1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
TO LEGAL PHILOSOPHY
Amidst the cross currents and shifting sands of public life
the law is like a great ark upon which a man may set
his foot and be safe.
Lord Chancellor Sankey
Jus ars boni et aequi1
I.

INTRODUCTION
A.

LAW
Law is a rule of conduct, recognized by custom or
by formal enactment, which a community considers as
binding upon its members.2 The Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy calls law a complex social phenomenon and
is one of the most intricate aspects of human culture.
Law is normative in that it guides human conduct. But
it is not the only source of normative conduct for there
is also religion, morality, custom and convention. Law is
certainly connected with the other sources of normative
behavior but at the same time it is distinct from them.
In fact, religion, morality, equity, custom and societal
conventions are among the sources of law.

1
Law is justice and equity. Blacks Law Dictionary defines equity as fairness,
impartiality and evenhanded dealing; the body of principles constituting what is fair
and right; natural law.
2
The New International Websters Comprehensive Dictionary of the English
Language, E. Adamson Hoebel, a legal anthropologist, however, noted that the
search for a commonly accepted definition of law is as difficult as the search for the
Holy Grail.

LEGAL PHILOSOPHY FOR FILIPINOS:

A CASE STUDY APPROACH

The term law comes from Old English lagu (pl. laga)
meaning something laid down or fixed. It in turn comes
from Old Germanic lagan which means put or lay. Legal
comes from the Latin legalis, where lex (pl. leges) means
law. Thus, we have lex terrae, the law of the land; lex fori,
the law of the forum or court; lex loci, the law of the place;
lex mercatoria, the law or custom of merchants.
Cicero defines law as a natural force, the highest
reason, one implanted in Nature, which commands
what ought to be done and forbids the opposite. It is the
mind and reason of the intelligent man whose natural
function is to command right and forbid wrongdoing.3
Aquinas writes that [l]aw is a rule and measure of
[human] actspertaining to reason.4 When confronted
with the objection that law is not something pertaining
to reason, e.g. I see another law in my members,5 Aquinas
said that law is in all those things that are inclined
to something. Thus, the inclination of the members
to concupiscence, i.e. sexual desire, is called the law of
the members.6 Others insist it is will not reason that
moves people to act as they do. That law pertains not to
reason but to will: [w]hatever pleaseth the sovereign, has
the force of law. Aquinas says that for true will to be
lawful it has to be in accord with reason. If the will of the
sovereign would have the force of law it must be under the
command of reason, otherwise the sovereigns will would
savor of lawlessness rather than of law.7
The Supreme Court defines law as a rule established
to guide our actions, with no binding effect until it is
enacted; thus it has no application to past times but only
to future time.8 In its general and abstract sense, law is
the science of moral laws founded on the rational nature
of man that governs his free activity for the realization
of the individual and societal ends of life; in its specific

Cicero, Laws.
St. Thomas Aquinas, Treatise on Law, Gateway edition, p.3.
5
Romans 7:23.
6
Aquinas, supra.
7
Id.
8
Nilo v. Court of Appeals, 128 SCRA 524.
3
4

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO LEGAL PHILOSOPHY

and concrete sense it is a rule of conduct, just, obligatory,

formulated by legitimate power for common observance
and benefit.9
B.

DISSATISFACTION WITH THE LAW?

Indeed, the principal means for the regulation of
societal affairs is through law. Mans relationships and
dealings with his fellowmen would be chaotic without
the consciousness that law will be there guiding and
protecting each persons day to day affairs. When one
boards the jeepney, enters a restaurant, hires the services
of a carpenter or speaks before his colleagues, he or she is
doing so with the faith in laws abiding hand ever ready
to protect him. Yet, one often hears of comments not only
critical but cynical about the laws treatment of ordinary
people.
According to Weeramantry:
If growing lay disrespect is today nibbling
at the foundations of the law, the prime reason
is the failure of the law to communicate with
the layman. The layman sees his expectations
of justice belied in many an instance and with
each shortfall between the practical decision
and the ideal result, there follows a diminution
of respect, lowering the prestige of law and
lawyers alike.10
Among the accusations heaped on the practitioners
of law is some are not truly interested in the laws bedrock
principles of truth, fairness and justice. Rather, in their
egotistical quest to win cases they regard law practice
much like shady business deals which resort to influence
peddling or buying their way to victory. These are the
misguided ones, and true law would have no place for
them.

Lapitan v. Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, 60 O.G. 6841; 4 C.A.R. (2s)

704.
10
C.G. Weeramantry, The Law in Crisis: Bridges of Understanding, Capemoss,
London, 1975, p.3.

LEGAL PHILOSOPHY FOR FILIPINOS:

A CASE STUDY APPROACH

by
GIL MARVEL P. TABUCANON
LL.M. in Dispute Resolution
Fulbright Fellow

Law is the king of mortal and immortal beings.

Plutarch

Two things awe me most, the starry sky above and the moral
law within.
Immanuel Kant

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Philippine Copyright 2011

by

GIL MARVEL P. TABUCANON

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ii

DEDICATION
This work is dedicated to the Blessed Beauty, Bahaullah,
Prophet Founder of the Bahai Faith, whose teaching on the oneness
of mankind and the common foundation of all religions has inspired
me in my days.
O SON OF SPIRIT!

The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn

not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that
I may conde in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own
eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine
own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness.
Set it then before thine eyes.

Bahaullah, The Hidden Words

iii

iv

Nulli vendemus, nulli negabimus, nulli differemus

rectum vel justitiam.
(To none will we sell, to none deny or delay,
right or justice.)

Magna Carta, 1215

vi

PREFACE
Legal philosophy is not an easy subject to tackle; for that
matter, it is not usually in the law students top ten list of favorite
subjects. I base these observations from my more than seven years
of teaching the course. I will cite three reasons why legal philosophy
bafed law students in the past, and continues to do so at present
among todays supposedly cyber-smart students: 1) It is not a bar
subject; ergo, it must be a minor subject, 2) its study does not
help bring in ones rst million, and 3) legal philosophy is only for
philosophers inhabiting cloistered academic ivory towers.
The arguments are misplaced. True, legal philosophy is not a
bar subject. But so is legal research, or, strictly, legal writing. All
three subjects imbue skills to the bar candidate pervading through
in all the eight bar subjects and beyond. Imagine a lawyer who is
decient in legal research: where would he nd his law, and decisions
to bolster his argument, not to mention citations deconstructing
the fallacies of his opponent. Or a practitioner whose writing skills
amount at best to legal mumbo-jumbo, i.e., one who has no clue how
to present his thoughts on paper in simple, grammatically correct
and clear terms.
Legal philosophy equips students with outright skills in
questioning, analysis and the ability to look at the facts and law
from different viewpoints. The course teaches students how to
be broadminded, mindful of the essence of the rules rather than
merely sticking to their literal signication, for in the end it is the
letter that killeth and spirit that giveth life (2 Cor 3:6). It urges
one to introspect, to be critical even of ones own beliefs, for one is
not always right all the time, and truth may come from anyone
friend or foe regardless of his or her life status: Light is light
in whatever lamp it is shining, to paraphrase Abdul-Baha. Thus
a linear, one-track kind of mind so dangerously expressed in the
way some people act out their religious or political views would be
averted.
Granting arguendo that Legal Philosophy is an impractical
exercise that does not bring with it dollars or pesos. Yet, this line
vii

of thinking assumes that money is all there is. If one aspires for a
career in money-making, then business, not law is apt. The study of
law looks into principles beyond wealth or beyond might is right.
It looks into the determination of our rights under those principles
stronger than brute strength or raw power. Among these is the
principle of justice and fairness in our dealings with other people.
This is an elemental principle whose constant icker must always
reect in our laws. For without justice, society and its rules would
redound to tyranny and oppression.
Philosophy is not only for philosophers but for anyone who
cares to know and understand. As Will Durant says so much of our
lives is spent without meaning, teetering between vacillation and
futility. This need not be so, as life itself is a gold mine of meaning!
To nd that meaning is our meat and drink, to quote Browning.
Stripped of our non-essential concerns and petty pursuits, deep
down there is something in us that yearns to express a deep want:
we want to understand. We want to know what it is to be a good
person, a good citizen and member of the human society. We want to
know how our institutions work for us and how we can in turn help
our institutions. We want to follow an ordered life with rules we can
obey and respect not only for our generation but for generations to
come. Philosophy helps us come to grips with lifes basic questions.
Perchance we can come up with tentative answers.

GIL MARVEL P. TABUCANON

School of Law
Macquarie University Sydney
14 March 2011
gil.tabucanon@mq.edu.au

viii

CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Introduction to Legal Philosophy
I.

Introduction .......................................................................
A. Law ...........................................................................
B. Dissatisfaction with the law? ...................................
C. Are the following subject to the rule of law? ...........
D. Philosophy .................................................................
The Baby Theresa Case ...................................
E. Uses of Philosophy ....................................................
F. Legal Philosophy .......................................................
G. Five schools of jurisprudence ...................................
Naturalism .......................................................
Positivism .........................................................
Realism .............................................................
Formalism ........................................................
Critical Legal studies .......................................

1
1
3
4
5
7
10
12
14
14
14
15
15
16

Chapter 2
Nature of Law
I.

II.

Law as rules and process ..................................................

A. Law as rules ..............................................................
B. Law as process ..........................................................
Common characteristics of law .........................................
A. Obedience ..................................................................
B. Generality .................................................................
C. Promulgation ............................................................
D. The rule of law ..........................................................
Case Study:
Comparison between poor and excellent
legal systems .............................................................
E. Is international law true law? ..................................
Case study: Adolf Eichmann case ...................
ix

17
17
18
19
19
20
21
22

23
24
27

III. Law within religious dogma and tradition ......................

A. Code of Hammurabi ..................................................
B. John Calvin ...............................................................
C. Inquisition .................................................................
IV. Law and religion ................................................................
A. Jewish law .................................................................
1.
Torah.................................................................
2.
Mishnah ............................................................
3.
Responsa ...........................................................
Human rights in Jewish law.............................................
B. Islamic law ................................................................
Human rights in Islamic law ............................................
C. Canon law..................................................................
Human rights in canon law ..............................................
Case studies: Intersection of law and religion ........
V. Law as custom ...................................................................
A. Savignys doctrine of the historical school...............
B. Ehrlichs sociological approach into the
nature of law ....................................................
Case study: The Katarungang Pambarangay .........

28
28
29
30
31
31
31
32
32
33
34
36
37
38
40
43
43
44
46

Chapter 3
Ends and Effects of Law
Full Development of the Human Personality
A.
B.

Aristotle .....................................................................
Aquinas .....................................................................

49
51

Chapter 4
Ends and Effects of Law
Justice
Signicance of justice.................................................................
Aristotle on justice .....................................................................
Other denitions of justice ........................................................
Justice of obedience to a higher law..........................................
Social justice ...........................................................................
Case study: Calalang v. Williams .....................................

53
54
55
56
57
57

Chapter 5
Ends and Effects of Law
Wisdom and Law as Heuristic
A.

What is wisdom .................................................................

x

58

Case study: Abraham Lincoln...........................................

B. Platos view of law and wisdom ........................................
Law as heuristic .........................................................................

60
60
63

Chapter 6
Ends and Effects of Law
Equity
Equity .........................................................................................
Case study ..................................................................................
Equitable principles in international environmental law .......
1.
Common but differentiated responsibilities ............
2.
Sustainable development .........................................
3.
Intergenerational equity ..........................................
Case study: Oposa v. Factoran .................................

65
68
68
68
69
70
71

Chapter 7
Ends and Effects of Law
Human Rights
Human Rights ...........................................................................
Historical development ..............................................................
Concept of humanity ..................................................................
Human rights instruments........................................................
Case study: Primicias v. Fugoso .......................................

73
74
75
77
78

Chapter 8
Ends and Effects of Law
Equality
Equality
1.
2.
3.

...................................................................................
Common humanity ...................................................
Moral capacities ........................................................
Equality in unequal circumstances .........................
Case study: Villacencio v. Lukban ...........................

80
82
82
83
83

Chapter 9
Ends and Effects of Law
Equal Access Before the Law
Equal Access Before the Law ....................................................
xi

85

Positive discrimination ..............................................................

Case study: Domestic helpers in Singapore .....................

86
87

Chapter 10
Ends and Effects of Law
Liberalism
Concept ...................................................................................
Negative and Positive liberalism ..............................................
Case study: Chua-Qua v. Clave ........................................
Case study: Contract law and liberalism .........................

89
90
91
92

Chapter 11
Ends and Effects of Law
Morality
Concept ...................................................................................
Morality and law ........................................................................
Case study: Genocide in Rwanda .....................................
Morality and good manners.......................................................
Case study: Henry David Thoreau and Martin
Luther King...............................................................

93
94
94
97
97

Chapter 12
Kinds of Law
A.
B.
C.

Overview ...........................................................................
Divine and human law ......................................................
Natural and positive law ..................................................
Case study: Kripak case ....................................................
D. Criminal and civil law .......................................................
1.
Criminal law .............................................................
2.
Civil law ....................................................................
Common and civil law systems .................................................
A. Common law..............................................................
B. Civil law ....................................................................
Advantages and disadvantages .................................................
Role of the judge in common and civil law systems .................
A. Adversarial system ...................................................
B. Inquisitorial system ..................................................

xii

98
99
101
102
104
104
107
108
108
108
109
109
109
109

Chapter 13
Legal Philosophy Schools of Thought
Natural Law Theory
Natural Law Theory ..................................................................
A. Ius naturable .............................................................
B. Overlap thesis ...........................................................
C. Positivist view of law ................................................
Case study: Antigone ................................................
Arguments for natural law ........................................................
Arguments against natural law ................................................
Report of the Philippine Civil Code Commission .....................
Case study: Lawyers and morality ...................................

111
111
112
113
113
114
114
114
115

Chapter 14
Legal Philosophy Schools of Thought
Legal Positivism
Law and politics .........................................................................
Arguments for legal positivism .................................................
A. Separability thesis ....................................................
B. Is-ought fallacy .........................................................
Arguments against legal positivism .........................................
Austins command theory of law ...............................................
H.L.A. Harts rule of recognition ...............................................
Dworkins theory of adjudication ..............................................
Rules and principles ..........................................................
Soft positivism ...........................................................................
Hard positivism ..........................................................................
Case study: Nuremberg trials...........................................

117
118
118
119
119
119
120
121
121
122
122
123

Chapter 15
Legal Philosophy Schools of Thought
Legal Realism
Legal Realism ...........................................................................
Legal instrumentalism ..............................................................
Natural law and legal realism...................................................
Legal formalism and legal realism............................................
Discretion thesis.........................................................................

xiii

125
126
126
126
127

Prediction theory of law .............................................................

Judicial legislation .....................................................................
Case study: Estrella Alfon and the rst obscenity trial
in the Philippines ..............................................................
Paul Hopkinsons ag burning case in New Zealand ......

127
128
129
130

Chapter 16
Legal Philosophy Schools of Thought
Legal Formalism
Legal Formalism ........................................................................
Intentionalism and Textualism .................................................
Case study: Cayetano v. Monsod ......................................
Case study: Flag salute law ..............................................

131
132
133
135

Chapter 17
Various Moral Approaches
Ethical Relativism
Relativism
...........................................................................
Criticism ...........................................................................
Lessons on Relativism ...............................................................

137
139
140

Chapter 18
Various Moral Approaches
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism ...........................................................................
Utilitarianism and authority.....................................................
Act and Rule utilitarianism.......................................................
A. Act utilitarianism .....................................................
B. Rule utilitarianism ...................................................
Utilitarianism and law ..............................................................
Criticism ...........................................................................

141
142
143
143
143
144
145

Chapter 19
Sociology of Law
Functions of Law
Functions of law .........................................................................
A. Social control .............................................................
B. Dispute resolution ....................................................
C. Social change.............................................................
xiv

148
148
148
149

Chapter 20
Sociology of Law
Social Theories of Law ...............................................................
A. Eugen Ehrlich (1862-1922) ...............................................
B. mile Durkheim (1858-1917) ...........................................
C. Max Weber (1864-1920) ....................................................
D. Talcott Parsons (1902-1979) .............................................
E. Neo-Marxist views of law (1960s) ....................................

150
150
151
151
152
152

Chapter 21
Sociology of Law
Theories Why Law Came Into Being
A.
B.

Consensus theory ..............................................................

Conict theory ...................................................................

153
154

Chapter 22
Types of Justice
Introduction ...........................................................................
Justice as character and rule of action .....................................
Types of justice ...........................................................................
1.
Utilitarian justice .....................................................
2.
Retributive justice ....................................................
3.
Restorative justice ....................................................
4.
Distributive justice ...................................................
Case study: Ynot v. Intermediate
Appellate Court ................................................

156
157
157
157
158
158
158
162

Chapter 23
The Legal Philosophers
Plato
...................................................................................
Theory of forms ..........................................................................
Intuition ...................................................................................

163
166
166

Chapter 24
The Legal Philosophers
Aristotle ...................................................................................
Good ............................................................................................
xv

168
170

Doctrine of the mean..................................................................

Hexis (Habit) ...........................................................................
Virtues
...................................................................................
Law and equity...........................................................................

170
170
171
171

Chapter 25
The Legal Philosophers
St. Thomas Aquinas ...................................................................

173

Chapter 26
The Legal Philosophers
Thomas Hobbes ..........................................................................

176

Chapter 27
The Legal Philosophers
John Locke..................................................................................

179

Chapter 28
The Legal Philosophers
Charles de Montesquieu ............................................................

182

Chapter 29
The Legal Philosophers
Jean Jacques Rousseau .............................................................

185

Chapter 30
The Legal Philosophers
Immanuel Kant ..........................................................................

188

Chapter 31
The Legal Philosophers
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel ................................................
Case study: Term of ofce of the president ..............................

xvi

191
192