CANON 5 - A LAWYER SHALL KEEP ABREAST OF LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS, PARTICIPATE IN CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS, SUPPORT EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE HIGH STANDARDS IN LAW SCHOOLS AS WELL AS IN THE PRACTICAL TRAINING OF LAW STUDENTS AND ASSIST IN DISSEMINATING INFORMATION REGARDING THE LAW AND JURISPRUDENCE.

CANON 10 - A LAWYER OWES CANDOR, FAIRNESS AND GOOD FAITH TO THE COURT.

Rule 10.01 - A lawyer shall not do any falsehood, nor consent to the doing of any in Court; nor shall he mislead, or allow the Court to be misled by any artifice.

Rule 10.02 - A lawyer shall not knowingly misquote or misrepresent the contents of paper, the language or the argument of opposing counsel, or the text of a decision or authority, or knowingly cite as law a provision already rendered inoperative by repeal or amendment, or assert as a fact that which has not been proved.

Rule 10.03 - A lawyer shall observe the rules of procedure and shall not misuse them to defeat the ends of justice.

CANON 18 - A LAWYER SHALL SERVE HIS CLIENT WITH COMPETENCE AND DILIGENCE.

Rule 18.01 - A lawyer shall not undertake a legal service which he knows or should know that he is not qualified to render. However, he may render such service if, with the consent of his client, he can obtain as collaborating counsel a lawyer who is competent on the matter.

Rule 18.02 - A lawyer shall not handle any legal matter without adequate preparation.

Rule 18.03 - A lawyer shall not neglect a legal matter entrusted to him, and his negligence in connection there with shall render him liable.

Rule 18.04 - A lawyer shall keep the client informed of the status of his case and shall respond within a reasonable time to client’s request for information.

NADAYAG v. GRAGEDAA lawyer shall at all times uphold the integrity and dignity of the legal profession. The trust and confidence necessarily reposed by clients require in the attorney a high standard

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and appreciation of his duty to his clients, his profession, the courts and the public. The bar should maintain a high standard of legal proficiency as well as of honesty and fair dealing. Generally speaking, a lawyer can do honor to the legal profession by faithfully performing his duties to society, to the bar, to the courts, and to his clients. To this end, nothing should be done by any member of the legal fraternity which might tend to lessen in any degree the confidence of the public in the fidelity, honesty, and integrity of the profession.

MENDOZA v. MERCADO"An attorney-at-law is not expected to know all the law. For an honest mistake or error, an attorney is not liable." Chief Justice Abbott said that "no attorney is bound to know all the law; God forbid that it should be imagined that an attorney or a counsel or even a judge, is bound to know all the law".

Common Law System – system following the ruling of the courts (jurisprudence); judicial laws are binding; there is not always a written constitution or codified laws

Civil Law System – system following statutes, constitution, other codes*Philippines is a mixed system of these two

Civil CodeArt. 7. Laws are repealed only by subsequent ones, and their violation or non-observance shall not be excused by disuse, or custom or practice to the contrary.

When the courts declared a law to be inconsistent with the Constitution, the former shall be void and the latter shall govern.

Administrative or executive acts, orders and regulations shall be valid only when they are not contrary to the laws or the Constitution. (5a)

Q: What is repeal?A: A law has a certain period of being effective until such time as it ceases to be

effective due to repeal.

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Q: What are the kinds of repeal?A:1. Express Repeal – a subsequent law is passed expressly stating that a prior law has

ceased to have any effect. 2. Implied Repeal – a subsequent law is passed which is inconsistent with a former

law and the two are not capable of standing or existing together. Q: Is implied repeal favored?A: No. As a general rule, implied repeal is not favored. As long as you can reconcile

both laws, you must reconcile them. But if they are so inconsistent with each other as they cannot exist together, then implied repeal may be allowed.

Q: What is the effect of repeal of the repealing law? (Revival of Laws)A:1. Express Repeal – If you have a law which has been expressly repealed and the

repealing law is itself repealed, the first law is not considered revived, unless the third says that the first law has been revived.

2. Implied Repeal – if the first law is repealed impliedly then the general rule is that the repeal of the repealing law revives the first law. The exception is that there is no revival if:a. The third law stated that the first law is not revived; or b. The first and the third law are inconsistent.

Q: Is there a repeal by a lapse of time?A: Yes. The law in this case had a certain period of time being effective. It ceased to

be effective upon the expiration of the time provided for its effectivity. For example: Naturalization laws providing for a certain period of time whereby temporary status given to a foreigner expires after a certain period of time (i.e. after 5 years, et.)

Q: What is the effect of a law declared to be void or unconstitutional?A: As a general rule, a law declared void has no effect because the law us deemed

not to have existed at all and there was no period of time within which it took effect. The exception to this rule is when the judiciary recognizes some of its effects prior to the declaration of nullity. (Doctrine of Operative Fact).

Art. 8. Judicial decisions applying or interpreting the laws or the Constitution shall form a part of the legal system of the Philippines.Q: Does the term “judicial decisions” under this article refer to all kinds of court decisions?A: No. It refers only to Supreme Court decisions and not to decisions rendered by the the lower courts.

Q: Since SC decisions also form part of the law of the land, do we apply the rule on publication – that before they may be effective, they must be published?A: No. Publication is not necessary. What is important is that such decision are already final and executory. Judicial decisions are not like laws per se. Their application is restricted in the sense that they apply only to parties in the case. They may apply to other parties provided they involve the same subject matter. (Paras Doctrine of Stare Decisis)

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Q: When does a judicial decision, which interprets a law, cease to be part of the law of the land?A: A judicial decision that interprets law cease to be part of the law of the land:

1. When the SC reverses itself; and 2. When the legislature passes a law that is opposed to an SC

FLORESCA v. PHILEXThe Court, through the late Chief Justice Fred Ruiz

Castro, in People vs. Licera ruled:Article 8 of the Civil Code of the Philippines decrees

that judicial decisions applying or interpreting the laws or the Constitution form part of this jurisdiction's legal system. These decisions, although in themselves not laws, constitute evidence of what the laws mean. The application or interpretation placed by the Court upon a law is part of the law as of the date of the enactment of the said law since the Court's application or interpretation merely establishes the contemporaneous legislative intent that the construed law purports to carry into effect" (65 SCRA 270, 272-273 [1975]).

WE ruled that judicial decisions of the Supreme Court assume the same authority as the statute itself (Caltex vs. Palomer, 18 SCRA 247; 124 Phil. 763).

LEGASPI V MINISTER OF FINANCEAll proclamations, orders, decrees, instructions, and

acts promulgated, issued, or done by the former President (Ferdinand E. Marcos) are part of the law of the land, and shall remain valid, legal, binding, and effective, unless modified, revoked or superseded by subsequent proclamations, orders, decrees, instructions, or other acts of the President.

When the President acts as legislator, he does not need the concurrence of the Batasan. Rather, he exercises concurrent authority vested by the Constitution.

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