Owing to the unique history of the Philippines, its legal system is an equally unique blend of civil law (Spanish law), common law (American law), and, especially in Mindanao, Shariah law. Below is a list of Philippine legal terms: Term Literal translation FromDefinition and use A.C., administrative case EnglishA case brought under administrative law in the form of a quasi-judicial proceeding by an agency of a non-judicial branch of government, or, the Office of the Court Administrator. Normally, such cases are internal disciplinary matters—court cases criminal and civil can be brought alongside them if warranted. academicEnglishMoot—changed circumstances have rendered the case of intellectual interest only; no ruling will have a practical effect on the law or jurisprudence. ActEnglishWhen on its own, as in "Act No. 3815", a law passed by the defunct colonial-era Philippine Legislature. A.M.English"Administrative matters" before the Supreme Court of the Philippines. arguendoassertingLatin"For the sake of argument", as in, "Even that R.A. 10175 applies, this case still should be dismissed due to a lapsed prescriptive period." arresto mayormajor detentionSpanishSee . arresto menorminor detentionSpanishSee .B.P.nationwide lawTagalogAbbreviation for , the name for laws passed by the defunct unicameral Batasang Pambansa.C.A.EnglishAbbreviation for either Commonwealth Act and Court of Appeals, depending on context.destierroexileSpanishSee . eCourtEnglishAn electronic database of cases at the lower levels of the judiciary. eCourt was seldom used before the COVID-19 pandemic. Includes "eFiling", a way to submit pleadings and other court documents electronically.E.O.EnglishAbbreviation for Executive Order.estafascam, fraud, racket Spanish Fraudexpedientefile, dossierSpanishAs special rules apply to the release of the , the office of each member of the Supreme Court is allowed to take a copy of the . This is the .falloverdictfailure SpanishThe dispositive portion of a Court's ruling, coming at the very end of the ruling. Cf. conclusion. This word has the same meaning in the modern Spanish judicial system. fiscalprosecutorSpanishA prosecutor, either at the city or provincial level, or nationwide Department of Justice level. Cf. procurator fiscal.G.R.EnglishAbbreviation for General Register. See . IBPEnglishIntegrated Bar of the Philippines informationEnglishAn indictment. In the United States, which originated the term, there are grand juries, and indictments are more common, while an information is a rare type of criminal action brought in the absence of a grand jury. However, the Philippines has no grand juries (and, indeed, no juries of any kind), so "information" is essentially synonymous with "indictment". intervenor-oppositorEnglishAn intervenor who opposes the case of the petitioner. Sometimes shortened to just "oppositor". Cf. petitioner-in-intervention. JBCEnglishJudicial and Bar Counciljudge-at-largeEnglishA judge without a permanent . Under R.A. 11459, such judges have all the rights of regular RTC judges, and the same salaries. They are also chosen by the President upon the advice of the JBC as other RTC judges are. MCTCEnglishMunicipal Circuit Trial Courts, a Municipal Trial Court that covers more than one municipality MeTC (Published date from )EnglishMetropolitan Trial Courts, a type of civil court below Regional Trial Courts MTCEnglishMunicipal Trial Courts, a type of civil court below Regional Trial Courts MTCCEnglishMunicipal Trial Courts in Cities, a type of civil court below Regional Trial Courts OCAEnglishOffice of the Court AdministratorpetitionerEnglishA plaintiff. petitioner-in-interventionEnglishAn intervenor who supports the case of the petitioner. Cf. intervenor-oppositor. ponenciareportSpanishThe Court's majority opinion. ponentespeaker [at a meeting]SpanishThe writer of the Court's majority opinion. Mostly used in the context of the Supreme Court, but can be used at the Regional Trial Court level. prefatory statementEnglishA statement which summarizes a legal document, similar to an abstract. prisión correccionalcorrective imprisonmentSpanishSee . prisión mayormajor imprisonmentSpanishSee . quasi-judicial agencyEnglishAn agency of the executive branch that exercises some judicial functions and before which a minimum of due process is required. Cf. administrative case. quo warrantoby what authorityLatinSee .R.A.EnglishAbbreviation for Republic Act. rafflea type of lotteryEnglishThe system by which cases are assigned to judges in multi- courts. As of 1974, "[n]o case may be assigned to any branch without being raffled." As of 2013, raffles can be conducted electronically via "eCourt". The gambling-related word "raffle" comes from the sources of randomness required by the Supreme Court: preferably a roulette wheel is to be used, but if that's not available, a bingo or jueteng tambiolo is permissible. reclusión perpetuaperpetual seclusionSpanishSee . reclusión temporaltemporary seclusionSpanishSee . respondentEnglishA defendant. a set of documents rolled up for easier archival and transit, or a scrollSpanishShort for (cassation archive) or (appeal archive), PDF the is the complete archive of a particular case, including documents received from a lower court and anything submitted regarding the case, directly to any Philippine court, though most often used in relation to the higher courts. The term has its origin in the , and is still used in the modern Supreme Court of Spain () and Spanish judicial system. Cf. . RTCEnglishAbbreviation for Regional Trial Court.salacourtroomSpanishCourtroom, though used only to refer to a specific branch of a Regional Trial Court, and not to refer to higher courts, unlike in Spain, where sala remains in use for all courts (e.g. in the set phrase — the chamber agrees, or to describe a division of the Spanish Supreme Court, e.g. —"Branch №3".) An acting judge serving in a temporary or acting capacity is said to be without a sala. Some RTC branches have only a single sala. Also cf. judges-at-large.SCEnglishSupreme Court of the Philippines SCCSee ArabicSharia Circuit Court SDCSee ArabicSharia District Court TROEnglishA temporary restraining order. TSNEnglishTranscript of stenographic notes. A court stenographer first takes down their notes in their preferred form of shorthand, e.g. Gregg shorthand, then produces a longhand transcript from it called a TSN. UDKEnglishAn undocketed case, undocketed because, for example, the docket fee has not yet been paid. Undocketed cases are still numbered, and may be ruled on at the discretion of the court, for example, Fletcher v. Bureau of Corrections has no G.R. number, but is instead cited as UDK-14071.
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