The Far Eastern University – Institute of Law, also known as FEU Law or IL, is the

Legal Education Board The Legal Education Board, or known widely by its abbreviation LEB, is an independent government agency responsible for the regulation of the legal education in the Philippines. The agency was created on December 23, 1993 through the enactment of ...

-accredited law school of the

Far Eastern University Far Eastern University ( Filipino: ''Pamantasan ng Malayong Silanganan''), also referred to by its acronym FEU, is a private non-sectarian liberal arts university in Manila, Philippines. Created by the merger of Far Eastern College and the Insti ...

. It is one of the four earliest institutes that comprised the university in 1934. FEU Law has produced many well-regarded graduates, next to the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 20 ...

Ateneo de Manila University , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic ( Jesuits) , academic ...

, Philippine Law School, and the University of Manila. It currently offers a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

degree.

Brief history

The Institute of Law (IL) was formally established by

Nicanor Reyes Sr. Nicanor "Nick" Baptista Reyes Sr. (Born: Nicanor Reyes Icasiano, January 2, 1894 – February 9, 1945) was a Filipinos, Filipino educator. He was the founder and first president of the Far Eastern University in the City of Manila, Philippines. ...

in 1934, the same year that the Far Eastern University was founded, making it one of the older law schools in the country. In 1970, six out of the top ten placers in the Bar Exams were graduates of IL; no other school did better until 1984. In 2003, the Institute teamed up with the De La Salle Graduate School of Business to offer the JD-MBA program, the first graduate dual program in law and business administration in the country. The dual degree program is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to excel in two interrelated disciplines and to understand the interrelationships between them. However, in 2014, this partnership was abolished. In 2011, based on the Bar Examinations passing rate from 2001 to 2010, the Legal Education Board recognized the Far Eastern University Institute of Law as the Ninth Most Outstanding Law School in the country. FEU Law is proud of its alumni whose accomplishments have honored their alma mater and the legal profession. These include a Chief Justice and an

Associate Justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...

of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, several Associate Justices of the

Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much ...

and the

Sandiganbayan The Sandiganbayan ( en, Support of the Nation) is a special appellate collegial court in the Philippines that has jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving graft and corrupt practices and other offenses committed by public office ...

, a Secretary of Justice, and numerous trial court judges and government prosecutors.

Academic programs

The Institute of Law offers a degree program of Juris Doctor since 2013, shifting from its Bachelor of Laws program.

Facilities

The Institute is housed in the Makati campus of the university; wherein classes are being held at the fourth and sixth floors and a Law library on the 5th floor. It has bar review rooms and a moot court apart from its state-of-the art classrooms.

Deans

* Melencio "Mel" Sta. Maria (2014 - present) Some textbooks written by him have been cited as authorities by the Philippine Supreme Court, and he acts as an

expert witness An expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as ...

in the field of Philippine Contract Law in international arbitration cases. * Andres D. Bautista was Sta. Maria's predecessor. *Antonio H. Abad, Jr., a former dean, became Dean of the Adamson University. * Neptali Álvaro Gonzales was Dean from 1976 to 1986. * Jovito "Jovy" Reyes Salonga was Dean from 1956.

Student organizations

*Far Eastern University Institute of Law Student Council is the official student government of the Institute of Law. *The Far Eastern Law Review is the official law journal of the Institute of Law. *Far Eastern University Institute of Law Centralized Bar Operations is the student arm that helps graduates of the Institute of Law when they take the annual Bar Examinations. Its activities include providing study materials, organizing hotel accommodations, and other support activities exclusively for the Institute's bar examinees. *Far Eastern University Institute of Law Moot Court Council is the student debating society. It provides training, in-house practice drills and other inter-university competitions. They are one of the best Moot Court in the Philippines, they have competed internationally to be the flag bearer of the country. *The Far Eastern University Legal Aid Bureau (formerly Legal Rights Center) was created by virtue of Supreme Court Bar Matter No. 651 issued in 1993. Its primary aims are to provide clinical legal education to law students, legal internship for graduating law students, and free legal assistance to indigents. The Legal Aid Bureau also conducts community paralegal training, seminars and conferences on socio-legal issues and outreach activities. Internal activities include team building and leadership training and academic discussions. It raises funds which the Bureau can utilize in handling free cases for indigent litigants. *ACLAS (Alliance of Concerned Law Students)

Students' complaint

In 2000, ten law students of the Institute of Law lodged a complaint against Dean Andres Bautista, Associate Dean Teresita Cruz and two professors before the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for alleged irregularity. The complainants, headed by Artemio Urriza Jr., alleged that they were supposed to graduate in 1999 year but were unjustifiably given failing grades in two to three subjects taught by professors Atty. Ed Vincent Albano and Atty. Japar Dimaampao. Their letter of complaint said they unduly received failing grades in Civil Law Review 2, Commercial Law Review and Remedial Law subjects. "We firmly believe that we all passed our subjects and are very qualified to graduate but because of the whimsical and deliberate intentions of a 'triumvirate conspiracy' headed by our dean, Andres Bautista, together with our two professors, we became victims of injustices," they said. But Bautista denied the complainants' allegations as he maintained that the ten deserved to flunk in these subjects. "We held a faculty deliberation on the second week of March. Professors then expressed reservations among some students, including them (complainants). It was decided that they need to take up these subjects again," he added. Bautista said that faculty deliberation is conducted to enable professors to collectively discuss the status of students.

Notable alumni

Artemio Panganiban Artemio Villaseñor Panganiban Jr. (born December 7, 1936) is a Filipino jurist. He served as the 21st Supreme Court Chief Justice of the Philippines from 2005 to 2006. Early life and education Panganiban was born on December 7, 1936, in Mani ...

- former Chief Justice of the Philippine

; 6th placer, 1960 Bar Examinations, 1960 FEU Law cum laude and Most Outstanding Student *

Corazon Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People ...

- the first woman president in Asia and the Philippines *

Jose Nolledo Jose N. Nolledo (born October 11, 1934) is a lawyer, constitutional law expert, and author in the Philippines. He was a member of the Philippine Constitutional Commission of 1986 and a delegate to the 1971 Constitutional Convention. Early life and ...

- Member,

Philippine Constitutional Commission of 1986 The Philippine Constitutional Commission of 1986 was the constitutional convention tasked with drafting the present iteration of the Constitution of the Philippines in 1986. Sessions *Regular Session: June 2 – October 15, 1986 Legislatio ...

; Delegate, Philippine Constitutional Convention of 1971; 3rd placer, 1958 Bar Examinations *Justice Oscar M. Herrera - Court of Appeals *Eddie Ilarde - former Philippine Senator *Wenceslao Lagumbay - former Philippine Senator *Neptali Gonzales Jr. - former Majority House Leader of the

House of Representatives of the Philippines The House of Representatives of the Philippines ( fil, Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan ng Pilipinas, italic=unset, ''Kamara'' or ''Kamara de Representantes'' from the Spanish word ''cámara'', meaning "chamber") is the lower house of Congress, th ...

Mandaluyong Mandaluyong, officially the City of Mandaluyong ( fil, Lungsod ng Mandaluyong), is a first class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to ...

Mayor, created the Rizal Technological University *Edilberto Sandoval - Associate Justice of

*Roland Jurado - Associate Justice of

*Nestor Mantaring - Director, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) *Eubulo Verzola - former Justice of the Court of Appeals, former Director of the Senate Public Information and Media Relations Office *Fermin Martin Jr. - former Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals, 1955 FEU Law Class *Jesus Elbinas - former Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals *Salome Montoya - Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals, 1954 FEU Law cum laude, 6th placer, 1954 Bar Examinations *John Choa - Ambassador-at-Large to the Territory of

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

, USA *Agustin Benitez - former Dean of College of Law and Vice-president of the

University of the East The University of the East ( fil, Pamantasan ng Silangan), also known as UE, is a leading private university located in Manila, Philippines. Founded in 1946, business tycoon Lucio Tan acquired the university in 1990. UE was once labeled as the ...

, 1st placer, 1959 Bar Examinations *Ed Vincent Albano - Dean of College of Law at University of Perpetual Help; Law Professor at

San Beda College es, Universidad de San Beda , image = San Beda University seal.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = University Seal , latin_name = Universitas Sancti Bedæ , former_names ...

of Law,

Adamson University Adamson University ( fil, links=no, Pamantasang Adamson) also referred to by its acronym AdU is a private, Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the Congregation of the Mission in Manila, Philippines. The universi ...

, Perpetual Help College of Law

References

External links

Far Eastern University Official WebsiteFEU-La Salle JD-MBA Dual Program
{{FEU Far Eastern University Law schools in the Philippines Graduate schools in the Philippines