BAR REVIEWER

CRIMINAL LAW

General Principles; Schools of Thought in Criminal Law (1996)

1. What are the different schools of thought or theories in Criminal Law
and describe each briefly.
2. To what theory does our Revised Penal Code belong?

SUGGESTED ANSWER:

1. There are two schools of thought in Criminal Law, and these are
(a) the Classical Theory, which simply means that the basis of
criminal liabilities is human free will, and the purpose of the
penalty is retribution which must be proportional to the gravity
of the offense; and (b) the Positivist Theory, which considers m
an as a social being and his acts are attributable not just to his
will but to other forces of society. As such, punishment is not
the solution, as he is not entirely to be blamed; law and
jurisprudence should not be the yardstick in the imposition of
sanction, instead the underlying reasons would be inquired into.
2. We follow the classical school of thought although some provisions
of the Revised Penal Code are based on classical theory but
majority of the provisions are eminently positivist in tendencies,
like punishment of impossible crime, Juvenile circumstances, are
incorporated in our Code.

Territoriality (1994)
1. Abe, married to Liza, contracted another marriage with Connie in
Singapore. Thereafter, Abe and Connie returned to the Philippines and
lived as husband and wife in the hometown of Abe in Calamba, Laguna.
(1) Can Abe be prosecuted for Bigamy?

SUGGESTED ANSWER:

1. No, Abe may not be prosecuted for bigamy since the bigamous
marriage was contracted or solemnized in Singapore, hence such
violation is not one of those where the Revised Penal Code, under
Art. 2 thereof, may be applied extraterritorially. The general
rule on territoriality of criminal law governs the situation.

General Principles; Territoriality; Jurisdiction over Vessel (2000)

1. After drinking one case of San Miguel beer and taking two plates of
pulutan, Binoy, a Filipino seaman, stabbed to death Sio My, a
Singaporean seaman, aboard M/V Princess of the Pacific, an overseas
vessel which was sailing in the South China Sea. The vessel, although
Panamanian registered, is owned by Lucio Sy, a rich Filipino
businessman. When M/V Princess of the Pacific reached a Philippine
Port at Cebu City, the Captain of the vessel turned over the
assailant Binoy to the Philippine authorities. An information for
homicide was filed against Binoy in the Regional Trial Court of Cebu
City. He moved to quash the information for lack of jurisdiction. If
you were the Judge, will you grant the motion? Why?

SUGGESTED ANSWER: