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Primary authority are those recoded laws and rules which will be enforced by the State
and may be found in statutes passed by the legislature, regulations and rulings of
administrative agencies and decisions of appellate courts. On the other hand, secondary
authority discusses or analyzes legal doctrine, and these include treatises, commentaries, and
encyclopedias.
Publications that discuss or analyze legal doctrine are considered secondary authorities.
These include:
Treatises
Commentaries
Encyclopedias
Give three examples of the types of materials that are considered primary authority.
The three examples of the types of materials considered as primary authority are as
follows:
Can primary and/or secondary authority materials also be used as finding tools?
Yes. Primary and secondary authority materials can also be used as finding tools.
Primordially, the aim of finding tools is to locate primary sources or authority. Primary
and secondary authority can be used as references to uncover further legal sources relevant
and applicable to the specific inquiry.
B1
Under Section 11 of RA 9165, any person, who, unless authorized by law, shall possess
less than 5 grams of methampethamine hydrochloride shall be punished by law.
Here, Joselito illegally possessed .50 grams of methampethamine hydrochloride and was
caught by police authorities despite his contention that he should not be charged for such
offense since he was only forced by his employer to act as courier of the substance. Such
contention does not justify nor exempt him from criminal liability.
B2
It is a well-settled rule in Criminal Law that crimes mala prohibita are acts made evil
because there is a law punishing it. Consequently, Section 11 of RA 9165 specifically provides
the punishment for the possession of illegal drugs.