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CANON 5 - A LAWYER SHALL KEEP ABREAST OF LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS,
PARTICIPATE IN CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS, SUPPORT
EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE HIGH STANDARDS IN LAW SCHOOLS AS WELL AS IN THE
PRACTICAL TRAINING OF LAW STUDENTS AND ASSIST IN DISSEMINATING
INFORMATION REGARDING THE LAW AND JURISPRUDENCE.

CANON 10 - A LAWYER OWES CANDOR, FAIRNESS AND GOOD FAITH TO THE
COURT.
Rule 10.01 - A lawyer shall not do any falsehood, nor consent to the doing of any in
Court; nor shall he mislead, or allow the Court to be misled by any artifice.
Rule 10.02 - A lawyer shall not knowingly misquote or misrepresent the contents of
paper, the language or the argument of opposing counsel, or the text of a decision or
authority, or knowingly cite as law a provision already rendered inoperative by repeal or
amendment, or assert as a fact that which has not been proved.
Rule 10.03 - A lawyer shall observe the rules of procedure and shall not misuse them to
defeat the ends of justice.

CANON 18 - A LAWYER SHALL SERVE HIS CLIENT WITH COMPETENCE AND
DILIGENCE.
Rule 18.01 - A lawyer shall not undertake a legal service which he knows or should know
that he is not qualified to render. However, he may render such service if, with the
consent of his client, he can obtain as collaborating counsel a lawyer who is competent
on the matter.
Rule 18.02 - A lawyer shall not handle any legal matter without adequate preparation.
Rule 18.03 - A lawyer shall not neglect a legal matter entrusted to him, and his
negligence in connection there with shall render him liable.
Rule 18.04 - A lawyer shall keep the client informed of the status of his case and shall
respond within a reasonable time to clients request for information.


NADAYAG v. GRAGEDA
A lawyer shall at all times uphold the integrity and dignity of the legal
profession. The trust and confidence necessarily reposed by clients require
in the attorney a high standard and appreciation of his duty to his clients,
his profession, the courts and the public. The bar should maintain a high
standard of legal proficiency as well as of honesty and fair dealing.
Generally speaking, a lawyer can do honor to the legal profession by
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faithfully performing his duties to society, to the bar, to the courts, and to
his clients. To this end, nothing should be done by any member of the legal
fraternity which might tend to lessen in any degree the confidence of the
public in the fidelity, honesty, and integrity of the profession.

MENDOZA v. MERCADO
"An attorney-at-law is not expected to know all the law. For an honest
mistake or error, an attorney is not liable." Chief Justice Abbott said that
"no attorney is bound to know all the law; God forbid that it should be
imagined that an attorney or a counsel or even a judge, is bound to know
all the law".

Common Law System system following the ruling of the courts
(jurisprudence); judicial laws are binding; there is not always a written
constitution or codified laws

Civil Law System system following statutes, constitution, other codes
*Philippines is a mixed system of these two

Civil Code
Art. 7. Laws are repealed only by subsequent ones, and their violation or
non-observance shall not be excused by disuse, or custom or practice to
the contrary.

When the courts declared a law to be inconsistent with the
Constitution, the former shall be void and the latter shall govern.
Administrative or executive acts, orders and regulations shall be valid
only when they are not contrary to the laws or the Constitution. (5a)
Q: What is repeal?
A: A law has a certain period of being effective until such time as it ceases to be
effective due to repeal.
Q: What are the kinds of repeal?
A:
1. Express Repeal a subsequent law is passed expressly stating that a prior law has
ceased to have any effect.
2. Implied Repeal a subsequent law is passed which is inconsistent with a former
law and the two are not capable of standing or existing together.
Q: Is implied repeal favored?
A: No. As a general rule, implied repeal is not favored. As long as you can reconcile
both laws, you must reconcile them. But if they are so inconsistent with each
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other as they cannot exist together, then implied repeal may be allowed.
Q: What is the effect of repeal of the repealing law? (Revival of Laws)
A:
1. Express Repeal If you have a law which has been expressly repealed and the
repealing law is itself repealed, the first law is not considered revived, unless the
third says that the first law has been revived.
2. Implied Repeal if the first law is repealed impliedly then the general rule is that
the repeal of the repealing law revives the first law. The exception is that there is
no revival if:
a. The third law stated that the first law is not revived; or
b. The first and the third law are inconsistent.
Q: Is there a repeal by a lapse of time?
A: Yes. The law in this case had a certain period of time being effective. It ceased to
be effective upon the expiration of the time provided for its effectivity. For
example: Naturalization laws providing for a certain period of time whereby
temporary status given to a foreigner expires after a certain period of time (i.e.
after 5 years, et.)
Q: What is the effect of a law declared to be void or unconstitutional?
A: As a general rule, a law declared void has no effect because the law us deemed
not to have existed at all and there was no period of time within which it took
effect. The exception to this rule is when the judiciary recognizes some of its
effects prior to the declaration of nullity. (Doctrine of Operative Fact).

Art. 8. Judicial decisions applying or interpreting the laws or the
Constitution shall form a part of the legal system of the Philippines.
Q: Does the term judicial decisions under this article refer to all kinds of court
decisions?
A: No. It refers only to Supreme Court decisions and not to decisions rendered by the the
lower courts.

Q: Since SC decisions also form part of the law of the land, do we apply the rule on
publication that before they may be effective, they must be published?
A: No. Publication is not necessary. What is important is that such decision are already
final and executory. Judicial decisions are not like laws per se. Their application is
restricted in the sense that they apply only to parties in the case. They may apply to other
parties provided they involve the same subject matter. (Paras Doctrine of Stare Decisis)

Q: When does a judicial decision, which interprets a law, cease to be part of the law of
the land?
A: A judicial decision that interprets law cease to be part of the law of the land:
1. When the SC reverses itself; and
2. When the legislature passes a law that is opposed to an SC

FLORESCA v. PHILEX
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The Court, through the late Chief Justice Fred Ruiz Castro, in People
vs. Licera ruled:
Article 8 of the Civil Code of the Philippines decrees that judicial
decisions applying or interpreting the laws or the Constitution form part of
this jurisdiction's legal system. These decisions, although in themselves not
laws, constitute evidence of what the laws mean. The application or
interpretation placed by the Court upon a law is part of the law as of the
date of the enactment of the said law since the Court's application or
interpretation merely establishes the contemporaneous legislative intent
that the construed law purports to carry into effect" (65 SCRA 270, 272-273
[1975]).
WE ruled that judicial decisions of the Supreme Court assume the
same authority as the statute itself (Caltex vs. Palomer, 18 SCRA 247; 124
Phil. 763).

LEGASPI V MINISTER OF FINANCE
All proclamations, orders, decrees, instructions, and acts
promulgated, issued, or done by the former President (Ferdinand E.
Marcos) are part of the law of the land, and shall remain valid, legal,
binding, and effective, unless modified, revoked or superseded by
subsequent proclamations, orders, decrees, instructions, or other acts of
the President.
When the President acts as legislator, he does not need the
concurrence of the Batasan. Rather, he exercises concurrent authority
vested by the Constitution.