PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 289

: The primary purpose is to amend Section 24 of the Judiciary Act to increase the membership of the Court of Appeals and to delete the statutory mode of impeachment for disciplining its members, in order to handle the increased case load and comply with constitutional requirements.
: The Court of Appeals shall consist of a Presiding Justice and thirty-five (35) Associate Justices.
: They are appointed by the President of the Philippines.
: Precedence is determined by the dates of their respective commissions, or if the commissions bear the same date, by the order in which their commissions were issued by the President.
: A member reappointed after serving in another branch of government retains the precedence entitled under the original appointment, and their service is considered continuous and uninterrupted.
: The Court of Appeals shall sit en banc as a body but may also sit in twelve divisions of three Justices each, which may sit simultaneously.
: Because the enlarged jurisdiction and increased number of cases appealed directly to it created a backlog that needed to be addressed by increasing the Court's membership.
: Because it conflicted with Article X, Section 7 of the 1973 Constitution.
: The Court of Appeals is required to decide cases within 12 months from the date of submission.
: It took effect immediately upon its signing on September 7, 1973.