Philippine Law After Spanish Conquest

CHRISTIINE L. COMETA 2015 1

The History of Philippine Law:

AFTER THE SPANISH CONQUEST

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History of Spanish Law

• March 16, 1521 - The landing of Magellan on the Philippines; This presage the new era in the history of Philippine Law.

CHRISTIINE L. COMETA 2015


6th Century 13th Century 16th Century 19th Century Modern Spanish

Law

Reign of Alfonso the

Wise

Reign of Ferdinand and

Isabella

Reign of Emperor Charles V

Codification of Spanish Law

1st Period:Ante – Justinian Law

2nd Period:Period of the Introduction of Justinian Roman Law in Spain as a result of Bologna Revival

3rd Period:Partial Codification

4th Period:Complete Codification

Brief Timeline of the History of the Spanish Law


OLD COMPILATIONS

The Breviary or Code of Alaric

The Fuero Juzgo – “It was the law for all Spain, binding both the conquering Germans and the Vanquished Hispano – Romans”

The Fuero Real – the compendium of the laws of the kingdom of castille

The Siete Partidas – This was published in 1265 after 10 years of labour. This consists of a Castilian-Spanish Law divided into seven parts. The groundwork of the modern Spanish Civil Code of 1889.

El Ordamiento de Alcala – laws relating to court procedures, contracts, wills, and crimes, enacted in 1348

Las Leyes de Toro – Promulgated in 1505. These laws were intended to supplement the Fuero Real and Partidas


The Period of Partial Codification

It started in the 16th Century under Philip II. In 1567 – He promulgated the “Nueva Recopilacion “– which was intended to comprise the laws in force in “Fuero Real” and “Partidas” as well as some parts of the “Fuero Juzgo” and almost all of the “Ordenamiento de Alcala” and the “Laws of Toro”. This was the beginning of the movement of unification of Spanish Law

On 1680, under Charles II – “Recopilacion de las Leyes de las Indias” was promulgated – This comprises the Spanish Colonial Law.

In 1805, under Charles V – “Novisima Recopilacion” – the partial codification


Modern Spanish Codes and Special Laws

The Penal Code

The Code of Criminal Procedure (Ley Provisional and Ley de Enjuiciamiento Criminal)

The Code of Civil Procedure (The Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil)

The Code of Commerce

The Civil Code (except the portion relating to Marriage)

The Marriage Law of 1870

The Mortgage Law

The Mining Law

The Law of Waters

The Copyright Law

The Railway Law

The Notarial Law

The Law of Foreigners for Ultramarine Provinces

The Code of Military Justice

Most of the codes and special laws promulgated in Spain were extended to the Philippines.


The Post – Spanish Period


LANDMARK EVENTS AFTER THE SPANISH ERA:

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Battle in Manila Bay – May 1, 1898 ; It was the victor of Admiral Dewey – The event was said to marked the end of the Spanish Rule in the Philippines.

Treaty of Paris – This was an agreement between Spain and United States on the year of 1898. In this treaty, Spain transferred their sovereignty over the Philippines to the United States.

Malolos Congress – Assembled by Emilio Aguinaldo creating the Malolos Constitution, the First Philippine Republic and the declaration of Independence from Spain; On the same year, it paved a way to Fil-American War on 1899.

During the American

occupation, the Political

Law of the Philippines

during the Spanish

colonization was almost

totally abrogated.


MILITARY GOVERNMENT

Gen. McKinley ordered the establishment of a Military Government after the Mock Battle of Manila on August 13, 1898

Notable General Orders during the Military Government:General Order No. 68 – December 18, 1899; Radical changes in Marriage Law, which instituted civil marriage and was later on superseded by the provisions on the subject in the new Civil Code (August 30, 1950)

General Order No. 58 – April 23, 1900; The Code of Criminal Procedure; According to Chief Justice Cayetano Arellano – it was the greatest benefits conferred upon the inhabitants of the country; The general order continued to be in force until it was repealed by the Rules of Court (July 1, 1940)


After the military government ended on Sept. 1, 1900, the Civil Government had been continually adding new laws in the body of the Philippine Law through five legislation periods

The Philippine Commission, ending in 1907

Philippine Commission and Philippine Assembly, ending in 1916

Philippine Legislature (Senate and House of Rep.), beginning in 1916 to the establishment of Commonwealth on Nov. 15, 1935

National Assembly under Commonwealth from the last mentioned date to the proclamation of Republic of the Philippines on Jul. 4, 1946

Philippine Congress under the republic since the last mentioned date to the present.


1898 1899 1934 1941 19461900-1902 1916 1935 1944- 1945

1898

• Treaty of Paris (Bet. Spain and U.S)

• Malolos Congress

• End of Spanish – American War

1899

• Malolos Consti.

• Military Gov’t

• Fil – Am War

1900-1902

• US Captures Aguinaldo

• William Taft arrived as 1st US Gov. In the Phil.

1916

• Jones Law

1934

• Tydings – McDuffie Law

1935

• 1935 Consti./ Phil. Commonwealth

• Manuel Quezon is the 1st Pres.

1941

• Japanese Invasion

• Defeat of Gen. Douglas McArthur

1944-1945

• Quezon died in exile

• Osmena succeeded the presidency

• McArthur returned in tthe Phil.

• In Tacloban Leyte

1946

• The U.S. gave the Philippines independence and Manuel Roxas y Acuña is elected as the first president of thenew republic.

TIMELINE: PHILIPPINE HISTORY AFTER THE SPANISH COLONIZATION


THE LAWS OF THE PHILIPPINES TODAY:

The New Civil Code – Republic Act No. 386 – Effective Date: August 30, 1950

The Code of Commerce for the Philippine Islands – Based on Spanish Code of 1885 and was extended to the Philippines by Royal Decree of Aug. 6, 1888 and took effect in this jurisdiction on December 1, 1886.

The Revised Penal Code – Act No. 3815 – Effective Date: January 1, 1932 – it is a revision of the Spanish Penal Code of 1870 which was extended to the Philippines on July 14, 1887.

The Rules of Court – Body of rules concerning pleading, practice, procedure in all courts, and the admission to practice of law – Effective Date: July 1, 1940; As revised: Jan. 1, 1964

The Revised Administrative Code of 1917 – Enacted by the Philippine Legislature as Act No. 2711 on March 10, 1917Agricultural Land Reform Code, National Internal

Revenue Code, Customs and Tariff Code, the Revised Election Code, and the Land Transportation Code


The Statutes

PUBLIC LAWS or ACTS – These are enactments passed before the establishment of the Commonwealth

COMMONWEALTH ACTS – These are approved under the Commonwealth

REPUBLIC ACTS - These are those enacted under the Republic of the Philippines

Historical Stages of the Enactments of the Philippine Legislature:

1. Philippine Commission

2. Philippine Commission and the Philippine Assembly

3. Congress of the Philippines

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CONCLUSIONS:

1. The greater bulk of Philippine private, substantive law is Romaneque.

2. There has been an increasing infiltration of common – law principles into Philippine Jurisprudence:

> Substitution of the Spanish political law by the American Political Law

> The enactment of new statutes were drawn from American patterns by the Philippine Legislature.

> The growing reliance by the bar and the bench on American decisions in the application and interpretation, not only of American derived statutes but also of the statutes of Spanish origin.

> The imitation of the system of American legal education by the law schools of the Philippines


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CONCLUSIONS:

3. Despite the rapid increase of the common – law element. The Romanesque portion of the Philippine law still predominates and will continue to predominate

4. The case law method of adjudication, which is a condition sine qua non of the common – law system is not adopted.



Important American Legal Concepts and Institutions which have been Engrafted on the Philippine Legal System are:

A) In the realm of government, the doctrine of separation of powers and the theory of Judicial supremacy according to which the judiciary, a co-ordinate department of the government, serves as the guardian of the Constitution.

B) In the branch of adjective law, a scientific and simplified system of civil and criminal procedure

C) In the field of Commercial Law, a series of modern laws on trade and commerce, such as the Corporation Law, Insolvency Law, Negotiable Instruments Law, Securities Act, Insurance Law, General Banking Law, etc.

D) With respect to the Civil Code: the rules of equity concerning trusts, natural obligations, estoppel, quieting of title and reformation of instrument; additional rules governing easement, damages, liability of common carriers, the statute of frauds, sale, and partnership; a procedure for arbitration, etc.


The Character of Philippine Law

The Philippine Law has a unique quality. Our laws in the Philippines may have been from different origins, specifically that of the Spanish, American, and our very own Philippine origin, yet the many changes that have taken place have given its indefinite and distinct quality.
