Dead Scholars’ Society: A Comparative Analysis on the Impact of Law Journals in

the Philippines Based on Dialectical Materialism

Studies indicate that globalization is potent in the Philippines in terms of trade, tourism
and labor. However, this success is not manifest in the field of education, much less in the field
of legal education. This is particularly so with respect to Philippine legal education. The legal
academia grapple with nescience when it comes to the production of legal works. Furthermore,
the Philippine courts and tribunals rarely even cite Philippine legal publications in their decisions
and other legal papers. They refer to international legal publications instead, thereby rendering
the significance of Philippine law journals so small as to be negligible.

Hence, this article argues that the non-usage of Philippine law journals by practitioners in
their legal practice is inimical to the high standards set by law schools because it enfeebles the
foundation of Philippine legal education. This article will examine the usage of law journals in
different countries, as well as in the Philippines, using a comparative analysis under the Marxist
lens, particularly, based on dialectical materialism. The first part of this article will discuss
globalization before narrowing into its effects on Phlippine legal education. The second part of
this article will then proceed to elucidate the purpose of writing law journals in general and how
different countries use these materials in their own jurisdiction. The third part of this article will be
a discussion on how law journals are being used in the Philippines as compared to different
countries. The fourth part will synthesize the comparisons and analyses made and define the
roles of politics and economy in influencing the Philippine legal education. For the final part, this
article recommends and encourages legal institutions to make Philippine law journals more
accessible to the public in order to foster the high quality of legal education in the Philippines.