THE JUDICIARY AND THE JUDICIAL PROCESS

1. JUDICIAL POWER

 In a broad sense, judicial power refers to the power of the different courts of justice to interpret and apply the laws
in particular cases. Interpretation, on the one hand, refers to the process by which the court discovers the true
meaning of the language used by the law. Its purpose is to give effect to the intent or spirit of the law. The
application of the law, on the other, refers the process by which the court relates the pertinent legal provisions to
the set of facts of a particular case.
  In a strict sense, the Constitution provides that “judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle
actual controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine whether or
not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch
or instrumentality of the Government.” The definition includes two aspects of judicial power: (a) duty to settle
actual controversies; and (b) authority to determine if there is grave abuse of discretion.
 there exists an “actual controversy” which, if properly filed, the court has duty to settle. For an actual controversy
to exist there must be a legally demandable or enforceable right which is violated by another who, in turn, has the
correlative duty to respect it.
 The courts can only settle justiciable questions or questions involving rights and laws, and not political questions
or questions addressed to the wisdom or discretion of political departments. But with the expanded authority, the
courts can now determine if the political departments gravely abused the exercise of their discretion amounting to
lack or excess of jurisdiction.
WHO EXERCISES JUDICIAL POWER

 Section 1, Article VIII, states that judicial power is vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may
be established by law. This means that the power to interpret and apply the laws in actual controversies is given to,
first, the Supreme Court, and, second, to other/lower courts.
 
SUPREME COURT AND OTHER LOWER COURTS.

 There could only be one Supreme Court, and its supremacy puts finality to all legal disputes. The other courts are
all lower than it, thus, they are referred as lower courts. Lower courts are also called “statutory courts” because
they are created by the act of Congress. The only Constitutional court is the Supreme Court, while statutory courts
include the Court of Appeals, Regional Trial Court, Metropolitan Trial Court, Municipal Trial Court, Municipal
Circuit Trial Court, Sandiganbayan, and Court of Tax Appeals, among others.
 The Court of Appeals, Regional Trial Courts, Metropolitan Trial Court, Municipal Trial Court, and Municipal
Circuit Trial Court are “regular courts” created by the Judiciary Reorganization Law (as amended). Sandiganbayan
and the Court of Tax Appeals are “special courts” respectively created by P.D. No. 1606 and R.A. No. 1125 (as
amended). These courts comprise the judicial department which exercises judicial power.
2. POWER OF JUDICIAL REVIEW

 The courts also have the power of judicial review or the power to test the validity or constitutionality of the
legislative and executive acts, such as treaty, international or executive agreement, law, presidential decree,
proclamation, order, instruction, ordinance, or regulation. It is an aspect of judicial power, in that it is essentially
derived from the duty of the court to settle controversies between conflicting parties by applying the appropriate
law.
 The Constitution is the fundamental law and therefore all the acts or laws passed by the government must be in
accordance with it.
 The requisites of judicial review are
 (a) there must be an actual controversy;
 (b) the question of constitutionality must be raised by the proper party;
 (c) the question is raised at the earliest opportune time; and
 (d) the resolution of the constitutional question is the main issue.
EXAMPLE:

 Pedro is running for reelection for his third term as congressman. However, the Congress passed a law prohibiting
reelection for the third term. Apparently, the statute is in conflict with the Constitution which allows reelection of
a congressman for his third term. He questions the validity of the statute. Judicial review is proper in this case.
There is an actual controversy between Pedro and the government. He likewise has a legal standing because he
has a personal and substantial interest in the case such that he will be directly benefited or injured by the decision
to the case. The question was raised in the earliest possible time and the resolution of the constitutional question is
the main issue.
3. JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE

 The Judicial Department plays an indispensable role in the government as the administrator of justice. The
government and consequently the State will not survive without the judiciary.
 It preserves the cohesiveness of the different governmental organs, always seeing to it that they function in
accordance with the Constitution. And inasmuch as the Philippines is a government of laws and not of men, the
judiciary protects the very essence of democracy being guardian of rights and legal processes.
 Thus, in order for the judiciary to function effectively and impartially, the Constitution provides safeguards for its
independence
 (1) The Supreme Court, as a constitutional body, cannot be abolished by law passed by the Congress;
 (2) Members of the Supreme Court can only be removed through impeachment;
 (3) The Supreme Court cannot be deprived of its minimum and appellate jurisdiction; appellate jurisdiction may
not be increased without its advice or concurrence;
 (4) The Supreme Court has administrative supervision over all inferior courts and personnel;
 (5) It has exclusive power to discipline judges/justices of inferior courts;
 (6) Members of the judiciary have security of tenure;
 (7) Members of the judiciary may not be designated to any agency performing quasi-judicial or administrative
functions;
 (8) Salaries of judges may not be reduced;
 (9) The judiciary enjoys fiscal autonomy;
 (10) The Supreme Court alone can initiate the Rules of Court;
 (11) It alone may order temporary detail of judges; and
 (12) It can appoint all officials and employees of the judiciary.
4 JURISDICTION

 Jurisdiction is the power and authority of the court to hear and decide cases. Judicial power is exercised by the
various courts within their respective jurisdictions, so that if judicial power is exercised without or in excess of
jurisdiction, then the decisions of the courts are said to be null and void.
 Jurisdiction could be “general or limited,” “original or appellate,” and “exclusive or concurrent.”
 On the one hand, a court has a general jurisdiction when it is empowered to hear and decide all disputes filed
before it except those falling in the jurisdiction of other courts; on the other hand, a court is said to have a limited
jurisdiction if it can hear and decide specific cases only.
 Moreover, a court has an original jurisdiction, on the one hand, if it is empowered to hear and decide cases filed
for the first time, whereas a court has appellate jurisdiction, on the other, if it can review a decision rendered by a
lower court.
 a court has exclusive jurisdiction if it alone has authority to hear and decide a case filed before it, while it has
concurrent jurisdiction if other courts can hear and decide a case which could be filed before it.
5 QUALIFICATIONS AND TENURE

 Qualifications of Members of the Supreme Court. Section 7(1), Article VIII provides the qualifications of a
Member of the Supreme Court or any lower collegiate court: (a) he must be a natural-born citizen of the
Philippines; (b) at least forty years of age; (c) must have been a judge of a lower court or engaged in the practice
of law in the Philippines for fifteen years or more; and (d) must be a person of proven competence, integrity,
probity, and independence. The qualifications of judges in lower courts shall be prescribed by Congress, but the
qualifications must include Philippine citizenship and membership in the Philippine Bar.
 Tenure. Justices and judges can hold office until they reach the age of seventy or become incapacitated to
discharge the duties of their office. They must be in good behavior during their tenure; otherwise they (judges)
may be disciplined or dismissed by the Supreme Court (sitting en banc).
6 COMPOSITION OF THE SUPREME COURT

 The Supreme Court is composed of fifteen members: a Chief Justice and fourteen Associate Justices. Any vacancy
must be filled within ninety days from its occurrence.
HOW CASES ARE HEARD

 In hearing cases, the Supreme Court may either sit en banc or in division of three, five, or seven Members. On the
one hand, if it sits en banc, majority of the members who actually took part in the deliberations of the case must
concur or come up with the same vote, in order to resolve the case. En banc cases include those involving
constitutionality of a treaty, international or executive agreement, or law, those involving the constitutionality,
application, or operation of presidential decrees, proclamations, orders, instructions, ordinances, and other
regulations. Also, only the Court sitting en banc can modify or reverse a doctrine or principle which it itself laid
down. Discipline and dismissal of judges are likewise decided by the Court sitting en banc.
 On the other hand, if the Court sits in division, at least three members must take part in the deliberations and
hearings of the case, and must have the same vote thereon in order to resolve the case. If the required number is
not obtained, the case shall be decided en banc. For example, if the Court sits in division of seven, then at least
three of the members must actually deliberate the case and have the same stand thereon. If only two concurred or
have the same vote, then the case will now be decided by the Court en banc, meaning majority of all the fifteen
Justices must take part in the deliberations and majority of those who took part must have the same stand on the
case. Nonetheless, if Court sits in division of three, all the members must take part in the deliberations and come
up with the same vote in order to resolve the case. This is because the “at least three members” requirement must
also be followed.
PROHIBITIONS

 It must be noted that the Members of the Supreme Court and the lower courts cannot be designated to any agency
performing quasi-judicial or administrative functions. An agency is said to perform a “quasi-judicial” function if it
acts like a court in that it hears and decides cases even if it is not a court. Administrative agencies are under the
executive branch and may be delegated quasi-judicial powers in deciding specific cases which it could
competently and efficiently resolve. Justices and judges cannot be designated to these agencies in accordance with
the principle of separation of powers. If they are allowed to be designated to administrative agencies, then they are
likewise performing executive function, thus violating the said principle.
7. JUDICIAL AND BAR COUNCIL

 The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) is a constitutional body under the supervision of the Supreme Court that has
the principal function of recommending appointees to the Judiciary.
 For their appointments to be valid, they must first be nominated by the JBC. For every vacant seat in the judiciary,
the Council prepares a list of at least three nominees from which the President shall select and appoint.
 The JBC is composed of seven members: (a) the Chief Justice as ex officio Chairman; (b) the Secretary of Justice
as an ex officio member; (c) a representative of the Congress as ex officio member; (d) a representative of the
Integrated Bar; (e) a professor of law; (f) a retired Member of the Supreme Court; and (g) a representative of the
private sector. The ex officio members are the Chief Justice, Secretary of Justice, and representative of the
Congress. The four others are called regular members. The ex officio members, on the one hand, are those who by
reason of their office are also members of the Council. The regular members, on the other, are appointed by the
President for a term of four years with the consent of the Commission on Appointments. The Secretary of the
Council, who shall be in-charge with the records keeping, is the Clerk of the Supreme Court.
8. POWERS OF THE SUPREME COURT

 The powers of the Supreme Court are expressly provided in Section 5, Article VIII. Its powers are classified into:
(1) its original jurisdiction;
 (2) its appellate jurisdiction;
 (3) power to temporarily assign judges;
 (4) power to change venue;
 (5) rule-making power;
 (6) power to appoint court personnel; and
 (7) administrative supervision over lower courts.
 Original jurisdiction means the authority to settle cases filed for the first time.
 Appellate jurisdiction refers to the authority to review decisions of a lower court.
 The Supreme Court also has the power to “assign temporarily judges of lower courts to other stations as public
interest may require. Such temporary assignment shall not exceed six months without the consent of the judge
concerned.” This power reinforces the independence of the Supreme Court from the Executive Department as well
as balances the powers of the government.
 The Court is empowered to order a change of venue or place of trial to avoid a miscarriage of justice. Venue refers
to the place where the trial is conducted. The Rules of Court provide the rules on venue, which are clearly
intended for the speedy, impartial, and convenient disposition of cases. If instead of being convenient, venue
causes miscarriage of justice, the Supreme Court has the power to change the venue.
 Rule-Making Power. The Court has the power to promulgate rules concerning:
 (a) The protection and enforcement of constitutional rights;
 (b) Pleading, practice, and procedure in all courts;
 (c) The admission to the practice of law;
 (d) The Integrated Bar of the Philippines; and
 (e) Legal assistance to the under-privileged.
 The Court has the power to appoint all officials and employees of the Judiciary in accordance with the Civil
Service Law.
 Section 6, Article VIII states that the Supreme Court has administrative supervision over all courts and its
personnel. This is one of the constitutional safeguards for the independence of the judiciary.
9 DECISIONS OF THE SUPREME COURT

 The Supreme Court is a collegiate court, in that it is composed of many members and its decisions are reached
through consultation or thorough deliberation of its members. Consultation is necessary before the case is assigned
to a member for the writing of the opinion of the Court.
 In rendering a decision, the Court must express clearly and distinctly the facts and the law on which the decision is
based. The purpose of this constitutional requirement is to inform the parties, most especially the adversely
affected party, the reasons why the judgment is rendered as such. The Court must, therefore, state the factual and
legal basis of its decision. In the same way, resolutions refusing a petition for review or denying a motion for
reconsideration of a court decision must state the legal basis for it.
 From date of submission, the Supreme Court must decide the case or resolve any matter within twenty-four
months, and lower courts must decide and resolve within twelve months, unless reduced by the Supreme Court. If
the court fails to render a decision within the applicable mandatory period, it must still decide or resolve the case
or matter without further delay and without prejudice to such responsibility incurred because of the delay.