Which law determines the jurisdiction of the court – the law in force at the time of the commission of the offense or the one in force as of the time when the action is filed?

written by Howard

Jurisdiction is determined by the law as of the time when the action is filed, not when the offense was committed.  The exception to this rule is where jurisdiction is dependent on the nature of the position of the accused at the time of the commission of the offense. In this case, jurisdiction is determined by the law in force at the time of the commission of the offense.

In Buaya vs Polo (169 SCRA 471), it was stated that: This kind of jurisdiction is governed by the law at the time of the commencement of the action and by the allegations of the complaint or information and not by the findings the court may make after the trial.

Other factors that determine the jurisdiction of the court over the subject matter (offense)

The other factors that may also determine the jurisdiction of a court over the subject matter are:

  1. Penalty imposable by the law violated;
  2. Nature or kind of the offense committed as defined by the law violated;
  3. The person or persons involved in the criminal action;
  4. The nature of the position of the public officer involved;
  5. The age of the offender and/or the offended party

References: RA 7691, BP 129, Republic vs Asuncion (231 SCRA 211), Llorente vs Sandiganbayan (Jan. 19, 2000)