CIVIL LAW REVIEWER the Official Gazette, or in a newspaper of general

1st meeting circulation in the Philippines."

 Note: the effectivity date is on the 16th day.
CHAPTER 1  For example, if the law is published on March 30, then
EFFECT AND APPLICATION OF LAWS it will become effective on April 15.

Civil law
 Mass of precepts which determine and regulate the
relations of assistance, authority and obedience among
the members of the family, and those which exist
among members of society for the protection of private
interest
2. If the law provides for its own effectivity date:
 Then it takes effect on the said date, subject to the
requirement of publication.
 This is the meaning of "unless it is otherwise provided."
3. If the law provides that it shall become effective
"immediately upon approval":

Civil law system Common law There are two conflicting views
system Fariñas v. The Executive La Bugal-B’Laan Tribal
As to Codal, statutory From case law Secretary Association Inc, v Ramos
governance and written law. In: the effectivity clause of a there is nothing in EO 200
additionally law which provides that “it that prevents a law from
derived from case shall take effect immediately taking effect on a date other
law upon its approval, is than – even before – the 15-
As to trend Now relying more Now codifying laws defective but does not render day period after its
and more on more and more. the entire law invalid. publication and where the
decisions It must be construed to have law provodes for its own
explaining the laws become effective after 15 date of effectivity, such date
days following the prevails over that prescribed
EFFECTIVITY OF LAWS IN THE PHILIPPINES completion of its publication by EO 200.
3 scenarios in the Official gazette or in a
When Law Becomes Effective: newspaper of general
1. If the law does not provide for its own effectivity: circulation.
 Then it shall take effect "after fifteen (15) days
following the completion of (its) publication either in La Bugal-B’Laan Tribal Association Inc, v Ramos
provides for a better rule.
 Hence, if the law provides for it immediate effectivity upon
approval, it must be properly interpreted as coming into
effect immediately upon its publication.
Requirement of publication
 Indispensable and cannot be dispensed with
 Reason: basic constitutional requirement of due process
must be satisfied.
 Law does not become effective without publication.
 All laws, whether local or general application are
required to be published as a condition for their
effectivity.
PRESUMPTION OF KNOWLEDGE OF LAWS
 Everyone is conclusively presumed to know the law.
Consequence: mistake or ignorance of the law is not a defense,
EXCEPT:
1. Mistake upon a doubtful or difficult question of law
may be the basis of good faith
2. Mutual error as to the legal effect of an agreement
when the real purpose of the parties is frustrated may
vitiate consent
3. Payment by reason of mistake in the construction or
application of a doubtful or difficult question of law
may come within the scope of solution indebiti
Presupposed publication:
 the conclusive presumption that every person knows the
law presupposes that the law has been published
 Without such notice and publication, there would be no
basis for the application of the maxim ignorantia legis
non excusat.
Rule on knowledge of foreign laws:
 Foreign laws must be specially alleged and proved and
our courts cannot take judicial notice of them.
Doctrine of processual presumption / doctrine of presumed-
identity approach
 if the foreign law involved is not properly pleaded and
proved, our courts will presume that the foreign law is
same as our local or domestic or internal law.
PROSPECTIVE APPLICATION OF LAWS
GENERAL RULE
 laws are to be construed as have only prospective
application
 “lex prospicit, non respicit”
EXCEPTIONS:
1. When the law itself provides for its retroactivity unless
the retroactive application of a statute will make it an ex post
facto law or will result in the impairment of obligation of
contracts.
2. When a penal law is favorable to the accused unless the
convicted felon is a habitual delinquent
3. When the law is remedial or procedural in nature
because no vested right may attach nor arise from procedural
laws.
4. When the law is curative in character.
5. When the law creates new substantive rights provided it
has not prejudiced another acquired right of the same origin.
Acts Executed Against Mandatory or Prohibitory Laws
General Rule:
Acts executed against the provisions of mandatory or
prohibitory laws shall be void:
Exceptions:
1. When the law itself authorizes the validity of the act
2. When the law makes the act valid, but punishes the
violator
3. When the law makes the act voidable
4. When the law declared the act void, but recognizes legal
effects as arising from it.
WAIVER OF RIGHTS
Waiver
 Voluntary and intentional relinquishment or
abandonment of a known existing legal right,
advantage, benefit, claim or privilege, which except for
such waver the party would have enjoyed.
 the voluntary abandonment or surrender, by a capable
person, of a right known by him to exist, with the intent
that such right shall be surrendered and such person
forever deprived of its benefit
 such conduct as warrants an inference of the
relinquishment of such right; or the intentional doing of
an act inconsistent with claiming it
Requisites for valid waiver:
1. he must actually the right which he renounces
2. he must have capacity to make the renunciation
3. the renunciation must be made in a clear and
unequivocal manner
4. waiver must not be contrary to law, public order, public
policy, morals or good custom, or prejudicial to a third
person with a right recognized by law.
 where one lacks knowledge of a right, there is no basis
upon which waiver of it can rest.
 Ignorance of a material fact negates waiver and waiver
cannot be established by a consent given under a
mistake or misapprehension of fact.
What right may be waived:
General rule:
Any matter which affects his property, and any alienable right
or privilege of which he is the owner or which belongs to him
or to which he is legally entitled, whether secured by contract,
conferred with statute or guaranteed by constitution, provided
such rights and privileges rest in the individual, are intended When a law which expressly When a law which implied
for his sole benefit, do not infringe on the rights of others, and repeals a prior law is itself repeals a prior law is itself
further provided the waiver of the right or privilege is not repealed, the law first repealed, the prior law shall
forbidden by law, and does not contravene public policy; and repealed shall not be thereby thereby be revived unless the
the principle is recognized that everyone has a right to waive, be revived unless expressly repealing law provides
and agree to waive, the advantage of a law or rule made solely so provided otherwise.
for the benefit and protection of the individual in his private
capacity, if it can be dispensed with and relinquished without
infringing on any public right, and without detriment to the
JUDICIAL DECISIONS
community at large
Part of Legal System:
REPEAL OF LAWS  Decisions of the Supreme Court, although in
themselves not laws, are nevertheless evidence of what
Express repeal Implied repeal
Is that contained in a special Takes place when the the laws mean
provision of a subsequent provision of the subsequent Hence, the Supreme Court's interpretation of a
law. law are incompatible with statute forms part of the law as of the date it was
those of an earlier law and originally passed because the Court's construction
there is no express repeal. merely establishes the contemporaneous legislative
intent that the interpreted law carries into effect.
Rule on implied repeal
In the absence of an express repeal, a subsequent law cannot be Refer to SC Decisions Only:
construed as repealing prior law unless an irreconcilable  Only decisions of the Supreme Court establish
inconsistency and repugnancy exists in terms of the new and jurisprudence or doctrines in this jurisdiction.
old laws.
Doctrine of Stare Decisis:
2 requisites of implied repeal:  a point of law already established will, generally, be
1. laws cover the same subject matte followed by the same determining court and by all
2. latter is repugnant to the earlier. lower rank in subsequent cases where the same legal
issue is raised.
Effect of repeal of repealing law:
Express repeal Implied repeal Obiter dictum
  opinion expressed by a court upon some question which
is not necessary to the decision of the case before it.
 Not binding as precedent.
Prospective application of new doctrine:
 Shold be applied prospectively and should not apply to
parties who had relied in the old doctrine and acted on
the faith thereof.
EFFECT OF SILENCE, OBSCURITY OR
INSUFFICIECY OF LAWS
 The judge or court should not decline to render
judgement by reason of the silence, obscurity or
insufficiency of laws.
Application to criminal prosecution:
 The judge must dismiss the case if a person is accused
of a non-existent crime following the maxim nullum
crimen nulla poena sine lege.
EFFECT OF DOUBT IN INTERPRETATIN OR
APPLICATION OF LAWS:
In case of doubt:
Presumed that the lawmaking body intended right and justice to
prevail.
If the law is clear:
Duty of the judge is to apply the law even if he application may
seem to be harsh following the maxim dura lex sed lex.
Resort to equity:
Equity
 Justice outside legality.
 Applied only in the absence of and never against,
statutory law or judicial rules of procedure.
CUSTOMS
Custom
 Rule of conduct formed by repetition of acts, uniformly
observed as social rule, legally binding and obligatory.
 Juridical customs are legally binding and obligatory.
Requisites
1. plurality of acts or various resolutions of a juridical
question raised repeatedly in life.
2. Uniformity, or indentity of acts or various solutions to
the juridical question
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 corresponds to a
juridical necessity or that it is obligatory
6. Practice must be not contrary to law, morals or public
order.
Not subject to judicial notice:
They must be proved as a fact, according to the rules of
evidence.
COMPUTATION OF LEGAL PERIODS
A year: 12 calendar months
 Civil code Administrative code
Year = 365 days whether it Year is composed of 12
be a regular year or leap year calendar months, the number
of days is irrelevant
The SC recognized the existence of implied repeal and
declared the provision section 31 chapter 3 Book 1 of the
Admin Code of 1987, being the more recent law, now
govern the computation of legal period with respect to
counting a year
YEAR MEANS 12 CALENDAR MONTHS
Calendar month: a month designated in the calendar without
regard to the number of days it may contain.
1 calendar month from dec 31 2007 will be from jan 1 2008 to
jan 31 2008
12 calendar months from jan 31 2008 to jan 31 2009
Month: 30 days unless it refers to a specific calendar month
Day: 24 hours
Night: sunset to sunrise.
Rule in counting period: 1st day excluded, last day included.
PRINCIPLE OF GENERALITY OF PHILIPPINE PENAL
LAWS
 Philippine Penal laws and those of public security and
safety are obligatory upon all who liv and sojourn in the
Ph territory.
 Obligatory to all persons who are within the PH
Exceptions:
1. Treaty stipulations provide to the contrary
2. Principles of public international law provide to the
contrary
3. Law of preferential application provide to the contrary.
 Heads of state are not subject to Philippine territorial
jurisdiction
 Diplomatic representatives, such as ambassadors or
public ministers and their official retinue possess
immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the country
of their sojourn, and cannot be sued, arrested or
punished by law of that country.
 Consul is not entitled to the privileges and immunities
but is subject to the laws and regulations of the country
to which he is accredited.
NATIONALITY PRINCIPLE
 Civil ode follows the nationality principle rule to the
effect that Philippine laws relating to family rights and
duties, or to the status, condition and legal capacity of
persons are binding upon citizens of the Philippine,
although living abroad
Absolute divorces involving Filipinos
General rule:
 Philippine law does not provide for absolute divorces;
hence, our courts cannot grant it.
  A marriage between 2 filipinos cannot be dissolved
even by a divorce obtained abroad, because Art 15 and
17 of the Civil Code
 An absolute divrce secured by a Filipino married to
another filipino is contrary to our concept of public
policy and morality and shall not be recognized in this
jurisdiction.
Exception:
However, in mixed marriage, involving a Filipino and a
foreigner, art 26 of the FC allows the former to contract a
subsequent marriage in a case the divorce is validly obtained
abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry.
Absolute divorces obtained by aliens:
 May be recognized in the Philippines, provided they are
valid according to their national law.
Reckoning point in determining citizenship
 Citizenship at the time a valid divorce is obtained
abroad.
 The validity of the divorce will be determined based on
the law of the country of which he is a citizen at the
time the valid divorce is obtained.
PRINCIPLE OF LEX REI SITAE
 With respect to property, be it personal or real, the
rule is that it is subject to the law of the country where
it is situated.
 Universal principle that real or immovable property is
exclusively subject to the laws of the country or state
where it is located.
 The reason is found in the very nature of immovable
property - its immobility.
 Thus all matters concerning the title and disposition iof
real property are determined by what is known as the
lex loci rei sitae, which can alone prescribe the mode by
which a title can pass from one person to another, or by
which an interest therein can be gained or lost.
 This general principle includes all rules governing the
descent, alienation and transfer of immovable property
and the validity, effect and construction of wills and
other conveyances.
 Governs the capacity of the person making a deed
relation to immovable property, no matter what it nature
may be.
 Thus an instrument will be ineffective to transfer title to
land if the person making it is incapacited by the lex
loci rei sitae, evee though under the law of his domicile
and by the law of the place where the instrument is
actually made, his capacity is undoubted.
Exceptions:
 The national law of the person whose succession is
under consideration and not the law of the country
where the property is situated will govern with respect
to the ff aspects of succession whether testate or
intestate:
1. Order of succession
2. Amount of successional rights
3. Intrinsic validity of testamentary provisions
4. Capacity to success from the decedent.

PRINCPLE OF LEX LOCI CELEBRATIONIS
 Forms and solemnities of contracts, wills, and other
public instruments shall be governed by the laws of the
contrary in which they are executed.
When the acts referred to are executed before the diplomatic or
consular officials of the RP in a foreign country, the
solemnities established by Philippine laws shall be observed in
their execution
With respect, however, to the nature, construction and validity
of contracts, what applies is the doctrine of lex contractus or
lex loci contractus, and it may pertain to the law voluntarily
agreed upon by the parties ( lex loci voluntatis) or the law
intended by them wither expressly or implicitly (lex loci
intentionis)
EFFECT OF FOREIGN LAWS, JUDGMENTS OR
CONVENTION UPON PROHIBITORY LAWS
 Philippine prohibited laws concerning persons, their
acts or property, and those which have for their object
public order, public policy and good customs shall not
be rendered ineffective by laws or judgments
promulgated, or by determinations or conventions
agreed upon in a foreign country.
Consequences
 A divorce obtained by a Filipino citizen abroad, while
valid in the country where it was obtained is
nonetheless invalid in the Philippines.
 Marriages which are prohibited under Art 35(1) (4) (5)
and (6), 36, 37, 38 of the FC shall remain void ab initio
even if they are solemnized abroad and valid in the
place where they were solemnized.
Del Soccoro v van wilsen
 Even of the laws of the Netherlands neither enforce a
parent’s obligation to support his child nor penalize the
noncompliance therewith, said foreign law cannot be
applied in the Philippines because it is contrary to a
sound and established policy of the forum and that,
additionally, prohibitive laws concerning persons, their
acts or property and those which have for their object
public order, public policy and good customs, shall not
be rendered ineffective by laws or judgments
promulgated, or by determinations or conventions
agreed upon a foreign country.
 Thus, notwithstanding his national law, his obligation to
support his child is still duly enforceable in the
Philippines because it would be of great injustice to the
child to be denied of financial support when the latter is
entitled thereto.
SUMMARY OF CONFLICT OF LAWS
SUBJECT MATTER GOVERNING LAW
Family rights and duties of National law of the person
persons concerned
Status and condition of National law of the person
persons concerned
Legal capacity of persons: National law of the person
Except:
1. Capacity to succeed
from decdent,
whether the
succession is testate
or intestate
2. Capacity of the
person making a deed
relating to immovable
property, no matter
what is nature may be
Real and personal property
Exception:
In successon, whether testate
or intestate, as the ff aspects.
1. Order of succession
2. Amount of successional
rights
3. Intrinsic validity of
testamentary provisions
4. Capacity to success
from the decedent.
Formalities or solemnities of
contracts, wills and other
public instruments
Intrinsic validity of contracts,
its nature and construction
concerned
Law of the nation of
decedent
Lex loci rei sitae
Law of the country where it
is situated, or lex loci rei
sitae
National law of the person
whose succession is under
consideration
Law of the country in which
that are executed
Law voluntarily agreed upon
by the parties or the laws
intended by them either
expressly or implicitly
HUMAN RELATIONS
NORM OF HUMAN CONDUCT
 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.
Sanctions
If the rule of conduct declared in Art 19 is violated, the remedy
is an action for damages under either Art 20 or 21, thus:
 Anyone who, contrary to law, willfully or negligently,
causes damage to another, shall indemnify the latter for
damages.
 Anyone who willfully causes loss or injury to another in
a manner contrary to morals, good customs or public
policy shall compensate the latter for the damage.
Principle of Damnum Absque Injuria
 Means that the proper exercise of a lawful right cannot
constitute a legal wrong for which an action will lie,
although the act may result in damage to another, for no
legal right has been invaded. Any injury or damage
occasioned thereby is damnum absque injuria – for
which the law gives no remedy.
Principle of abuse of rights
 If the right is exerxised in bad faith and for the sole
intent of prejudicing or injuring another, there is
liability under the principle of abuse of right, for the
exercise of a right ends when the right disappears, and
it disappears when it is abused especially to the
prejudiced of others
ELEMENTS:
1. There is a legal right or duty
2. Exercised in bad faith; and
3. For the sole intent of prejudicing or injuring another.
The absence of good faith is essential to abuse of right.
BREACH OF PROMISE TO MARRY
 Breach of promise to marry per se is not an actionable
wrong
When there is seduction:
ART 21 of the NCC may be applied where the woman was a
victim of moral seduction.
To constitute seduction
- there must in all cases be some sufficient promise or
inducement and the woman must yield because of the
promise or other inducement.
Seduction
- connotes deceit, entirecement, superior power or abuse
of confidence on the part of the seducer to which the
woman has yielded.
Other cases which are not merely for breach of promise to
marry
 The action was not merely for breach of promise to
marry. Here the bride and the groom went thru all the
wedding preparations but 2 days prior to the wedding,
the groom walked out of the wedding. The Court held
the groom liable for damages under Art 21 of the NCC
because his act was contrary to good customs
 Where the plaintiff has actually incurred expenses for
the wedding and the necessary incidents thereof, the
plaintiff has the right to recover money or property
advanced him or her upon the faith of such promise.
ACCION IN REM VERSO
 Action for recovery of what has been paid or delivered
without just case or legal ground is called accion in rem
verso.
 The purpose of the action is to prevent unjust
enrichment, which exist when a person unjustly retains
a benefit to the loss of another, or when a person retains
 money or property of another against the fundamental
principles of justice, equity and good conscience. Malice or inexcusable negligence
Art 27 presupposed that the refusal or omission of a public
Requisites: official is attributable to malice or inexcusable negligence
1. Defendant has been enriched
2. Plaintiff has suffered a loss UNFAIR COMPETITION UNDER ART 28 NCC
3. Enrichment of the defendant is without just or legal  Covers even cases of discovery of trade secrets of a
ground competitor, bribery of his employees, misrepresentation
4. Plaintiff has no other action based on contract, quasi- of all kinds, interference with the fulfillment of a
contract, crime or quasi-delict. competitor’s contracts, or any malicious interference
with the latter’s business
Accion in rem verso Solution indebiti  What is being sought to be prevented is not competition
Considered merely an If the delivery is by reason of per se but the use of unjust, oppressive or high-landed
auxiliary action, available mistake, the action must be methods which may deprive others of a fair chance to
only when there is no other based on the quasi-contract engage in business or to earn a living.
remedy on contract, quasi- of solution indebiti
 What the law prohibits is unfair competition and not
contract, crime or quasi-
competition where the means used are fair and
delict.
legitimate.
Not necessary that there Mistake is an essential
should be mistake in the element 2 characteristics of “unfair”
payment 1. It must involve an injury to a competitor or trade rival
2. It must involve acts which are characterized as contrary
LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES UNDER ART 27 NCC to good conscience or shocking to judicial sensibilities
Requisites for recovery: or otherwise unlawful; in the language or our law, these
1. Defendant be a public official charged with the include force, intimidation, deceit, machination or any
performance of official duties other unjust, oppressive or high-handed method.
2. There be a violation of an official duty in favor of an
individual CIVIL LIABILITY ARISING FROM CRIME (DELICT)
3. There be wilfulness or negligence in the violation of Basis of civil liability ex delicto:
such official duty - Every person criminal liability will give rise to civil
4. There be an injury to the individual. liability only if the same felonious act or omission
 results in damage or injury to another and is the direct
and proximate cause thereof.
Effect of acquittal upon the civil liability (ex delicto)
1. accused, not author of act of omission complained of:
 no civil liability
 situated contemplated in Sec 2 Rule 111 of Criminal
Procedure: the civil action based on delict shall be
deemed extinguished if there is a finding in a final
judgment in the criminal action that the act or omission
from which the civil liability may arise did not exist.
- It applies only to a civil action arising from crime or
ex delito and not to a civil action arising from quasi-
delict or culpa aquiliana.
- The extinction of civil liability referred to in Sec 2
of Rule 11 refers exclusively to civil liability
founded on Art 100 of the RPC, whereas the civil
liability for the same act considered as a quasi-delict
only an d not as a crime is not extinguished even by
a declaration in the criminal case that the criminal
case that the criminal act charged has not happened
or has not been committed by the accused.
2. Acquittal based on reasonable doubt
- he is exempt from civil liability ex delicto which may be
probed by preponderance of evidence only.
CIVIL ACTIONS WHICH MAY PROCEED
INDEPENDENTLY OF THE CRIMINAL ACTION
Rule on implied institution
 When a criminal action is instituted, the civil action for
the recovery of civil liability arising from the offense
charged is deemed instituted with the criminal action
unless the offended party:
1. Waived the civil action
2. Reserved the right to institute it separately
3. Institutes the civil action prior to the criminal
action
 It contemplates of a civil action based on delict.
 The civil action which has been reserved cannot be
instituted until final judgment has been entered in the
criminal action.
 If the criminal action is filed after the civil action has
already been instituted, the latter shall be suspended in
whatever stage it may be found before judgment on the
merits and the suspension shall last until final judgment
is rendered in the criminal action
 However, the civil action may be consolidated with the
criminal action
Independent civil actions:
 Art 32, 33, 34, and 2176 of of the CC
 Even if the act or omission complained of may
constitute a felony, the civil action may proceed
independently of the criminal action
Personal liability of public officers under Art 32 NCC
 An individual can hold a public officer personally liable
for damages on account of an act or omission that
 violated a constitutional right only if it results in a Prejudicial Question: Article 40 and Bigamy
particular wrong or injury to the former. 1st marriage is alleged to be 2nd marriage is alleged to be
void void
Art 33, explained. Person who contracts a Jurisprudence clearly
Defamation and fraud in Art 33 of the NCC subsequent marriage absent a requires that for the accused
Used in ordinary sense prior judicial declaration of to be convicted of bigamy,
nullity of a previous one is the 2nd or subsequent
Physical injuries in art 33 guilty of bigamy. marriage must have all the
essential requisites for
 Bodily injury, not the specific crime of physical
Subsequent judicial validity except for the
injuries. declaration of the nullity of existence of a prior marriage.
 Hence the term includes physical injuries, frustrated st
the 1 marriage is immaterial
homicide, attempted homicide or even death in a bigamy case, since then Here no liability for the
 The civil action may proceed independently of the the crime has already been crime of bigamy can attach.
criminal proceedings even if the crime charged is consummated.
homicide thru reckless imprudence. In such situation, the prior
Applies only where a institution of a civil action
Prejudicial Question marriage, at least ostensibly for declaration of nullity of
- That which arises in a case the resolution of which is a had taken place, although 2nd marriage will constitute a
later declared void ab initio. prejudicial question to the
logical antecedent of the issue involved therein, and the
criminal action.
cognizance of which pertain to another tribunal.
Hence, even if a petition for
- Civil action must be instituted prior to the institution of declaration of nullity of the
the criminal action. previous marriage was filed
- Pending action must be civil and criminal. ahead of the criminal action
for bigamy, the former will
Elements: not be a prejudicial question
1. Previously instituted civil action involves an issue similar to the latter, because any
or intimately related to the issue raised in the subsequent decision in the civil action
criminal action will not erase the fact that the
2. The resolution of such issue determines whether or not the accused entered into a 2nd
criminal action may proceed. marriage during the
subsistence of the 1st
marriage.  insanity,
 state of being deaf
Exception: When no Exception: if 2nd marriage is mute,
marriage ceremony at all was alleged to be void on the  prodigality and
performed = prejudicial q. ground of psychological  civil interdiction
incapacity, the pendency of a
previously instituted civil Modifications or
action for declaration of Limitations:
nullity of the said marriage  Age
does not constitute  Insanity
prejudicial question to the  Imbecility
criminal action for bigamy.  State of being deaf-
mute
 Penalty
 Prodigality
 Family relations
 Alienage
 Absence
CIVIL PERSONALITY
 Insolvency
 Trusteeship
JURIDICAL CAPACITY CAPACITY TO ACT
It is the aptitude to be the It is the power to give life to
subject of rights and juridical acts with legal
obligation effects
Inherent in every natural Not inherent.
person.
It is acquired
It is not acquired.
Lost only through death Lost through other means EFFECT OF AGE
Cannot be limited or Can be limited or restricted AGE LIMITATION AND EFFECT
restricted 15 Exempt from criminal liability, but not from civil
Restrictions: years liability
 Minority or
under
Above Exempt from criminal liability, unless acted with
15 but discernment.
below
18 He is not however exempt from civil liability
Below 1. He/she cannot contract marriage. If he/she
18 does = void;
2. He/she cannot give valid consent to a contract.
If he/she does= voidable
3. Parents and other persons exercising parental
authority shall be civilly liable for injuries and
damages cause by the acts or omissions of
minor children living in their company and
under their parental authority.
 If act/omission is committed while the
child is under the special authority of the
school = primarily liable, while the parents
are subsidiary liable.
18 and He/she is qualified and responsible for all acts of
above civil life.
Except:
1. In contract of marriage, parental authority is
still necessary if he/she is below 21,
otherwise= voidable
2. If a party to a marriage is below 21 but at
least 18, the person whose consent is required
for the marriage to be perfectly valid is
required to be a party to the marriage
settlement, otherwise such MS= VOID
3. For quasi-delict committed by a person
below 21 but at least 18, the father or, in case
of his death, the mother, is liable for damages
cause by said person living in their company.
Civil Interdiction
- Accessory penalty imposed upon an accused who is
sentence to a principal penalty not lower than reclusion
temporal, which is a penalty ranging from 12 years and
one day to 20 years.
Effects:
1. Deprivation of rights of parental authority or guardianship
2. Deprivation of marital authority
3. Deprivation of right to manage property
4. Deprivation of right to dispose his property or conveyance
inter vivos.
Civil Personality of Natural Persons:
Natural Juridical
Human beings and have Artificial persons and
physical existence product of legal fiction.
Civil personality
- Aptitude of being the subject of rights and obligations.
Hence, it is synonymous with juridical capacity which is
defined as the fitness to be the subject of legal relations.
- Birth determines personality
A person is considered born for all purposes favorable if
after complete delivery from the mother’s womb:
1. The child is alive even only for a few hours, if it had an
intra-uterine life of at least 7 months;
2. The child is alive for at least 24 hours, if it had an intra-
uterine life of at least than 7 months.
 question of
Provisional personality of conceived child: A conceived succession
child, although as yet unborn, has a limited and provisional Requisites: 1. No proof as to 1. There is no
personality. Such personality is limited for the purposes who died first proof as to w/c
favorable to the child. 2. They are of 2 persons
called to died first;
Consequences of provisional personality of conceived child: succeed each 2. They perish in
other the same
1. The right to be a donee of simple donations but
calamity, such
acceptance shall be made by persons who would legally as wreck,
represent him if he were already born; battle or
2. The right to receive support from his progenitors; conflagration.
3. He may not be ignored by his parents in their testament; Rule/s 1. Whoever 1. If both were
otherwise it may result to preterition of a forced heir that alleges the under the age
annuls the institution of the testamentary heir, even if death of one of fifteen
such child should be born after the death of the testator. prior to the years, the
other shall older is
 Death extinguishes the civil personality of a natural prove the deemed to
person. same. have survived;
2. In the absence 2. If both were
of proof, they above the age
Presumption on Survivorship
shall be sixty, the
Article 43, NCC and Rule 131, Sec 3(jj):
presumed to younger is
Art. 43, NCC Rule 133, Sec have died at deemed to
3(jj) the same time have survived;
Applicability: When question of When there is no and there is no 3. If one is under
survivorship question of transmission fifteen and the
involves succession or of rights from other above
persons WHO when the persons one to the sixty, the
ARE CALLED involved are not other. former is
UPON TO called to succeed deemed to
SUCCEED EACH each other. have survived;
OTHER and there 4. If both be over
is a

CIVIL PERSONALITY OF JURIDICAL PERSONS
begins:
State and its political
subdivisions
Other corporations,
institutions and entities for constituted according to law.
public interest or purpose
created by law
Private corporation
fifteen and under its official seal.
under sixty, Partnership Requisites to be considered a
and the sex be juridical personality:
different, the 1. 2 or more persons bind
male is themselves to contribute
deemed to money, property or
have survived, industry to a common
if the sex be fund; and
the same, the 2. Intention on the part of
older; the partners to divide the
5. If one be under profits among
fifteen or over themselves.
sixty, and the
other between - If contribution involves
those ages, the real or immovable
latter is property an inventory of
deemed to it signed by the parties
have survived. attached to the public
instrument is required,
otherwise partnership is
void.
As soon as they have been Sole Proprietorship Does not possess a juridical
constituted according to law. personality separate and
As soon as they have been distinct from the personality
of the owner of the
enterprise.
Commences to have
corporate existence and
juridical personality and is
deemed incorporated form
the date the SEC issues a
certificate of incorporation