Philosophy of Law Introductory Lecture

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Enrollment Code Section B: vnt3ta
Enrollment Code Section A: ch2xg2
 Philosophy of law (or legal philosophy)
is a study of the historical roots of law
from Roman times, the schools of legal
thought that spurred the growth and
development of law, and the primordial
purpose of law and legal education.
According to Giorgio del Vecchio, Philosophy of Law “is the
course of study which defined law in its logical universality,
seeks its origins and general characteristics of its historical
development and evaluates it according to the ideal of justice
drawn from pure reason.
Philosophy is taken from the Greek
words, Philos and Logos, which
means “love of wisdom”.
 I. INTRODUCTION TO
PHILOSOPHY OF LAW

A. Jural and Non-Jural Law

B. Definition, Nature and

Function

C. Rule of Law
 Jural Law

Refers to sanctioned or enacted laws

such as statutes case laws, normative
rules and precepts.
Non Jural Law or Meta
Legal Law

Rules not anchored or premised

on human promulgation such as
divine law, natural law and
physical law
St. Thomas Aquinas 4
kinds of law in his Natural
Law Theory
1. Eternal Law
2. Natural Law
3. Divine Law
4. Human Law
 Eternal Law

Divine Providence rules the

Universe
Divine Providence governs by
Divine reason
Divine reason’s conception of things
is not subject to time but is eternal
Consist of principles of action that
God implanted in creation
Divine law in that the latter, in the Christian
tradition, normally referred to those laws that
God had directly revealed through prophets
and other inspired writers. Natural law can be
discovered by reason alone and applies to all
people, while divine law can be discovered
only through God’s special revelation and
applies only to those to whom it is revealed
and whom God specifically indicates are to be
bound.
According to Natural law, nature is
how people normally behave and are
expected to behave. Human nature,
in particular, is rational. The law is the
law for as long as it pursues the
precepts of reason: reasonableness,
justice, equality and fairness (right
reason).

Natural law is the law of our human

nature, based on the demands of our
humanity.
Physical law, refers to the
mechanical laws of the universe.

Examples are the law of gravity by

Galileo, Newton law on energy,
Einstein’s relativity theory. Mostly
the concern of scientists and
physicists.
 What is LAW ?
Law in its specific and concrete sense is a
rule of conduct, just, obligatory, formulated
by legitimate power for common
observance and benefit, (Lapitan vs. PCSO,
60 O.G. 684)

Positive Law – a reasonable rule of action

expressly or directly promulgated by
competent authority for the common good,
and usually but not necessarily, imposing a
sanction in case of disobedience. (Justice
Edgardo Paras, Civil Code of the Philippines)
That which is laid down, ordained, or
established. A rule or method according
to which phenomena or actions co-exist
or follow each other. That which must
be obeyed and followed by citizens,
subject to sanctions or legal
consequences. Koenig v. Flynn, 258 N.Y.
292, 179 N. E. 705.
St. Thomas Aquinas in Summa
Theologica also established 4 criteria by
which positive or human law has to be
measured
1. Reasonable ordinance
2. For the common good
3. Promulgated
4. By legitimate authority
In the absence of any of these elements
a “law” is not really a law and need not
be observed.
Modern Standards for the Rule of Law

For the United Nations, the rule of

law refers to a principle of
governance in which all persons,
institutions and entities, public and
private, including the State itself, are
accountable to laws that are publicly
promulgated, equally enforced and
independently adjudicated, and which
are consistent with international
human rights norms and standards.
 8 Routes of Failure*
(Absence of the Rule of Law)
1. Lack of definitive rules or law, disputes are decided
ad hoc;
2. Failure to publicize or make known the rules;
3. Unclear or obscure legislation;
4. Retroactive legislation;
5. Contradictions in the law;
6. Demands that are beyond the powers of affected
parties to observe;
7. Unstable legislation or frequent changes in the law;
8. Discrepancies between adjudication/administration
and legislation.

* The Morality of Law Lou Fuller

“The law is reason free from
passion…Man, when perfected,
is the best of animals, but when
separated from law and justice,
he is the worst of all.” - Aristotle

ARISTOTLE
Aristotle’s political studies combine observation
and theory. He and his students documented the
constitutions of 158 states—one of which, The
Constitution of Athens, has survived on papyrus.

The aim of the Politics, Aristotle says, is to

investigate, on the basis of the constitutions
collected, what makes for good government and
what makes for bad government and to identify
the factors favorable or unfavorable to the
preservation of a constitution.
Government, Aristotle says, must be in the hands
of one, of a few, or of the many; and governments
may govern for the general good or for the good
of the rulers.
1. Government by a single person for the general
good is called “monarchy”; for private benefit,
“tyranny.”
2. Government by a minority is “aristocracy” if it
aims at the state’s best interest and “oligarchy”
if it benefits only the ruling minority.
3. Popular government in the common interest
Aristotle calls “polity”; he reserves the word
“democracy” for anarchic mob rule.
John Locke
Certain moral truths that applied to all people, regardless
of the particular place where they lived or the agreements
they had made. The most important early contrast was
between laws that were by nature, and thus generally
applicable, and those that were conventional and operated
only in those places where the particular convention had
been established. This distinction is sometimes
formulated as the difference between natural law and
positive law.
 Legal Positivism
What laws are in force in that system depends
on what social standards its officials recognize
as authoritative; for example, legislative
enactments, judicial decisions, or social
customs. The fact that a policy would be just,
wise, efficient, or prudent is never sufficient
reason for thinking that it is actually the law,
Roman Law Origins – Play Arzamas
Social justice is "neither communism, nor despotism,
nor atomism, nor anarchy," but the humanization of
laws and the equalization of social and economic
forces by the State so that justice in its rational and
objectively secular conception may at least be
approximated. Social justice means the promotion of
the welfare of all the people, the adoption by the
Government of measures calculated to insure
economic stability of all the competent elements of
society, through the maintenance of a proper
economic and social equilibrium in the interrelations
of the members of the community, constitutionally,
through the adoption of measures legally justifiable,
or extra constitutionally, through the exercise of
powers underlying the existence of all governments
on the time honored principle of salus populi est
suprema lex.
Calalang v. Williams
G.R. No. 47800,
December 2, 1940
 ASSIGNMENT
In Calalang versus Williams, the Supreme Court
through Justice Laurel ostensibly advocates the
exercise of extra constitutional powers of the
government to achieve Social Justice. Can the
exercise of these powers even if considered as morally
wrong be justified under the principle of salus populi
est suprema lex?

Submit an Essay in 400 words or less your

opinion on this topic and in general on the
interplay of law and morality. Due September
12, 2022