ARTICLE VIIIJUDICIAL DEPARTMENT
Section 1. The judicial power
shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be
established by law.
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.cralaw:red
Section 2. The Congress shall
have the power to define, prescribe, and apportion the jurisdiction of
the various courts but may not deprive the Supreme Court of its
jurisdiction
over cases enumerated in Section 5 hereof.cralaw:red
No law shall be passed reorganizing
the Judiciary when it undermines the security of tenure of its Members.cralaw:red
Section 3. The Judiciary
shall enjoy fiscal autonomy. Appropriations for the Judiciary may not
be
reduced by the legislature below the amount appropriated for the
previous
year and, after approval, shall be automatically and regularly released.cralaw:red
Section 4. (1) The Supreme
Court shall be composed of a Chief Justice and fourteen Associate
Justices.
It may sit en banc or in its discretion, in division of three,
five,
or seven Members. Any vacancy shall be filled within ninety days from
the
occurrence thereof.cralaw:red
(2) All cases involving the
constitutionality of a treaty, international or executive agreement, or
law, which shall be heard by the Supreme Court en banc, and all
other cases which under the Rules of Court are required to be heard
en banc, including those involving the constitutionality,
application,
or operation of presidential decrees, proclamations, orders,
instructions,
ordinances, and other regulations, shall be decided with the
concurrence
of a majority of the Members who actually took part in the
deliberations
on the issues in the case and voted thereon.cralaw:red
(3) Cases or matters heard
by a division shall be decided or resolved with the concurrence of a
majority
of the Members who actually took part in the deliberations on the
issues
in the case and voted thereon, and in no case without the concurrence
of
at least three of such Members. When the required number is not
obtained,
the case shall be decided en banc: Provided, that no
doctrine
or principle of law laid down by the court in a decision rendered en
banc or in division may be modified or reversed except by the court
sitting en banc.
Section 5. The Supreme Court
shall have the following powers:chanrobles virtual law library
1) Exercise original
jurisdiction
over cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls,
and
over petitions for certiorari, prohibition, mandamus, quo
warranto,
and habeas corpus.
(2) Review, revise,
reverse, modify, or affirm on appeal or certiorari, as the law
or
the Rules of Court may provide, final judgments and orders of lower
courts
in:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
(a) All cases in which
the
constitutionality or validity of any treaty, international or executive
agreement, law, presidential decree, proclamation, order, instruction,
ordinance, or regulation is in question.
(b) All cases
involving
the legality of any tax, impost, assessment, or toll, or any penalty
imposed
in relation thereto.
(c) All cases in which
the
jurisdiction of any lower court is in issue.
(d) All criminal cases
in
which the penalty imposed is reclusion perpetua or higher.
(e) All cases in which
only
an error or question of law is involved.
(3) 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.
(4) Order a change of
venue
or place of trial to avoid a miscarriage of justice.
(5) Promulgate rules
concerning
the protection and enforcement of constitutional rights, pleading,
practice,
and procedure in all courts, the admission to the practice of law, the
integrated bar, and legal assistance to the under-privileged. Such
rules
shall provide a simplified and inexpensive procedure for the speedy
disposition
of cases, shall be uniform for all courts of the same grade, and shall
not diminish, increase, or modify substantive rights. Rules of
procedure
of special courts and quasi-judicial bodies shall remain effective
unless
disapproved by the Supreme Court.
(6) Appoint all
officials
and employees of the Judiciary in accordance with the Civil Service Law.
Section 6. The Supreme Court
shall have administrative supervision over all courts and the personnel
thereof.
Section 7. (1) No person
shall be appointed Member of the Supreme Court or any lower collegiate
court unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines. A Member
of the Supreme Court must be at least forty years of age, and must have
been for fifteen years or more, a judge of a lower court or engaged in
the practice of law in the Philippines.cralaw:red
(2) The Congress shall prescribe
the qualifications of judges of lower courts, but no person may be
appointed
judge thereof unless he is a citizen of the Philippines and a member of
the Philippine Bar.cralaw:red
(3) A Member of the Judiciary
must be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity, and
independence.cralaw:red
Section 8. (1) A Judicial
and Bar Council is hereby created under the supervision of the Supreme
Court composed of the Chief Justice as ex officio Chairman, the
Secretary of Justice, and a representative of the Congress as ex
officio
Members, a representative of the Integrated Bar, a professor of law, a
retired Member of the Supreme Court, and a representative of the
private
sector.cralaw:red
(2) The regular members of
the Council shall be appointed by the President for a term of four
years
with the consent of the Commission on Appointments. Of the Members
first
appointed, the representative of the Integrated Bar shall serve for
four
years, the professor of law for three years, the retired Justice for
two
years, and the representative of the private sector for one year.cralaw:red
(3) The Clerk of the Supreme
Court shall be the Secretary ex officio of the Council and shall
keep a record of its proceedings.cralaw:red
(4) The regular Members of
the Council shall receive such emoluments as may be determined by the
Supreme
Court. The Supreme Court shall provide in its annual budget the
appropriations
for the Council.cralaw:red
(5) The Council shall have
the principal function of recommending appointees to the Judiciary. It
may exercise such other functions and duties as the Supreme Court may
assign
to it.cralaw:red
Section 9. The Members of
the Supreme Court and judges of the lower courts shall be appointed by
the President from a list of at least three nominees prepared by the
Judicial
and Bar Council for every vacancy. Such appointments need no
confirmation.cralaw:red
For the lower courts, the
President shall issue the appointments within ninety days from the
submission
of the list.cralaw:red
Section 10. The salary of
the Chief Justice and of the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court,
and
of judges of lower courts, shall be fixed by law. During their
continuance
in office, their salary shall not be decreased.cralaw:red
Section 11. The Members of
the Supreme Court and judges of lower courts shall hold office during
good
behavior until they reach the age of seventy years or become
incapacitated
to discharge the duties of their office. The Supreme Court en banc
shall have the power to discipline judges of lower courts, or order
their
dismissal by a vote of a majority of the Members who actually took part
in the deliberations on the issues in the case and voted thereon.cralaw:red
Section 12. The Members of
the Supreme Court and of other courts established by law shall not be
designated
to any agency performing quasi-judicial or administrative functions.cralaw:red
Section 13. The conclusions
of the Supreme Court in any case submitted to it for decision en banc
or in division shall be reached in consultation before the case is
assigned
to a Member for the writing of the opinion of the Court. A
certification
to this effect signed by the Chief Justice shall be issued and a copy
thereof
attached to the record of the case and served upon the parties. Any
Members
who took no part, or dissented, or abstained from a decision or
resolution,
must state the reason therefor. The same requirements shall be observed
by all lower collegiate courts.cralaw:red
Section 14. No decision shall
be rendered by any court without expressing therein clearly and
distinctly
the facts and the law on which it is based.cralaw:red
No petition for review or
motion for reconsideration of a decision of the court shall be refused
due course or denied without stating the legal basis therefor.cralaw:red
Section 15. (1) All cases
or matters filed after the effectivity of this Constitution must be
decided
or resolved within twenty-four months from date of submission for the
Supreme
Court, and, unless reduced by the Supreme Court, twelve months for all
lower collegiate courts, and three months for all other lower courts.cralaw:red
(2) A case or matter shall
be deemed submitted for decision or resolution upon the filing of the
last
pleading, brief, or memorandum required by the Rules of Court or by the
court itself.cralaw:red
(3) Upon the expiration of
the corresponding period, a certification to this effect signed by the
Chief Justice or the presiding judge shall forthwith be issued and a
copy
thereof attached to the record of the case or matter, and served upon
the
parties. The certification shall state why a decision or resolution has
not been rendered or issued within said period.cralaw:red
(4) Despite the expiration
of the applicable mandatory period, the court, without prejudice to
such
responsibility as may have been incurred in consequence thereof, shall
decide or resolve the case or matter submitted thereto for
determination,
without further delay.cralaw:red
Section 16. The Supreme Court
shall, within thirty days from the opening of each regular session of
the
Congress, submit to the President and the Congress an annual report on
the operations and activities of the Judiciary.
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