History as the ultimate judge

sc.judiciary.gov.ph/pio/speeches/06-11-12-speech.pdf

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While  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  are  final  in  the  legal  sense,
they  are  nevertheless  subject  to  review  by  history,  which  is  the  collective
judgment of   legal   scholars  and historians.    Justices  of  the highest  court  cannot escape the judgment of history.   The final judge of the beneficial or detrimental effects  of  Supreme  Court  decisions  is  history.    When  a  Justice  of  the  U.S. Supreme Court writes a decision, he may very well ask himself, “Will history judge this as the Dred Scott    of  this   Court?”       When  a  Justice  of  the   Philippine Supreme Court writes his decision, he may also ask himself, “Will history judge this as the Executive Secretary v. Javellana  of   this  Court?”     Dred Scott  brought the U.S. Supreme Court to its lowest point in its history.   Executive Secretary v. Javellana,   in  my  humble  opinion,  brought   the   Philippine  Supreme  Court  to  its lowest point in its history."

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- SC SAJ A. Carpio.