Supreme Court Day

ON this day in 1901, the Supreme Court (SC) of the Philippines (Kataastaasang Hukuman ng Pilipinas) was created by Act No. 136, the Judiciary Law of the Second Philippine Commission. The first chief justice was Cayetano Arellano, under William Howard Taft, who was chief executive at that time. Since its inception, the SC has “upheld the rule of law through fair, expeditious, and timely judicial processes; defended the constitutional rights of the Filipino people; and pursued the effective dispensation of justice.”

The SC, the highest court of the Philippines, has two major powers: Judicial power, which is the duty of courts of justice to settle controversies involving legally demandable and enforceable rights and, pursuant to the country’s Constitution, “administrative supervision over all courts and the personnel thereof” as well as over the members of the Philippine Bar. It is presided by a chief justice and has 14 associate justices. Justices retire upon reaching the age of 70.

During the Spanish period, judicial powers were exercised by the barangay chiefs. On May 5, 1583, the Royal Audiencia was established as a judicial body whose decisions were appealable to the Supreme Court of Spain in Madrid. The Philippines Supreme Court’s creation in 1901 was reaffirmed by the US Congress in the Philippine Bill of 1902. The Administrative Code of 1917 made SC the highest tribunal with nine members – a chief justice and eight associate justices. From 1901 to 1935, the chief justice was a Filipino, but the majority of the SC members were Americans.

The Filipinization of the SC was achieved through the 1935 Philippine Commonwealth, with Claro M. Recto and Jose P. Laurel among the first appointees to replace the American justices. The SC membership was increased to 11, including the chief justice. Nearly a decade after, the 1946 Treaty of Manila abolished the US Supreme Court’s authority over the SC of the Philippines. The 1973 Constitution increased the membership to 15 and vested it with the administrative powers to supervise the lower courts.

In 1989, by virtue of Proclamation No. 417 s. 1989, June 11 was declared Supreme Court Day “to install consciousness among the people on the important role performed by the Supreme Court in our democratic system of government in upholding the rule of law and maintaining equality before the law since its establishment.”