A. Judicial ethics, defined.

This is the branch of moral science which treats of the right and proper conduct and behavior to be observed by all judges and magistrates in trying and deciding controversies brought before them for adjudication which conduct and behavior must be demonstrate of independence, integrity, impartiality, equality, propriety, competence and diligence.

B. Sources of Judicial Ethics:

1. New Code of Judicial Conduct for the Philippine Judiciary effective June 1, 2004; 2. Code of Judicial Conduct which became effective on October 20, 1989 3. Provisions of the 1987 Constitution particularly Art. VIII (Judicial Department), Art. XI (Accountability of Public Officers) and Art. III (Bill of Rights); 4. Provisions of New Civil Code of the Philippines, particularly Articles 9, 20, 27, 32, 35, 739, 1491, 2005, 2029 to 2035 and 2046; 5. Provisions of the Revised Penal Code particularly Articles 204, 205, 206 and 207; 6. Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA No. 3019); 7. Canons of Judicial Ethics (Adm. Order No. 162); 8. Code of Professional Responsibility (promulgated on June 21, 1988) with respect to judges relation to lawyers; 9. Judiciary Act of 1948 (RA No. 296); 10.Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980 (BP Blg. 129); 11.Supreme Court Decisions; 12.Foreign Decisions on judicial ethics which are relevant and persuasive; 13.Opinions of Authorities in Legal and Judicial Ethics; 14.Other Statutes; 15.Administrative Orders and Supreme Court Circulars.

C. Significance of judicial ethics. A creed to which a judge is hidebound, in the words of the Preamble of the Canons of Professional Ethics, is that the future of the Republic, to a great extent, depends upon our maintenance of justice pure and unsullied.

If the administration of justice is liberated from ethical and moral rules, and is left free-wheeling, judges and magistrates cannot be expected to be free, independent, honest, diligent and impartial. Corollarily, litigants will not find nor enjoy the cold neutrality of independent, wholly-free, disinterested and impartial tribunals.

D. Court A board or other tribunal which decides a litigation or contest.

Judge A public officer who, by virtue of his office, is clothed with judicial authority. A public officer lawfully appointed to decide litigated questions in accordance with law.

De Jure Judge One who is exercising the office of judge as a matter of right; an officer of a court who has been duly and legally elected or appointed.

De Facto Judge A judge who in good faith continues to act and is recognized by common error after the abolition of his court by statute is deemed judge de facto of the new court which succeeds to the jurisdiction of that presided over by him.

E. Distinctions between the courts and judges.

The courts and judges are used synonymously and interchangeably, generally speaking. In ordinary parlance, judges are spoken of as courts and courts are referred to when the person means the judge only. It is common for laymen, lawyers and judges, as well as the law, to use these terms interchangeably. But there is an important distinction between the court, as an entity, and the person who occupies the position of judge. Courts may exist without a judge. There may be a judge without a court.

F. Minimum qualifications for Justices of the Supreme Court or any collegiate court under the Constitution:

Sec. 7(1). No person shall be appointed Member of the Supreme Court or any lower collegiate court unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines. A member of the Supreme Court must be at least forty years of age, and must have been for fifteen years or more a judge of a lower court or engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines. (Sec. 7(1), Art. VIII, 1987 Constitution)

With respect to judges, the rule is different.

Sec. 2. The Congress shall prescribe the qualifications of judges of lower courts, but no person may be appointed judge thereof unless he is a citizen of the Philippines and a member of the Philippine Bar. (Section 7[2], Art. VIII, 1987 Constitution)

G. Does the Constitution provide for moral and intellectual qualifications of all judges and magistrates?

Yes. The Constitution also provides for the moral and intellectual qualifications of all judges and magistrates.

Sec. 3. A member of the Judiciary must be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity, and independence. (Sec. 7[3], Art. VIII, 1987 Constitution)

H. Qualifications of justices and judges Reorganization Act of 1980 (BP 129):

under

the

Judiciary

1. Presiding Justice and Associate Justices of the Court of Appeals shall have the same qualifications as those provided in the Constitution, for Justices of the Supreme Court (Sec. 5); 2. RTC Judges shall be natural-born citizens of the Philippines, at least 35 years of age and for at least ten years, has been engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines or has held a public office in the Philippines requiring admission to the practice of law as an indispensable requisite (Sec. 15); 3. MTC Judges shall be natural-born citizens of the Philippines, at least 30 years of age, and, for at least five years, has been engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines, or has held a public office in the Philippines requiring admission to the practice of law as an indispensable requisite (Sec. 26).

I.

Inherent powers of courts, which are essential for the maintenance of order and proper decorum: (under the Rules of Court)

Sec. 5. Inherent powers of courts. Every court shall have power:

(a) To preserve and enforce order in its immediate presence; (b) To enforce order in proceedings before it, or before a person or persons empowered to conduct a judicial investigation under its authority; (c) To compel obedience to its judgments, orders and processes, and to the lawful orders of a judge out of court, in a case pending therein; (d) To control, in furtherance of justice, the conduct of its ministerial officers, and of all other persons in any manner connected with a case before it, in every manner pertaining thereto; (e) To compel the attendance of persons to testify in a case pending therein; (f) To administer or cause to be administered oaths in a case pending therein and in all other cases where it may be necessary in the exercise of its powers; (g) To amend and control its processes and orders so as to make them conformable to law and justice; (h) To authorize a copy of a lost or destroyed pleading or other paper to be filed and used instead of the original, and to restore, and supply

deficiencies in its records and proceedings. (Rule 135, Revised Rules of Court)

J.

Purpose of Courts of Justice. The sole purpose of courts of justice is to enforce the laws uniformly and impartially without regard to persons or their circumstances or the opinions of men. (Tan, Jr. vs. Gallardo, 73 SCRA 306)