Legal education reforms, Board creation

State policy and objectives

Section 2 declares State policy to uplift standards of legal education to prepare law students for advocacy, counselling, problem-solving, and decision-making.
Section 2 requires the integration of the ethics of the legal profession and the importance, nobility, and dignity of the legal profession as an equal and indispensable partner of the Bench in the administration of justice.
Section 2 directs reforms that develop socially-committed lawyers with integrity and competence through: (1) proper selection of law students, (2) quality maintenance among law schools, and (3) requirements of legal apprenticeship and continuing legal education.
Section 3 sets general objectives including preparing students for the practice of law, increasing awareness of the needs of the poor, deprived and oppressed, training for leadership, and promoting justice and improvement of the legal system and institutions.
Section 3 sets specific objectives including broad knowledge of law and legal institutions, enhanced legal research abilities, preparation for advocacy and decision-making, competence for gainful employment and foundation for future training, inculcation of ethics and responsibilities, and production of lawyers who adhere to ethical norms.

Legal Education Board creation

Section 4 creates the Legal Education Board, referred to as the Board, attached solely for budgetary purposes and administrative support to the Department of Education, Culture and Sports.
Section 4 provides the Board composition: a Chairman and regular members including representatives of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), Philippine Association of Law Schools (PALS), Philippine Association of Law Professors (PALP), active law practitioners, and the law students’ sector.
Section 4 makes the Secretary of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports or his representative an ex officio member of the Board.
Section 4 requires, except for the law students’ sector representative, that the Chairman and regular members are natural-born citizens, members of the Philippine Bar, and have been engaged for at least 10 years in the practice of law and in teaching law in a duly authorized or recognized law school.
Section 4 requires the Chairman to preferably be a former Justice of the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals.

Appointment, term, and compensation

Section 5 provides that the President appoints the Chairman and regular members for a term of five (5) years.
Section 5 bars reappointment for the Chairman and regular members.
Section 5 requires prior authorization from the Supreme Court and that nominees come from the Judicial and Bar Council with at least three (3) nominees for every position or vacancy.
Section 5 states that the appointments do not require confirmation by the Commission on Appointments.
Section 5 specifies staggered first terms: the Chairman and the IBP representative serve 5 years; the PALS and PALP representatives serve 3 years; the active practitioners representative and law students’ sector representative serve 1 year, all without reappointment.
Section 5 provides that appointments to vacancies are only for the unexpired portion of the predecessor’s term.
Section 5 provides that the Chairman and regular members have the same salary and rank as the Chairman and members, respectively, of the Constitutional Commissions, and their salaries shall not be diminished during their term.

Board office and staff support

Section 6 requires the Department of Education, Culture and Sports to provide necessary office and staff support to the Board.
Section 6 designates the principal office to be located in Metropolitan Manila.
Section 6 authorizes the Board to appoint other officers and employees it deems necessary to perform its powers and functions.

Board powers and legal education reforms

Section 7 directs the Board to administer the legal education system in the country consistent with the Act.
Section 7 empowers the Board to supervise law schools in the country consistent with the enumerated powers and functions.
Section 7 authorizes the Board to set standards of accreditation, taking into account matters such as enrollment size, faculty qualifications, library and other facilities, while not encroaching on academic freedom of institutions of higher learning.
Section 7 provides that the Board accredits law schools that meet accreditation standards.
Section 7 authorizes the Board to prescribe minimum standards for law admission and minimum qualifications and compensation of faculty members.
Section 7 requires the Board to prescribe basic curricula aligned with requirements for admission to the Bar, law practice, social consciousness, and other courses as prescribed by law schools and colleges under different accreditation statuses.
Section 7 requires the establishment of a law practice internship as a requirement for taking the Bar, to be undertaken by a law student with a duly accredited private or public law office or firm or legal assistance group anytime during the law course for a specific period set by the Board but not to exceed a total of twelve (12) months.
Section 7 requires the Board to prescribe internship guidelines and specifications that include the actual work of a new member of the Bar.
Section 7 authorizes the Board to adopt a system of continuing legal education, including mandatory attendance of practicing lawyers in courses and for durations the Board deems necessary.
Section 7 authorizes the Board to perform other functions and prescribe rules and regulations necessary to attain the Act’s policies and objectives.

Accreditation requirements and accreditation losses

Section 8 prohibits educational institutions from operating a law school unless the law school is accredited by the Board.
Section 8 requires that accreditation of law schools may be granted only to educational institutions recognized by the Government.
Section 9 authorizes the Board to withdraw or downgrade a law school’s accreditation status if the school fails to maintain the accreditation standards.
Section 10 makes withdrawal or downgrading effective after the lapse of the semester or trimester following the school’s receipt of the notice of withdrawal or downgrading.
Section 10 provides that withdrawal or downgrading does not take effect if, in the meantime, the school meets and/or upgrades standards or corrects deficiencies that are the basis of the withdrawal or downgrading.

Legal Education Fund creation and use

Section 11 creates a special endowment fund called the Legal Education Fund, placed under the Board’s control.
Section 11 provides that the Social Security System (SSS) administers the Fund as a separate fund and invests it with due and prudent regard to solvency, safety, and liquidity.
Section 11 establishes the Fund’s sources: amounts appropriated pursuant to paragraph 2, Section 13, and sixty percent (60%) of the privilege tax paid by every lawyer effective Fiscal Year 1994, plus donations, legacies, grants-in-aid, and other contributions received by the Board for the Act’s purposes.
Section 11 provides that, because it is a special endowment fund, only the interests earned on the Legal Education Fund are used exclusively for purposes of the Act, including support for faculty development grants, professorial chairs, library improvements, and similar programs advancing law teaching and education in accredited law schools.
Section 11 authorizes Fund use for the Board’s operation, allowing an amount not exceeding ten percent (10%) of the interest on the Fund.
Section 11 requires the Board, in consultation with the SSS, to issue rules and regulations for the Fund’s collection, administration, and utilization.

Coverage and appropriation

Section 12 provides that the Act applies to all schools and colleges of law presently under the supervision of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports, and that supervision is to be transferred to the Board.
Section 12 provides that law schools and colleges established following approval of the Act are likewise covered.
Section 13 authorizes One million pesos (P1,000,000) to be charged against the current year’s appropriation of the Contingent Fund for the Board’s initial expenses.
Section 13 appropriates Ten million pesos (P10,000,000) annually under the budget of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports for a period of ten (10) years, effective Fiscal Year 1994, to form part of the Legal Education Fund.

Separability, repeals, and effectivity

Section 14 provides that if any provision of the Act is declared unconstitutional or its application to any person, circumstance, or transaction is held invalid, the validity and applicability of the remaining provisions are not affected.
Section 15 repeals or amends all laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations, issuances, or parts thereof inconsistent with the Act.
Section 16 provides that the Act takes effect 15 days after completion of publication in the Official Gazette or in any two (2) newspapers of general circulation.