Rule 128 and Rule 129 (Revised Rules of Evidence)

So for today am going to write my first note on the REVISED RULES OF EVIDENCE (based of course on the Revised Rules of Court in the Philippines. 

RULE 128

Section 1 of the Rules of Evidence, define Evidence as follows:

Evidence is the means, sanctioned by these rules, of ascertaining in a judicial proceeding the truth respecting a matter of fact. 

• The scope of the rules of evidence in Section 2, is said to be the same in all courts and in all trials and hearing except as otherwise provided by law or these rules. 

• Evidence is admissible when it is relevant to the issue and not excluded by the constitution, the law or these Rules. (Sec. 3)

Sec. 4 discusses the relevancy of collateral matters. It states that "Evidence must have such a relation to the fact in issue as to induce belief in its existence or non-existence. Evidence on collateral matters shall not be allowed, except when it tends in any reasonable degree to establish the probability or improbability of the fact in issue. 

RULE 129

Rule 129 discusses what need not be proved.

Section 1 provides when JUDICIAL NOTICE IS MANDATORY- so, the court shall take judicial notice without the introduction of evidence, of :

• the existence and territorial extent of states
• their political history, forms of government and symbols of nationality
• the law of nations
• the admiralty and maritime courts of the world and their seals
• the political constitution and history of the Philippines
• official acts of the legislative, executive and judicial departments of the National Government of the Philippines
• the laws of nature
• the measure of time and
• the geographical divisions 

Section 2 provides when JUDICIAL NOTICE IS DISCRETIONARY.

A court it says, may take judicial notice of matters which are of public knowledge, or are capable of unquestionable demonstration, or ought to be known to judges because of their judicial function. 

Section 3 provides when a HEARING IS NECESSARY in judicial notice.

During the pre-trial and the trial, the court, motu proprio or upon motion, shall hear the parties on the propriety of taking judicial notice of any matter. 

Section 4 is on JUDICIAL ADMISSIONS.  It provides that an admission, oral or written, made by the party in the course of the proceedings in the same case, does not require proof. 

The admission may be contradicted only by showing that it was made through:

• palpable mistake or 
• that the imputed admission was not, in fact, made. 

(THE REVISED RULES OF COURT IN THE PHILIPPINES AS AMENDED)