César Bengzon

César Fernando Bengzon (May 29, 1896 – September 3, 1992) was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from April 28, 1961 until May 29, 1966. In November 1966, a few months after his retirement, he became the first Filipino to be appointed to the International Court of Justice.

Judicial career

Bengzon earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Ateneo de Manila in 1915. He graduated his Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Philippines in 1919, and placed second in the Bar Examinations that same year.

Starting out as a law clerk, he was promoted to Solicitor General in 1932 and Undersecretary of Justice under Governor-General (later U.S. Supreme Court Justice) Frank Murphy in 1933. He was later appointed in 1936 to the Court of Appeals, and became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1945. He left the Supreme Court in 1948 to become Secretary of Justice under President Elpidio Quirino, but was reinstated a few months later.

References

• Cesar Fernando Bengzon Baptismal Certificate
• Cruz, Isagani A. (2000). Res Gestae: A Brief History of the Supreme Court. Rex Book Store, Manila

Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
Cayetano Arellano Victorino Mapa Manuel Araullo Ramón Avanceña José Abad Santos José Yulo Manuel Moran Ricardo Paras César Bengzon Roberto Concepcion Querube Makalintal Fred Ruiz Castro Enrique Fernando Felix Makasiar Ramon Aquino Claudio Teehankee, Sr. Pedro Yap Marcelo Fernan Andres Narvasa Hilario Davide Jr. Artemio Panganiban Reynato Puno Renato Corona Maria Lourdes Sereno