Civil

Law

The Civil Code took effect

on August 30, 1950
Art. 1. This Act shall be known as
the "Civil Code of the
Philippines."
What is a Law?

The Law refers to the system of rules

which a particular country or
community recognizes as regulating
the actions of its members and which
it may enforce by the imposition of
penalties if there will be non-
compliance.
What are the different types or
kinds of Law?

According to Thomas Aquinas, there

are 4 basic types of law, namely,
Eternal Law, Natural Law, Human Law,
and Divine Law.
What is Eternal Law?

Eternal law is comprised of those laws that govern the nature

of an eternal universe. It is the moral law; the law of nature. It
is the law which God in the creation of man infused into him
for his direction and preservation.
What is Natural Law?

Natural law, is a system of right or

justice, held to be common to all
humans and derived from nature
rather than from the rules of society.
What is Divine Law?

Divine law comprises any body of law that is

perceived as deriving from a transcendent source,
such as the will of God, or gods. - in contrast to
man-made law or to secular law. Divine laws are
typically perceived by Theistic philosophers as
superior to man-made laws, sometimes due to an
assumption that their source has resources beyond
human knowledge and human reason.
 What is Human Law?

According to Teressa Lee, in her article posted last June 20,

20 18, Human Law is the interpretation of natural law in
secular contexts. Natural law is a foundation for moral and
civil law. Government laws are dictates of practical reason
from the precepts of Natural Law. Law is not about
individual morality. Individual vices should be legislated
against when they threaten harm to others. Rulers of the
State should take the general moral precepts of nature and
specify them into State laws.
Article 1. states, This Act shall be known as the "Civil
Code of the Philippines."

– What is the Civil Code? A civil code is a codification of private law relating to
property, family, and obligations.
– What is a Private Law? Private law is that part of a civil law legal system
which is part of the jus commune that involves relationships between
individuals, such as the law of contracts and torts, and the law of
obligations. It is to be distinguished from public law, which deals with
relationships between both natural and artificial persons and the state,
including regulatory statutes, penal law and other law that affects the public
order. In general terms, private law involves interactions between private
individuals, whereas public law involves interrelations between the state
and the general population.
Civil Law Defined

Civil law is "the mass of precepts w/c

determine and regulate the relations
of assistance, authority and obedience
among the members of a family, and
those w/c exist among members of a
society for the protection of private
interests." (Sanchez Roman.)
Sources of the Civil Code:

(1) The Civil Code of 1889;

(2) The codes, laws, and judicial decisions,
as well as the works of jurists of other
countries, such as Spain, the various states
of the American Union, and others;
(3) Doctrines laid down by the Supreme
Court of the Philippines; and
(4) Filipino customs and traditions;
Sources of the Civil Code:

(5) Philippine statutes, such as the Marriage

Law, the Divorce Law, the Code of Civ. Proc.
and the Rules of Court.
(6) The Code Commission itself
(7) Works of jurists and commentators of
various nations
Publication

Art. 2. Laws shall take effect after

fifteen days following the completion
of their publication either in the
Official Gazette or in a newspaper of
general circulation in the Philippines,
unless it is otherwise provided. (as
amended by EO 200.)
Ignorance is not an excuse

Art. 3. Ignorance of the law excuses

no one from compliance therewith.
Concept of retroactivity

Art. 4. Laws shall have no retroactive

effect, unless the contrary is
provided.
Concept of retroactivity

A law that has not yet become

effective cannot be considered as
conclusively known by the people. To
make a law binding even before it has
taken effect may lead to arbitrary
exercise of legislative power.
 Exceptions to Rule:
(1) When the law itself so expressly provides
(2) In case of Penal statutes
(3) In case of Remedial statutes
(4) In case of Curative statutes
(5) In case of laws interpreting others
(6) In case of laws creating new rights
(7) If the law is of an emergency measure and authorized
by the police power of the State.
Laws may be mandatory or prohibitory

Art. 5. Acts executed against the

provisions of mandatory or prohibitory
laws shall be void, except when the law
itself authorizes their validity.
Waiver of Rights

Art. 6. Rights may be waived,

unless the waiver is contrary to
law, public order, public policy,
morals, or good customs, or
prejudicial to a third person with a
right recognized by law.
 Waiver of Rights

– Elements of a Valid Waiver:

– (1) Existence of a right;
– (2) Knowledge of existence thereof;
– (3) An intention to relinquish the right.
 Repeal of Laws

Art. 7. Laws are repealed only by subsequent ones, and

their violation or non-observance shall not be excused
by disuse, or custom or practice to the contrary.
When the courts declare a law to be inconsistent
with the Constitution, the former shall be void and the
latter shall govern.
Administrative or executive acts, orders and
regulations shall be valid only when they are not
contrary to the laws or the Constitution.
 There are 2 kinds of repeal of a
law:

(1) Express or declared repeal, contained in a

special provision of a subsequent law,
(2) Implied or tacit repeal, w/c takes place
when the provisions of the subsequent law
are incompatible or inconsistent w/ those
of an earlier law.
Jurisprudence

Art. 8. Judicial decisions applying

or interpreting the laws or the
Constitution shall form part of
the legal system of the
Philippines.
 Jurisprudence

Decisions not Source of Law - But the Court's

interpretation of a statute constitutes part of the law
as of the date it was originally passed, since the
construction merely establishes contemporaneous
legislative intent that the interpreted law carried into
effect. These decisions, although in themselves not
law, constitute evidence of what the laws mean.
Jurisprudence

Doctrine of stare decisis.-- The

doctrine of stare decisis is based on
the principle that once a question of
law has been examined and decided, it
should be deemed settled and closed
to further argument.
 Duty to render Judgment

Art. 9. No judge or court shall decline to render

judgment by reason of the silence, obscurity or
insufficiency of the laws.
Art. 10. In case of doubt in the interpretation or
application of laws, it is presumed that the
lawmaking body intended right and justice to
prevail.
 Duty to render Judgment

Art. 11. Customs which are contrary to law,

public order or public policy shall not be
countenanced.
Art. 12. A custom must be proved as a fact,
according to the rules of evidence.
 Requisites of Custom:
(1) plurality of acts, or various resolutions of;
(2) uniformity;
(3) general practice by the great mass of the social
group;
(4) continued performance of these acts for a long
period of time;
(5) general conviction that the practice is a juridical
necessity or that it is obligatory; and
(6) the practice must not be contrary to law, morals or
public order.
 Computation of Legal Periods

Art. 13. When the laws speaks of years, months, days or

nights, it shall be understood that years are of three
hundred sixty-five days each; months, of thirty days; days
of twenty-four hours; and nights from sunset to sunrise.
If months are designated by their name, they shall be
computed by the number of days which they respectively
have.
In computing a period, the first day shall be excluded,
and the last day included.
Generality and Territoriality characters of
Penal Laws

Art. 14. Penal laws and those of public security

and safety shall be obligatory upon all who live
or sojourn in Philippine territory, subject to the
principles of public international law and to
treaty stipulations.
Domiciliary theory and
Nationality theory

Art. 15. Laws relating to family rights and

duties, or to the status, condition and legal
capacity of persons are binding upon citizens of
the Philippines, even though living abroad.
 lex situs or lex rei sitae

Art. 16. Real property as well as personal property is subject to

the law of the country where it is situated.
However, intestate and testamentary successions, both
with respect to the order of succession and to the amount of
successional rights and to the intrinsic validity of testamentary
provisions, shall be regulated by the national law of the person
whose succession is under consideration, whatever may be the
nature of the property and regardless of the country wherein
said property may be found.
 lex loci celebrationis

Art. 17. The forms and solemnities of contracts, wills,

and other public instruments shall be governed by the
laws of the country in which they are executed.
When the acts referred to are executed before the
diplomatic or consular officials of the Republic of the
Philippines in a foreign country, the solemnities
established by Philippine laws shall be observed in
their execution.
Role of Commercial and
Special Laws

Art. 18. In matters which are governed by the

Code of Commerce and special laws, their
deficiency shall be supplied by the provisions of
this Code.