BAR
MATTER NO. 850
[August 22,
2000]
MANDATORY
CONTINUING
LEGAL EDUCATION (MCLE)
ADOPTING
THE RULES
ON MANDATORY CONTINUING
LEGAL
EDUCATION
FOR MEMBERS OF THE
INTEGRATED
BAR OF THE PHILIPPINES
EN BANC
R E S O
L U T
I O N
Considering the
Rules on Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) for members of the
Integrated
Bar of the Philippines (IBP), recommended by the IBP, endorsed by
the
Philippine Judicial Academy, and reviewed and passed upon by the
Supreme
Court Committee on Legal Education, the Court hereby resolves to adopt,
as it hereby adopts, the following rules for proper implementation:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
RULE 1
PURPOSE
Section 1. Purpose
of the MCLE
Continuing legal
education is required of members of the Integrated
Bar of the Philippines (IBP) to ensure that throughout their
career,
they keep abreast with law and jurisprudence, maintain the ethics of
the
profession and enhance the standards of the practice of law.
RULE 2
MANDATORY
CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION
Section 1. Constitution
of the MCLE Committee
Within two (2)
months from the approval of these Rules by the Supreme Court En Banc,
the
MCLE Committee shall be constituted in accordance with these Rules.
Section 2. Requirements
of completion of MCLE
Members of the
IBP not exempt under Rule 7 shall complete, every three (3) years, at
least
thirty-six (36) hours of continuing legal education activities approved
by the MCLE Committee. Of the 36 hours:
(a)
At
least six (6) hours shall be devoted to legal ethics.
(b) At
least (4)
hours shall be devoted to trial and pretrial skills.
(c) At
least five
(5) hours shall be devoted to alternative dispute resolution.
(d) At
least nine
(9) hours shall be devoted to updates on substantive and procedural
laws,
and jurisprudence.
(e) At
least four
(4) hours shall be devoted to legal writing and oral advocacy.
(f) At
least two
(2) hours shall be devoted to international law and international
conventions.
(g)
The remaining
six (6) hours shall be devoted to such subjects as may be prescribed by
the MCLE Committee.
RULE
3
COMPLIANCE
PERIOD
Section 1. Initial
compliance period
The initial compliance
period shall begin not later than three (3) months from the
constitution
of the MCLE Committee. Except for the initial compliance period for
members
admitted or readmitted after the establishment of the program, all
compliance
periods shall be for thirty-six (36) months and shall begin the day
after
the end of the previous compliance period.
Section 2. Compliance
Group 1.
Members in the
National Capital Region (NCR) or Metro Manila shall be permanently
assigned
to Compliance Group 1.
Section 3. Compliance
Group 2.
Members in Luzon
outside NCR shall be permanently assigned to Compliance Group 2.
Section 4. Compliance
Group 3.
Members in Visayas
and Mindanao shall be permanently assigned to Compliance Group 3.
Section 5. Compliance
period for members admitted or readmitted after establishment of the
program.
Members admitted
or readmitted to the Bar after the establishment of the program shall
be
permanently assigned to the appropriate Compliance Group based on their
Chapter membership on the date of admission or readmission.
The initial compliance
period after admission or readmission shall begin on the first day of
the
month of admission or readmission and shall end on the same day as that
of all other members in the same Compliance Group.
(a)
Where
four (4) months or less remain of the initial compliance period after
admission
or readmission, the member is not required to comply with the program
requirement
for the initial compliance.
(b)
Where more
than four (4) months remain of the initial compliance period after
admission
or readmission, the member shall be required to complete a number of
hours
of approved continuing legal education activities equal to the number
of
months remaining in the compliance period in which the member is
admitted
or readmitted. Such member shall be required to complete a number of
hours
of education in legal ethics in proportion to the number of months
remaining
in the compliance period. Fractions of hours shall be rounded up to the
next whole number.
RULE
4
COMPUTATION
OF CREDIT UNITS
Section 1. Guidelines
The following
are the guidelines for computation of credit units (CU):chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
PROGRAMS
CREDIT UNITS SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
1.
SEMINARS,
CONVENTIONS, CONFERENCES, SYMPOSIA, IN-HOUSE EDUCATION PROGRAMS,
WORKSHOPS,
DIALOGUES, ROUND TABLE DISCUSSIONS BY APPROVED PROVIDERS UNDER RULE 7
AND
OTHER RELATED RULES
1.1 PARTICIPANT
1 CU PER HOUR CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE WITH NUMBER OF HOURS
1.2
LECTURER 5
CU PER HOUR PHOTOCOPY OF PLAQUE OR SPONSOR'S CERTIFICATION
1.3
RESOURCE 3
CU PER HOUR PHOTOCOPY OF PLAQUE OR SPONSOR'S SPEAKER CERTIFICATION
1.4
ASSIGNED 2
CU PER HOUR CERTIFICATION FROM SPONSORING PENALIST/ ORGANIZATION
REACTOR/COMMENTATOR
1.5
MODERATOR/
2 CU PER HOUR CERTIFICATION FROM SPONSORING COORDINATOR/ ORGANIZATION
FACILITATOR
2.
AUTHORSHIP,
EDITING AND REVIEW
2.1 RESEARCH/
5-10 CREDIT UNITS DULY CERTIFIED/PUBLISHED INNOVATIVE TECHNICAL
REPORT/PAPER
PROGRAM/CREATIVE PROJECT
2.2
BOOK 50-100
PP 101+ PUBLISHED BOOK SINGLE AUTHOR 12-16 CU 17-20 CU
2
AUTHORS 10-12
CU 13-16 CU
3 OR
MORE 5-6
CU 7-11 CU
2.3
BOOK EDITOR
1/2 OF THE CU OF PUBLISHED BOOK WITH PROOF AUTHORSHIP AS EDITOR
CATEGORYchan
robles virtual law library
2.4
LEGAL ARTICLE
5-10 PP 11+ PUBLISHED ARTICLE SINGLE AUTHOR 6 CU 8 CU
2
AUTHORS 4 CU
6 CUchan
robles virtual law library
3 OR
MORE 2 CU
4 CUchan
robles virtual law library
2.5
LEGAL 3-6
CU PER ISSUE PUBLISHED NEWSLETTER/JOURNAL NEWSLETTER/LAW JOURNAL
EDITOR
3.
PROFESSIONAL
6 CU PER CHAIR CERTIFICATION OF LAW DEAN CHAIR/BAR 1 CU PER LECTURE OR
BAR REVIEW DIRECTOR REVIEW/ HOUR LECTURE/LAW TEACHING
Section 2.
Limitation
on certain credit unitschan
robles virtual law library
In numbers 2 and
3 of the guidelines in the preceding Section, the total maximum credit
units shall not exceed twenty (20) hours per three (3) years.
RULE 5
CATEGORIES
OF CREDIT
Section 1. Classes
of credits
The credits are
either participatory or non-participatory.
Section 2. Claim
for participatory credit
Participatory
credit may be claimed for:
(a)
Attending
approved education activities like seminars, conferences, symposia,
in-house
education programs, workshops, dialogues or round table
discussions.
(b)
Speaking or
lecturing, or acting as assigned panelist, reactor, commentator,
resource
speaker, moderator, coordinator or facilitator in approved education
activities.
(c)
Teaching in
a law school or lecturing in a bar review class.
Section 3.
Claim
for non-participatory credit
Non-participatory
credit may be claimed per compliance period for:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
(a)
Preparing,
as an author or co-author, written materials published or accepted for
publication, e.g., in the form of an article, chapter, book, or book
review
which contribute to the legal education of the author member, which
were
not prepared in the ordinary course of the member's practice or
employment.
(b)
Editing a
law book, law journal or legal newsletter.
RULE
6
COMPUTATION
OF CREDIT HOURS
Section 1. Computation
of credit hours
Credit hours are
computed based on actual time spent in an activity (actual instruction
or speaking time), in hours to the nearest one-quarter hour.
RULE 7
EXEMPTIONS
Section 1. Parties
exempted from the MCLE
The following
members of the Bar are exempt from the MCLE requirement:
(a)
The
President and the Vice President of the Philippines, and the
Secretaries
and Undersecretaries of Executives Departments;chan
robles virtual law library
(b)
Senators and
Members of the House of Representatives;chan
robles virtual law library
(c)
The Chief
Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, incumbent and
retired
members of the judiciary, incumbent members of the Judicial and Bar
Council
and incumbent court lawyers covered by the Philippine Judicial Academy
program of continuing judicial education;
(d)
The Chief
State Counsel, Chief State Prosecutor and Assistant Secretaries of the
Department of Justice;
(e)
The Solicitor
General and the Assistant Solicitor General;
(f)
The Government
Corporate Counsel, Deputy and Assistant Government Corporate
Counsel;
(g)
The Chairmen
and Members of the Constitutional Commissions;
(h)
The Ombudsman,
the Overall Deputy Ombudsman, the Deputy Ombudsmen and the Special
Prosecutor
of the Office of the Ombudsman;
(i)
Heads of government
agencies exercising quasi-judicial functions;
(j)
Incumbent
deans, bar reviews and professors of law who have teaching experience
for
at least 10 years accredited law schools;
(k)
The Chancellor,
Vice-Chancellor and members of the Corps of Professors and Professorial
Lectures of the Philippine Judicial Academy; and
(l)
Governors
and Mayors.
Section 2.
Other
parties exempted from the MCLE
The following
Members of the Bar are likewise exempt:
(a)
Those
who are not in law practice, private or public.
(b)
Those who
have retired from law practice with the approval of the IBP Board of
Governors.
Section 3.
Good cause
for exemption from or modification of requirement
A member may file
a verified request setting forth good cause for exemption (such as
physical
disability, illness, post graduate study abroad, proven expertise in
law,
etc.) from compliance with or modification of any of the requirements,
including an extension of time for compliance, in accordance with a
procedure
to be established by the MCLE Committee.
Section 4. Change
of status
The compliance
period shall begin on the first day of the month in which a member
ceases
to be exempt under Sections 1, 2, or 3 of this Rule and shall end on
the
same day as that of all other members in the same Compliance
Group.
Section 5. Proof
of exemption
Applications for
exemption from or modification of the MCLE requirement shall be under
oath
and supported by documents.
RULE 8
STANDARDS
FOR APPROVAL OF EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
Section 1. Approval
of MCLE program
Subject to the
rules as may be adopted by the MCLE Committee, continuing legal
education
program may be granted approval in either of two (2) ways: (1) the
provider
of the activity is an approved provider and certifies that the activity
meets the criteria of Section 3 of this Rules; and (2) the provider is
specially mandated by law to provide continuing legal education.
Section 2. Standards
for all education activities
All continuing
legal education activities must meet the following standards:
(a)
The
activity shall have significant current intellectual or practical
content.
(b)
The activity
shall constitute an organized program of learning related to legal
subjects
and the legal profession, including cross profession activities (e.g.,
accounting-tax or medical-legal) that enhance legal skills or the
ability
to practice law, as well as subjects in legal writing and oral
advocacy.
(c)
The activity
shall be conducted by a provider with adequate professional
experience.
(d)
Where the
activity is more than one (1) hour in length, substantive written
materials
must be distributed to all participants. Such materials must be
distributed
at or before the time the activity is offered.
(e)
In-house education
activities must be scheduled at a time and location so as to be free
from
interruption like telephone calls and other distractions.chan
robles virtual law library
RULE
9
APPROVAL
OF
PROVIDERS
Section 1. Approval
of providers
Approval of providers
shall be done by the MCLE Committee.
Section 2. Requirements
for approval of providers
Any persons or
group may be approved as a provider for a term of two (2) years, which
may be renewed, upon written application. All providers of continuing
legal
education activities, including in-house providers, are eligible to be
approved providers. Application for approval shall:
(a)
Be
submitted on a form provided by the IBP;
(b)
Contain all
information requested on the form;
(c) Be
accompanied
by the approval fee.
Section 3.
Requirements
of all providers
All approved providers
shall agree to the following:
(a)
An
official record verifying the attendance at the activity shall be
maintained
by the provider for at least four (4) years after the completion date.
The provider shall include the member on the official record of
attendance
only if the member's signature was obtained at the time of attendance
at
the activity. The official record of attendance shall contain the
member's
name and number in the Roll of Attorneys and shall identify the time,
date,
location, subject matter, and length of the education activity. A copy
of such record shall be furnished the IBP.
(b)
The provider
shall certify that:chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
(1) This
activity has been approved for MCLE by the IBP in the amount of
________
hours of which hours will apply in (legal ethics, etc.), as appropriate
to the content of the activity;
(2)
The activity
conforms to the standards for approved education activities prescribed
by these Rules and such regulations as may be prescribed by the IBP
pertaining
to MCLE.
(c)
The
provider shall issue a record or certificate to all participants
identifying
the time, date, location, subject matter and length of the
activity.
(d)
The provider
shall allow in-person observation of all approved continuing legal
education
activities by members of the IBP Board of Governors, the MCLE
Committee,
or designees of the Committee and IBP staff for purposes of monitoring
compliance with these Rules.
(e)
The provider
shall indicate in promotional materials, the nature of the activity,
the
time devoted to each devoted to each topic and identify of the
instructors.
The provider shall make available to each participant a copy of
IBP-approved
Education Activity Evaluation Form.chan
robles virtual law library
(f)
The provider
shall maintain the completed Education Activity Evaluation Forms for a
period of not less than one (1) year after the activity, copy furnished
the IBP.
(g)
Any person
or group who conducts an unauthorized activity under this program or
issues
a spurious certificate in violation of these Rules shall be subject to
appropriate sanctions.
Section 4.
Renewal
of provider approval
The approval of
a provider may be renewed every two (2) years. It may be denied if the
provider fails to comply with any of the requirements of these Rules or
fails to provide satisfactory education activities for the preceding
period.
Section 5. Revocation
of provider approval
The approval of
any provider referred to in Rule 9 may be revoked by a majority vote of
the IBP Board of Governors, upon recommendation of the MCLE Committee,
after notice and hearing and for good cause.
RULE 10
ACTIVITY
AND
PROVIDER APPROVAL FEE
Section 1. Payment
of fees
Application for
approval of an education activity or as a provider requires payment of
an appropriate fee.
RULE 11
GENERAL
COMPLIANCE
PROCEDURES
Section 1. Compliance
card
Each member shall
secure from the MCLE Committee a Compliance Card before the end of his
compliance period. He shall complete the card by attesting under oath
that
he has complied with the education requirement or that he is exempt,
specifying
the nature of the exemption. Such Compliance Card must be returned to
the
address indicated therein not later than the day after the end of the
member's
compliance period.
Section 2. Member
record keeping requirementchan
robles virtual law library
Each member shall
maintain sufficient record of compliance or exemption, copy furnished
the
MCLE Committee. The record required to be provided to the members by
the
provider pursuant to Section 3(c) of Rule 9 should be sufficient record
of attendance at a participatory activity. A record of
non-participatory
activity shall also be maintained by the member, as referred to in
Section
3 of Rule 5.
RULE 12
NON-COMPLIANCE
PROCEDURES
Section 1. What
constitutes non-compliance
The following
shall constitute non-compliance:
(a)
Failure
to complete the education requirement within the compliance
period;
(b)
Failure to
provide attestation of compliance or exemption;
(c)
Failure to
provide satisfactory evidence of compliance (including evidence of
exempt
status) within the prescribed period;
(d)
Failure to
satisfy the education requirement and furnish evidence of such
compliance
within sixty (60) days from receipt of a non-compliance notice;chan
robles virtual law library
(e)
Any other
act or omission analogous to any of the foregoing or intended to
circumvent
or evade compliance with the MCLE requirements.chan
robles virtual law library
Section 2.
Non-compliance
notice and 60-day period to attain compliance
A member failing
to comply will receive a Non-Compliance Notice stating the specific
deficiency
and will be given sixty (60) days from the date of notification to
explain
the deficiency or otherwise show compliance with the requirements. Such
notice shall contain, among other things, the following language in
capital
letters:
YOUR
FAILURE TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE JUSTIFICATION FOR NON-COMPLIANCE OR PROOF
OF
COMPLIANCE WITH THE MCLE REQUIREMENT BY (INSERT DATE 60 DAYS FROM THE
DATE
OF NOTICE), SHALL BE A CAUSE FOR LISTING AS A DELINQUENT MEMBER.
The Member
may use
this period to attain the adequate number of credit hours for
compliance.
Credit hours earned during this period may only be counted toward
compliance
with the prior compliance period requirement unless hours in excess of
the requirement are earned, in which case, the excess hours may be
counted
toward meeting the current compliance period requirement.RULE 13
CONSEQUENCES
OF NON-COMPLIANCE
Section 1. Non-compliance
fee
A member who,
for whatever reason, is in non-compliance at the end of the compliance
period shall pay a non-compliance fee.
Section 2. Listing
as delinquent member
Any member who
fails to satisfactorily comply with Section 2 of Rule 12 shall be
listed
as a delinquent member by the IBP Board of Governors upon the
recommendation
of the MCLE Committee, in which case, Rule 139-A of the Rules of Court
shall apply.
RULE 14
REINSTATEMENT
Section 1. Process
The involuntary
listing as a delinquent member shall be terminated when the member
provides
proof of compliance with the MCLE requirement, including payment of
non-compliance
fee. A member may attain the necessary credit hours to meet the
requirement
for the period of non-compliance during the period the member is on
inactive
status. These credit hours may not be counted toward meeting the
current
compliance period requirement. Credit hours attained during the period
of non-compliance in excess of the number needed to satisfy the prior
compliance
period requirement may be counted toward meeting the current compliance
period requirement.chan
robles virtual law library
Section 2. Termination
of delinquent listing administrative process
The termination
of listing as a delinquent member is administrative in nature but it
shall
be made with notice and hearing by the MCLE Committee.
RULE 15
MANDATORY
CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Section 1. Composition
The MCLE Committee
shall be composed of five (5) members, namely: a retired Justice of the
Supreme Court, as Chair, and four (4) members, respectively, nominated
by the IBP, the Philippine Judicial Academy, a law center designated by
the Supreme Court and associations of law schools and/or law
professors.
The members of
the Committee shall be of proven probity and integrity. They shall be
appointed
by the Supreme Court for a term of three (3) years and shall receive
such
compensation as may be determined by the Court.
Section 2. Duty
of the Committee
The MCLE Committee
shall administer and adopt such implementing rules as may be necessary
subject to the approval by the Supreme Court. It shall, in consultation
with the IBP Board of Governors, prescribe a schedule of MCLE fees with
the approval of the Supreme Court.
Section 3. Staff
of the IBPchan
robles virtual law library
The IBP shall
employ such staff as may be necessary to perform the record-keeping,
auditing,
reporting, approval and other necessary functions.
Section 4. Submission
of annual budget
The IBP shall
submit to the Supreme Court an annual budget for a subsidy to
establish,
operate and maintain the MCLE Program.
This resolution
shall take effect in October 2000, following its publication in two (2)
newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines.
Adopted this 22nd
day of August, 2000.chan
robles virtual law library
Davide, Jr., C.J.,
Bellosillo, Melo, Puno, Vitug, Kapunan, Mendoza, Panganiban,
Quisumbing,
Purisima, Pardo, Buena, Gonzaga-Reyes, Ynares-Santiago and De Leon,
Jr., JJ., concur.
|