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Introduction to Law: The General

Nature of Law
Date @January 31, 2023

Subject LAWOBLI

Meaning of Law
Law means any rule of action or any system of uniformity (in its widest and most
comprehensive sense).
In general, it determines the activities of men as rational beings and the movements
or motions of all objects of creation, whether animate or inanimate.

General divisions of law

Law, as above defined, may be divided into two (2) general groups:

1. Law (in the strict and legal sense) which is promulgated and enforced by the
state

2. Law (in the non-legal sense) which is not promulgated and enforced by the
state

The first refers to what is known as the state law while the second includes divine law,
natural law, moral law, and physical law.

State Law promulgated and enforced by the state

Divine Law not promulgated and enforced by the state

Natural Law not promulgated and enforced by the state

Moral Law not promulgated and enforced by the state

Physical Law not promulgated and enforced by the state

Subjects of law

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 State law, divine law, natural law, and moral law are comprised in the definition of
law as a rule of actions. They apply to men as rational beings only.
On the other hand, physical law operates on all things, including men, without
regard to the latter’s use of their will power and intelligence. It is called law only
figuratively speaking.

State Law, Divine Law, Natural Law, and

Physical Law
Moral Law

→ Law as a rule of action → Operates on all things including men

→ No regard for men’s use of will power and

→ Apply to men as rational beings only
intelligence (law only figuratively speaking)

Divine law
Divine law is the law of religion and faith which concerns itself with the concept of sin
(as contrasted with crime) and salvation.
(1) Source - It is formally promulgated by God and revealed or divulged to
mankind by means of direct revelation.

a. Under the Old Testament, divine law is embodied in the Ten

Commandments. It is believed by Christians that these laws were formally
given by God through Moses, the great Hebrew prophet and leader.

b. Of course, divine law differs according to what one believes to have been
established and communicated to mankind by revelation. Thus to
Mohammedans, divine law is embodied in the Muslim Quoran.

(2) Sanction - The sanction of divine law lives in the assurance of certain rewards
and punishments in the present life or in the life to come.

Natural law

Natural law may then be defined as the divine inspiration in man of the sense of
justice, fairness, and righteousness, by internal dictates of reason alone.
(1) Binding force - Natural law is ever present and binding on all men everywhere
and at all times. There is in every man a basic understanding of right and wrong
based on an understanding of the fundamental standard or criterion of good
and evil.

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 In other words, there are some acts or conduct which man knows are simply
good or bad or evil in his heart and his conscience by the dictates of his moral
nature.
(2) Compared to divine law - Divine law, as the law of religious faith, is made
known to man by means of direct revelation. On the other hand, natural law is said
to be impressed in man as the core of his higher self at the very moment of
being, or, perhaps, even before that.
(3) Place in state law - Natural law has been regarded as the reasonable basis of
state law.

Moral law

Moral law is the totality of the norms of good and right conduct growing out of the
collective sense of right and wrong of every community.

(1) Determination of what is right and wrong - “At a comparatively early stage of
their existence, human beings learned that it was good for the welfare of the group
that the privilege to determine what is right and what is wrong was not left to
each member of the group. The mores or ways of life were then evolved which
were always considered right and correct, and obedience to them was demanded by
the group.”

(2) Sanction - There is no definite legal sanction for violation of purely moral law.
“If a member of the community disregards the moral norms, a spontaneous
social reaction is produced in the form of public displeasure, contempt, or
even indignation. If, on the other hand, there is conformity to the moral norms,
there is created spontaneous social response which may be in the form of public
pleasure, approval, or even joy.”
Legal sanction - punishment imposed by law like imprisonment and/or
payment of fines or damages
(3) Binding force- Moral law is not absolute. It varies with the changing times,
conditions, or convictions of the people. For examples, polygamy is considered
immoral (it is also a crime) in the Philippines, whereas, it is allowed in some parts
of the world. Today’s fashion in women’s dress are socially allowed but at different
times, they would have been morally condemned.
(4) Place in state law - Moral law influences or shapes state law (to a great extent).

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 Physical law

Physical science of physical law are the uniformities of actions and orders of
sequence in the operation course of nature which are the physical phenomena that we
sense and feel.
(1) Order or regularity in nature - A law of physical science being addressed to
objects which have no power to disobey is in reality nothing more than an order of
regularity in nature by which certain results follow certain causes.

(2) Called law only by analogy - In other words, this order or regularity is called law
only by analogy. “Examples of physical law are many. The more conspicuous ones
are the law of gravitation and the law of chemical combination.”

State law

State law particularly concerns us and are laws promulgated by the state.

(1) Other terms used - This law is also called positive law, municipal law, civil
law, or imperative law. It is the law that we refer to when we speak of law in
connection with obligations and contracts, marriage, the administration of justice, the
conduct of election, and the entire governmental process itself.

(2) Binding force - As a rule of action, only state law is enforce by the state, with
the aid of its physical force, if necessary.
(3) Concern of state law - The fields of state law are different from those of divine
law, natural law, and moral law. State law does not concern itself with violations of
the latter rules of action unless they also constitute violations of its commands. A full
examination of divine law properly belongs to the fields of philosophical theology;
natural law, to metaphysics; of moral law, to ethics; and of physical law, to physical
science or physics.

Divine Law Philosophical Theology

Natural Law Metaphysics

Moral Law Ethics

Physical Law Physics

Concepts of law (State Law)

The term law may be understood in two (2) concepts:

Introduction to Law: The General Nature of Law 4

 in the general or abstract sense

in the specific or material sense

(1) In its general sense - the term refers to all the laws taken together. It may be
defined as the “mass of obligatory rules established for the purpose of
governing the relations of persons in society.” Examples of the use of law in this
sense are: “law of the land,” “rule of law and not of men.” “equality before the law,”
“enforcement of the law,” etc.

(2) In its specific sense - the term has been defined as “a rule of conduct, just,
obligatory, promulgated by legitimate authority, and of common observance
and benefit.” It has this second connotation when we refer to a particular statute or
legal rule, e.g., the law on obligations and contracts.

Characteristics of law

The characteristics of law (in its specific sense) are:

(1) It is a rule of conduct - Law tells us what shall be done and what shall not be
done. As a rule of human conduct, law takes cognizance of external acts only.

(2) It is obligatory - Law is considered a positive command imposing a duty to

obey and involving a sanction which forces obedience

(3) It is promulgated by legitimate authority - In a democratic country, like the

Philippines, the legitimate or competent authority is the legislature. Under the
Constitution, laws called “statutes” are enacted by the Congress which is the
name of the legislative branch of our government; local government units are also
empowered to enact ordinances which have the binding force of laws.

(4) It is of common observance and benefit - Law is intended by man to serve

man. It regulates the relations of men to maintain harmony in society and to make
order and co-existence possible. Law, therefore, must be observed by all for the
benefit of all.

Necessity and functions of law

(1) What would life be without law? If we can answer this questions, we can answer the
more basic question of whether law is necessary. If life without law would be the same
as it is now, obviously law is not necessary.

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 Society comes into existence because its members could not live without law. The
need for internal order is as constant as the need for external defense. No
society can be stable in which either of these requirements fails to be
provided for.

(2) What does law do? It has been said that law secures justice, resolves social
conflict, orders society, protects interests, controls social relations. Life without
basic laws against theft, violence, and destruction would be solitary, nasty, brutish, and
short. Life without other laws such as those regulating traffic, sanitation, employment,
business, redress of harm, or of broken agreements, etc. - would be less orderly, less
healthful, less wholesome, etc.
(3) What is our duty as members of society? No society can last and continue
without means of social control and without rules of social order binding on its
members. Since we find law necessary, every citizen should have some understanding
of law and observe it for the common good.

Legal system - the sum of such rules as existing in a given society under whatever
particular forms, is what in common speech we understand by law.

Sources of law

The principal sources of law in the Philippines are the Constitution, legislation,
administrative rules and regulations, judicial decisions, and customs.

(1) Constitution - With particular reference to the Constitution of the Philippines, it

may be defined as “the written instrument by which the fundamental powers of
the government are established, limited, and defined, and by which these
powers are distributed among several departments for their safe and useful
exercise for the benefit of the people.”

It is often referred to as the fundamental law or supreme law or highest law

of the land because it is promulgated by the people themselves, binding on all
individual citizens and all agencies of the government. It is the law to which all
other laws enacted by the legislature (as well as administrative or exclusive
acts, orders and regulations having the force of law) must conform. This means
that laws which are declared by the courts to be inconsistent with the Constitution
shall be void and the latter shall govern.

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 (2) Legislation - It consists in the declaration of legal rules by a competent
authority. It is the preponderant source of law in the Philippines. Acts passed by the
legislature are so-called enacted law or statute law. Legislation includes
ordinances enacted by local government units.

(3) Administrative or executive orders, regulations, and rulings - They are those
issued by administrative officials under legislative authority. Administrative rules and
regulations are intended to clarify or explain the law and carry into effect its
general provisions. Administrative acts are valid only when they are not contrary to
the laws and the Constitution.

(4) Judicial decisions or jurisprudence - The decisions of the courts, particularly

the Supreme Court, applying or interpreting the laws or the Constitution from part of
the legal system of the Philippines. The decisions of a superior court on a point of
law are binding on all subordinate courts. This is called the doctrine of
precedent or stare decisis.
The Supreme Court, however, may reverse or modify any of its previous
rulings. Until then, the decisions of the Supreme Court applying or interpreting
the laws or the Constitution are “laws by their own right because they declare
what the laws say or mean. Unlike rulings of the lower courts, which bind the
parties to specific cases alone, its judgements are applied to all.

(5) Custom - “It consists of those habits and practices which through long and
uninterrupted usage have become acknowledged and approved by society as
binding rules of conduct.” It has the force of law when recognized and enforced
by the state.

For instance, in a contract for services rendered where no definite compensation

is stipulated, the compensation to be paid may be ascertained from customs and
usages of the place.

A custom must be proved as a fact according to the rules of evidence. It

may be applied to the courts in the absence of law or statute exactly applicable to
the point in controversy. But customs which are contrary to law, public order, or
public policy are not countenanced.
(6) Other sources - To the above may be added principles of justice and equity,
decisions of foreign tribunals, opinions of text writers, and religion. They are,
however, not binding on the courts.

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 Rules in case of doubt in interpretation or application of laws
Our Civil Code provides that “no judge or court shall decline to render judgment
by reason of the silence, obscurity or insufficiency of the laws.“ In case of
doubt in the interpretation or application of laws, it is presumed that the lawmaking
body intended right and justice to prevail.”

In our country, courts are not only courts of law but also of justice. Faced with a
choice between a decision that will serve justice and another that will deny it
because of a too strict interpretation of the law, courts must resolve in favor of the
former, for the ultimate end of law is justice. This is particularly true where
what is at stake is the life, liberty, or property of an individual, and more so if he is
poor of disadvantaged.

Organs of social control

Law is not an end in itself. It may be viewed as a means of social control.

Social Control - the control of social behavior that affects others.

In modern pluralistic societies, there are many organs of social control. For instance,
in the Philippines, in addition to legal institutions - national and local - there are
churches, corporations, political parties, trade associations, schools, labor
unions, professional organizations, social clubs, families, and host of others.
Such organizations, through rules, regulations and orders, control some of the
behavior of their members.

Law compared with other means of social control

There are several basic differences between social control through law and other
methods, to wit:
(1) Laws are made and administered by the only institutions in society
authorized to act in behalf of the entire citizenry. Churches, for example act
only for their members.
(2) Only the legal institutions within the society can make rules, regulations
and orders with which the entire citizenry must comply. The rules, etc., of
social and economic organizations, for example, govern only limited numbers.
(3) People associated with an organization can ordinarily terminate their
relationship and thereby free themselves from the impact of its rules and

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 regulations. Citizens of a state, however, cannot do this unless they choose to
leave the geographical area in which the state is sovereign.
(4) The sanctions or techniques of control through law are more varied and
complex than the techniques available to organizations such as churches,
labor unions, and political parties. Expulsion is usually the most powerful
technique available to such organizations to secure compliance with their rules,
etc. For the employee, it is the loss of his job.
Aside from imprisonment and deportation, there are many other sanctions
available to the law, including denial or revocation of license, confiscation
of property, imposition of civil liability for certain kind of conduct,
dissolution of organizations, and denial of privileges. A sanction is
remedial if the object is the indemnification of the person who has suffered
damages or injury from a violation of law, and penal if the object is the
punishment of the violator.

Types of sanctions:
Remedial - compensation for damages or injuries
Penal - violator gets punished

(5) Before the law “operates” against an individual, various procedural

steps are required. Thus, the individual must ordinarily be given a hearing and a
fair opportunity to show why he should not, for example, be ordered to pay
money to a claimant, or be deprived of his liberty. Such steps are commonly
referred to as “due process” of law.
Organs of social control other than those provided by law are generally not
required to comply with such procedures in acting against individuals except
when their rules provide therefore.

Organization of courts
Judicial Power - power to decide actual cases and controversies involving the
interpretation and application of laws

Judiciary - one of the three (3) main divisions of power in our government system
composed of the courts.

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 Under the Constitution, the judicial power is “vested in on Supreme Court and in
such lower courts as may be established by laws.”
(1) Regular courts - The Philippine judicial system consists of a hierarchy of
courts resembling a pyramid of courts resembling a pyramid with the Supreme
Court at the apex. Under present legislation, the other courts are: (a) one Court of
Appeals, (b) Regional Trial Courts sitting in the different provinces and cities, and
(c) Metropolitan Trial Courts in cities not forming part of a metropolitan area, and in
municipalities; and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts in areas defined as municipal
circuits. Circuit courts exercise jurisdiction over two (2) or more cities and/or
municipalities.

The Supreme Court, and the Court of Appeals, and the Regional Trial Courts are
considered courts of general or superior jurisdiction.
(2) Special courts - Aside from these courts, there is, under the Constitution, the
Sandiganbayan which is a special anti-graft court. It forms part of the judicial
hierarchy together with the Court of Tax Appeals.
(3) Quasi-judicial agencies - Administrative bodies under the executive branch
performing quasi-judicial functions (the National Labor Relations Commission, the
Securities and Exchange Commission, Land Transportation Franchising and
Regulatory Board, Insurance Commission, etc., and the independent Constitutional
Commissions (Civil Service Commission, Commission on Elections and Commission
on Audit) do not form part of the integrated judicial system.
Their functions are described as “quasi-judicial” because they also involve the
settlement or adjudication of controversies or disputes.

Classifications of law
The methods for classifying law are many. For our purposes, it would be best to
consider the main classifications of law, first, as to its purpose, and second, as to its
nature.
(1) As to its purpose:

(a) Substantive law or that portion of the body of law creating, defining, and
regulating rights and duties which may either be public or private in character. An
example of substantive private law is the law on obligations and contracts.

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 (b) Adjective law or that portion of the body of law prescribing the manner or
procedure by which rights may be enforced or their violations redressed.
Sometimes this is called remedial law or procedural law. The provision of law
which says that actions for the recovery of real property shall be filed with the
Regional Trial Court of the region where the property shall be filed with the
Regional Trial Court of the region where the property or any part thereof lies, is
an example of private adjective law.

Rights and duties are useless unless they can be enforced. It is not
enough, therefore, that the state regulates the rights and duties of all who are
subject to the law; it must also provide legal remedies by which substantive
law may be administered. Hence, the need for adjective law.
The adjective law in the Philippines is governed by the Rules of Court
promulgated by the Supreme Court and by special laws.

(2) As to its subject matter:

(a) Public law or the body of legal rules which regulates the rights and duties
arising from the relationship of the state to the people.

An example of public law is criminal law, which defines crimes and provides
for their punishment. In legal theory; when a person commits a crime, he
violates not only the right of the individual victim but primarily that of
the state because the crime disturbs the peace and order of the state.
Also included are: international law which governs the relations among
nations or states; constitutional law which governs the relations between the
state and its citizens; it establishes the fundamental powers of the
government; administrative law or that which governs the methods by which
the functions of administrative authorities are to be performed; and criminal
procedure or that branch of private law which governs the methods of trial
and punishment in criminal cases
(b) Private law or the body of rules which regulates the relations of individuals
with one another for purely private ends. The law on obligations and contracts
comes under this heading because it deals with the rights and obligations of the
contracting parties only. The state, however, is also involved in private law; it
enforces private law but simple as an arbiter and not as a party.

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 Included in private law are civil law, commercial or mercantile law, and civil
procedure. Civil procedure is that branch of private law which provides for
the means by which private rights may be enforced.

Law on obligations and contracts defined

“The law of obligations and contracts is the body of rules which deals with the nature
and sources of obligations and the rights and duties arising from agreements and
the particular contracts.”

Civil Code of the Philippines - R.A. 386

The law on obligations and contracts is found in Republic Act No. 386, otherwise
known as the Civil Code of the Philippines. When we speak of civil law, we refer to the
law found primarily in our Civil Code.
The Civil Code of the Philippines is based mainly on the Civil Code of Spain which
took effect in the Philippines on December 7, 1889. It was approved as Republic Act
No. 386 on June 18, 1949 and took effect on August 30, 1950.
It is divided into four (4) books.

Civil Code Provisions on Obligations and Contracts

Book IV of the Civil Code deals with the obligations and contracts. The general
provisions on obligations are contained in Title I, Articles 1156-1304, while those on
contracts, in Title II, Articles 1305-1422. The general rules of law governing contracts
are also applicable to the particular kinds of contracts (like sale, agency, partnership,
barter, etc.) in addition to the special provisions of law governing each type of contract.

Book IV also contains new provisions dealing with natural obligations which are found
in Title III, Articles 1423-1430.

Conclusive presumption of knowledge of law

Ignorance of law excuses no one from compliance therewith. (Article 3, Civil
Code)
“Everyone, therefore, is conclusively presumed to know the law.” This
presumption is far from reality but it had been established because of the obligatory
force of law.
The following reasons have been advanced for this presumption:

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 1. If laws will not be binding, until they are actually known, then social life will be
impossible, because most laws cannot be enforced due to their being
unknown to many.

2. It is almost impossible to prove contrary when a person claims ignorance of

the law

3. It is absurd to absolve those who do not know the law and increase the
obligations of those who know it

4. In our conscience, we carry norms of right an wrong, and a sense of duty, so

that our reason indicates many times what we have to do and in more
complicated juridical relations, there are lawyers who should be consulted.

5. “Evasion of the law would be facilitated and the administration of justice would
be defeated if persons could successfully plead ignorance of the law to escape
legal consequences of their acts, or to excuse non-performance of their legal
duties.” The rule, therefore, is dictated not only by expediency but also by
necessity.

Thus, ignorance of the provisions of the law imposing a penalty for illegal possession
of firearms, or punishing the possession of prohibited drugs, does not constitute a
valid excuse for their violation.

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