STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION

I. LAW, ITS CONCEPT AND CLASSIFICATIONS

a. Definition of law

b. Definition of a statute

c. Sources of law

d. How are laws enacted?

i. Procedural requirements
ii. Sec. 26-27, Art. VI, 1987 Constitution
iii. Presidents role in the lawmaking process
1. Veto
2. Override of the veto

e. Parts of a statute
i. Preamble
ii. Title
iii. Enacting clause
iv. Body
v. Separability clause
vi. Repealing clause
vii. Effectivity clause

f. Enrolled bill theory

i. Legislative journals
ii. Enrolled bill
iii. Withdrawal of signatures by the Speaker and the Senate President

g. Executive rule making power

i. Presidential issuances
1. Ordinance power of the President under the Administrative
Code of 1987
ii. Administrative issuances

h. Supreme Court rule making power

i. Sec. 5 (5), Art. VIII, 1987 Constitution

i. Law making power of Local Government Units

i. Sec. 49, RA 7160
ii. Process
1. Sec. 50, RA 7160

j. Validity of a Statute
i. Presumption of constitutionality
ii. Constitutional challenge
1. Legal standing
2. Timeliness
3. Justiciability
4. Lis Mota
 iii. Effects of unconstitutionality
1. Two views
2. Operative fact doctrine
3. Partial invalidity

k. Effect and operation of laws

i. Sec. 18, Chapter 5, Book I, Administrative Code of 1987
ii. Tanada v. Tuvera, G.R. No. L-63915

II. CONSTRUCTION AND INTERPRETATION

a. Definition of construction
i. Construction v. interpretation
ii. Purpose of construction

b. Power to construe
i. Judicial function
1. Legislative interpretation or construction
2. Executive interpretation or construction
ii. When can the court construe a statute?
1. Definition of ambiguity
2. Unambiguous statute
a. Verba legis
3. Effect of interpretation or construction for the first time
a. Non-retroactivity of Supreme Court decisions
4. Modification of a previous interpretation or construction
iii. Limitations on the power to construe
1. The courts cannot enlarge a statute
2. Political question doctrine

III. AIDS TO CONSTRUCTION

a. Title of a Statute
i. When not authorized

b. Preamble

c. Context of whole text

d. Punctuation marks

e. Capitalization of letters

f. Headnotes or epigraphs

g. Lingual text

h. Intent or spirit of the law

i. Policy of law

j. Purpose of law
 k. Dictionaries

l. Presumptions

m. Legislative history
i. Definition
ii. Presidents message
iii. Explanatory note
iv. Legislative debates
v. Reports of commissions
vi. Prior laws
vii. Amendment history
viii. Adopted statutes
ix. Conditions at the time of enactment

n. Contemporary construction
i. Executive
ii. Legislative
iii. Judiciary

IV. ADHERRENCE TO, OR DEPARTURE FROM, LANGUAGE OF STATUTE

a. Literal interpretation
i. Dura lex sed lex

b. Departure from literal interpretation

i. Spirit of the law
ii. Intent over literal meaning
iii. Construction against absurdity
iv. Construction in favor of justice
v. Construction to protect public interest

c. Implications
i. Doctrine of necessary implication
ii. Remedy implied from a right
iii. Incidental powers
iv. Illegality of act implied from prohibition
v. What cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly

V. INTERPRETATION OF WORDS AND PHRASES

a. In general
i. Statutory definition
ii. Ordinary meaning
iii. Construction of general words
iv. Generic terms
v. Words with commercial or trade meaning
vi. Words with technical or legal meaning
vii. Repeated words or phrases
viii. Construction in relation to other provisions
ix. Contextual construction
x. Where the law does not distinguish, the courts should also not
distinguish
 xi. Disjunctive or conjunctive words

b. Associated words
i. Noscitur a sociis
1. Caranadng v. Santiago, G.R. No. L-8238
ii. Ejusdem generis
1. Mutuc v. COMELEC, G.R. No. L-32717
2. Limitations
iii. Expression unius est exclusion alterius
1. Application
2. Limitation
iv. Casus omissus pro omisso habendus est
v. Doctrine of last antecedent
vi. Reddendo singula singulis

c. Provisos, exceptions and saving clauses

i. Provisos
ii. Exceptions
1. Exceptions v. provisos
iii. Saving clause

VI. STATUE CONSTRUED AS A WHOLE AND IN RELATION TO OTHER

STATUTES

a. Holistic construction
i. Reconciling conflicting provisions

b. Construction in relation to the constitution and other statutes

i. Where harmonization is impossible

c. General and special statutes

d. Adoption of contemporaneous construction

VII. STRICT OR LIBERAL CONSTRUCTION

a. Statutes strictly construed

i. What statues are construed strictly as a rule

b. Statutes liberally construed

i. What statutes are construed liberally as a rule

VIII. MANDATORY AND DIRECTORY STATUTES

a. Mandatory statutes

b. Directory statutes

IX. PROSPECTIVE AND RETROACTIVE STATUTES

a. Statutes given prospective effect

i. Ex post facto law
ii. Bill of attainder
 b. Statues given retroactive effect

X. AMENDMENT, REVISION, CODIFICATION, AND REPEAL

a. Amendments

b. Revisions and codification

c. Repeal

XI. CONSTITUTIONAL CONSTRUCTION

a. History

b. Aids to construction