Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Application
When a statute is ambiguous and capable of more than one construction, the statute will be given a
liberal interpretation so as to save the statute from obliteration.
By liberal construction, the court from the language used, the subject matter, and the purpose of the legislature
will be able to find out the true meaning of the statute.
Liberal construction is a legitimate exercise of judicial power.
Strict Construction
- Is that construction according to the letter of a statue, which recognizes nothing that is not expressed,
takes the language used in its meaning, and admits no equitable consideration.
- That the scope of a statute shall not be extended or enlarged by implication, intendment, or equitable
consideration beyond that literal meaning of its terms.
- Close and conservative adherence to the literal or textual interpretations.
Statutes in derogation of rights
- Rights are not absolute, and the State, in the exercise of its police power, may enact legislations
curtailing or restricting their enjoyment
- they are generally strictly construed and rigidly confined to cases clearly within their scope or purpose
- statutes in derogation of common or general rights, and are accordingly construed strictly.
Statutes prescribing formalities of wills
- are strictly construed
- this means that a will must be executed in accordance with the statutory requirements, otherwise it is
entirely void. And the court can neither suspend nor dispense with such requirements
- the court is seeking to ascertain and apply the intent of the legislators and not that of the testator, and the
latter’s intention is frequently defeated by the non-observance of what the statute requires.
Where a will consist of two pages and the last page had been duly signed by the testatrix and the three testimonial
witnesses who also signed the first page but the testatrix failed to sign the left margin of the first page, Held: that the will
was not executed in accordance with law. Section 618 of Act 190, as amended, requires that the testator sign the will and
each and every page thereof in the presence of the testator and of each other, which requirement should be expressed in
the attestation clause. This requirement is mandatory, for failure to comply with it is fatal to the validity of the will
(Rodriguez vs. Alcala, 55 Phil., 150). It has been held that "statutes prescribing the formalities to be observed in the
execution of wills are very strictly construed.
FEDERATION OF FREE FARMERS v CA, G.R. No. 41161, September 10, 1981
• Statutes are prospectively construed unless retroactive operation is clearly shown in the language used
• Statutes have no retroactive effect unless otherwise provided therein
• Laws which have retroactive application – Penal laws, provided in Article 22 of the RPC, curative laws
Remedial statutes or statutes relating to remedies or modes of procedure, which do not create new or
take away vested rights, but only operate in furtherance of the remedy or confirmation of rights already
existing, do not come within the legal conception of a retroactive law, or the general rule against
retroactive operation of statutes. Statutes regulating the procedure of the courts will be construed as
applicable to actions pending and undetermined at the time of their passage. Procedural laws are
retroactive in that sense and to that extent.
- Resident Marine Mammals and Stewards V Reyes, GR 180771, April 21, 2015
PARTICULAR RULES OF CONSTRUCTION
Ratio legis
- The principle states that a thing which is within the intention of the stature is as much within the statute
as if it were within the letter, and a thing which is within the letter of the statute is not within the statute
unless it be within the intention of the lawmaker, and the statute should be so construed as to effectuate
its intent or purpose, advance the remedy or suppress the mischief contemplated by the framers.
- Interpretation according to the spirit or reason of the law
Mens legislatoris – considering the intention of the law maker; Courts look into the object to be accomplished,
the evils and mischiefs to be remedied, or the purpose to be subserved
Francisco, Jr. v HR
During the oral arguments before this Court, Father Bernas claried that the word
"initiate," appearing in the constitutional provision on impeachment, viz:
Art. 32. Effects of the penalties of perpetual or temporary special disqualification for the
exercise of the right of suffrage. — The perpetual or temporary special disqualification for
the exercise of the right of suffrage shall deprive the offender perpetually or during the term
of the sentence, according to the nature of said penalty, of the right to vote in any popular
election for any public office or to be elected to such office. Moreover, the offender shall not
be permitted to hold any public office during the period of disqualification.
Doctrine of Collocation
- While the collocation of words and phrases in a statute is sometimes an aid in the construction thereof,
faulty collocation will not vitiate a statute where meaning can be clearly discovered. A transposition of words
may be resorted to when the sentence of clause is without meaning as it stands.
- Also reddendo singular singulis
Read Calderon V Carale, GR 91636, April 23, 1992 (fuck you, belle!)
Noscitur a sociis
- States that where a particular word or phrase is ambiguous in itself or is equally susceptible of various
meanings, its correct construction may be made clear ad specific by considering the company of words
in which it is found or with which it is associated.
- Where a particular word is obscure or of doubtful meaning, taken by itself, the obscurity or doubt may
be removed by reference to the meaning of associated or companion words. And where the law does not
define a word used therein, it will be construed as having a meaning similar to that of words associated
with or accompanied by it.
The word "perpetually" and the phrase "during the term of the sentence" should be applied
distributively to their respective antecedents; thus, the word "perpetually" refers to the
perpetual kind of special disqualification, while the phrase "during the term of the sentence"
refers to the temporary special disqualification. The duration between the perpetual and the
temporary (both special) are necessarily different because the provision, instead of merging
their durations into one period, states that such duration is "according to the nature of said
penalty" — which means according to whether the penalty is the perpetual or the temporary
special disqualification.
Causus omissus
- A person, object or thing omitted from an enumeration must be held to have been omitted intentionally.
- Operates and applies only if and when the omission has been clearly established, and in such a case what
is omitted in the enumeration may not, by construction, be included therein.
Intrinsic Aids,
Apart from the language of the constitution as the primary and intrinsic aid of constitutional construction, courts
likewise resort to such extraneous aids as the history of realities existing at the time of the adoption of the
constitution, proceedings of the convention, changes in phraseology, prior laws and judicial decisions,
contemporaneous construction, and consequences of alternative interpretations, to shed light on and ascertain the
true intent or purpose of the provision being construed.
Those aids taken from the statute itself in determining the meaning and the intention of the legislature, its
context, language, title, preamble ant the like.
The context or language surrounding or accompanying the sections, clauses and provisions, as well
as the particular words or phrases employed.
SWS & Pulse Asia v COMELEC
Matibag V Benipayo
Punctuations - Punctuation marks are NOT allowed to control, enlarge or restrict the plain and
evident meaning of the legislature as disclosed by the language employed, and if there is no
doubt as to the meaning except that arising from erroneous or defective punctuation, the
courts will disregard the punctuation and read the statute as in correctly punctuated. And if
the statute is open to two constructions and there is nothing to show which one was intended by the
legislature, except the punctuation, and if the punctuation would support one of such constructions
but would be inconsistent with the other; the punctuation will govern.
Period
Hyphen
Contemporaneous circumstances –
Legislative history – steps towards the enactment of the law, e.g. sponsorship speech
Ejercito v COMELEC - comp
When the intent of the law is not apparent as worded, or when the application of the law would lead to
absurdity, impossibility or injustice, extrinsic aids of statutory construction may be resorted to such as the
legislative history of the law for the purpose of solving doubt, and that courts may take judicial notice of the origin
and history of the law, the deliberations during the enactment, as well as prior laws on the same subject matter in
order to ascertain the true intent or spirit of the law.
President’s Message to the Legislature – SONA: proposal of priority bills and its reasons, doesn’t constitute
violation of separation of powers since its is a valid exercise of blending of powers (co-equal, independent,
coordinate)
Explanatory Note
Federation of Farmers V CA
- An explanatory note as to 'The necessity for increasing the share of the planters and the laborers in the
income derive from the sugar industry for its stabilization…
-
Reports and recommendations of legislative committees
Legislative debates, views and deliberations
Poe v COMELEC
Public Policy - It is presumed that the legislature have intended its enactment to accord with the principles of
sound public policy and the interests of public morality and not to violate them
Construction by executive officers - Is the construction placed upon the statute by an executive or
administrative officer.
- The first to construe is the president; president’s construction is not binding but valid
All, any, every – whether used in its universal or comprehensive sense or merely as a general term depends
upon the demands of sound reason
- a restrictive interpretation
- word of inclusion
-
Gatchalian v COMELEC
“any election” referring to elections, even election to the constitutional commission
Etcetera
Grammar
Punctuation - Not allowed to control, enlarge or restrict the plain and evident meaning of the legislators
as disclosed by the language employed
- If there is no doubt as to the meaning except that arising from erroneous or defective punctuation, the
courts will disregard the punctuation and read the statute as in correctly punctuated
- If statute is open to two constructions and there is nothing to show which one was intended by the
legislature, except the punctuation, and if the punctuation would support one of such constructions but
would be inconsistent with the other, the punctuation will govern
Moreno v COMELEC
Tense
Gender
Name
Gatchalian v COMELEC
Chavez v JBC
Inaccuracies, inadvertence or clerical errors
Chavez v JBC
Foreign Language