Text of the provision
Art. 8. Judicial decisions applying or interpreting the laws or the Constitution shall form a part of the legal system of the Philippines.
(n)
Civil Code of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 386, approved June 18, 1949, effective August 30, 1950. Reproduced in full; verified verbatim against the LawPhil and ChanRobles official-text renderings.
What this article means
This is the statutory basis of stare decisis in the Philippines. The Supreme Court's interpretations of the law and the Constitution become part of the legal system — not new legislation, but authoritative statements of what the law has always meant. Lower courts are bound to follow them, and a settled ruling applies to pending and future cases until the Court itself reverses it.
Questions about this provision
Related provisions
- Article 9 — courts may not refuse to decide for silence of the law.
- Article 7 — the hierarchy of laws the courts interpret.
Cases citing this article
- Bertini Cataluña Causing vs. People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 258524, April 8, 2026 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Bernadette Lourdes B. Abejo vs. Commission on Audit, G.R. No. 272898, October 8, 2024 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- San Miguel Corporation vs. Commissioner of Internal Revenue/Commissioner of Internal Revenue vs. San Miguel Corporation, G.R. No. 257697, April 12, 2023 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Kolin Electronics Co., Inc. vs. Kolin Philippines International, Inc, G.R. No. 228165, February 9, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Philippine International Trading Corporation vs. Commission on Audit, G.R. No. 205837, November 21, 2017 — read the decision on LawPhil →
Compiled automatically from Supreme Court decisions published on LawPhil that expressly cite this article, most frequently cited first. A listing means the decision cites the provision — it is not a statement that the case is the leading authority, and it does not show whether a ruling has since been modified or abandoned. Always read the decision itself.