Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 3870)
The primary purpose of the U.P. Law Center is the advancement of legal scholarship, protection of human rights with emphasis on the improvement of the legal system and administration of justice, and assuming leadership in overcoming criticism directed at professional competence and responsibility.
The U.P. Law Center is engaged in (a) research and publication program, (b) public faculty lecture program, and (c) continuing legal education program, which is subdivided into the law institute program and the vacation studies program.
The U.P. Law Center is authorized to: (1) undertake technical legal studies and research emphasizing Philippine Law; (2) conduct law institutes or study programs for continuing legal education; (3) undertake legal studies and research upon government request for law reform; (4) publish and distribute studies and writings related to its objectives; (5) perform other necessary acts to achieve its objectives including granting research awards, prizes, scholarships, and fellowships.
Appointments to administrative or research staff at the U.P. Law Center may be part-time and are exempt from the requirements and restrictions of the Civil Service Law, the Retirement Law, and Section 529 of the Revised Administrative Code.
Retirees employed at the U.P. Law Center shall not be required to refund any gratuity received from the government, nor shall their pension or annuity be suspended or reduced due to their employment at the Center.
No book, treatise, or other literary work on law is entitled to copyright protection unless two copies have been previously filed with the U.P. Law Center, with proof of receipt.
All government agencies including courts, boards, and commissions must provide the U.P. Law Center, free of charge and upon request, with at least one copy of each decision, resolution, regulation, bulletin, or report they promulgate or publish.
The Legal Research Fund supports the U.P. Law Center and is funded by an additional fee collected by clerks of court: five pesos for appellate courts and two pesos for other courts or agencies for each action or special proceeding filed.
Clerks of court turn over the collected funds to the chief accountant of the Department of Justice, who remits them at the end of each fiscal year to the University of the Philippines for use by the U.P. Law Center.
Violation of any provision of the Act is punishable by a fine of not more than two thousand pesos or imprisonment.