Slide 1 COMPETENCE

Ca n o n 6 AND
DILIGENCE
COMPETENCE are pre-requisites to the due
AND performance of judicial office.

DILIGENCE

Slide 2 Judicial office demands competence

Ca n o n 6
The admini st rati on
of j usti ce i s a sacred t ask . . .
and upon assumpti on t o of fi ce, a
j udge ceases t o be an ordi nary mort al .
He becomes the visi ble
representati on of the l awand
more i mportantly,
of j ustice . . .
and diligence. “The administration
of justice,” the Supreme Court affirms,
“is a sacred task ... and upon
assumption to office, a judge ceases to
be an ordinary mortal. He becomes
the visible representation of the law
and more importantly, of justice...
Hence, the Constitution prescribes that
he “must be a person of proven
competence,” (Art. VIII, sec. 7(3)) as a
requisite of his membership in the
Judiciary.

Slide 3 Ca n o n 6 “Though a judge has a duty to not sit

Se c t i o n 1 where disqualified (Canon 3 Sec. 6), a
Th e ju d ic i a l d u t ie s o f a ju d g e
t a k e pr e c e d e n c e o v e r a l l o t h e r a c t i v i t ie s . judge has an equally strong duty not to
A j udge si t i n a case unl ess t here i s a recuse himself when the circumstances
reasonabl e questi on as t o t he j udge’ s
i mparti ali t y. do not require recusal.”
Thus, a j udge should not recuse Amended in 1974, an American
hi mself si mply to avoid sitting on statute mandates that a judge sit in a
difficult or controversial cases.
case unless there is a reasonable
question as to the judge’s impartiality.
Thus, a judge should not recuse
himself simply to avoid sitting on
difficult or controversial cases.
Slide 4 Judge Eric T. Calderon This case is with regard to the leaves
Munici pal Trial Court Judge of Absence Without Approval of Judge
Eric T. Calderon, Municipal Trial
Got di smissed f romservi ce because of
gross m isconduct and abandonment of office
Court of Calumpit, Bulacan, an MTC
t hrough unapproved leaves of absence Judge who was dismissed from service
repeat edl y i ncurred by hi m. because of gross misconduct and
abandonment of his office through his
unapproved
Leaves of absence repeatedly incurred
by him.

Slide 5 Ca n o n 6
Se c t i o n 2
Ju d g e s s h a l l d e v o t e t h e ir pr o f e s s io n a l
a c t i v i t y t o ju d ic i a l d u t ie s , w h ic h in c l u d e
n o t o n l y t h e pe r f o r m a n c e o f ju d ic i a l
f u n c t io n s a n d r e s po n s ibil i t ie s in c o u r t a n d
t h e m a k in g o f d e c i s io n s , b u t a l s o o t h e r
t a s k s r e l e va n t t o t h e ju d ic i a l o f f ic e o r t h e
c o u r t ’s o pe r a t io n s .

Slide 6 LONGBOANvs. POLIG In the instant case, respondent judge

( 186 SCRA557) impeded the speedy disposition of
Respondent j udge i mpeded t he speedy di sposi ti on of cases cases by his successor on account of
by hi s successor on account of missi ng records of cases.
proper and efficient court management missing records of cases. This fact
is as much the j udge' s responsi bility reflects an inefficient and disorderly
for the Court personnel system in the recording of cases
are not the guardians
of a Judge' s responsi bilities.
assigned to his sala. Although blame
can also be conveniently laid on the
court personnel's mismanagement of
the records of cases, proper and
efficient court management is as much
the judge's responsibility for the Court
personnel are not the guardians of a
Judge's responsibilities.
Slide 7 Judge Carstensen Regarding Judge Carstensen
Judge Carst ensen f ai l ed t o make and ti mel y fi l e accurat e and
compl et e records of t he matt ers pendi ng bef ore hi mi n
persi st ent
Held: Judge Carstensen failed to make
Aj udge should diligently discharge his adm inistrati ve and timely file accurate and complete
responsi bilities, maintain professi onal competence i n records of the matters pending before
j udicial administrati on, and facilitate the
performance of the adm inistrative responsi bilities
him in persistent, flagrant disregard of
of other j udges and court officials the judicial canons." Reports are vital
to the efficient administration of our
judicial system, and, as such, they are
a necessary duty, which we expect to
be followed and will enforce.

A judge should diligently discharge his

administrative responsibilities,
maintain professional competence in
judicial administration, and facilitate
the performance of the administrative
responsibilities of other judges and
court officials." Compliance with rule
200 clearly falls within the ambit of
this canon.”

Slide 8 Ca n o n 6
Se c t i o n 3
Ju d g e s s h a l l t a k e r e a s o n a bl e s t e ps t o
m a in t a in a n d e n h a n c e t h e ir
k n o w l e d g e , s k il l s a n d pe r s o n a l q u a l i t ie s
n e c e s s a r y f o r t h e pr o pe r pe r f o r m a n c e o f
ju d ic i a l d u t ie s , t a k in g a d va n t a g e f o r t h i s
pu r po s e o f t h e t r a in in g a n d o t h e r f a c il i t ie s
w h ic h s h o u l d be m a d e a va il a bl e , u n d e r
ju d ic i a l c o n t r o l , t o ju d g e s .
Slide 9 ALMONTE vs. BI EN
461 SCRA218 ( 2005)
The Code of Judi ci al Conduct enj oi ns j udges
t o be f ai t hf ul t o t he l awand mai nt ai n professi onal
compet ence. They are expect ed t o keep abreast wi t h t he
devel opment s i n l awand j uri sprudence, and t o be profi ci ent
i n t hei r appli cati on and i nt erpret ati on t hereof .
When a l awor a rule is basic, a j udge owes it to
his office to si mply apply it ; anything less than
that is gross i gnorance of the l aw.
Slide 10 AJENOvs. I NSERTO
( 71 SCRA166) )
A Judge owed i t t o t he di gni t y of t he court , t o t he l egal
professi on and t o t he publi c, t o knowt he very l awhe i s
supposed t o appl y t o a gi ven cont roversy.
I n t he remai ni ng years of hi s st ay i n t he j udi ci ary
he shoul d keep abreast wi t h t he changes i n t he
l awand wi t h t he l at est deci si ons and
precedent s. He shoul d not rel ax i n hi s st udy of
t he l awand court deci si ons.
It was held in this case, That the Code
of Judicial Conduct enjoins judges to
be faithful to the law and maintain
professional competence. As advocates
of justice and visible representation of
the law, they are expected to be
proficient in their application and
interpretation thereof. When a law or a
rule is basic, a judge owes it to his
office to simply apply it; anything less
than that is gross ignorance of the law.
It was held in this case that the Canons
of Judicial Ethics would not allow that
misconduct to pass without any word
of admonition to the erring respondent
Judge. When he accepted his position,
he owed it to the dignity of the court,
to the legal profession and to the
public, to know the very law he is
supposed to apply to a given
controversy. In this respect respondent
Judge has failed.
Even in the remaining years of his stay
in the judiciary he should keep abreast
with the changes in the law and with
the latest decisions and precedents.
Although a judge is nearing retirement
he should not relax in his study of the
law and court decisions. Service in the
judiciary means a continuous study
and research on the law from
beginning to end.
Slide 11 Ca n o n 6
Se c t i o n 4
Ju d g e s s h a l l k e e p t h e m s e l v e s in f o r m e d a b o u t
r e l e va n t d e v e l o pm e n t s o f in t e r n a t io n a l l a w ,
in c l u d in g in t e r n a t io n a l c o n v e n t io n s a n d
o t h e r in s t r u m e n t s e s t a bl i s h in g h u m a n
r ig h t s n o r m s .

Slide 12 General or Customary norms The Constitution incorporates the two

are bi ndi ng on all st at es. They are t he norms of i nt ernati onal l aw
referred t o i n Secti on 2, Arti cl e II of t he Consti t uti on when i t
principal sources of international law –
provi des t hat “ t he Phi li ppi nes …adopt s t he generall y accept ed general or customary norms and
pri nci pl es of i nt ernati onal l awas part of t he l awof t he l and. ”
Conventi onal norms t he Consti t uti on i n Secti on 21, conventional norms. Subject to
Arti cl e VII prescri bes t hat when at l east
t wo- t hi rds of all t he Members of t he Senat e
conditions set forth in the fundamental
concur i n a t reat y or i nt ernati onal agreement , law, both customary and conventional
i t may become part of Phi li ppi ne domesti c l aw.
norms of international law are part of
Philippine law. Customary norms are
binding on all States. They are the
norms of international law referred to
in Section 2, Article II of the
Constitution when it provides that
“[t]he Philippines … adopts the
generally accepted principles of
international law as part of the law of
the land.” As to conventional or treaty
law, the Constitution in Section 21,
Article VII prescribes that when at
least two-thirds of all the Members of
the Senate concur in a treaty or
international agreement, it may
become part of Philippine domestic
law. This means that the treaty
becomes binding as domestic law even
though it is also a source of
international obligations.
Slide 13 American Bar Associati on The American Bar Association Model
Model Code of Judicial Condcut Code of Judicial Conduct does not
Uni t ed St at es Supreme Court st at ed t hat
have an analogous provision on
“ i nt ernati onal l awi s part of our l aw, and must be ascert ai ned and international law, although the United
admini st ered by t he court s of j usti ce of appropri at e j uri sdi cti on
as of t en as questi ons of ri ght dependi ng upon i t are dul y States Supreme Court stated that
present ed f or t hei r det erminati on. ”
“international law is part of our law,
Norms of internati onal l awformpart of legal
standards and must be ascertained and
administered by the courts of justice of
appropriate jurisdiction as often as
questions of right depending upon it
are duly presented for their
determination.”5

Norms of international law become the

concern of judges because they form
part of legal standards by which their
competence and diligence required by
the New Code of Judicial Conduct are
to be measured.