CONSTI LAW I

constitution

a written instrument enacted by direct action of the people by which the fundamental powers of the government are established, limited, and defined, and by which those powers are distributed among the several departments for their safe and useful exercise for the benefit of the body politic

police power

inherent authority of the government to enact and enforce laws and regulations to protect the public’s health, safety, morals, and general welfare

eminent domain

power of a sovereign state to appropriate private property to particular uses to promote public welfare

just compensation

full and fair equivalent of the property taken from the private owner by the expropriator

taxation

power by which the sovereign, through its law-making body, raises revenue to defray the necessary expenses of government

congressional oversight

power of the legislative branch to review, monitor, and supervise the executive branch, federal agencies, and policy implementation to ensure accountability and compliance with the law

doctrine of separation of powers

each department of the government has exclusive cognizance of matters within its jurisdiction, and is supreme within its own sphere

principle of blending of powers

when powers are not confined exclusively within one department but are assigned to or shared by several departments

doctrine of incorporation

rules of international law form part of the law of the land and no further legislative action is needed to make such rules applicable in the domestic sphere

doctrine of transformation

generally accepted rules of international law are not per se binding upon the state but must first be embodied in legislation enacted by the lawmaking body and so transformed into municipal law

doctrine of checks and balance

allows one department to resist encroachments upon its prerogatives or to rectify mistakes or excesses committed by the other departments

doctrine of state immunity

all states are sovereign equals and cannot assert jurisdiction over one another, consonant with the public international law principle of par in parem non habeat imperium

par in parem non habeat imperium

equals have no sovereignty or authority over one another

express consent

• general law

• special law

implied consent

when the state commences litigation, it becomes vulnerable to counterclaim

democracy

government by the people, either directly or through representatives

republicanism

the adoption of a representative type of government, necessary points to the enfranchised citizen as a particle of popular sovereignty and as the ultimate source of the established authority

social justice

neither communism, nor despotism, nor atomism, nor anarchy but the humanization of laws and the equalization of social and economic forces by the state so that justice in its rational and objectively secular conception may at least be approximated

elements of a state

• sovereignty

• territory

• people

• government

internal sovereignty

ability of the state itself to have its will imposed and followed by all those within its jurisdiction

external sovereignty

independence from outside authority

people’s initiative

amendments to this constitution may likewise be directly proposed by the people through initiative upon a petition of at least twelve per centum of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least three per centum of the registered voters therein. no amendment under this section shall be authorized within five years following the ratification of this constitution nor oftener than once every five years thereafter

initiative

power of the people to propose amendments to the constitution or to propose and enact legislations through an election called for the purpose

amendments

a change that adds, reduces, or deletes, without altering the basic principle in the constitution involved

revisions

a change that alters a basic principle in the constitution

referendum

power of the electorate to approve or reject a piece of legislation through an election called for the purpose

plebiscite

electoral process by which an initiative on the constitution is approved or rejected by the people

constituent assembly (congress)

upon a vote of 3/4 of all its members

constitutional convention

which may be called by congress by a vote of 2/3 of all its members or, by a majority vote of all its members, submit to the electorate the question of calling such a convention

people’s initiative

section 2, article XVII of the 1987 constitution

archipelagic doctrine

emphasizes the unity of land and waters by defining an archipelago either as a group of islands surrounded by waters or a body of water studded with islands

territorial sea

• 12 nautical miles from baseline

• the philippines may exercise its sovereignty within its territorial sea

contiguous zone

• up to 24 nautical miles from the edge of territorial sea

• the coastal state may exercise the control necessary to prevent and punish infringement, committed within its territory or territorial sea, of the following laws and regulations

exclusive economic zone

• up to 200 nautical miles from baseline

• gives the coastal state sovereign rights overall economic resources of the sea, sea-bed and subsoil in an area extending not more than 200 nautical miles beyond the baseline from which the territorial sea is measured

regalian doctrine

all lands of whatever classification and other natural resources not otherwise appearing to be clearly within private ownership belong to the state

public trust doctrine

• it speaks of an imposed duty upon the state and its representative of continuing over the taking and use of appropriated water

• in effect, parties who acquired rights in trust property only hold these rights subject to the trust and, therefore, could assert no vested right to use those rights in a manner harmful to the trust

citizens

• a man who shared in the administration of justice and in the holding of office

• a member of a free city or jural society, possessing all the rights and privileges which can be enjoyed by any person under its constitution and government, and subject to the corresponding duties

residents

one who has his residence in a place

modes of acquiring citizenship

1. by birth

2. by naturalization

3. by marriage

natural born citizens

those who are citizens of the philippines from birth without having to perform any act to acquire or perfect their philippine citizenship

naturalized citizens

those who have become filipino citizens through naturalization

naturalization

the act of formally adopting a foreigner into the political body of a nation by clothing him or her with the privileges of a citizen

direct naturalization

• citizenship acquired by:

  • special act of legislature

  • individual, through judicial or administrative proceedings

  • collective change of nationality, as a result of cession or subjugation

  • in some cases, by adoption of orphan minors as nationals of the state where they are born

derivative naturalization

• citizenship conferred on:

  • wife of naturalized husband

  • alien woman upon marriage to a national

  • minor children of naturalized person

doctrine of indelible allegiance

an individual may be compelled to retain his original nationality even if he has already renounced or forfeited it under the laws of the second state whose nationality he has acquired

jus sanguinis

on the basis of blood relationship

jus soli

on the basis of the place of birth

dual citizenship

involuntary. arises when, as a result of concurrent application of the different laws of two or more states, a person is simultaneously considered a citizen of both said states

dual allegiance

voluntary. to the situation where a person simultaneously owes, by some positive act, loyal to two or more states

suffrage

the right and obligation of qualified citizens to vote in the election of certain local and national officers and in the determination of questions submitted to the people

domicile

place where one actually or constructively has his permanent home, where he, no matter where he may be found at any given time, eventually intends to return and remain

residence

• implies factual relationship of an individual to a certain place

• it is the physical presence of a person in a given area, community or country

parens patriae

• parent of the country

• while parents have the primary role in raising a child, “when actions concerning the child have a relation to the public welfare or the well-being of the child, the state may act to promote these legitimate interests”, especially in cases that may bring harm to a child or to public safety

doctrine of constitutional supremacy

the constitution is the basic and paramount law to which all other laws must conform and to which all persons, including the highest officials of the land, must defer

verba legis

• the words of the law

• words used in the constitution must be given their ordinary meaning

  • xpn:

    • the use of technical terms

ratio legis est anima

• the reason of the law is the soul of the law

• the spirit rather than the intent of the law

• the intent of the framers of the organic law and of the people adopting it should be given effect

ut magis valeat quam pereat

• it is better for a thing to have effect than to be made void

• the constitution should be interpreted as a whole

delegata potestas non potest delegari

what has been delegated can no longer be delegated

completeness test

law must be complete in itself, setting forth therein the policy to be executed, carried out, or implemented by the delegate

sufficiency standard test

law must fix a standard, the limits of which are sufficiently determinate or determinable, to which the delegate must conform in the performance of his functions

pacta sunt servanda

• agreements must be kept

• a fundamental international law principle that requires agreeing parties to comply with their treaty obligations in good faith

doctrine of benevolent neutrality

• legal principle that refers to the state's obligation to accommodate the free exercise of religion while maintaining its neutral stance towards all religions

• this principle recognizes that religious freedom may sometimes require state accommodation, even if that means adjusting otherwise neutral laws

filipino first policy

in the grant of rights, privileges, and concessions covering the national economy and patrimony, the state shall give preference to qualified filipinos

laissez-faire principle

minimal or no government interference in business and the free market

recall

mode of removal of an elective public officer by the people after 1 year of assuming the office and not later than 1 year before the end of his term of office

theory of popular sovereignty

political doctrine according to which government should be created by and subject to the will of the people

straight archipelagic baseline

archipelagic states may draw straight baselines by joining the outermost points of the outermost islands and drying reefs of the archipelago

res communes

• common things / belonging to everyone

• owned by everybody, their use of enjoyment is given to all mankind

writ of kalikasan

• a special civil action for the protection, preservation, and rehabilitation of the environment

• the magnitude of environmental damage extends to the life, health, or property of inhabitans of two or more cities or provinces

writ of continuing mandamus

• a special civil action to compel performance of an act specifically enjoined by law

• allows the court to retain jurisdiction after judgment to ensure successful implementation of the reliefs mandated in the court’s decision

people/population

mass of individuals who constitute the state

state

being composed of such persons who would be adequate in number to achieve a self-sufficient existence

election

means by which people choose their officials for a definite and fixed period and to whom they entrust for the time being the exercise of the powers of government