Legal education in the Philippines is developed and offered by Philippine law schools, supervised by the Legal Education Board. Previously, the Commission on Higher Education supervised the legal education in the Philippines but was replaced by the Legal Education Board since 1993 after the enactment of Republic Act No. 7662 or the Legal Education Reform Act of 1993.
History The legal education in the Philippines was first introduced during the Spanish occupation when, in 1734, the University of Santo Tomas established the Faculty of Civil Law. In 1899 the First Filipino owned law school was founded, the Escuela De Derecho De Manila, today known as the Manila Law College, by Don Felipe G. Calderon, when he saw the need for a law school which could train Filipino lawyers and provide legal services to the New Republic. mlc.edu.ph/about-us After the Malolos Constitution was ratified, the Universidad Literaria de Filipinas was established by Joaquin Gonzalez in 1899; the said institution offered several courses including law. However, the Literaria's existence was short lived as a result of the eruption of the Filipino-American War. During the American occupation, in 1911, the University of the Philippines College of Law was established, through the efforts of George Malcolm, an American lawyer. The said law institution continues to be one of the oldest state colleges of law in the country.
The ratification of the 1935 Constitution paved the way for the establishment of law programs in various private colleges and universities in Manila (schools, at that time, were required to acquire license to operate from the Department of Public Instruction). At that time, there was hardly any kind of supervision of law schools, especially for private institutions. The Faculty of Civil Law of the University of Santo Tomas, the University of the Philippines–College of Law, the former Colegio de Ateneo de Manila and the Philippine Law School were the leading law institutions during those period. After World War II and in the contemporary time, more law schools were then established.
Legal Education Board The Legal Education Board supervises all law schools and continuing legal education providers in the Philippines. The board is headed by a chairman who is a retired justice of a collegiate court (i.e., Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Sandiganbayan, Court of Tax Appeals, etc.). Regular members of the Board include a representative from each of the following:
Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Philippine Association of Law Schools (PALS) Philippine Association of Law Professors (PALP) Active law practitioners Bona fide law students
The Board has made legal reforms which include—the stricter selection of law students and law professors; improvements in quality of instruction and facilities of law schools; provisions for legal apprenticeship of law students; and the requirement of attendance to continuing legal education seminars for practicing attorneys.
Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Lawyers with names appearing in the Rolls of Attorneys of the Supreme Court, unless disbarred, are all members of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP). However, to be IBP members of good standing, lawyers are required to complete, every three years, at least thirty-six hours of continuing legal education seminars approved by the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Committee (MCLE). Members who fail to comply shall pay a non-compliance fee, and shall be listed as a delinquent member.
The Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Office, established by the Supreme Court, is the official government agency tasked to implement compliance with the MCLE requirement. The MCLE Office is headed by former Supreme Court Justice Carolina C. Grino-Aquino, widow of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Ramon Aquino. Its office is located at the fourth floor of the IBP Building in Ortigas Center.
Legal systems The Philippine legal system is an amalgamation of the world's major systems. These systems include Roman civil law which was inherited from Spain; the Anglo-American common law which were derived from the laws of the United States; and Islamic law, otherwise known as the Sharia law, of the Muslim world. Private law and legal codes are substantially patterned after the civil law of Spain, while public law, including political law, is based on the Anglo-American legal system.
Law degree programs Law degree programs are considered professional/post-baccalaureate programs in the Philippines. As such, admission to law schools requires the completion of a bachelor's degree, with a sufficient number of credits or units in certain subject areas. Completion of a required course from a Philippine law school constitutes the primary eligibility requirement in order to take the Philippine Bar Examination, the national licensure examination as precursor to admission to the practice of law in the country.
Legal education in the Philippines normally proceeds along the following route: Undergraduate education (usually 4 years) Law school (usually 4 years) Admission to the bar (usually by taking a Philippine bar exam) Legal practice and mandatory continuing legal education
Law degrees in the Philippines may be classified into three types—professional, graduate level and honorary.
Professional law degrees In order to be eligible to take the bar examinations, one must complete the Juris Doctor (J.D.) program, which may be either the non-thesis or thesis course. Advanced degrees are offered by some law schools, but are not requirements for admission to the practice of law in the Philippines.
Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) – The LL.B. was the most common law degree offered and conferred by Philippine law schools. It was a standard four-year law program covering all bar exam subjects. Almost all law schools followed a standard LL.B. curriculum, wherein students are exposed to the required bar subjects. Other schools, like the University of the Philippines College of Law, allow students to substitute electives for bar review subjects offered in the fourth year of study.Curriculum models, Philippine Association of Law Schools, 2006. In December 2018, as mandated by LEB, the LL.B. program was phased out and was migrated to the J.D. non-thesis program; such migration applied retroactively to LL.B. degree holders, meaning all LL.B. degree holders were also conferred of the new migrated degree. Juris Doctor (J.D.) - The J.D. degree was developed and first conferred in the Philippines by the Ateneo Law School in 1991. The J.D. program is a four-year law program. Like the standard LL.B. program, the J.D. curriculum covers the core subjects required for the bar examinations. Unlike the LL.B., the Ateneo J.D. program requires students to finish the core bar subjects in 2 years, take elective subjects, undergo an apprenticeship, and prepare and defend a thesis. Currently, the program may be taken either with thesis or that with non-thesis. Juris Doctor–Master of Business Administration, (J.D.-M.B.A.), – The J.D.-M.B.A. program is a double degree program in law and management offered at the professional-graduate level. It was introduced and is so far offered only by the La Salle-FEU MBA-JD Program, a consortium of Far Eastern University Institute of Law and De La Salle Graduate School of Business. Under this program, the requirements of the J.D. and M.B.A. programs are satisfied by the taking of concurrent units of study, allowing students to complete the program in five instead of six years.
Graduate law degrees Beyond the J.D. or LL.B., members of the Philippine bar have the option of pursuing graduate degrees in law.
Master of Laws (LL.M.) – The LL.M. is a graduate law degree offered to holders of basic law degrees (LL.B. and J.D.). It is generally offered to law graduates and lawyers of any nationality. Six Philippine law schools so far conduct the program—the Ateneo Law School, which offers an International Master of Laws program; the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Civil Law, which first offered the LL.M.; San Sebastian College - Recoletos Graduate School of Law; University of Manila College of Law; Manuel L. Quezon University College of Law; Central Philippine University College of Law in Consortium with San Beda College; San Beda Graduate School of Law; and PLM Graduate School of Law of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (University of the City of Manila). LL.M. programs were once offered by the Far Eastern University Institute of Law, the Escuela de Derecho de Manila (now Manila Law College Foundation), and the University of the Philippines College of Law but were eventually phased out due to lack of enrollment and funding. Doctor of Civil Law (D.C.L.) – The D.C.L. program is a doctoral program in law offered to holders of the LL.M. degree. Candidates who hold only LL.B. degrees may be admitted upon completion of prerequisite LL.M. subjects. The D.C.L. was pioneered by the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Civil Law. Their program structure is highly similar to the D.C.L. offered in the Complutense University of Madrid.Official Prospectus, Law Department, University of Santo Tomas Graduate School, 2006. The PLM Graduate School of Law has already opened its own D.C.L. program.List of programs, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (University of the City of Manila), 2007. Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D. or J.S.D.) – The S.J.D. or J.S.D. program is currently offered only by the San Beda Graduate School of Law. While the candidate for the degree is required some academic units, the grant of the degree relies on the candidates research output as well as his or her participation in international symposia, seminars and programs as lecturer, panel presenter or paper presenter. The candidate presents a doctoral dissertation that is argued before a Panel of Oral Examiners and then delivers a 'lectio coram' -- a lecture in the presence of legal luminaries.
Honorary law degrees Some Philippine universities also confer the honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degree. It is given to famous individuals who, in the discretion of the awarding institution, were found to have made significant contributions to a certain field, or to the improvement of society or development of the conditions of mankind in general.
Ecclesiastical law degrees A few Roman Catholic seminaries and graduate schools offer degree programs in canon law, an ecclesiastical program that is not required in the Philippine Bar Examinations. The University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Canon Law runs the oldest academic programs of this kind. Its Licentiate of Canon Law (J.C.L.) and Doctor of Canon Law (J.C.D.) programs are open to priests, nuns, theologians, and even to lay people (i.e., trial court judges, law deans, family lawyers etc.). Judges of the Roman Catholic Marriage Tribunal typically hold academic degrees in the field.Official prospectus, University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Canon Law, 2006. Degrees in canon law, strictly speaking, are not considered law degrees in the Philippines.
Admission to the practice of law The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines has given the Supreme Court the sole power to admit individuals to the practice of law in the Philippines.Section 5, Article VIII, The Philippine Constitution, 1987. This power is exercised through a Bar Examination Committee, an ad hoc academic group tasked to formulate questions, administer proceedings, grade examinations, rank candidates, and release the results of the Philippine Bar Examination.