Amor proprio, motu propio

I know, I know. It is amor propio; not amor proprio. But what about motu propio? I dealt with this in passing here.

My professor in Civil Law review, former RTC Judge Mein Paredes, uses motu propio. Other authors, professors, and lecturers use motu proprio.

Still I think I need to get deeper into this motu propio/proprio thing because when I read the masterful dissent of Justice Leonen on the bail granted by the SC for Enrile there was, lo and behold, motu propio sticking out like a sore thumb.

If you are looking for a definitive discussion of the right to bail as enshrined in the constitution and fleshed out by Rule 114 Justice Leonen's is the go-to exposition. Get it here.

For the moment, though, we are interested in this section:

Amor propio is spanish. So it is not hard to find its meaning through online dictionaries like in this one.   It means a feeling of self-worth. There is no such phrase as amor proprio in Spanish.

Motu propio appears in US Legal in this entry:

Motu propio is a Latin term meaning "on his own impulse". It is used to refer to a document that is issued and personally signed by the Pope. It may be contain instructional matter, administrative matters of church law or governing bodies, or used to grant a special favor.

Other dictionaries use motu proprio as in this from the online version of Black's Law Dictionary:

What is MOTU PROPRIO?
Lat. Of his own motion. The commencing words of a certain kind of papal rescript

So which is which? See here for a discussion for motu propio vs motu proprio.

Personally I go for motu proprio as found in this entry of wikipedia.

Saturday typos, 29 Aug 2015

From the Civil Code of the Philippines, Annotated, Vol I, 2013 Edition by Paras:

Page 427

Page 428

Page 437

Supply defects and curb evils

Some words used by lawyers are very counterintuitive. The first that comes to mind would be continuance.

A layman in court will be surprised to hear that his case will be postponed to sometime in the far future. But didn't he hear the judge say that he will grant a continuance?

While rereading Fr. Bernas' The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines: A Commentary, 2009 Edition I noticed that I had made in the end page a reference to page 191 which turned out to be this:

Going by the ordinary meaning of "supply" you will find some kind of dissonance with the goal of curbing evil. Other decisions of the Supreme Court have this variation:

They are intended to supply defects, abridge superfluities and curb certain evils.

Might this be another word with different meaning among lawyers? But  Black Dictionary uses the ordinary meaning:

Even Pres. Marcos may have some misgiving with the word when he came up with PD 44:

WHEREAS, in order that the desired aims and objectives of the Dangerous Drugs Act can be effectivity and satisfactorily attained, it is imperative that the said law be modified so as to cure its defects and supply its deficiencies. 

The Rhode Island Code may provide the legal meaning of supply. This one is from Justia US Law

§ 33-23-15 Want of jurisdiction – Amendments to supply defects. – No order or decree of a probate court which may be appealed from, or in any collateral proceeding when the same shall not have been appealed from, shall be deemed to be invalid, or be quashed, for want of proper form, or for want of jurisdiction appearing upon the record, if the probate court had jurisdiction of the subject matter of the order or decree. The superior court having jurisdiction of the parties to a probate appeal may allow amendments to be made in the papers filed in the case, to supply any deficiency or correct errors therein, upon such terms as it may deem proper.

It seems that this meaning of supply as used by the Supreme Court has been used by courts long ago. Click here for one that dates back to March 28, 1786.

Saturday typos, 22 Aug 2015

From the San Beda Memory Aid in Criminal Law 2014 Edition:

Page 3 -

Page 100 -

Page 151 -

A new title of crimes in the Revised Penal Code

Book Two of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines lists 13 titles enumerating the different names of crimes.

Rape has been transferred from Title Eleven - Crimes Against Chastity to Title Eight - Crimes Against Persons.

As an aside but a bit apropos, Prof. Paredes in his discussion on rape being now a crime against persons asked our class if rape done from behind can be called rape with treachery.

It seems there is now a new title of crimes. Take a look at the San Beda 2014 Memory Aid in Criminal Law:

On page 280 -

And this one on page 283 -

Saturday typos, 15 Aug 2015

It's well into the semester for those of us who still start the school year in June. My place is getting a lot more organized with each day of finishing carpentry works. Hopefully I can get back on traction into my review classes.

I think the San Beda Memory Aids and Red Books are great for any law students on their final year in school. In my case they serve as good indexes for the textbooks I use. Judge Meinrado Paredes (retired) also recommends the UST Golden Notes. Although with a disclaimer: that memory aids are useless if one has not read the textbooks.

Judge Paredes is our professor for the review classes in Remedial Law and Criminal Law.  I like that Prof. Paredes can inject real life court situations into the discussions. I also remember the two mountain climbing expeditions he had with our environmental class at my former school.

Already he is hinting that he will not be back for the second semester in order to devote time to his farm. It would be a loss for my classmates and me.

Now on to our meager reading so far.

From the 2014 Memory Aid in Remedial Law:

Page 19 -

Page 39 -

Here's how Regalado words it:

Page 47 -