Legal Insights
Plain-language guides and case briefs on Philippine law — researched from the firm's law library of 184,000+ statutes, Supreme Court decisions, and agency issuances, and written so non-lawyers can understand and act on them.
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Upholding Decorum: Court Employees and the Boundaries of Professional Conduct
A Supreme Court ruling shows why judges cannot approve bail outside their jurisdiction, and what happens when judicial authority is exercised beyond its limits.
Timeliness Matters: A Judge's Duty to Promptly Resolve Cases Under Philippine Law
The Supreme Court affirms a rape conviction while reminding judges of their duty to decide cases promptly, exploring the importance of timely justice.
Shipowner Liability for Captain's Negligence in Time Charters: San Miguel v. Heirs of Inguito
Philippine Supreme Court clarifies when a shipowner—not the charterer—is liable for a captain's negligence at sea.
Court Employees' Private Misconduct: When Personal Dealings Undermine Public Trust
A Supreme Court ruling reminds court employees that honesty and integrity are required even in their personal and private dealings.
Automatic Membership in Property Associations: Enforceability and Freedom of Association
Philippine Supreme Court ruling on automatic membership clauses in property deeds, their enforceability against successors-in-interest, and limits of freedom of association.
Attorney Negligence: When a Lawyer's Lapses Cost Clients Their Case
Philippine Supreme Court suspends lawyer for six months for failing to file briefs, costing clients their property in a recovery case.
Laches and Land Ownership: Time Limits in Philippine Property Disputes
The Supreme Court explains how laches, prescription, and procedural deadlines can bar heirs from contesting property transfers in the Philippines.
Protecting the Vulnerable: Rape of a Person with Mental Retardation and the Admissibility of Their Testimony
The Supreme Court affirms that a mental retardate can be a credible witness in rape cases, and explains why an intact hymen does not negate rape.
Judicial Employees and Ethical Conduct: Upholding Integrity in the Philippine Justice System
How Philippine courts police their own ranks to preserve public trust and the rule of law.
Land Redistribution Upholding THE Rights OF Farmer Beneficiaries TO Homelots
The Supreme Court affirms that farmer-beneficiaries under PD 27 are entitled to homelots, even if these lie outside their awarded farmlots.
Heirs Rights AND Land Title Disputes Resolving Inheritance Conflicts IN Property Ownership
Partnership Dissolution and Accounting: Heirs' Rights and Docket Fee Obligations
Supreme Court clarifies heirs' rights to demand partnership accounting after a partner's death, and the docket fee obligations in such actions.
Public Officials' Duty to Act Promptly: Lessons from a Clerk of Court's Misconduct
A Supreme Court ruling reminds public officials of their duty to act promptly on requests and maintain propriety in office.
Ejectment Actions Unaffected By Ownership Disputes Germinanda Heirs VS Judge Salvanera
The Supreme Court clarifies that in ejectment suits, courts may provisionally rule on the plaintiff's death and ownership issues without barring separate actions.
Alien Land Ownership: Constitutional Ban Survives Even After Heirs Become Filipino Citizens
Philippine Supreme Court ruling on land reconstitution, alien ownership bans, and how Filipino heirship cures constitutional defects.
Missed Your Warranty Understanding Prescription Periods FOR Express Warranties IN THE Philippines
Learn how Philippine law treats express warranties and their prescription periods, and what consumers must know to protect their rights.
Lapsed Rights: How Prescription Bars Reversion of Donated Land to Delgado Heirs
A 2001 Supreme Court ruling shows that even with an automatic reversion clause, heirs must act within 10 years or lose the right to reclaim donated land.
Corporate Governance and Stockholder Rights: Lessons from Marubeni v. Lirag
The Supreme Court clarifies that stockholders must prove their claims by preponderance of evidence and cannot rely on speculation or corporate veil piercing.
Unregistered Sale vs Attachment Priority OF Rights IN Land Disputes 2
When an unregistered deed of sale is valid between parties, laches can bar heirs from recovering property after decades of inaction.
Treachery and Dwelling Limits on the Death Penalty in Philippine Criminal Law
Explore how Philippine courts apply treachery and dwelling as qualifying circumstances in criminal cases, and their impact on penalties.
Hold Departure Orders: When Judges Overstep Their Authority and Due Process
A look at the Supreme Court's ruling on a judge's erroneous issuance of a hold departure order and the importance of due process.
Simulated Sales and Illegitimate Transfers: Protecting Legitimate Heirs' Rights
When a father sells property to illegitimate children to defeat a legitimate heir's share, the sale may be void as simulated.
Extrajudicial Settlements and Adopted Children's Inheritance: Lessons from Pedrosa v. Court of Appeals
A Supreme Court ruling clarifies when extrajudicial settlements bind adopted heirs and how prescription periods apply to fraudulent partitions.
Probate Court Approval of Estate Property Sales: Heirs of Sandejas v. Lina
When a deceased person contracted to sell property before death, the probate court can authorize its conveyance—here's what the Sandejas ruling means for heirs and buyers.