Professional Documents
Culture Documents
BAR QUESTIONS
(1987- 2011)
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Remedial Law; Concept (2006)
Suggested Answer
Suggested Answer
A special proceeding is a remedy to establish the
status or right of party or a particular fact, while an
ordinary civil action is one by which one party
prosecutes another for the enforcement or protection
of a right, or the prevention or redress of a wrong.
Conciliation Proceedings; Katarungang
Pambarangay vs. Pre-Trial Conference (1999)
What is the difference, if any, between the
conciliation proceedings under the Katarungang
Pambarangay Law and the negotiations for an
amicable settlement during the pre-trial conference
under the Rules of Court?
Suggested Answer
The difference between the conciliation proceedings
under the Katarungang Pambarangay Law and the
negotiations for an amicable settlement during the
pre-trial conference under the Rules of Court is that
in the former, lawyers are prohibited from
appearing for the parties. Parties must appear in
person only except minors or incompetents who
may be assisted by their next of kin who are not
lawyers. No such prohibition exists in the pre-trial
negotiations under the Rules of Court.
Suggested Answer
Jurisdiction is the power of the Court to decide a
case on the merits, while venue refers to the place
where the suit may be filed. In criminal actions,
however, venue is jurisdictional. Jurisdiction may
not be conferred upon a court by consent through
waiver, but venue may be waived except in criminal
cases.
Jurisdiction: Totality Rule (1989)
CIVIL PROCEDURE
Suggested Answer
Suggested Answer
A derivative suit is a suit in equity that is filed by a
minority shareholder in behalf of a corporation to
redress wrongs committed it, for which the directors
Suggested Answer
Suggested Answer
The following are the distinctions in effects of
demurrer to the evidence in criminal cases from that
in civil cases:
Suggested Answer
A petition for review on certiorari as a mode of
appeal may be distinguished from a special civil
action for certiorari in that the petition for certiorari
as a mode of appeal is governed by Rule 45 and is
filed from a judgment or final order of the Regional
Trial Court, the Sandiganbayan or the Court of
Appeals, within 15 days from notice of the
judgment appealed from or of the denial of the
motion for new trial or reconsideration filed in due
time on questions of law only; special civil action
for certiorari is governed by Rule 65 and is filed to
annul or modify judgments, ordered or resolutions
rendered or issued without or in excess of
jurisdiction tantamount to lack or excess of
jurisdiction, when there is no appeal nor any plain,
speedy and adequate remedy in the ordinary course
of law, to be filed within 69 days from notice of the
judgment, order or resolution subject of the petition.
In appeal by certiorari under Rule 45, the petitioner
and respondent are the original parties to the action
and the lower court is not impleaded. In certiorari,
under Rule 65, the lower court is impleaded.
In appeal by certiorari, the filing of a motion for
reconsideration is not required, while in the special
civil action for certiorari, such a motion is generally
required.
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
Suggested Answer
A temporary restraining order is issued upon
application of a party and upon the posting of the
required bond. On the other hand, a status quo order
may be issued motu proprio on equitable
considerations, and does not require the posting of a
bond. Unlike a temporary restraining order or a
preliminary injunction, a status quo order is more in
the nature of a cease and desist order, since it
neither directs the doing or undoing of acts as in the
case of prohibitory or mandatory injunctive relief.
Suggested Answer
In criminal procedure, a complaint s a sworn written
statement charging a person with an offense,
subscribed by the offended party, any peace officer
or other peace officer charged with the enforcement
of the law violated; while an information is an
accusation in writing charging a person with an
offense subscribed by the prosecutor and filed with
the court.
Suggested Answer
An amendment may be made un substance and
form, without leave of court, at any time before an
accused pleads, and thereafter during the trial as to
all matters of form, by leave and at the discretion of
the court, when the same can be done without
prejudice to the rights of the accused. Substitution
may be made if it appears at any time before
judgment that a mistake has been made in charging
the proper offense, in which case, the court shall
dismiss the complaint or information upon filing of
a new one charging the proper offense in
accordance with Rule 119, Sec. 11, provided that
the accused would not be placed thereby in double
jeopardy and may also require the witness to give
bail for their appearance at the trial.
Bail; Matter of Right vs. Matter of Discretion
(1999)
When is bail a matter of right and when is it a
matter of discretion?
Suggested Answer
When bail is a matter of right:
All persons in custody shall (a) before or after
conviction by the metropolitan and municipal trial
courts, and (b) before conviction by the RTC of an
offense not punishable by death, reclusion perpetua
or life imprisonment, be admitted to bail as a matter
of right, with sufficient sureties, or be released on
recognizance as prescribed by law or Rule 114.
Suggested Answer
Two grounds to quash an information are:
a. That the facts charged do not constitute an
offense; and
b. That the court trying the case has no
jurisdiction over the offense charged or the
person of the accused.
Notice: The other grounds are:
c. That the officer who filed the information
had no authority to do so;
d. That it does not conform substantially to the
prescribed form;
e. That more than one offense is charged
except in those cases in which existing laws
EVIDENCE
Equipoise Doctrine; Constitutional Basis (1995)
Explain the equipoise doctrine in the law of
evidence and cite its constitutional and procedural
bases.
Suggested Answer
Equipoise is the equivalent of equiponderance of
evidence. When the scale shall stand upon an
Suggested Answer
The hearsay rule is a rule of evidence to the effect
that a witness can testify only to those facts which
he knows of his own knowledge or derived from his
own perceptions, except as otherwise provided in
the Rules of Court (Rule 130, Sec. 6, Rules of
Court).
Hearsay Evidence; Definition (1999)
Suggested Answer
The exceptions to the hearsay rule are: dying
declaration, declaration against interest, act or
declaration about pedigree, family reputation or
tradition regarding pedigree, common reputation,
part of res gestae, entries in the course of business,
entries in official records, commercial lists and the
like, learned treatises, and testimony or deposition
at a former proceeding.
Suggested Answer
An offer of testimonial evidence is made at the time
the witness is called to testify, while an offer of
documentary evidence is made after the
presentation of a partys testimonial evidence.
Formal Offer vs. Offer of Proof (1991)
Distinguish formal offer of evidence from offer of
proof.
Suggested Answer
A formal offer of the testimony of a witness is made
at the time the witness is called to testify, while a
formal offer or documentary and object evidence is
made after the presentation of a partys testimonial
evidence.
On the other hand, if documents or things offered in
evidence are excluded by the court, the offer of
proof is made by having the same attached to or
made part of the record; and if the evidence
excluded is oral, the offer of proof is made by
stating for the record the name and other personal
circumstances of the witness and the substance of
the proposed testimony.
Objection: Broadside Objection vs. Specific
objection (1994)
What is the difference between a broadside
objection and a specific objection to the admission
of documentary evidence?
Suggested Answer
A broadside objection to the admission of
documentary evidence is to distinguished from a
specific objection in that a broadside objection is
a general objection such as incompetent, irrelevant
and immaterial, while a specific objection is
limited to a particular ground.
Suggested Answer
In order that a lost or destroyed will may be
allowed, the following must be complied with:
a. The execution and validity of the same
should be established;
b. The will must have been in existence at the
time of the death of the testator, or shown to
have been fraudulently or accidentally
destroyed in the lifetime of the testator
without his knowledge; and
c. Its provisions are clearly and distinctly
proved by at least two credible witnesses.
Suggested Answer
The writ of habeas data is a remedy available to any
person whose right to privacy in life, liberty or
security is violated or threatened by an unlawful act
or omissions of a public official or employee, or of
a private individual or entity engaged in the
gathering, collecting of storing of data or
information regarding the person, family, home and
correspondence of the aggrieved party.