Case Digest (G.R. No. L-4663)
Facts:
Ferdinand E. Marcos and Manuel Concordia, G.R. Nos. L-4663 and L-4671, May 30, 1951, Supreme Court En Banc, Feria, J., writing for the Court. These consolidated matters are special civil actions of mandamus filed in the Supreme Court by the same petitioners against several General Court‑Martials and other respondents (including the Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines). The petitioners alleged that the military tribunals unlawfully excluded them from appearing as counsel for accused persons tried before those tribunals despite their status as attorneys duly admitted to practice law in the Philippine courts.The General Court‑Martials refused the petitioners' appearance on the ground that they were disqualified by the constitutional prohibition found in Section 17, Article 17 of the Constitution that bars Senators and Members of the House of Representatives from appearing "as counsel" in certain cases. The petitioners sought writs of mandamus to compel the respective courts‑martial to permit them to act as counsel. No intermediate judicial forum disposition is reported; the actions were brought as special civil actions of mandamus to this Court.
The central factual posture is therefore narrow and legal: the tribunals excluded the petitioners on the cited constitutional ground, the petitioners sought mandamus relief in the Supreme Court asserting a right to app...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Does the phrase "any court" in Section 17, Article 17 of the Constitution include a General Court‑Martial such that a member of Congress is prohibited from appearing as counsel before it?
- Is a prosecution before a court‑martial a "criminal case" within the meaning of Section 17, Article 17 of the Constitution, thereby invoking the constitutional prohibition against memb...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)