Adolfo Sevilla Azcuna (born February 16,1939) is a Filipino jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 2002 to 2009. He was appointed to the Court by PresidentGloria Macapagal Arroyo on October 24,2002. As of November 2019[update] he was the Chancellor of the Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA),having been appointed to that position by the Supreme Court of the Philippines on June 1,2009.[1] The Court granted the title of “Chancellor Emeritus”upon Ascuna who served until May 31,2021. He was succeeded by Arturo Brion who served for 2 years and was replaced by Rosmari Carandang as the fourth Chancellor who took her oath on February 23,2022.
Azcuna received the degree of Bachelor of Arts,with academic honors,at the Ateneo de Manila in 1959 and the degree of Bachelor of Laws,cum laude,at the same institution in 1962. He was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1963,placing 4th in the 1962 bar examinations. He forthwith embarked on a government career as Assistant Private Secretary of then Presiding Justice Jose P. Bengzon of the Court of Appeals in 1963 and,thereafter,upon the appointment of the latter to the Supreme Court in 1964,as his Private Secretary.
Justice Azcuna taught International Law at his alma mater,Ateneo de Manila,from 1967 to 1986. In 1982,he completed post-graduate studies in International Law and Jurisprudence at the Salzburg University in Austria.
Representing Zamboanga del Norte,he was elected as member of the 1971 Constitutional Convention. Subsequently,he was appointed as a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission. He held several government posts during the term of President Corazon C. Aquino,first as Presidential Legal Counsel,then as Press Secretary and subsequently as Presidential Spokesman. In 1991,he was appointed Chairman of the Philippine National Bank. On October 17,2002,he was appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
In 2007,Justice Azcuna was conferred the Metrobank Foundation Professorial Chair in International and Human Rights Law for which he delivered a presentation entitled,“International Humanitarian Law:A Field Guide to the Basics.”
Justice Azcuna delivered a presentation entitled,“The Writ of Amparo:The Philippine Experience So Far,”as the first recipient of the Founding Chancellor Emeritus Justice Ameurfina Melencio-Herrera Award for the Most Outstanding Professorial Lecturer.
On January 8,2013,the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Senate Philippines and the Insular Life Assurance Co.,Ltd. conferred to Justice Azcuna The Outstanding Filipino (TOFIL) Award for 2012 in the field of Justice/Law.
As a holder of the Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban Professorial Chair on Liberty and Prosperity,Justice Azcuna delivered a presentation entitled,“Supreme Court Decisions on the Economic Provisions of the Constitution”on April 18,2013,at the Ateneo School of Law.
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has elected Justice Azcuna as one of its five new commissioners for a term of five years from August 12,2014,to August 11,2019. The ICJ is dedicated to ensuring respect for international human rights standards through the law. Commissioners are known for their experience,knowledge and fundamental commitment to human rights.
On September 27,2016,the Ateneo de Manila University during its 2016 Traditional University Awards conferred with Justice Azcuna the Lux-in-Domino Award. This capstone award that requires "the crowning achievement of both life and work is given to an extraordinary individual who has incarnated in life,and perhaps even in death,in an outstanding and exemplary manner,the noblest ideals of the Ateneo de Manila University".[2] The citation stated:"For living as a selfless public servant who puts country before self and as a man of deep faith whose devotion to his family is unchanging;for devoting more than 50 years of his life to judicial work,driven by a commitment to the delivery of justice;for ensuring the protection of every Filipino’s constitutional right to life,liberty,and security through the writ of amparo;for lighting a path of excellence,service,and probity that young Filipinos and Ateneans may follow."[3]
Silver is My Gold:An Alchemy of My Life by the Principle of Magis
In November 2017,Justice Azcuna was elected as a new member of the International Organization for Judicial Training (IOJT) Board of Executives at the General Assembly held during the 8th IOJT Conference on the Training of the Judiciary.[4] PHILJA hosted the 2017 Conference,being one of IOJT's founding members.
Justice Azcuna's major publications include “International Sales of Goods,”“Transnational Law Practice,”“International Law Teaching in the Philippines,”“Doing Business in the Philippines,”“Foreign Judgment [Monetary] Enforcements in the Philippines,”“Piercing the Veil of Corporate Entity:From Willets to Santos,”“ASEAN Conflict of Law,”and “The Supreme Court and Public International Law.”
Azcuna's book entitled "Silver is My Gold:An Alchemy of My Life by the Principle of Magis" was launched on June 3 and 4,2023 at One Rockwell and in the Philippine Book Festival at World Trade Center Metro Manila,respectively.
Gregory Santos Ong case
Since the creation of the Philippine Supreme Court in 1901,no presidential appointment of a Supreme Court Associate had ever been nullified by the High Tribunal. But on July 3,2007,Azcuna's judgment made history. The Court granted the petition of two foundations that sought to block Gregory S. Ong’s appointment over the citizenship issue. Azcuna wrote that Ong would be unable to join them on the bench "until he had proven in court that he was a natural-born Filipino citizen and corrected the records of his birth and citizenship". The court declared its decision to be final and effective immediately.[5]
Renato Tereso Antonio Coronado Corona was a Filipino judge who was the 23rd chief justice of the Philippines from 2010 to 2012. He served as an associate justice after being appointed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on April 9,2002,and later as Chief Justice on May 12,2010,upon the retirement of Chief Justice Reynato Puno.
Romeo J. Callejo Sr. was the 152nd associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He was appointed to the court on August 26,2002,by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo,and served until his mandatory retirement on April 27,2007.
Antonio Tirol Carpio is a former associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He was sworn in as a member of the Supreme Court by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on October 26,2001,and served until his retirement on October 26,2019. He served as associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines for a period of eighteen years. He also served as chief justice in an acting capacity several times during his tenure as Senior Associate Justice.
Voltaire Ylagan "Butch" Rosales was a Filipino Executive Judge of the Regional Trial Court,Branch 83,Tanauan,Batangas,Philippines.
Fred Ruiz Castro was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from January 5,1976,until his death on April 19,1979,while on an official trip to India.
The Ratification Cases,officially titled as Javellana v. Executive Secretary,was a 1973 Supreme Court of the Philippines case that allowed the 1973 Philippine Constitution to come into full force,which led to President Ferdinand Marcos staying in office and ruling by decree until he was ousted by the People Power Revolution in 1986. The decision became the cornerstone of subsequent decisions whenever the validity of the 1973 Constitution was questioned.
Juan Andres "Andy" Donato Bautista is the former chairman of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) of the Philippines and former dean of the Institute of Law of the Far Eastern University,a private,non-sectarian university in Manila,Philippines.
San Beda College of Law is the law school college under the San Beda University,a private,Roman Catholic university run by the Benedictine monks in the Philippines.
The Ateneo Law Journal is an academic journal of legal scholarship published by an independent student group at Ateneo Law School.
Gregory Santos Ong is a Filipino jurist and a former Justice of the Sandiganbayan. He was initially appointed as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on May 16,2007,but his appointment was subsequently withdrawn after questions arose whether he met the constitutional requirement of natural-born citizenship. On September 23,2014,he was found guilty of gross misconduct,dishonesty and impropriety and was subsequently dismissed from his position as Justice of the Sandiganbayan by the Supreme Court of the Philippines as a result of an investigation linking him to pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.
Sedfrey M. Candelaria,is the former Dean of the Ateneo Law School in Makati,Philippines.
In the Philippines,amparo and habeas data are prerogative writs to supplement the inefficacy of the writ of habeas corpus. Amparo means 'protection,' while habeas data is 'access to information.' Both writs were conceived to solve the extensive Philippine extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances since 1999.
In most legal systems of the Spanish-speaking world,the writ of amparo is a remedy for the protection of constitutional rights,found in certain jurisdictions. The amparo remedy or action is an effective and inexpensive instrument for the protection of individual rights.
Nimfa Cuesta Vilches was a Senior Deputy Court Administrator (DCA) at the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA),Supreme Court of the Philippines. She was a regional trial court judge in Manila until her appointment as Assistant Court Administrator in 2006 and as DCA in 2008. She was a family law expert in the Philippines and in the international legal community.
Mariano C. del Castillo is a former associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.
Roberto A. Abad is a lawyer and judge who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from August 7,2009,to May 22,2014.
Jesus M. Elbinias,was a Presiding Justice of the Philippine Court of Appeals and first Chancellor of the Department of Justice Academy. He is also remembered as the one who wrote and composed the Supreme Court Hymn,Judiciary Hymn,Ombudsman Hymn and the Court of Appeals Hymn. Justice Elbinias took his pre-law Associate of Arts degree and Bachelor of Laws degree from Silliman University.
Eugene Alvarez Tan (1943–1994) was a Filipino human rights lawyer,author,and professor of law. He was murdered in 1994.
Emmanuel Leido Caparas is a Filipino lawyer who served as acting Secretary of Justice under the presidency of Benigno Aquino III. Prior to his appointment as acting secretary he worked as undersecretary and spokesperson of the Department of Justice. He also worked as Acting Chief of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System Regulatory Office.
Bar topnotchers in the Philippines are bar examinees who garnered the highest bar exam grades in a particular year. Every year,the Supreme Court releases the bar top ten list. The list contains the names of bar examinees who obtained the ten highest grades. It is possible for more than ten examinees to place in the top ten because numerical ties in the computation of grades usually occur.
References
↑ "PHILJA Officials". Philippine Judicial Academy. Archived from the original on November 19, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
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