinguish Bar and Bench
 - In court, the bar is the common term used for attorneys who were licensed to practice in
the courts. Whereas, the bench is a judge or panel of judges who sits in the courtroom.
v. Define jurisprudence
- Jurisprudence refer to the body of decisions promulgated
by the Supreme Court.
vi. Judges and Justices
- Trial and intermediate appellate court judges in judicial system are called judges, while
those on the highest courts are justices.
vii. No trial by jury
-A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a lawful proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or
findings of fact.
b. Hierarchy of Courts

- Supreme Court

-CA

-Sandigan Bayan

-CTA

-2nd Level (RTC)

-1st Level (MeTC,MTCC,MTC,MCTC)

-Sharia District & Circuit Board (District = RTC, Circuit = MCTC)

c. Jurisdiction

i. Territorial jurisdiction

ii. How jurisdiction is acquired

iii. Classification of jurisdiction

1. General and Limited

- General means that when a person is a resident of a state, that state has a say
over a person in any court in that state regarding the legal matter. Limited jurisdiction
means that the court can only hear and pass judgment upon cases that are limited to
specific types of issues.
2. Original and Appellate
- Original jurisdiction is the right of a court to hear a case for the first time. It
can be distinguished from appellate jurisdiction which is the right of a court to review a
case that has already been heard and decided upon by a lower court.
3. Exclusive and Concurrent
-Exclusive jurisdiction exists in civil procedure if one court has the power to
adjudicate a case to the exclusion of all other courts. The opposite situation is concurrent
jurisdiction (or non-exclusive jurisdiction) in which more than one court may take
jurisdiction over the case.
4. Civil and Criminal
- The fundamental difference between a civil case and a criminal one is that a
criminal case involves a crime against the state, while a civil case is essentially a dispute
between private parties.
 iv. Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court

v. Supreme Court En Banc

1. Supreme Court Resolutions

2. Supreme Court Minute Resolutions

vi. Jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals

- Appellate jurisdiction includes the power to reverse or modify the the
lower court's decision. Appellate jurisdiction exists for both civil law and criminal
law
vii. Jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan
- It has jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving graft and corrupt
practices and such other offenses committed by public officers and employees, including
those in government-owned or controlled corporations, in relation to their office as may be
determined by law.
- It should be noted that private individuals can be sued in cases before the
Sandiganbayan if they are alleged to be in conspiracy with the public officer.

- The Sandiganbayan is vested with Appellate Jurisdiction over final

judgments, resolutions or orders of the RTC whether in the exercise of their
original or appellate jurisdiction over crimes and civil cases falling within the
original exclusive jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan but which were
committed by public officers below Salary Grade 27.
viii. Jurisdiction of the Court of Tax Appeals
- The Court of Appeals (CTA) has exclusive appellate jurisdiction to review by
appeal decisions or inaction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue or of the
Commissioner of Customs involving their respective responsibilities under the National
Internal Revenue Code and the Customs Law, respectively, and those of the Secretary of
Finance in automatic review cases where the decisions of the Commissioner of Internal
Revenue or of Customs favorable to the taxpayer are elevated to the Finance Secretary;
also those of the Secretary of Trade and Industry, in the case of nonagricultural product,
commodity or article; or the Secretary of Agriculture, in the case of agricultural product,
commodity or article, in connection with the imposition of the Anti-Dumping Duty,
Countervailing and Safeguard Duty. This original and appellate jurisdiction includes
criminal cases involving violations of the National Internal Revenue Code or the Tariff and
Customs Code; decisions of Regional Trial Courts (RTCs) in local tax cases, and of the
Central Board of Assessment Appeals (CBAA) in cases involving the assessment and
taxation of real property; and collection of taxes the assessment of which has already
become final.

ix. Jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Courts

x. Jurisdiction of the Municipal Trial Court

xi. Jurisdiction of the Shari’a Court

III. Introduction to Laws

A. Nature of Philippine legal system

 - The Philippine legal system may be considered as a unique legal system because it is a blend of civil law (Roman),

common law (Anglo-American), Muslim (Islamic) law and indigenous law.

B. What is law

- rule of conduct, just and obligatory, laid down by legitimate authority for common

observance and benefit.

C. Purpose of the law

D. Kinds of laws

1. Statutory or Enacted law

 Written enactment of the will of the legislative branch of the government

 Constitution or legislative enactments
 Etc. Treaties, municipal charters, municipal legislation, court rules

2. Case law

 Cases decided or written opinion by courts and by persons performing judicial

functions.
 Rulings in admin and legislative tribunals.
 Decisions made by presidential or senate or house of electoral rep.

3. Administrative law

E. Philosophy of Law

1. Four types of Law by Aquinas

a. Eternal - eternal law is comprised of those laws that govern the nature of an eternal universe

b.Divine - concerned with those standards that must be satisfied by a human being to achieve eternal

salvation.

c.Natural - comprised of those precepts of the eternal law that govern the behavior of beings possessing

reason and free will.

d. Human laws - is valid only insofar as its content conforms to the content of the natural law

F. Sources of Philippine laws

 1. Legislative Department as source of statutes

2. Judiciary Department as source of case or common laws, and jurisprudence

3. Executive Department as source of rules and regulations or administrative rules

G. Precedence and Hierarchy of Philippine laws

- In the hierarchy of Philippine laws, the Constitution is the supreme and fundamental law.

H. Civil law system

I. Common law system

1. Two common law doctrines

a. Precedent - This refer to decisions promulgated by the High Court that sets the tone for all other
subsequent similar cases.
b. Doctrine of Stare Decisis - The principle that the decisions of a court are a binding authority on
the court that issued the decisions and on the lower courts for the disposition of factually similar controversies.

J. Distinguish civil law and common law

- With respect to laws, the former are written laws at the time it was crafted while the latter are laws handed down by elders
through memory of men, originally unwritten then codified. In the former, judges only interpret the laws because the legislature
has the exclusive power of promulgating such; while in the latter judges may legislate.
K. Distinguish statutory law and case law

L. Distinguish private law and public law

-Public laws are laws intended for general application, such as those that apply to the
nation as a whole or a class of individuals.
-Private laws are enacted for the benefit of a particular individual or small group, such
as claims against the government or individual immigration or naturalization matters

M. Distinguish civil law and criminal law

- Civil law deals with the disputes between individuals, organizations, or between the
two, in which compensation is awarded to the victim.
-Criminal law is the body of law that deals with crime and the legal punishment of
criminal offenses.

N. Distinguish substantive law and procedural law

- As applied to criminal law, substantive law is that which declares what acts are crimes
and prescribes the punishment for committing them, as distinguished from the procedural law
which provides or regulates the steps by which one who commits a crime is to be punished.
 Procedural Law versus Substantive Law comparison chart

Procedural Law Substantive Law

Definition Deals with and lays down the ways and means by Deals with those areas of law which establish the rights and
which substantive law can be enforced obligations of individuals , what individuals may or may not do

Powers No independent powers Independent powers to decide the fate of a case

Application Can be applied in non legal contexts Cannot be applied in non legal contexts

Regulation By statutory law By Act of Parliament or goverment implemation

1. Types of procedural law

IV. The Legal Research Process

A. Identify and analyze the significant facts

1. TARP Rule

-TARP rule is a common method used by legal researchers to analyze fact situations:

Thing or subject matter. (Example: divorce)

Cause of Action or ground of defense. (Example: psychological incapacity,

mistaken identity)

Relief sought or purpose of action. (Example: injunction)

Persons or Parties involved. (husband-wife, employer-employee)

B. Identify legal issues and formulate a preliminary statement of issues to be researched

1. Is the issue civil or criminal

2. Figure out the area of law to be researched

3. What resources will help what the researcher needs

4. Figure out the legal research question

C. Conduct background research to get an overview of the subject area, identify issue and terms,

and get clues to primary sources

D. Search for legal authority using appropriate method of updating

E. Read and evaluate primary authorities

G. Make sure cases are still good laws and check current version of statutes

F. Refine analysis and formulate conclusion

V. Finding Legal Resources

A. Law Library

1. Types of law library -A law library is a library designed to assist law students,

attorneys, judges, and their law clerks in finding the legal resources necessary to correctly

determine the state of the law. (contains primary and secondary sources)

a. Public law library

-Public law libraries provide access to primary legal sources (statutes, cases,

and regulations) and secondary sources (professional reference books, form books, and

self-help books) used in legal matters.

b. Private law library

2. Library Catalogs

3. Library of Congress Classification

- The Library of Congress Classification is a system of library classification

developed by the Library of Congress in the United States, which can be used for

shelving books in a library. It is used by most research and academic libraries in the

U.S. and several other countries.

4. Electronic law library

B. Computer-Assisted Legal Research (CALR)

1. Boolean Searching - Boolean searches allow you to combine words and phrases using

the words AND, OR, NOT (known as Boolean operators) to limit, broaden, or define your

search.

a. Three basic logical operators (AND, OR, and NOT)

b. Proximity connectors

2. Field and segment searching

 3. Lex Libris, Lexis and Westlaw

- Lex Libris Group offers virtual legal reference services to solo practitioners,

small firms, and government entities needing legal information assistance.

- LexisNexis and Westlaw are powerful tools for legal research. Not only do they

help you find particular cases, but they can help lead you to other relevant law. One of

the differences between LexisNexis and Westlaw is how you find those other relevant

sources. On Westlaw, “Citing References” for a particular case or statute will take you

to other decisions on the issue. On Lexis, “Citing Decisions” shows you those additional

references.

a. Composing online searches

4. Internet research

a. Strategies for internet research

C. Constitutional and Statutory Research

1. Constitutional law research

2. Statutes

a. Primary and Secondary statutory authorities

b. Official and unofficial sources

c. Annotated and unannotated laws

3. Terms used in legislation

4. Effect and application of laws

a. Effectivity of laws

5. Anatomy of statutes

6. Statutory Research Process

a. Statutory law research technique

i. Descriptive word approach

ii. Title/Topic approach

 iii. Popular name approach

7. Codes

D. Legislative History Research

1. Statute law books, statute finder (index)

2. Sources and types of legislative history documents

a. House of Representatives and Senate

b. Bill History

c. Hearings

d. Committee prints

e. House journals

f. Presidential statements

E. Case Law Research

1. Case law and jurisprudence

 2. Case law proper and subordinate case law

3. Court opinion

4. Case Brief

5. Doctrine of Binding Precedent or Stare Decisis

6. Precedent

a. Two Categories of a Holding of a Case

i. Ratio Decidendi

ii. Obiter Dictum

7. Doctrine of Res Judicata

8. Anatomy of a case

9. Publication of cases

a. Law Reports, Case or Court Reports, Case Finders (Digest and Index)

7. Foreign Judgments

8. Case law research

a. Case law research techniques

F. Treaties and Administrative Law Research

1. Treaties

2. Research on treaties and international agreements

3. Administrative Rules and Regulations

4. Administrative rules and regulations research

5. Strategies for researching administrative materials

6. Looseleaf Services

G. Secondary Sources Research

1. Secondary legal authorities

a. Purpose

b. Guidelines for choosing a secondary authority

 2. Legal periodicals, law reviews

3. Legal Encyclopedias

4. Treatises, hornbooks, nutshells and outlines

5. Restatements

6. Tips for using secondary sources

VI. Organizing and Putting Legal Research to Use

A. Legal Memorandum

1. Elements of legal memorandum

2. Anatomy of legal memorandum

3. Internal and External Memoranda

4. Preparing a Legal Memorandum

B. Preparing a Case Brief

VII. Philippine Legal Citation

A. Legal Citation

B. Purpose of Legal Citation

C. Plagiarism, Fair Use

D. Types of Citation Principles

1. Full Address Principles

2. Other Minimum Content Principles

3. Compacting Principles

4. Format Principles

E. How to Cite

1. Constitutions

2. Statutes and similar materials

3. Administrative materials and regulations

4. Court decisions

5. Foreign legal materials

6. Repeating citations

VIII. Legal Bibliography

A. Kinds

1. Enumerative Bibliography

2. Analytical Bibliography

B. Annotated Bibliography

1. Parts

2. Purpose

3. Annotations v. Abstracts

IX. Bill Drafting

A. Research

1. Constitutionality

2. Existing law

3. Identical Bill

4. Foreign Law

B. Parts of a Bill
C. Amendatory Bill

Suggested Textbooks:

Aquino, Robert. 2014. Legal Research. Quezon: Central Book Supply.

Ng, Peter, Phillip Po, and Pepito Po. 2007. Legal Research and Bibliography. Manila:

Philippine College of Medical Researchers, Foundation, Inc.

Rodriguez, Rufus. 2002. Legal Research. Manila: Rex Book Store.

Santos-Ong, Milagros. 2018. Legal Research and Citations in the Philippines. Manila: Rex Book Store.