Judicial

Department
Article VIII of the
1987 Philippine
Constitution
Judicial Department
The Judicial Department in the
Constitution allows the Supreme
Court and other courts to use their
power to make sure people's rights
are protected and disputes are
settled fairly. This power, called
judicial power, also lets courts
check if the government or its
parts have gone beyond their limits
or misused their authority.
01 Section 1
The judicial power shall be vested in one
Supreme Court and in such lower courts as
may be established by law.

Judicial power includes the duty of the

courts of justice to settle actual
controversies involving rights which are
legally demandable and enforceable, and to
determine whether or not there has been a
grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack
or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any
branch or instrumentality of the
Government.
 02 Section 2
The Congress shall have the power
to define, prescribe, and apportion
the jurisdiction of the various
courts but may not deprive the
Supreme Court of its jurisdiction
over cases enumerated in Section 5
hereof.

No law shall be passed

reorganizing the Judiciary when it
undermines the security of tenure
of its Members.
03 Section 3
The Judiciary shall enjoy fiscal
autonomy. Appropriations for the
Judiciary may not be reduced by
the legislature below the amount
appropriated for the previous
year and, after approval, shall be
automatically and regularly
released.
04 Section 4
1.) The Supreme Court shall
be composed of a Chief
Justice and fourteen
Associate Justices. It may sit
en banc or in its discretion,
in division of three, five, or
seven Members. Any vacancy
shall be filled within ninety
days from the occurrence
Continuation of Section
4
2.) All cases involving the constitutionality of a treaty,
international or executive agreement, or law, which
shall be heard by the Supreme Court en banc, and all
other cases which under the Rules of Court are
required to be heard en banc, including those involving
the constitutionality, application, or operation of
presidential decrees, proclamations, orders,
instructions, ordinances, and other regulations, shall be
decided with the concurrence of a majority of the
Members who actually took part in the deliberations on
the issues in the case and voted thereon.
Continuation of
Section 4
3.) Cases or matters heard by a division shall be
decided or resolved with the concurrence of a
majority of the Members who actually took part in the
deliberations on the issues in the case and voted
thereon, and in no case without the concurrence of at
least three of such Members. When the required
number is not obtained, the case shall be decided en
banc: Provided, that no doctrine or principle of law
laid down by the court in a decision rendered en banc
or in division may be modified or reversed except by
the court sitting en banc.
05 Section 5
The Supreme Court shall
have the following
:powers

Exercise original ).1

jurisdiction over cases
affecting ambassadors, other
public ministers and consuls,
and over petitions for
certiorari, prohibition,
mandamus, quo warranto,
.and habeas corpus
Continuation of Section 5

Review, revise, reverse, modify, or affirm on ).2

appeal or certiorari, as the law or the Rules of
Court may provide, final judgments and orders
:of lower courts in

a.) All cases in which the constitutionality or

validity of any treaty, international or executive
agreement, law, presidential decree,
proclamation, order, instruction, ordinance, or
regulation is in question.
Continuation of Section 5
b.) All cases involving the legality of any tax, impost,
assessment, or toll, or any penalty imposed in relation
thereto.

c.) All cases in which the jurisdiction of any lower court

is in issue.

d.) All criminal cases in which the penalty imposed is

reclusion perpetua or higher.

e.) All cases in which only an error or question of law is

Continuation of Section 5

Assign temporarily judges of lower courts to ).3

other stations as public interest may require.
Such temporary assignment shall not exceed
six months without the consent of the judge
.concerned

Order a change of venue or place of trial to ).4

.avoid a miscarriage of justice
Continuation of Section 5
Promulgate rules concerning the protection and ).5
enforcement of constitutional rights, pleading,
practice, and procedure in all courts, the admission to
the practice of law, the integrated bar, and legal
assistance to the under-privileged. Such rules shall
provide a simplified and inexpensive procedure for the
speedy disposition of cases, shall be uniform for all
courts of the same grade, and shall not diminish,
increase, or modify substantive rights. Rules of
procedure of special courts and quasi-judicial bodies
shall remain effective unless disapproved by the
Continuation of Section 5

Appoint all officials and employees of the ).6

Judiciary in accordance with the Civil Service
.Law
06 Section 6
The Supreme Court shall
have administrative
supervision over all courts
and the personnel thereof.
07 Section 7
No person shall be appointed ).1
Member of the Supreme Court or
any lower collegiate court unless
he is a natural-born citizen of the
Philippines. A Member of the
Supreme Court must be at least
forty years of age, and must have
been for fifteen years or more, a
judge of a lower court or engaged
in the practice of law in the
.Philippines
Continuation of
Section 7
2.) The Congress shall prescribe the
qualifications of judges of lower courts, but no
person may be appointed judge thereof unless he
is a citizen of the Philippines and a member of
the Philippine Bar.

3.) A Member of the Judiciary must be a person

of proven competence, integrity, probity, and
independence.
08 Section 8
1.) A Judicial and Bar Council is
hereby created under the
supervision of the Supreme Court
composed of the Chief Justice as ex
officio Chairman, the Secretary of
Justice, and a representative of the
Congress as ex officio Members, a
representative of the Integrated
Bar, a professor of law, a retired
Member of the Supreme Court, and
a representative of the private
Continuation of
Section 8
2.) The regular members of the Council shall be
appointed by the President for a term of four years with
the consent of the Commission on Appointments. Of the
Members first appointed, the representative of the
Integrated Bar shall serve for four years, the professor
of law for three years, the retired Justice for two years,
and the representative of the private sector for one
year.

3.) The Clerk of the Supreme Court shall be the

Secretary ex officio of the Council and shall keep a
Continuation of
Section 8
4.) The regular Members of the Council shall
receive such emoluments as may be determined by
the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court shall
provide in its annual budget the appropriations for
the Council.

5.) The Council shall have the principal function of

recommending appointees to the judiciary. It may
exercise such other functions and duties as the
Supreme Court may assign to it.
09 Section 9
The Members of the Supreme Court
and judges of lower courts shall be
appointed by the President from a
list of at least three nominees
preferred by the Judicial and Bar
Council for every vacancy. Such
.appointments need no confirmation

For the lower courts, the President

shall issued the appointment within
ninety days from the submission of
.the list
 Section
10
10
The salary of the Chief
Justice and of the Associate
Justices of the Supreme
Court, and of judges of
lower courts shall be fixed
by law. During the
continuance in office, their
salary shall not be
decreased.
11 Section 11
The Members of the Supreme Court and
judges of the lower court shall hold
office during good behavior until they
reach the age of seventy years or
become incapacitated to discharge the
duties of their office. The Supreme
Court en banc shall have the power to
discipline judges of lower courts, or
order their dismissal by a vote of
majority of the Members who actually
took part in the deliberations on the
.issues in the case and voted in thereon
 Section
12
12
The Members of the
Supreme Court and of
other courts established by
law shall not be designated
to any agency performing
quasi-judicial or
administrative function.
13 Section 13
The conclusions of the Supreme Court in any
case submitted to it for the decision en banc
or in division shall be reached in
consultation before the case the case
assigned to a Member for the writing of the
opinion of the Court. A certification to this
effect signed by the Chief Justice shall be
issued and a copy thereof attached to the
record of the case and served upon the
parties. Any Member who took no part, or
dissented, or abstained from a decision or
resolution must state the reason therefor.
The same requirements shall be observed by
.all lower collegiate court
 Section
14
14
No decision shall be rendered by
any court without expressing
therein clearly and distinctly the
facts and the law on which it is
based.

No petition for review or motion for

reconsideration of a decision of the
court shall be refused due course or
denied without stating the legal
15 Section 15
All cases or matters filed after ).1
the effectivity of this Constitution
must be decided or resolved
within twenty-four months from
date of submission for the
Supreme Court, and, unless
reduced by the Supreme Court,
twelve months for all lower
collegiate courts, and three
.months for all other lower courts
Continuation of
Section 15
2.) A case or matter shall be deemed submitted for
decision or resolution upon the filing of the last pleading,
brief, or memorandum required by the Rules of Court or
by the court itself.

3.) Upon the expiration of the corresponding period, a

certification to this effect signed by the Chief Justice or the
presiding judge shall forthwith be issued and a copy
thereof attached to the record of the case or matter, and
served upon the parties. The certification shall state why a
decision or resolution has not been rendered or issued
Continuation of
Section 15
4.) Despite the expiration of the applicable
mandatory period, the court, without prejudice to
such responsibility as may have been incurred in
consequence thereof, shall decide or resolve the
case or matter submitted thereto for
determination, without further delay.
 Section
16
16
The Supreme Court shall,
within thirty days from the
opening of each regular
session of the Congress,
submit to the President and
the Congress an annual
report on the operations
and activities of the
Judiciary.
Thank you
for listening!
:Reporters
.Halani, Shaima S
.Cabalida, Heart Lhoraelle L
.Suyom, Jaspher P