STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION

CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION DEFINED Statutory Construction the art or process of discovering andexpounding the meaning and intention of the authors of the law withrespect to its application to a given case, where that intention is rendereddoubtful, among others, by reason of the fact that the given case is notexplicitly provided for in the law. Justice Martin defines statutory construction as the art of seeking theintention of the legislature in enacting a statute and applying it to agiven state of facts.A judicial function is required when a statute is invoked and differentinterpretations are in contention.Difference between judicial legislation and statutory construction:Where legislature attempts to do several things one which is invalid, itmay be discarded if the remainder of the act is workable and in no waydepends upon the invalid portion, but if that portion is an integral part of the act, and its excision changes the manifest intent of the act bybroadening its scope to include subject matter or territory which was notincluded therein as enacted, such excision is judicial legislation andnot statutory construction. CONSTRUCTION AND INTERPRETATION, DISTINGUISHED Construction is the drawing of conclusions with respect to subjects that are beyond the direct expression of the text, while interpretation is the process of discovering the true meaning of the language used. Interpretation is limited to exploring the written text. Construction on the other hand is the drawing of conclusions, respecting subjects that lie beyond the direct expressions of the text. SITUS OF CONSTRUCTION AND INTERPRETATION In our system of government: Legislative power is vested in the Congress of the Philippines theSenate and the House of the Representatives Executive power is vested in the President of the Republic of thePhilippines (Art. VII, Sec.1, Phil. Const.)

Judicial power is vested in one Supreme Court and in such lowercourts as may be established by law. (Art VIII, Sec. 1, Phil. Const.)Legislative makes the lawExecutive - executes the law Judicial interprets the lawSimply stated, the situs of construction and interpretation of writtenlaws belong to the judicial department.It is the duty of the Courts of Justice to settle actual controversiesinvolving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and todetermine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretionamounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch orinstrumentality of the government.Supreme Court is the one and only Constitutional Court and all otherlower courts are statutory courts and such lower courts have the powerto construe and interpret written laws. DUTY OF THE COURTS TO CONSTRUE AND INTERPRETTHE LAW; REQUISITES 1.There must be an actual case or controversy,2.There is ambiguity in the law involved in the controversy. Ambiguity exists if reasonable persons can find different meanings in astatute, document, etc.A statute is ambiguous if it is admissible of two or more possiblemeanings.If the law is clear and unequivocal, the Court has no other alternativebut to apply the law and not to interpret. Construction and interpretation of law come only after it has beendemonstrated that application is impossible or inadequate without them. DIFFERENT KINDS OF CONSTRUCTION ANDINTERPRETATION Hermeneutics the science or art of construction and interpretation. Legal hermeneutics is the systematic body of rules which arerecognized as applicable to the construction and interpretation of legal writings.Dr. Lieber in his work on Hermeneutics gives the following classificationof the different kinds of interpretation : 1.Close interpretation adopted if just reasons connected with thecharacter and formation of the text induce as to take the words in thenarrowest meaning. This is generally known as literal interpretation. 2.Extensive interpretation also called as liberal interpretation, itadopts a more comprehensive signification of the words.

3.Extravagant interpretation substitutes a meaning evidently beyondthe true one. It is therefore not genuine interpretation. 4.Free or unrestricted interpretation proceeds simply on he generalprinciples of interpretation in good faith, not bound by any specific orsuperior principle. 5.Limited or restricted interpretation - influenced by other principlesthan the strictly hermeneutic ones. 6.Predestined interpretation takes place when the interpreter, laboringunder a strong bias of mind, makes the text subservient to hispreconceived views and desires. SUBJECTS OF CONSTRUCTION AND INTERPRETATION Most common subjects of construction and interpretation are theconstitution and statutes which include ordinances. But we may alsoadd resolutions, executive orders and department circulars.

A bill before it becomes a law must pass the strict constitutionalrequirements explicit both in the 1973 Constitution and the 1987Constitution.Passage of a bill in a parliamentary system (unicameral assembly):a .A member of the National Assembly may introduce the proposed billto the Secretary of the National Assembly who will calendar the samefor the first reading.b.In the first reading, the bill is read by its number and title only.c.After the first reading, the bill is referred by the Speaker to theappropriate committee for study. At this stage, the appropriatecommittee will conduct public hearings. Then after the publichearings, the committee shall decide whether or not to report the billfavorably or whether a substitute bill should be considered. Should there be an unfavorable report of the committee, then the proposedbill is dead.d.Upon favorable action by the committee, the bill is returned to theNational Assembly and shall be calendared for the second reading.e.In the second reading, the bill is read in its entirety.f.Immediately after the second reading, the bill is set for open debates where members of the assembly may propose amendments andinsertions to the proposed bill.g.After the approval of the bill in its second reading and at least three(3) calendar days before its final passage, the bill is printed in its finalform and copies thereof distributed to each of the members.h. The bill is then calendared for the third and final reading. At thisstage, no amendment shall be allowed. Only the title of the bill isread and the National Assembly will then vote on the bill. Under thepresent 1987b Constitution, after the third and final reading at oneHouse where the bill originated, it will go to the other House where it will undergo the same process.i. After the bill has been passed, it will be submitted to the PrimeMinister (President) for approval. If he disapproves, he shall veto itand return the same with his objections to the National Assembly(House where it originated), and if approved by two-thirds of all itsmembers, shall become a law. Under the present set-up, if theoriginating house will agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections to the other house by which it shall be likewise beconsidered and must be approved by twothirds of the votes. Everybill passed by Congress shall be acted upon by the President withinthirty (30) days from receipt thereof. Otherwise, it shall become a law. CONSTITUTIONAL TEST IN THE PASSAGE OF A BILL Three (3) very important constitutional requirements in the enactment of statute:1.Every bill passed by Congress shall embrace only one subject whichshall be expressed in the title thereof. The purposes of thisconstitutional requirements are:

CHAPTER II STATUTES LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURES The power to make laws is lodged in the legislative department of thegovernment.A statute starts with a bill. Bill is the draft of a proposed law from the time of its introduction in alegislative body through all the various stages in both houses. It isenacted into law by a vote of the legislative body. An Act is theappropriate term for it after it has been acted on and passed by thelegislature. It then becomes a statute, the written will of the legislaturesolemnly expressed according to the form necessary to constitute it asthe law of the state.Statute Law is a term often used interchangeably with the wordstatute. Statute Law, however, is broader in meaning since it includesnot only statute but also the judicial interpretation and application of theenactment. HOW DOES A BILL BECOMES A LAW STEPS

To prevent hodge-podge or log-rolling legislation; To prevent surprise or fraud upon the legislature; and To fairly apprise the people, through such publications of legislative proceedings as is usually made, of the subjects of legislation that are being considered, in order that they may haveopportunity of being heard thereon by petition or otherwise, if theyshall so desire.

- announces the prior statutes or specificprovisions which have been abrogated by reason of the enactment of the new law. f.Saving Clause restriction in a repealing act, which is intended tosave rights, pending proceedings, penalties, etc. from the annihilation which would result from an unrestricted repeal. g.Separability Clause

2.No bill passed by either House shall become law unless it has passedthree readings on separate days, and printed copies thereof in its finalform have been distributed to each member three days before itspassage.3.Every bill passed by the Congress shall, before it becomes a law, bepresented to the President. The executive approval and veto power of the President is the third important constitutional requirement in themechanical passage of a bill. PARTS OF STATUTE a.Title the heading on the preliminary part, furnishing the name by which the act is individually known. It is usually prefixed to thestatute in the brief summary of its contents. b.Preamble part of statute explaining the reasons for its enactmentand the objects sought to be accomplished. Usually, it starts withwhereas. c.Enacting clause part of statute which declares its enactment andserves to identify it as an act of legislation proceeding from the properlegislative authority. Be enacted is the usual formula used to startthis clause. d.Body the main and operative part of the statute containing itssubstantive and even procedural provisions. Provisos and exceptionsmay also be found. e.Repealing Clause

provides that in the event that one or moreprovisions or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions shall still bein force. h.Effectivity Clause announces the effective date of the law. KINDS OF STATUTES 1.General Law affects the community at large. That which affects allpeople of the state or all of a particular class. 2.Special Law designed for a particular purpose, or limited in rangeor confined to a prescribed field of action on operation.

3.Local Law relates or operates over a particular locality instead of over the whole territory of the state. 4.Public Law a general classification of law, consisting generally of constitutional, administrative, criminal, and international law,concerned with the organization of the state, the relations betweenthe state and the people who compose it, the responsibilities of publicofficers of the state, to each other, and to private persons, and therelations of state to one another. Public law may be general, local orspecial law. 5.Private Law

 defines, regulates, enforces and administersrelationships among individuals, associations and corporations. 6.Remedial Statute providing means or method whereby causes of action may be affectuated, wrongs redressed and relief obtained. 7.Curative Statute a form of retrospective legislation which reachesback into the past to operate upon past events, acts or transactions inorder to correct errors and irregularities and to render valid andeffective many attempted acts which would otherwise be ineffective forthe purpose intended. 8.Penal Statute defines criminal offenses specify corresponding finesand punishments. 9.Prospective Law applicable only to cases which shall arise after itsenactment. 10.Retrospective Law looks backward or contemplates the past; one which is made to affect acts or facts occurring, or rights occurring,before it came into force. 11.Affirmative Statute directs the doing of an act, or declares whatshall be done in contrast to a negative statute which is one thatprohibits the things from being done, or declares what shall not bedone. 12.Mandatory Statutes generic term describing statutes which requireand not merely permit a course of action.

CONCEPT OF VAGUE STATUTES Statues or act may be said to be vague when it lacks comprehensiblestandards those men of common intelligence must necessarily guess atits meaning and differ as to its application.Statute is repugnant to the Constitution in two (2) respects:1.It violates due process for failure to accord persons fair notice of conduct to avoid; and2.It leaves law enforcers unbridled discretions.The Supreme Court held that the vagueness doctrine merely requires areasonable degree of certainty for the statute to be upheld--- not absoluteprecision or mathematical exactitude. Flexibility, rather than meticulousspecificity, is permissible as long as the metes and bounds of the statuteare clearly delineated REPEALS OF STATUTE MAY BE EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED Express repeal is the abrogation or annulling of a previously existinglaw by the enactment of a subsequent statute which declares that theformer law shall be revoked and abrogated. Implied repeal when a later statute contains provisions so contrary toirreconcilable with those of the earlier law that only one of the twostatutes can stand in force. The repeal of a penal law deprives the court of jurisdiction to punishpersons charged with a violation of the old penal law prior to its repeal. Only a law can repeal a law . The intention to repeal must be clear and manifest, otherwise, at least,as a general rule, the later act is to be construed as a continuation of,and not a substitute for, the first act. Two (2) categories of repeal by implication:1.Where provision in the two acts on the same subject matter are in anirreconcilable conflict;2.If the later act covers the whole subject of the earlier one and isclearly intended as a substitute to be a complete and perfect systemin itself. ORDINANCE Ordinance an act passed by the local legislative body in the exercise of its law-making authority.

TEST OF VALID ORDINANCE 1.Must not contravene the Constitution or any statute; 2.Must not be unfair or oppressive ;3.Must not be partial or discriminatory; 4.Must not prohibit but may regulate trade; 5.Must be general and consistent with public policy; and6.Must not be unreasonable. REASON WHY AN ORDINANCE SHOULD NOTCONTRAVENE A STATUTE Local councils exercise only delegated legislative powers conferred onthem by Congress as the national law making body. The delegate cannot be superior to the principal. ROLE OF FOREIGN JURISPRUDENCE Philippine laws must necessarily be construed in accordance with theintention of its own law makers and such intent may be deduced fromthe language of each law and the context of other local legislation relatedthereof. http://www.scribd.com/doc/18178617/Statutory-Construction-Notes