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Court of Appeals
History
1935
The second highest judicial tribunal of the land – the Court of Appeals – was created on 03 December 1935, by virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 3 and formally organized on February 1, 1936. The Court then had a complement of eleven (11) Judges, with the Honorable Pedro Concepcion as its first Presiding Judge.
1938
In 1938, by virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 259, the head and the members of the Court were officially designated as Presiding Justice and Associate Justices, respectively. The composition of the Court was also increased to fifteen (15) members. In 1941, Executive Order No. 395 increased the composition to nineteen (19) justices.
1945
Due to financial constraints and to allow cases to be appealed directly to the Supreme Court, the Court was abolished in 1945 per Executive Order No. 37.
1946
After the Japanese occupation, Executive Order No. 37 was repealed, and the Court was revived on account of Republic Act No. 52 enacted in 1946. The Court was composed of fifteen (15) members, with the Honorable Marceliano Montemayor as the first post-war Presiding Justice.
1948
The Judiciary Act of 1948 or Republic Act No. 296 was the first post-war legislation that laid down comprehensive rules concerning the composition, duties, and functions of the Court, which included rules on vacancy and appointment of other court officers.
1956
The membership of the Court was increased several times after the Judiciary Act of 1948. In 1956, it was increased to eighteen (18) through Republic Act No. 1605; in 1968, to twenty-four (24) via Republic Act No. 5204; to thirty-six (36) in 1976, pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 974; and finally, to forty-five (45) in 1978 per Presidential Decree No. 1482.
1981
A reorganization of the judiciary was ordered in 1981 following the enactment of Batas Pambansa Bilang 129, which was implemented according to Executive Order No. 864. The Court was renamed the Intermediate Appellate Court, composed of fifty members – a Presiding Justice and forty-nine (49) Associate Justices – divided into ten (10) divisions of five (5) members each. At that time, the affirmative votes of three (3) members of a division were required for the pronouncement of a decision or final resolution.
1986
With the change of government in 1986, Batas Pambansa Bilang 129 was amended by Executive Order No. 33 which restored the name, Court of Appeals. It further increased the Court’s membership to fifty-one (51) members – a Presiding Justice and fifty (50) Associate Justices – divided into seventeen (17) divisions, each with three (3) members. The unanimous vote of the three (3) members of a division is necessary for the pronouncement of a decision or final resolution.
1996
In 1996, Republic Act No. 8246 was enacted, which created six (6) more divisions and hence increased the Court’s composition to its present number of sixty-nine (69) members – a Presiding Justice and 68 (68) Associate Justices – divided into twenty-three (23) divisions, each with three (3) members. The first seventeen (17) divisions are stationed in Manila, while three (3) divisions each are stationed in the Visayas regions (Cebu City) and the Mindanao regions (Cagayan de Oro City). The law was implemented in 2004.