ATENEO DE DAVAO UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF LAW

LEGAL RESEARCH

ANGELI NESS P. CASADOR

Instructor, 1st Sem., S.Y. 2016-2017

COURSE OUTLINE

I. INTRODUCTION
Definition of Legal Research
Necessity of Legal Research
Sources of Legal Research

II. BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO LAW; SOURCES OF LAW

Definition of Law and other related concepts; Characteristics of Law;
Effectivity of Law
Classification of Law
o Natural Law
1. Physical Law
2. Moral Law
3. Divine Law
o Positive Law
1. Public/Constitutional Law
2. Administrative Law
3. International Law
4. Private Law
Sources of Law
o By Authority
1. Primary Authority
2. Secondary Authority
o By Source
1. Primary Sources
2. Secondary Sources
o By Character
1. Statute Law Books
2. Case Law Books
3. Law Finders/Finding Tools
World’s Legal System
o Roman Law
o Common Law
o Mohammedan Law

III. CASE LAW

Judicial System
o Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
o Trial Courts of General Jurisdiction
o Appellate Court

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 o The Court of Last Resort
Decisions Proper
Subordinate Decision
The Doctrine of Precedent
Stare Decisis and Res Judicata
Reversal v. Overruling
Ratio decidendi v. Obiter Dictum
Binding v. Persuasive Authority
Form of Decisions
Case Law Materials
Research of Case Laws

IV. CASE BRIEFING AND SYNTHESIS OF CASES

Facts
Issue/s
Ruling/Holding

V. STATUTORY LAW

Brief review on the Philippine Government Structure/Legal System

o Executive
o Legislative
o Judiciary (Hierarchy of courts)
o Constitutional Commissions
o Local Governments
o Other Government Agencies
Constitution
Treaties and International Agreements
Statutes Enacted by the Legislature
Administrative Rules and Regulations
Ordinances (Autonomous Regions and Local Government Units)
Research of Statutory Law

VI. LEGAL RESEARCH PROCESS

Systematic Approach to Legal Research

o Identify and analyze the significant facts; TARP rule
o Formulate the legal issues to be researched
o Research the issues presented
o Update

VII. LEGAL CITATIONS

System of citations, based on the Philippine Manual of Legal Citations, as

well as the Uniform System of Citation prepared by the Columbia Law Review,
Harvard Law Review Association, The University of Pennsylvania Law Review
and The Yale Law Review

VIII. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN LEGAL RESEARCH

Code of Professional Responsibility

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Jurisprudence on Plagiarism