Definition and Nature
Procedural law is synonymous with remedial law or adjective law. It refers to the rules that provide the system for the protection and enforcement of substantive rights and the prevention of their violation. Procedural law lays down the methods for enforcing rights and obtaining redress for violations. It prescribes the practice, method, and procedure by which suits are filed, tried, and decided in courts of justice.
Purpose
The purpose of procedural law is to provide remedies for the enforcement of obligations and rights recognized by law. It allows litigants ample opportunity to prove their respective claims and defenses, seeking to avoid the denial of substantial justice due to technicalities. Substancial law is considered the very foundation of procedural law.
Scope and Application
The Rules of Court primarily govern the procedure in civil actions, criminal actions, and special proceedings. While generally applicable to actions and proceedings, procedural rules may not apply in certain contexts such as election cases, land registration cases, cadastral cases, naturalization cases, and insolvency proceedings. Rules of procedure imposed in judicial proceedings are generally unavailable in cases before administrative bodies. However, technical rules of procedure might apply to labor cases by analogy or in a suppletory character. Jurisprudence has long affirmed that the principles of procedure do not apply to non-judicial proceedings or labor disputes. Procedural law governs various stages of litigation, not just the trial itself, but also including stages like pre-trial.
Key Characteristics
Procedural laws are retrospective in application to actions and proceedings pending and undetermined at the time of their passage. Amendments to procedural rules can be applied to pending actions and proceedings. A procedural rule is made applicable to pending actions when it is retroactive in that sense, unless it impairs vested rights, or if applying the rule to pending proceedings would impair vested rights, or when doing so would be unfeasible or cause work injustice. Procedural rules are designed to be liberally construed to promote their objective of securing a just, speedy, and inexpensive disposition of every action and proceeding. The Courts have the power to suspend procedural rules or relax their application in criminal cases or render judgment on the pleadings or summary judgment where appropriate. Jurisdiction may be determined or proven by the allegations in the pleadings.