CHAPTER | PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS Definitions and Terms — before one decides to pursue law as a lifetime profession, he must first know its definition and connotation, as it applies to humanity and differentiates its meaning from the law of the jungle or law of the mighty. Law — in its generic sense, is a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by controlling authority and having binding legal force. That which must be followed and obeyed by the citizens subject to sanctions or legal consequences; it is a solemn expression of the will of the power of the State. The law of a state is to be found in its statutory and constitutional enactments, as interpreted by its courts, and in the absence of statute law, in the rulings of its courts. It may also mean or embrace — body of principles, standards and rules promulgated by government. With reference to its origin, “law” is derived either from judicial precedents, from legislation, or from custom. Law regarded in its different aspects, are absolute law, adjective law, ecclesiastical law, common law, conflicts of laws, constitutional law, criminal law, ordinance, organic law, and parliamentary law. (Black’s Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition) Law may likewise be classified into “non-jural” and “jural” law. Under the “non-jural” classification, are divine law, natural law, moral law and physical law. Under the “jural version” are constitutional enactments and statues enacted by the legislature, executive orders and decrees, judicial precedents, opinions of jurists, city and municipal ordinances, and rules and regulations issued by administrative agencies of the government 1 Scanned with CamScannerINTRODUCTION TO LAW TE LAW — that portion of the law whig (e) PRIVA andadministers et nenshipe among; relates, nr erations, As used in contr i ae associations anc sans all that part of the oy whic n is a law, the een zen, or which is concerned with th between cizen es «Cefn, Indivig a on to Pubj, Amite, Ne defi i ing d enforcement of rights in cases where on the : ion an a » i regulation o rights in cases where both the Head nw in eee the person upon whom the obligation 1s inheres an vate individuals. (Black’s Law Dictionary, p, 1 196) private So nom the ri : Ncident a . ung from deep roots in t! Philippine levis Hhetelialanae along with the Christianit, . were introduced in! a implanted their despotic legal institutions iy oe eet momentof colonization, Spanish friars and eee have imposed upon the Filipinos laws of Spanish dominanee and enslavement. Until the Americans came at the eng of the 18th century, they too, introduced a different enforcemen, of their laws especially along constitutional, commercial, ang procedural niceties. Thus, through Spain and the United States, the Philippines became forced heirs to two of the world’s legal system, the Civil Law and Common Law. The most outstanding Spanish authors in Civil Law from whose writings the New Civil Code of the Philippines was patterned, are Sanchez Roman and Manresa, Sources of Law — The Principal Sources of law have been adopted from the followi Bislation; (b) Precedent; and we oam®, Conse tol lent indispensable contributions foreign GH © Laws are: siciples of justice and equity, decisions of of the United Staten ony decisions of the different Federal Courts a hilippine hige sonal Pinions that are embodied in the Tom which fh Te decisions, and religion, the greater ‘atholi Nurch,? een adopted from canon law of the he past tha Bislatic 5 legal les, Big q and of the declaration of funds 8 onac nda al law hag im nacted by a compete Philipp © Congreaa™P*CBNate "nt authority that the e8g,3 Upper and lower houses d into the ODD. 45.47, Scanned with CamScanner awrannaCHAPTER I U PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS | Precedent — This refers to the decisions promulgated by a court of competent jurisdiction, which become not merely a guide but an authority to be followed by all other courts of inferior jurisdiction according to the hierarchy of courts, involving the same question | or issue, until said deci ersed, modified or overruled dy a court of superior juri ion — ie. the Supreme Court whose decision become part of the law of the land. Custom — A renowned author ventured into a conclusion that. all creatures are creatures of habits. Customs consist therefore of these habits and practices which through a lengthy and uninterrupted usage have become acknowledged and recognized by society as binding rules of conduct. They acquire recognition for the guidance of citizens and eventually acquire a force of law when enforced by the state. Accordingly, a custom shall assume a binding authority as law, by acquiring the following characteristics, as follows: (a) It must be universal, which n. it sh nerally observ ind practi the citiz @ country; (b) It must have been observed as a right; and (c) Itmust have been practiced from time immemorial. It is accepted as an old adage in the observance of justice that, in the absence of law, precedent or custom to be considered by the court as basis or yardstick in giving justice to every man, the following elements must be present, to wit: (1) justice, that giving everyone his due; (2) honesty; (3) good faith; (4) rights should not be abused, and no person shall be enriched at the expense of another; (5) respect of human personality; (6) freedom of religion; (7) privacy; ‘Gamboa. M., An Introduction to Philippine Law, p.13 (cited in Justo P. Torres Jr. Obligations and Contracts, Sixth Edition, p.4) Scanned with CamScanner; INTRODUCTION TO LAW (8) peace of mind; (9) obligation to indemnify for damage ¢ like. Sources of Human Laws — An opinion which ceptance and belief is, that human laws binding force from natural law, and ultimately from Alyy From this principle, the springboard of obligation by a to obey human laws which flow directly from natur, Itimately from the same Di ‘Used an h ha: general act " ® Citizg ‘al law, proceeding w! Scanned with CamScanner derive Fi 4 nighty (hy 7 4 Ney of ne source. anCHAPTER II KINDS OF LAWS Eternal law — An acceptable definition of Eternal law states it is wisdom of God's reason as it directs and commands every action and movement.” Natural law — natural law has been defined as “an ordinance of Divine Wisdom, which made known to us by reason and which requires the observance of the moral order.” Accordingly, the force of law depends on the extent of justice. As applied to human affairs, a thing is said to be just for being right in consonance with the rule of reason. However, the first rule of reason is the law of nature — consequently it devolves initially on natural law, just as human law has just so much of the nature of law as it is derived from the law of nature. In the same breadth. That it deflects from the law of nature, it is no longer a law but a perversion of law. Therefore, under this Jaw (natural law) acts are not evil because they are forbidden, but forbidden because they are themselves evil. It boils down to a conclusion that, natural law is the same at all times, in all places, and for all persons. Physical law — physical law refers to the set of rules governing the actions and movements of things. The law of physics and other physical sciences is governed by physical law, including the law on gravity and climate change for that matter, Written law — written law refers to statute law of legislative enactments duly passed by the legislative department of government, e.g. Civil Code, labor law, agrarian reform law, family code, administrative law, corporation law, ad infinitum. Substantive and adjective law — this refers to all laws that define what our rights and duties are and what are to be considered a violation of such rights and duties; adjective law informs us about the procedure of how we may enforce our rights and duties, as well as to provide redress for our grievances. Scanned with CamScannerNTRODUCTION TO LAW 1 3 enter into an agreement containi IfA and : A has an obligation to deliver by which obviously coming under the aes the question of whether Such an f Frauds, is one of substantive law. If we assume that foreen agreement, the fueition eae shoul ce suc _ n fine, an A coud enforce. 8 ch agreement — and in fir land j ile a go about enforcing su d henceforth, into trial and Judgment _ Satna B to court, aed ‘aw. Simply put. the ddjonteg io mee a matter of pan by the Revised Rules of Come 2 in the Philippines 18 fed by the legislature and/or Circulars issued procedural laws Court in the exercise of its rule-making Power, by the Supreme Cou: Ng terms Boods to 4 Provisions Example: jitions condi and ae Joss than worth nol , of Statute ¢ agreement is em i fers to those compendiu: ic law — Public law ret 1 by ie atvbich the State, that encompasses the entire whole is especially involved. Among the classification are: ™ of laws, Public as g (a) Constitutional law; (b) International law; © Criminal law, both defined Code, and special laws that impos. violation; under the Revised Penal @ punishment for their (d) Administrative law (Black’. (a) Const °reanic law that and boy 's Law Dictionary, p. 40). itutional law — Soverns a nation 1 refers to tha dy electorate, t fundamental or r state in re) lation to its citizens te aa Seta not be taken for public use i 01 i 5 . his pro, ision ie, tomes III, Bilt of Rights, POSe the lan, eter of a of Ging de los g. i antos which ° allow ¢ 1, oOsed fe voad Cught to be th Mangay. Ye eae 0 Of such feeder road Pensation 0 Cireums; ances, Ging oS Govern: i i : ‘ment, €quivalentCHAPTER I 9 For the purpose of determining just compensation to be paid to Gina de los Santos, prior investigation and fact finding must first be conducted by disinterested experts and unbiased as: rs on land valuation, and upon making a just and unprejudiced determination of just compensation for Gina’s land, payment should be made to Gina in Philippine Currency before the government could enter her property and construct a feeder road. (b) International law This law refers to all laws, treaties and agreements of signatory nations to govern the conducts of their citizen regarding their intercourse and relations with one another. For example, international law prohibits any nation at war from firing upon any ships of a nation at peace, unless such ships are carrying contraband war munitions to an enemy. The purpose of such law is to protect the life and property of neutral innocent persons." The present seat of operations for the enforcement of these international agreements, is the United Nations General Assembly whose office address is located at New York City. Sad to say, that the United Nations Charter does not contain a proviso for the enforcement of decisions of the International Arbitral Tribunal at the Hague, Netherlands, which is an adjunct of the United Nations, where the Philippines has won over a dispute on its jurisdiction over the Scarborough Shoal located less than three miles from the province of Zambales in Luzon. Here, China had already built an airstrip and artificial islet where their cruise missiles are stationed for military advancement. Our Philippine contingent likewise won against China’s unilateral nine dash line over which they assert their claim of jurisdiction involving Philippine waters. But up to this writing, the Duterte administration that brags on extrajudicial killings of human lives of which he is ignorant how the Supreme Judge of the Universe had created them, has done nothing to preserve his country’s sovereignty. The fact that the United Nations Charter lacks a provision for the enforcement of decisions of the Arbitral Tribunal at the Hague, is one of the careless oversights and negligence, for which our very own Carlos P. Romulo who is one of the founders of the United Nations Organization should suffer the blame after the end of World ’Summa Theologia, 1014-5. Q-95 A. 2 (cited in Justo P. Torres Jr., Obligations and Contracts, p. 6) Scanned with CamScannerINTRODUCTION TO LAW 10 feared that if this problem on terr} y It is feare War Il. torial jury, ime, a third \ orld W, Ived in due time, a third W, solve not be sol Tisqj, ar might bre. tig a 0 Thi r the leaderghj “uy vhere China under P of ty. y cific Rim where t rrogant ag reason * within the Pace Xi Lin Ping is the arrog, 2 ents 7 iste, slit-eyed Presi hose lone voice could pared be listeneg : js ee Malacanang with Lard Sra priests in Malacanang so-called the so-ca ob the “operation ofy. e pcurit: Council, had ful members of the U.N. Sect y verful S powerfu Writ} en th 7 irer that Publisheg : pad Daily Inquirer tl his iditor of the Philippine 5 estion to amend Opinion Editor ae column a ieee that our lay _ letter in the Charter This author had s ae Arbitral ith toothless U.N. bierecditen decision ca dash line that Che who won an srpimenta that aoe territories boundaries una i uw a fining o} ts upholding o1 basis in de: insists should be the insists shoul ht to Teinfor. ‘bitral Tribunal’s decig sly assert to enforce the Arbitra’ and courageou: ‘ibes ements. But our — mply enjoy praising t ‘ign Affairs si J ntinue ‘Vements and elongated Curriculum Vitae, and co in Voraciously accu ies, mulating bulging —— te month out of the taxpayers’ a) anythin, enforce the Scision of the Arbitr aing effete and lifeless On paper, ner Scanned with CamScantCHAPTER IL ul KINDS OF LAWS (c) Criminal Law — this refers to that division of law which defines crimes, treats of their nature and provides for punishment for their violations, The law governing crimes in the Philippines is the Revised Penal Code and other special laws enacted by Congress, which although not provided for under the Revised Penal Code, but whose provisions likewise define acts that are treated as crimes, hence, provide punishment and penalties for their violations in a different language. For example, Republic Act 3019 which defines and punishes acts of corruption by a public servant, is a special law which is criminal in nature but whose provisions are not defined under the Revised Penal Code. There are some more special laws that are not provided under the Revised Penal Code and impose punishment for wrongful acts, like illegal possession of firearms, violation of Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, as amended by Republic Act 9194; the Anti-Squatting Law, that punishes an act of squatting a lJandowner's property. These are criminal acts which are not defined and punished under the Revised Penal Code, likewise an act of secretly maintaining multiple dollar deposits in various banks by an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, without declaring the same in his/her SALNs, ad infinitum. (d) Administrative Law — this refers to that species of public law, which defines the organization and determines the competence and integrity of administrative officials in the government and quasi-judicial bodies who hear and decide non- litigious disputes, and indicates to such officials remedies for the violation of their rights.? Example: An official in the Department of Justice including State Prosecutors, as well as Provincial and City Prosecutors and their Assistants, commits a wrongful act in the discharge of his duties akin to issuing a Resolution of a pending complaint for violation of penal laws which is tainted with bribery or influence peddling. A complaint if filed with the Secretary of Justice as head of the prosecution arm of government is reviewable only by the Office of the President. In such scenario, the Secretary of Justice on the strength of a prima facie fact-finding investigation of the Prosecutor's actuations, may suspend or file an administrative case against the erring official by reason of his power of supervision *Lavine A, Manuel on Constitutional Law, p. 4 (cited in Justo P. Torres Jr., Obligations and Contracts, p. 5). Scanned with CamScannerINTRODUCTION TO LAW h may result in his remoya} fro as a member of the bar, which Mt, Pow, pordinates whic barment tive Code.* ig sub + his 8 fe and even dis ed Administra ove vice, se mn is gover” drivate law — this refers to those laws that deal ra (e) i viduals in their relations with one another, ang inely i e indivi} - 7 privat ns and family relations, as well as the following: Jaw of persons : 1) lawon property; 9) law of obligations and contracts, which encom, t nietions among private individuals, juridical Dersong 2 ral . if “ ' include partnerships and corporations; ing legal remedies unde 3) procedural law governing die nth ny Court as amended by the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure within the jurisdiction of courts of law; 4) procedural law governing disputes that Are non, litigious in nature usually falling with the cognizance of quasi-judicial bodies or agencies of the government, e.8. labor disputes that are cognizable by the National labor Relations Commission and Labor Arbiters, cases that are cognizable by the Ombudsman, the Civil Service Commission, Commission on Elections, Securities and Exchange Commission, Philippine Patent Office, Public Service Commission, Civil Aeronautics Board, Office of the President, Land Registration Authority, Bete Technology Transfer, national Electrification aa aed Regulatory Board, National Telecom: ommission, Government Service Insurance Supreme Court Admini Reform Adjunction Board and Department of Agrarian ™: Administrats T 26) tive Law, PP.8-9 (cited i J Justo P. Tor, " * Serres dr., Obligation’ Scanned with CamScannerCHAPTER III LAW OF PERSONS AND FAMILY RELATIONS Terms and Definitions — A study of law of persons and family relations may not depart from the pro" ns of the Family Code (Executive Order 209) issued by the late President Corazon C. Aquino, as amended by Executive Order 227 dated July 17, 1987. It is noteworthy that the Family Code has likewise expressly repealed the entire provisions of Title I, Book One, of the New Civil Code (Republic Act 386) dealing on marriage, Presidential Decree 603 known as the Child and Youth Welfare Code, as amended and all other laws, decrees, executive orders, proclamations, rules and regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent with any provision of the Family Code, are likewise expressly repealed. (Article 254, Executive Order 209) It is noteworthy that the Roman Law is still included in the law curriculum. Reason is that the majority of our authorities on civil law are in concord that most of our laws are Roman in origin, as in the case of our New Civil Code (Republic Act 386). However, the Civil of the Philippines is not entirely Roman in origin, perhaps it is an admixture of Roman and Spanish origin, but principally patterned from the Civil Code of Spain. According to our late professor in Civil Law at M.L.Q. Law School, the late Supreme Court Justice J.B.L, Reyes, who studied at Universidad Central de Madrid, and gained acceptance as the number one civilest in this country, he reasoned that whenever certain provisions of our New Civil Code may appear ambiguous or unclear, referrals should once be made to the old Civil Code of Spain. In fact, before the enactment of our New Civil Code (Republic Act 386), law schools and courts of law in the Philippines utilized the Civil Code of Spain as their authority and its provisions applied to all civil cases and transactions in this archipelago, until supplanted by Republic Act 386, even after the transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the United States. Scanned with CamScannerINTRODUCTION TO LAW s the fitness to he to act is defined as the Juridical capacit, ions, which capacity . relations "eval effect, Juridical capa y is inherent j a aii lost only through death or the person, and is lost Subject, of le, Power to gg°Bl r 1 every jurigs dissolution of Juridica) a ises it. person that exe! - Ignorance of the law — this term originated from i asim “ignorantia legis non excusat” which in Eneitt a "le norance of the law excuses no one.” It was aptly said thn nen, eae for evil men. Because for good men who do 00d acts, thet hardly any need for, the, law, for the reason that because they nos only have the inborn propensity of complying with what is good, but because they are good men. Lattin Conversely, without the law to govern the conduct of men, the corrupt and stubborn will make social interaction unbearable. ignorance or a simulation thereof will be rewarded and abuses will increase resulting in endless chaos in society, Ignorance of the law, however, should not be give connotation as ignorance of fact, For while there can for not complying with the law, ignorance of fact is and whether substantive or proc Policy and necessity, so as t at 21 . Supreme Coy Fi "ey or counsel or even a judge, or Justice the ‘0 all the avis Ponente becomes the law of the land, is and aint when Most heeded, The ctee We acquire is forgotten at i One. This j Ten Science of law j i 18 bound by the istah: i. © discount the doctri 7 ‘that exieasive vy, eople, GR. 0. ae of his lawyer. (Seve,s ne, that the client Inverse) * “36052 Decembey 28, 19 Macavinta Jr. ersely 5, Unschooled and ite be unfair to cong : < rate Peasant who “mn into Punishment an ails from @ remotest end Scanned with CamScannerCHAPTER TI 16 LAW OF PERSONS AND FAMILY RELATIONS: of the mountain fastness located within the territorial boundaries of a municipality, who has never heard of a municipal ordinance, or any law for that matt acts, or a harbinger who ekes out a living from precar but has never took hold of a newspaper or local daily, or any reading material for that matter, nor has even set foot in the poblacion or heard a sermon of a priest inside the church, because the place where he/she lives is unreachable by any means of transportation (tricycle or p cab). These are segments of society who belong to the social strata that suffer from so called invincible ignorance. However, by instinct they are guided by the unseen Creator to act in an upright manner, hence, a segment of uncivilized class of homo sapiens who are undoubtedly exempt from the enforcement of the Latin maxim “ignorantia legis non excusat!” Damnum absque injuria — is a Latin term which refers toa Joss or hurt or harm without injury in the legal sense, that is without such breach of duty as is redressible by legal action. A loss or injury which does not give rise to an action for damages against the person causing it, e.g. the loss or injury caused by a client to his lawyer, as when the case of such client which is handled by the lawyer of his own choice is lost thru the fault of the client, is irredressible as it constitutes as damnum absque injuria. Ad hominem — a term used in logic with reference to a personal argument. It js a sort of caveat in debate to refrain from attacking the personal life or character of an opponent and should confine his argument only on the subject of the debate or discussion. Res ipsa loquitur — which means that a thing speaks for itself, Rebuttable presumption of inference that defendant is negligent, which arises upon proof that instrumentality causing injury was in defendant's exclusive control, and that accident is one which ordinarily does not happen in the absence of negligence. Res ipsa loquitur is a rule of evidence whereby negligence of the alleged wrongdoer may be inferred from the mere fact that accident happened, provided character and circumstances of accident attending it lead reasonably to belief that in the absence of negligence it would not have occurred and that thing which caused injury is shown to have been under management and control of the alleged wrongdoer. Under this doctrine, when a thing which causes injury, without fault of the injured person, is shown to be under exclusive control of defendant, and injury is such as in ordinary course of things does not occur if one having such control uses proper care, it Scanned with CamScannerINTRODUCTION TQ LAW 16 asonable evidence, in the absence of an Ma natign th s reasond , ane um : affords re from defendant's want of care, Black’ Law Victign 7 erie ATOR injury are p. 1305) i tla — The rule reg inter ii r alios acta Res intera er aliog Acta forhig he introduction of collateral facts which by their ng the introc ALU ines ; hoe *Dable oy any reasonable presumption or inference ay tothe Princip ee dispute, and thus evidence ag to acts, "anvactiqn, ; matter in dis : i cused is not a Party or ig p ences to which accu occurrences ti rt OF Connected inadmissible. Under the law of evidence, a thing OF event which o¢ ur ime different from the time in issue 18 generally not admi ae hat occurred at the time in Issue. Also, genera a miscible be ‘ause they are immaterial and commonly not re ees to mean that things done between Strange a to injure them who are not Parties to them, at sible ly not evant, °F5 ought ble of private ownership, e.g. a fish that is swimming at sea or river is res nullius, or a wild boar or deer roaming in the forest before it is captured by a hunter, Res perit domino ~ ig a Phrase used to express that, when a thing is lost or dest; Stroyed, it is lost to the person who was the owner of it at the time, Jus possidend; i ssessing, which is the legal Consequence of ownershi i Jus POSSessionis whi istinguished from the ich is a Tight to possess which may exist without ownership, us Oneris ferend;— Means an y law, the owner of irban servitude in the Roman Upon the house Which had ¢ t of Supporting and building al of another, Jus abutend; _ is the a ‘i Tight to abuse. By this phrase is conan vighett "Ug, ne likes with property. with bal ny tBht Of having ie . Mera] interference, ‘ving full dominion over property free of Jus utend; — Substance, he righ the right ; Bht to use Property without destroying its Oyed in “ontradistinction to jus abutendi, Scanned with CamScanner Tis empya CHAPTER TIL w7 LAW OF PERSONS AND FAMILY RELATIONS, Jus venandi et piscandi — the right of hunting and fishing; of course, the right presupposes the exercise thereof in the high seas where fish is considered res nullius (without an owner), and not fishing in fishponds where there is an owner or possessor or caretaker. So also, the right of hunting must be exercised in the forest for hunting wild animals like wild boars and deer. Ejusdem generis — under the principle ejusdem generis, where a statute describes things of particular class or kind accompanied by words of a generic character, the generic word will usually be limited to things of a similar nature with those particularly enumerated, unless there be something in the context of the statute which repel such inference. Expressio unius est exclusion alterius — under this statutory interpretation maxim, the expression of one thing is the exclusion of another. In a certain labor case, a ruling that brooks to subsequent dissent or modification is so unequivocal that, if the law’s intent were otherwise, the law could have easily and conveniently included “trade union centers” in identifying the labor organizations allowed to charter a chapter or local; since under the pertinent status and applicable implementing rules, the power granted to labor organizations to directly create a chapter or local through chartering is given to a federation or national union, then a trade union center is without authority to charter directly. (San Miguel Corporation Employees Union — Phil. Transport and General Workers Org. v. San Miguel Packing Products Employees Union — Pambansang Diwa ng Manggagawang Pilipino, 533 SCRA 125) dus fruendi — is the right to fruits of one’s plants or fruits of plants thriving in the forest without an identical owner and does not extend to the fruits of plants belonging to another. Nullum tempus occurit regi — means the right does not run against a king. The rule refers to the king in his official capacity as representing the sovereignty of a nation and not to a king as an individual. Nullius jus allienum forisfacere potest — means that no man can forfeit another's right. Nullus idoneus testis in re sua intelligitur — means that no person is understood to be a competent witness in his own cause. Scanned with CamScannerINTRODUCTION TO LAW 18 m contradicts the system of trial and Prog edi, “ht naxi ome This Roman ™ ules of Evidence under the R ts and Ri : » cour’ «philippine cou Shee are nder | ; in} ; Contrarywise, the same maxim is practiced in pj y art. ) i i ac : coaate where a judgment of acquittal of the accused may 4, courts ” 7 accused's lone testimony if credible and trustworth »etimony of al same lone testimony t Baie preponderance of evidence in a civil cas before a quasi-judicial body. Judicial decisions are part of the legal system — is true that strictly speaking, judicial decisions are not laws, rendered by a competent court, in the court, in the Interpretay:._ or application of the laws and the Constitution, they form pan the law of the land. (People v. Jabinal, L-30061, February a 1974) Be that as it may, only decisions of the Court of Ap : cases of first impression, establish jurisprudence and doctri the Philippines. In Ang Ping v. Regional Trial Court, G.R. 758860, September 17, 1987, the Supreme Court, by traditio, in our system of judicial administrations, has the last word on ¥ the law is. It is the final arbiter of any judicial controversy. Th is only one Supreme Court from whose decisions all other cour: should take their bearings. on the itigant if credible may satisfy th. , se, orina non-litig iu Loco parentis — is a legal term connoting the E translation and meaning of parental authority exercised by pe: on whom the law entrusts for the care, supervision and cust of unemancipated minor children and abandoned or parent! children and minor. Scanned with CamScanner