The Philippines: Past and Present (Volume 2 of 2)

by Dean C. Worcester

In the Moro province, which is divided into five districts, called Joló, Zamboanga, Lanao, Cotabato and Davao, there are tribal ward courts which consider and decide minor civil and criminal actions in which the parties in interest, or any of them, are Moros or members of other non-Christian tribes. These tribal ward courts have with regard to these actions the same jurisdiction as is vested by law in justice of the peace courts, but the legislative council of the Moro province may in its discretion vest in such courts jurisdiction in other actions, civil or criminal but not capital, which is at present vested in courts of first instance. In each district the governor and secretary are justices of tribal ward courts and there are as many auxiliary justices as may be needed. The sentences of the tribal ward courts, from which no appeal is taken to the court of first instance, may be modified or remitted by the provincial governor after a review of the case.

In addition to these tribal ward courts there exist justice of the peace courts in each municipality and the governor-general may with the advice and approval of the commission appoint justices of the peace for towns or places in the Moro province which have not been organized into municipalities or which, although included within the limits of an organized municipality, are distant from or have no convenient means of access to centres of population. The jurisdiction of the justices of the peace for the municipalities in which such towns or places are situated, and of the justices of the peace appointed for such towns or places, are concurrent over cases arising within the municipality. The several justices of the peace in any district of the Moro province exercise concurrent jurisdiction over cases arising within the district but without the limits of an organized municipality, but the justice of the peace first acquiring jurisdiction over any case has exclusive jurisdiction over it. The justices of the peace in the Moro province have no jurisdiction to try civil and criminal actions in which original jurisdiction is vested in tribal ward courts.

Under the present organization there exists a bureau of justice with the following legal personnel: attorney-general, solicitor-general, assistant attorney-general, and eleven assistant attorneys. There is a provincial fiscal in each province with the exception of the Moro province, in which there are an attorney and an assistant attorney. The city of Manila has, besides the city attorney and assistant attorney, a prosecuting attorney with four assistants.

Under the Spanish legislation, justices of the peace had jurisdiction to try civil actions where the value of the thing in litigation did not exceed five hundred pesetas ($50), and actions for unlawful detainer where the action was based on one of the following grounds. The completion of the term stipulated in the contract; the expiration of the time within which notice had to be given for the conclusion of the contract, in accordance with law; the stipulations made or the general custom in each pueblo; and the failure to pay the price stipulated, provided that in neither of these three cases the object of the action was dispossession of a mercantile or manufacturing establishment, or of a rural property the annual rental whereof exceeded two thousand five hundred pesetas ($250). They also had jurisdiction to try faltas, which are criminal offences penalized with a fine not exceeding five hundred pesetas ($50) or with aresto menor, which is imprisonment not exceeding thirty days, and to conduct the preliminary proceedings in crimes the jurisdiction over which was vested in the courts of first instance. Judges of first instance had original jurisdiction in all civil actions except those in which original jurisdiction was vested in justices of the peace and in actions for crime (delitos). The sentences of judges of first instance could be carried in appeal to the audiencia territorial of Manila, and in the majority of cases the supreme court of Spain could be petitioned for the cassation of the sentences of the said audiencia territorial. The judges of first instance also had appellate jurisdiction in cases of appeal against the decisions rendered by justices of the peace in actions in which the latter had original jurisdiction. All the sentences of the courts of first instance in criminal cases, regardless of whether they were sentences of conviction or of acquittal, had to be submitted for review to the proper audiencia, the decision of the former not being final without the approval of the latter. From the decisions of the audiencia appeal lay in all cases to the supreme court of Spain.

It naturally followed that legal proceedings were interminable, and one of the worst things which could befall an individual or a corporation in the Spanish days was to become involved in a lawsuit. It is an unpleasant thing to say, but the plain truth is that the character of the judges in not a few instances left much to be desired.

Contrast with the endless complications of the above arrangement the simplicity of that which prevails to-day. Justices of the peace have exclusive original jurisdiction in all civil actions arising in their municipalities which are not exclusively cognizable by the courts of first instance, when the value of the subject-matter or amount of the demand does not exceed $100, exclusive of interest and costs; and where such value or demand exceeds $100, but is less than $300, the justices of the peace have jurisdiction concurrent with the courts of first instance. They also have original jurisdiction in forcible entry and detainer proceedings. They have no jurisdiction to adjudicate questions of title to real estate or any interest therein, or in civil actions in which the subject of litigation is not capable of pecuniary estimation, except in forcible entry and detainer cases, or in those which involve the legality of any tax, impost, or assessment, or in actions involving admiralty or marine jurisdiction, or in matters of probate, the appointment of guardians, trustees, or receivers, or in actions for annulment of marriage. Justices of the peace, except in the city of Manila, have original jurisdiction to try persons charged with misdemeanors, offences and infractions of municipal ordinances, arising within the municipality, in which the penalty provided by law does not exceed six months imprisonment or a fine of $100, or both such imprisonment and fine. In the city of Manila the justice of the peace does not have this jurisdiction; there it is left to a municipal judge, who has jurisdiction to try all the infractions of ordinances and has a more ample jurisdiction to try misdemeanors and crimes against the general laws of the islands. Justices of the peace, except in the city of Manila, also have jurisdiction to conduct preliminary proceedings in all crimes and misdemeanors supposed to have been committed within their municipalities and cognizable by the courts of first instance.

The jurisdiction of courts of first instance is of two kinds, original and appellate. Courts of first instance have original jurisdiction: in all civil actions in which the subject of litigation is not capable of pecuniary estimation; in all civil actions which involve the title to or possession of real property, or any interest therein, or the legality of any tax, impost, or assessment, except actions of forcible entry into or detainer of lands or buildings; in all cases in which the demand, exclusive of the interest or the value of the property in controversy, amounts to $100 or more; in all actions in admiralty or maritime jurisdiction, irrespective of the value of the property in controversy and the amount of the demand; in all matters of probate, both of testate and intestate estates, appointment of guardians, trustees, and receivers, in all actions for annulment of marriage, and in all such special cases and proceedings as are not otherwise provided for; in all criminal cases in which a penalty of more than six months imprisonment or a fine exceeding $100 may be imposed; in all crimes and offences committed on the high seas or beyond the jurisdiction of any country, or within any of the navigable waters of the Philippine Islands, on board a ship or water craft of any kind registered or licensed in the Philippine Islands in accordance with the laws thereof. This jurisdiction may be exercised by the court of first instance in any province into which the ship or water craft upon which the crime or offence was committed may come after the commission thereof, but the court first lawfully taking cognizance thereof has jurisdiction of the same to the exclusion of all other courts in the Philippine Islands. Lastly, courts of first instance have power to issue writs of injunction, mandamus, certiorari, prohibition, quo warranto, and habeas corpus in their respective provinces and districts, in the manner provided in the code of civil procedure. Courts of first instance have appellate jurisdiction over all causes arising in justices’ and other inferior courts in their respective provinces.

The supreme court of the Philippine Islands has original jurisdiction to issue writs of mandamus, certiorari, prohibition, habeas corpus, and quo warranto in the cases and in the manner prescribed in the code of civil procedure, and to hear and determine the controversies thus brought before it, and in other cases provided by law.

The supreme court of the United States, according to the Philippine bill, has jurisdiction to review, revise, reverse, modify, or affirm the final judgments and decrees of the supreme court of the Philippine Islands in all actions, cases, causes, and proceedings pending therein in which the constitution or any statute, treaty, title, right or privilege of the United States is involved, or in causes in which the value in controversy exceeds $25,000.

Probably not more than ten Filipinos held judicial or fiscal positions, except that of justice of the peace, under Spanish rule. To-day, three of the seven justices of the supreme court, ten of the twenty judges of districts, two of the four judges at large, and three of the six judges of the court of land registration are Filipinos. In the bureau of justice the attorney-general and seven assistant attorneys are Filipinos. All of the provincial fiscals are Filipinos with the exception of the fiscal of the Moro province and the prosecuting attorney and the city attorney of Manila. All of the justices of the peace except those who serve ex officio are Filipinos, and the secretary of finance and justice is a Filipino as well.