In Search of a Research Topic

Choose an area of law that interests you or you are familiar with. Read the papers or news magazines such as Newsweek or The Economist, or watch the news. Current events may suggest a possible topic. Just remember, you need to write a legal research paper, so it needs to address a legal issue or problem, that you will analyze and research on. The paper will have to provide your findings or conclusions on the issue or problem.

Note that I use the term `issue' or `problem' and not just `question'. I do not want you to choose a topic that only requires you to recite particular laws or to go into exposition. I want you to choose a topic that will require you to be analytical, to engage in critical thinking.

During our first meeting, I asked you to write on this legal issue: Can Erap Run For President in 2010? To resolve this, you would need to read the relevant provisions of the Philippine Constitution as well as the related authorities, examine the deliberations of the Constitutional Commission, determine what other laws might come into play, read up on Erap's arguments, and evaluate and test those arguments. Thereafter, you would need to state your findings and organize your own arguments supporting these findings with legal authorities set out in a logical and coherent manner. This is the process that each of you must undergo.

Good luck!