INTRODUCTION

To begin, we start with what a law is.

A. Concepts of Law​. – The term law may be understood in two concepts: (1)
general or abstract sense, and (2) specific or material sense. First sense
equivalent to Spanish term derecho; in the second, to Spanish term ley.

General Sense​. – In the general or abstract sense, law has been defined as
“the science of moral rules, founded on the rational nature of man, which
govern his free activity, for the realization of the individual and social ends,
of a nature both demandable and reciprocal.” (1 Sanchez Roman 3)

Briefly, it is the mass of obligatory rules established for the purpose of

governing the relations of persons in society. (1 Salvat 1-3)

Specific Sense​. – In a specific or material sense, law has been defined as a

“juridical proposition or an aggregate of juridical propositions, promulgated
and published by the competent organs of the State in accordance with the
Constitution.” (1-I Ennecerus, Kipp & Wolf 136) It is a norm of human
conduct in social life, established by a sovereign organization and imposed
for the compulsory observance of all. (1 Ruggiero 5-6).

Sanchez Roman defines it as “​a rule of conduct, just, obligatory,

promulgated by the competent authority for the common good of a
people or nation, which constitutes an obligatory rule of conduct for
all its members.​”

B. Foundations of Law​. – Law is a product of social life and is a creation of

human nature. It was intended by man to serve man. It regulates the
relations of human beings so that harmony can be maintained in the social
group, by placing restrictions on individual liberty in order to make
co-existence possible. Law, therefore, rests upon the concepts of order,
co-existence, and liberty.
C. Characteristics of Law​. – (1) it is a rule of human conduct, (2)
promulgated by competent authority, (3) obligatory, and (4) general
observance.

D. Law and Morals.​ – Not all human conduct is regulated by law. There are
other forms of regulation, such as morals and religion. Only the rules of law,
however, have a legal sanction and can be enforced by public authority.

Law and morals have a common ethical basis and spring from the same
source – the social conscience. In fact, there was a time in the remote past,
when the mind of man was still in its childish state, confused, unable to
analyze and abstract, when spiritual and moral concepts were
indistinguishable from the juristic and legal. It was useless then to search for
the traces of law as distinct from morals. This confusion continued even into
the classical age, as may be seen from the writings of Plato and Aristotle. In
Greece, there was no word to signify law, because it was included in the
universal concept of justice . Among the Romans, the term jus is derived
from justice, and it has been defined as the art of being good and fair.

Since they spring from a common source, law and morals have many
identical precepts. But the Romans began to distinguish between law and
morals, and the distinction has remained to the present day. The law in
many cases takes into account moral concepts; however, not all moral
duties have been converted into juridical obligations, because if this were to
happen, morals would lose their essential characteristic of being voluntary.

The field of morals is more extensive than that of law. Law covers only social
activities, or the relations of man to his fellow-man; but the field of morals
includes, not only the duties of man to his fellow-being, but also those to
himself and to his God. Even among our duties to our fellow-men, many are
still dictated by morals, such as those which have a psychological basis,
including the duties of assistance and self-sacrifice.
The purpose of law and morals is basically the same: happiness, which
cannot exist for man, except through a permanent and stable equilibrium
between human personalities. But because of the distinction between them,
an act may be entirely in conformity with law but contrary to morals; and
vice versa, conduct may be justifiable from the point of view of morals but
contrary to law. Law and morals according to Colin and Capitant are like two
concentric circles; it is, however, perhaps more accurate to say that they are
like two intersecting circles, with many principles in a common zone, and yet
with some principles of one at variance with those of the other.

E. General Divisions of Law​. – Law in its most comprehensive sense has

been divided into two general groups: divine law and human law. By divine
law is meant that in which God himself is the legislator who has promulgated
the law; by human law is meant that which is promulgated by man to
regulate human relations.

Human law is in turn divided into two main classes: general or public law
and individual or private law. These in turn are subdivided as follows:

I. General or public law:

(a) International law, or that which governs the relations between nations or
states, that is, between human beings in their collective concept.

(b) Constitutional law, or that which governs the relations between human
beings as citizens of a state and the governing power.

(c) Administrative law, or that which governs the relations between officials
and employees of the government.

(d) Criminal law, or that which guaranties the coercive power of the law so
that it will be obeyed.

(e) Religious law, or that which regulates the practice of religion.

II. Individual or private law:

(a) Civil law, or that which regulates the relations of individuals for purely
private ends.

(b) Mercantile law, or that which regulates the special relations produced by
commercial transactions.

(c) Procedural law, or that which provides for the means by which private
rights may be enforced.

F. Kinds of Specific Law. ​– Law, in the specific sense, is generally classified

into mandatory, prohibitory, and permissive. In one sense, every law
commands, because it is obligatory; but it commands in three different
ways: (1) it commands that something be done, in which case it is
mandatory; (2) it commands that something should not be done, in which
case it is prohibitory; and (3) it commands that what it permits to be done
should be tolerated or respected, in which case it is permissive. (3 Fabres
90)

This classification has been criticized by some, including Savigny, as

unscientific. It is said that the more important classification is that of
absolute and suppletory. The first has an obligatory character; while the
second leaves the will of the individual free to act, and only when this has
not manifested itself does the law present the rule to determine the juridical
fact. (1 Borja 4)

CLASSIFICATION OF LAWS ACCORDING TO NATURE

> Substantive and procedural law

> Substantive law is the law that creates, defines and regulates

> Procedural law defines the method or proceedings in the enforcement

of the rights and duties defined in substantive law
CLASSIFICATION OF LAWS ACCORDING TO APPLICATION

> Public and private law

> Public law: laws that define the relationship between the State
and the individual (e.g Constitution, Revised Penal Code)

> Private law: laws that define the relationship between individuals (e.g
Civil Code, Commercial laws)

Civil Law Definition

Branch of Law that treats the personal and family relations of a person, his
property and successional rights, and the effects of obligation and contracts.
"Civil" is derived from the Latin "civiles", a citizen. Originally, the word
pertained to a member of "civitas" or a free political community (Black's Law
Dictionary)

The Law on Obligations and Contracts is defined as a kind of positive law

which deals with the nature and sources of obligations as well as the rights
and duties arising from agreements in contracts.

Before discussing the particular concepts on the Law on Obligations and

Contracts, it is important to know that in every obligation, one must always
observe the general principles on human relations, to wit:

―ART. 19. Every person must, in the exercise of his rights and in the
performance of his duties, act with justice, give everyone his due, and
observe honesty and good faith. (Civil Code of the Philippines).

Failure to observe the above principle makes a person civilly liable.

IGNORANCE OF THE LAW EXCUSES NO ONE FROM COMPLIANCE

THEREWITH