Article 1156. An obligation, a juridical
Prestation
necessity to give, to do, or not to do.
Juridical necessity: legal sanctions
● If breached, enforceable in court
● A contract necessarily gives rise to
an obligation but an obligation
does not always need to have a
contract.
Damages: sum of money as compensation
Kinds of obligation: sanction
● Civil obligation: judicial due process
● Natural: cannot be enforced in court,
conscience
● Moral: conscience or morality
Kinds of obligation: subject matter
● Real: to give
● Personal: to do or not to do
Affirmativeness and negativeness
● Positive or affirmative: to give or to
do
● Negative: to not give or to not do
Persons obliged
● Unilateral: only one is bound
● Bilateral: both parties are bound
Elements of obligation
1. Active subj
2. Passive subj
3.
4. Juridical tie / efficient cause
5. Causa: why the obligation exist
Article 1157. Obligation arises from law,
contracts, quasi contracts, delicts, quasi
delicts.
1. Law: cannot be presumed, must be
imposed by law itself
2. Contracts: arise from stipulation,
good faith
3. Quasi contracts: lawful, voluntary,
unilateral acts, no one shall be
unjustly enriched at the expense of
the other
a. Negotiorum gestio: person takes
charge of abandoned shit without
owner’s authority
b. Solutio indebiti: undue payment,
smthn is received when there is no
right to demand it
4. Delicts: arise from civil liability /
crime
5. Torts or quasi delicts: damage
caused to another through omission,
no fault bet parties
Article 1158. Obligations coming
from the law are NOT presumed.
Only those expressly determined in
 the code and special laws are b. Reparation: court determines the
demandable. damage
c. Indemnification of damages:
● Unless expressly stipulated, damages suffered by the injured
obligations from the law are party
not demandable because
they are not existent Effect of acquittal in criminal case:
a. when acquittal is due to reasonable doubt
Article 1159. Obligations from contracts – no civil liability
comes from the parties and must be b. when acquittal is due to exempting
complied in good faith. circumstances – there is civil liability
c. when there is preponderance of evidence
● Contracts: meeting of minds – there is civil liability
between two person
Article 1162. Obligations from quasi delicts
Article 1160. Obligations from quasi are governed.
contract.
● Quasi contracts: lawful, voluntary, Torts or quasi delicts: damage caused to
unilateral acts, no one shall be another through omission, no fault bet
unjustly enriched at the expense of parties
the other
● Negotiorum gestio: person takes REQUISITES:
charge of abandoned shit without a. omission
owner’s authority b. negligence
● Solutio indebiti: undue payment, c. damage cause to the plaintiff
smthn is received when there is no d. direct relation of omission, being
right to demand it the cause, and
the damage, being the effect
Article 1161. Obligations from crime are e. no pre-existing contractual
governed by penalties. relations between Parties

a. Restitution: restoration of property

taken away
 fulfillment of the condition
which is impossible.
Article 1183. Impossible conditions
annul the obligation. If the obligation Article 1184. As soon as the time expires or
is divisible, the part that is not not possible, the condition that some event
affected by the impossible condition will happen at that certain time will
shall be valid. extinguish the obligation.

1. Physically Impossible – cannot POSITIVE SUSPENSIVE CONDITION

exist or cannot be done in The obligation is extinguished:
its nature; 1. As soon as the TIME EXPIRES
2. Legally Impossible – contrary to without the event taking place;
law, good customs, or 2. As soon as it has become certain
public policy. that the EVENT WILL NOT TAKE
PLACE although the time specified
SUSPENSIVE CONDITIONS: give has not yet expired.
rise
Example. X is obliged to give y 100k if y
● Impossible conditions are not marries a person before the age of 23
valid bc the debtor is not
interested to fulfill his - X is liable if b marries before 23
obligation - X is not liable if b marries at the age
● Conditional obligation is valid of 23 or after 23
if it is NOT to do an - If b dies at 22, the obligation is
impossible thing. extinguished bc it is indubitable or
● Only the affected obligation impossible
is void, if the obligation is
divisible, and the part thereof
not affected by the
impossible condition is valid.
● Only the condition is void if
there is already a
pre-existing obligation and it
does not depend upon the
Article 1184. As soon as the time expires or Article 1187.
not possible, the condition that some event
will NOT happen at that certain time will ● Applies only to fulfilled suspensive
extinguish the obligation. conditions.
● Retroactive statute
Example. X is obliged to give y 100k if y is ● The effects of the obligation is
not married before the age of 23 deemed to commence not from the
fulfillment of the obligation but from
- X is liable if b is not married before the day of its constitution (similar to
23 the legitimation of a natural child)
- X is not liable if b marries at the age
of 23 or after 23 ● The article does not require the
- If b dies at 22, the obligation is delivery of fruits or payment of
extinguished bc it is indubitable or interests accruing (accumulating)
impossible before the fulfillment of the
suspensive condition.
Article 1186. The obligation is fulfilled if the ● Obligations to do or not to do – the
creditor prevents its fulfillment. retroactive effect shall be
determined by the court using its
REQUISITES: sound discretion without
1. The condition is SUSPENSIVE; disregarding the intentions of the
2. The obligor ACTUALLY parties.
PREVENTS the fulfillment of the
condition; Article 1188. The creditor may, before the
3. He acts VOLUNTARILY. fulfillment of the condition, bring the
Malice or fraud is not required, as appropriate actions for the preservation of
long as his purpose is to prevent the his right.
fulfillment of the condition. The debtor may recover what during
No person shall profit by his own the same time he has paid by mistake in
wrong. case of a suspensive condition.
Preservation of the rights of CREDITOR – LOSS
the debtor may render nugatory (not 1. debtor without fault – obligation is
serious, ignore) the obligation upon the extinguished
happening of the obligation. 2. debtor with fault – obligation to pay
● Action for prohibition restraining the damages
alienation of the thing pending the Deterioration:
happening of the suspensive
condition; 1. debtor without fault – impairment is
● Action to demand security if the to be borne by the creditor
debtor has become insolvent; 2. debtor with fault – creditor chooses:
● Action to set aside alienations made rescission of obligation, fulfillment,
by the debtor in fraud of creditors; indemnity
● Actions against adverse possessors
to interrupt the running prescriptive IMPROVEMENT
period. 1. by nature or time – improvement: inure to
● To Have His Rights Annotated In the benefit of the creditor
The Registry. 2. at the expense of the debtor – granted to
● the usufructuary
Rights of the DEBTOR – entitled to recover
what has been paid by mistake prior to the
happening of the suspensive condition. Requisites:
1. Real obligation: to give
Article 1189. When the conditions have 2. Specific
been imposed with the intention of 3. Subject to suspensive condition
suspending the efficacy of an obligation to 4. Condition is fulfilled
give, the following rules shall be observed in 5. There is loss, etc
case of the improvement, loss or
deterioration of the thing during the Article 1190. Fulfillment of resolutory
pendency of the condition: condition

● Refers to the fulfillment of a

resolutory condition.
 ● When the resolutory condition authorizing the fixing of a period. This is
happens, the obligation is understood to be without prejudice to the
considered as if it did not exist. rights of third persons who have acquired
● The parties are bound to return or the thing, in accordance with Articles 1385
restore whatever they have received and 1388 and the Mortgage Law.
from each other – “reciprocal
● restitution”
● Donation by reason of marriage – if RECIPROCAL – arise from same cause;
the marriage does not happen, such each is a debtor and creditor of the other
donation should be returned to the
donor. RESCISSION – resolution or cancellation of
● Loss, deterioration and improvement the contract
– governed by 1189.
● In obligations to do and not to do, ● Applies only to reciprocal obligations
the courts shall determine, in each where two parties are mutually
case, the retroactive effect of the debtor and creditor of each
condition that has been complied ● The party who can demand
with. rescission should be the party who is
ready, willing, and able to comply
with his own obligations while the
1191. The power to rescind obligations is other is not capable of performing
implied in reciprocal ones, in case one of his own.
the obligors should not comply with what is
incumbent upon him. Remedies:
1. Specific performance or fulfillment of
The injured party may choose obligation with damages;
between the fulfillment and the rescission of 2. Rescission of contract with
the obligation, with the payment of damages damages.
in either case. He may also seek rescission, ● Effect of rescission: the parties must
even after he has chosen fulfillment, if the surrender whatever they have
latter should become impossible. received from the other, and the
obligation to pay is extinguished.
The court shall decree the rescission ● If there is an express stipulation of
claimed, unless there be just cause automatic rescission between
 parties – such resolution shall take
place only after the creditor has
notified the debtor of his choice of
rescission subject to judicial scrutiny.
1192. In case both parties have committed a
breach of the obligation, the liability of the
first infractor shall be equitably
tempered by the courts. If it cannot be
determined which of the parties first violated
the contract, the same shall be deemed
extinguished, and each shall bear his own
damages.
Obligations with a resolutory period take
effect at once, but terminate upon arrival of
the day certain.
A day certain is understood to be that which
must necessarily come, although it may not
be known when. If the uncertainty consists
in whether the day will come or not, the
obligation is conditional, and it shall be
regulated by the rules of the preceding
Section.

● FIRST INFRACTOR KNOWN

- The liability of the first infractor
should be equitably reduced. –
equitably offset each other’s
damages.
- FIRST INFRACTOR CANNOT BE
DETERMINED
- The court shall declare the
extinguishment of the obligation and
each shall bear his own damages.

Section 2: obligations with a period

1193. Obligations for whose fulfillment a day

certain has been fixed, shall be demandable
only when that day comes.