The U.P. Law Complex

The University of the Philippines Law Complex was created by the Board of Regents on December 18, 1989 in response to the need for an integrated system of national and regional legal institution dedicated to teaching, research, training, information and other services.

The concept of a law complex has its modest origins in the faculty lecture programs of the U.P. College of Law first conducted in 1962 for the benefit of law practitioners, government lawyers, and law professors. Encouraged by the favorable reactions to this project, the College organized short courses in various fields of law. To complement these short courses, research projects were also initiated. These led to the establishment in 1963 of the Continuing Legal Education and Research Center of the Philippines in the College of Law.

The rich potential of this intellectual enterprise was recognized by the Congress of the Philippines which enacted on June 15, 1964 the Charter of the U.P. Law Center, Republic Act No. 3879. The Continuing Legal Education and Research Center became the U.P. Law Center.

Through the reorganization plan approved by the Board of Regents in 1989, the U.P. Law Complex currently consists of the College of Law with a Law Center, which performs the College's research and outreach functions.

The Law Center, in turn, is composed of four Institutes created in 1989, namely:

1. Institute of Government and Law Reform

2. Institute of Human Rights

3. Institute of International Legal Studies

4. Institute of Judicial Administration

The College of Law is governed by the Dean and its faculty acting as a collegial body. It has an Associate Dean who assists the Dean in the administration of the Law Center and its support staff. There is also an Executive Committee composed of the Dean, the Associate Dean, the Institute Directors, and a representative of the faculty, and a Law Consultative Assembly composed of the Dean, the Associate Dean, and the Institute Directors as ex officio members, one representative of the full-time faculty, one representative of the part-time faculty, two representative from the Research, Extension and Professional Staff of the Law Center, one representative of the Administrative Personnel, the president of the U.P. Law Alumni Association, and the president of the Law Student Government as regular member.

U.P. Law-Internet and Society Program

The U.P. Law Internet and society Program (ISP) is an institute conceptualized by the Dean of the U.P. College of Law, Raul C. Pangalangan, and Professor Jesus Hose M. Disini, who now heads the ISP as Director, upon the realization that the College should take the initiative to develop the country's current legal framework and keep it in tune with the technological times. In no uncertain terms, the pace of technology has tested the ability of law to continue its traditional role in regulating behavior among private parties. The results have so far been mixed and, in some instances, call into question the relevance of law on artificial environments.

The U.P. College of Law, however, believes that only law can be an effective tool to bring order in the uncharted territory of cyberspace. Thus, the Internet and Society Program was created to assist in providing a legal framework to address the emerging issues brought about by the technological revolution.

The ISP endeavors to promote the advancement of cyberspace and Internet law in the Philippines. It seeks to achieve this primary goal on three fronts: a) Law and Public Policy, b) Industry Support, and c) Legal Profession and the Judiciary. Each program has its own set of objectives that will guide the ISP through its primary goal of cyber law development.

Institute of Government and Law Reform

The Institute of Government and Law Reform (IGLR) is tasked under the 1989 reorganization plan of the U.P. Law Complex to implement the following functions: a) discharge the function of the defunct Code Commission; b) undertake technical studies and researches in law, particularly on projects for reform in the judiciary, public administration, civil rights protection, international relations, and law enforcement, and
c) continue projects of popularizing the law by establishing linkages with other institutions for the teaching of elementary knowledge in law by translating legal materials into Filipino and other major dialects of the Philippines. In doing so, it serves in varying degrees the general objectives envisioned for the Law Center, namely, "the advancement of legal scholarship, the protection of human rights with emphasis on the improvement of the legal system, and the administration of justice."

The program being undertaken by the IGLR in pursuance of the above objectives and functions a) Codification of Law; b) Review of and Comments on Pending Legislation; c) Studies and Researches as Bases for Law Reform; d) Opinions and Consultations; e) Conferences, Lectures, Seminar-Workshops, and Extension Services; and f) Publication Program.

The Law Library

The College of Law Library contains 17,350 accessioned volumes, 295 pamphlets and an adequate serial collection. It is located in a  five-storey air-conditioned building. In order to emphasize its indispensable role in the learning process, the Library is directly under the supervision of the College, although it services the Law Center as well. It has expanded its role in providing access to legal information. It now serves not only the law students, the law faculty, and the university community, but also the members of the bench and bar, the officials of the different branches of government, as well as the general public.

The collection of the Library includes the Philippine Reports, Supreme Court Reports Annotated, Philippine Digest, complete sets of the U.S. National Reporter System, U.S. Supreme Court Reporter, American Law Report, and several sets of different casebooks, texts, and treatises. There is an extensive collection of materials on international law and a complete set of the United Nations Treaty Series and League of Nations Treaty Series, and sets of Anglo-American legal periodical representative of a first-class law school library. The Library also has notable collection of Spanish law books, a United Nations Document Section, Constitutional Convention Archive, Human Rights Documentation Section, records of the Philippine Martial Law period, and ASEAN Law and Indigenous Law collections. In addition, the Library has an extensive collection of electronic databases containing laws, local and foreign jurisprudence, administrative issuances, international documents, and index to foreign periodicals. For search purposes, the Library jas its local online public access catalog system.

Institute of Human Rights

The Institute of Human Rights is concerns itself with the protection and promotion of human rights, including the political, civil, economic, social, and cultural rights of the people, especially those of the indigenous people, the urban poor, the working class, and the peasantry. It conducts researches on selected human rights issues. It publishes the Human Rights Agenda, a monthly bulletin that serves as a venue for the dissemination and discussion of various human rights issues. It also publishes the Philippine Peace and Human Rights Review, an IHR yearbook which contains the result of the studies undertaken by the Institute and scholarly articles on human rights. It organizes seminars, symposia, workshops, and other fora on various human rights issues, proceedings of which are also published by the Institute. It also sponsors specialized training courses on human rights in cooperation with other human rights organizations. It renders opinion to government agencies regarding policy and legal questions on human rights.

Electronic Law School Project

Through the Electronic Law School Project, the College aims to: a) open another channel for the public to access data, information and analysis which the College can provide; b) leverage public resources in order

Institute of International Legal Studies

The Institute of International Legal Studies (IILS) was established in 1983 to undertake research in the fields of international law, international relations, and comparative law, especially in those areas wherein the Philippines, in particular, and the developing world, in general, are involved.

The Institute publishes the World Bulletin, a bimonthly publication devoted to the analysis and documentation of significant changes and trends in the international situation. Materials published are generally long papers, short research notes and legal documentation on current world, regional, and national events prepared by the IILS staff members, fellows, and consultants, faculty from the other UP units, and foreign experts.

It also publishes books and pamphlets on different issues in seminars, conferences, and workshops, and receives requests for opinions and other forms of legal assistance from Congress, the Department of Trade and Industry, the WTO/AFTA Commission, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, among others.

Office of Legal Aid

The Office of Legal Aid (OLA) houses the clinical education program of the College of Law. It provides free legal assistance to indigent litigants. It is also actively involved in public interest cases. It was created for the purpose of inculcating in the experience of law students the concepts of public service and social involvement of the legal profession even as they acquire practical training in law practice under the guidance and supervision of the supervising lawyers and the law faculty. It is headed by a Director who is a regular member of the faculty.

Scope of Activities

OLA's free legal services include interviewing, investigating, drafting of documents, researching on law and procedure, handling cases in court, preparing appeals and review petitions, and seeking administrative and other legal remedies in order to achieve for the poor equal and speedy justice under the law.

The OLA also provides a placement program for law students who wish to volunteer for public interest work in alternative, development, or feminist law groups in Metro Manila and the provinces.

Law Student Internship

Legal aid work by law students offers the most practical and real program for learning the practice of law. The OLA helps the students learn through apprenticeship under expert supervision.

Institute of Judicial Adminstration

The Institute of Judicial Administration (IJA) actively formulates and conducts continuing legal education programs for members of the bar through its General Law Practice Institutes in coordination with the local and national chapters of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. It develops and encourages training programs on special areas of law under special arrangements with other government agencies and other lawyer's association through its "Diliman Institutes." As provided for in the Memorandum of Agreements concerning the IJA and the Supreme Court, it develops and presents for consideration by the latter, recommendations for the improvement of the administration of Philippine courts. However, upon the establishment of the Supreme Court Philippine Judicial Academy, the Institute is presently consistent in providing administrative and technical assistance in the formulation of modules for continuing education programs for members of the bench and court personnel.

Publications

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