Ruffy
v. Chief of Staff
G.R. No. L-533 August 20, 1946
Tuason, J.
Facts:
This was a petition
for prohibition, praying that the respondents, the Chief of Staff and the General
Court Martial of the Philippine Army, be commanded to desist from further proceedings
in the trial of petitioners before that body. Preliminary injunction having been
denied by us and the General Court Martial having gone ahead with the trial, which
eventually resulted in the acquittal of one of the defendants, Ramon Ruffy, the
dismissal of the case as to another, Victoriano Dinglasan, and the conviction of
Jose L. Garcia, Prudente M. Francisco, Dominador Adeva and Andres Fortus, the last-named
four petitioners now seek in their memorandum to convert the petition into one for
certiorari, with the prayer that the records of the proceedings before the General
Court Martial be ordered certified to the Supreme Court for review.
Issue:
whether
93d Article of War is unconstitutional
Held:
No.
This article in question ordains “that any person subject to military law who commits
murder in time of was shall suffer death or imprisonment for life, as the court
martial may direct.” It is argued that since “no review is provided by that law
to be made by the Supreme Court, irrespective of whether the punishment is for life
imprisonment or death”, it violates Article VIII, section 2, paragraph 4, of the
Constitution of the Philippines which provides that “the National Assembly may not
deprive the Supreme Court of its original jurisdiction over all criminal cases in
which the penalty imposed is death or life imprisonment.”
Courts martial are agencies of executive character,
and one of the authorities for the ordering of courts martial has been held to be
attached to the constitutional functions of the President as Commander in Chief,
independently of legislation. Unlike courts of law, they are not a portion of the
judiciary. Not belonging to the judicial branch of the government, it follows that
courts-martial must pertain to the executive department; and they are in fact simply
instrumentalities of the executive power, provided by Congress for the President
as Commander in Chief, to aid him in properly commanding the army and navy and enforcing
discipline therein, and utilized under his orders or those of his authorized military
representatives.
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