CHAPTER VI - B

STATUTE CONSTRUED
in relation to
CONSTITUTION and
other
STATUTES
GARCIA, Julie
Ann Joy E.
JD 1-2

Statute construed in harmony

with the Constitution
The statute should be construed in
harmony with, and not in violation
of the fundamental law.
A statute should be construed
whenever possible in a manner
that will avoid conflict with the
Constitution.

Statute construed in harmony

with the Constitution
If a statute is reasonably
susceptible
of
two
constructions,
one
constitutional and the other
unconstitutional,
that
construction, in favor of its
constitutionality
shall
be
adopted, and the construction

Statute construed in harmony

with the Constitution

The Court cannot, in order to

bring a statute within the
fundamental law, amend it by
construction.

Statutes in pari materia

It applies when the statutes
relate to:
a.same purpose or object; or
b.cover the same specific
particular subject matter

or

How statutes in pari materia

construed?
RULE:

Interpretare et concordare
leges legibus est optimus
interpretandi modus
Every statute must be so construed
and harmonized with other statutes
as to form a uniform system of
jurisprudence.

How statutes in pari materia

construed?
In construction of statutes, it is
the duty of the court to:
a. to harmonize and reconcile the
statutes
b. to adopt a construction of a
statutory provision

How statutes in pari materia construed?

Statutes in pari materia should be

construed together to attain the
purpose of an express national policy.
For the assumption is that whenever
the legislature enacts a law, it has in
mind the previous statutes relating to
the same subject matter.
In the absence of any express repeal
or amendment, the new statute is
deemed enacted in accord with the
legislative policy embodied in those

Reasons why laws on same

subject are reconciled
The legislature is presumed to have
been aware of, and have taken into
account, prior laws on the subject of
legislation.
In construing the statutes, the old
statutes relating to the same matter
should be compared with the new
provisions
and
if
possible,
by
reasonable construction, both should
be construed that affect may be given

Where harmonization is
impossible
If two or more laws on the same
subject
cannot
possibly
be
reconciled or harmonized, one has
to give way in favor of the other.

There
cannot
be
two
conflicting laws on the same
subject

Illustration of the Rule

1.Mayor shall hold office for four
years unless sooner removed.
The phrase, unless sooner removed
should be read in relation to removal
statutes and construed to mean that
the mayor cannot be removed
during his term except for cause
as provided by law and after due
process, since the legislature is
presumed to have such removal

Illustration of the Rule

2. King v. Hernaez
It was held that RA 1180 known as
Retail Trade Nationalization Act,
implies that the nationalization of the
retail trade is merely confined to its
ownership and not to management,
control or operation.
This apparent flaw in the law cannot
be availed of by an unscrupulous alien
as a convenient pretext to flout the
law or subvert its nationalistic

GENERAL and SPECIAL STATUTES

GENERAL STATUTE
is a statute which applies to all
of the people of the state or to
all of a particular class of
persons in the state with equal
force

GENERAL and SPECIAL STATUTES

SPECIAL STATUTE
is one which relates to particular
persons or things of a class or to
a particular portion or section of
the state only

GENERAL and SPECIAL STATUTES

A general law and a special law

on the same subject are
statutes in pari materia and
should, accordingly, be read
together and harmonized, if
possible, with a view to giving
effect to both.

GENERAL and SPECIAL STATUTES

RULE:
Where there are two acts, one of
which is special and particular and the
other general which, if standing alone,
would include the same matter and
thus conflict with the special act, the
special must prevail since it evinces
the legislative intent more clearly
than that of a general statute and
must be taken as intended to

Reason for the Rule

The reason for the rule that a
special law is considered an
exception to the general law
on the same subject is that the
legislature in passing a law of
special
character
has
its
attention
directed
to
the
special
facts
and
circumstances
which
the

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE RULE

GENERAL RULE:
The general law must yield to the
special law in the specific and
particular subject embraced in the
latter, irrespective of the date of
passage of the special law

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE RULE

EXCEPTIONS:
1. Where
the
legislature
clearly
intended
the
later
general
enactment to cover the whole
subject and to repeal all prior laws
inconsistent therewith, the general
law prevails over a special law on
the subject.
2. Where the special law merely
establishes a general rule while the
general law creates a specific and

REFERENCE STATUTES
It is a statute which refers to
other statutes and makes them
applicable to the subject of
legislation

SUPPLEMENTAL STATUTES
It is one intended to supply
deficiencies in an existing
statute
and
to
add,
to
complete,
or
extend
the
statute without changing or
modifying its original text.

REENACTED STATUTES
It is a statute which reenacts a
previous
statute
or
the
provisions.
A reenactment is one in which
the provisions of an earlier
statute are reproduced in the
same or substantially the same
words.

ADOPTION OF CONTEMPORANEOUS
CONSTRUCTION
The reenactment of a statute
which has received a practical or
contemporaneous construction by
those charged with the duty of
executing it, is a persuasive
indication of the adoption by the
legislature of the prior practical or
executive
construction,
the
legislature being presumed to

QUALIFICATION OF THE RULE

The rule applies only when the
statute is capable of the
construction given to it and
when that construction has
become a settle rule of
conduct.

ADOPTED STATUTES
It is a statute patterned after,
or copied from a statute of a
foreign country.

RESOURCES
Agpalo, Ruben Statutory
Contruction.
pp. 373-392