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.
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 interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.
Note. The text of the provision above is reproduced in full from the official enactment (Republic Act No. 386), verified against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings. The annotation and commentary around it are the work of Vivas & Nobles Law Office and are general legal information, not legal advice. How a provision applies to a particular situation depends on facts that only a lawyer reviewing your case can assess.