Role Of The Judiciary In The Philippines

Ultimately, the judiciary is defined as a branch of government in which judicial power is vested into a system of courts of law and the judges in it. Despite having different court structures and hierarchies, the purpose of the judiciary in both Malaysia and Philippines is to ensure justice is delivered, and it does so by utilising the functions of its courts with the help of judges playing their respective roles. Three main roles are played by the judiciary in general, that is, to hear cases on civil or criminal matters, to interpret and give effect to the Constitution and legislations, as well as to exercise the functions of judicial review. In applying the first role of deciding cases involving disputes over rights, both countries apply the English doctrine of stare decisis in handling each case, that is, judges are compelled to follow the decision of a higher court in cases of similar facts. Each level of court in the hierarchy has its own role to play …show more content…
As the highest court in their respective hierarchies, both courts play a significant role in the judiciary as they are empowered under their Constitutions to settle matters that are of constitutional importance as well as to settle disputes of civil or criminal matters objectively. Thus, these courts are capable of performing all three roles due to their wide jurisdiction to hear any case brought before them.
However, the bulk of cases are dealt by the lower courts who apply precedents in deciding cases. Appeals on questions of law goes up to the Court of Appeal, while the Federal Court or Supreme Court will deal with mostly matters of constitutional importance or exceptional circumstances. Some parallel courts run alongside the civil court system, such as the Syariah courts which exist in both countries to hear disputes on Muslim rights for marriage, succession, inheritance, and divorce based on Islamic