 Rules of life were equipped by the ancients into wide sayings to easily recall, grasped,

and preached
 Filipinos, riddles (bugtong), sayings (kasabihan), idioms (sawikain), poetic snippets and
proverbs
 Passed on to wisdom and custom, not put into stone, or codified into law

ROMAN LAW

 ancient romans turned their civil axioms into legal maxims

 roman court, made up of jurists and advocates

 Edict, a collection which supplements Custom and statute
 the duty of jurists was to advise and counsel, their function became a public office
providing reponsa, sententiae, or regulae as a case demand, similar to modern-day
justices establishing jurisprudence

 Maxims of jurisconsults cited by advocates in speeches became foundational principles
of law and civility and continues to impress persuasive effects by their words
 Romans tried to save their civilization by a uniform system of laws later adopted by
Christian states in reaction to licentiousness of some emperors (Failed to preserve the
empire however succeeded to preserve their civilization)
 Latin maxims are very proverbial since Romans believe that what is legal must be moral
 Ius in Latin means LAW, also means RIGHT
 Latin legal principle imposes majesty and command because it has the elements of what
law should be : crisp and clear
 These maxims found their in statutory and case law, and have become tools for statutory
construction
 Regula pro lege si deficit lex (In default of the Law, the maxim rules)
 Romans also made use of the natural law theory to justify the universal application of
Jus Gentium as the law nations, while applying the jus civile for its roman citizens
 The law of the nations must be the law common to all which is the natural law (jus
naturale)
 Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius incorporated Stoic natural law philosophy into Roman
Law
 As laws multiplied, the need for compilation arose
 Corpus Iuris Civilis or Justinian Code –
 a systematic organization of laws ensued through codes,
 a collection of existing Roman Laws made by a group of scholars led by the legal
minister Tribonian
 Composed of four Books
 The Codex Constitutionum or code of ordinances and decrees issued by
emperors
 The Digest or Pandects that summarizes the common law to guide judges
 The Institutes or the introduction to the law for law students
  The Novellae Constitutiones Post Codicem or the Novels, referring to the
supplementary new laws passed by Emperor Justinian
 The Justinian Code
 a legal reference throughout the Roman Empire and eventually the Western
civilization
 its precepts adopted in future codifications such as the Code Napoleon of
Napoleon Bonapart who institutionalized the civil code system throughout
Continental Europe and its colonies
 Britain remained a common-law country and resist the Napoleonic occupation
 Latin principles are also foundational to English case law where judges set
precedents citing Latin maxims

 Spanish Civil Code

 was enforced in the Philippines by Insular Spanish Government with the
exception of the Law on Marriage and Civil registry because these matters are
administered by the friar under Canon or Church Law
 was in effect even during the American occupation and Post-war Liberation
Period (US a common-law country does not have codes to replace Spain)
 New Civil Code of the Philippines follows considerately the Justinian Structure

 Philippines is a rightful beneficiary of the Roman Law which is a common heritage of

civilization
 The Legal system, has been the chief regulator of the judicial relations
 Natural and fitting, the main inspiration should be the Roman Law

BREAKING THE CODE

 Roman law classifies law into public and private

 Public law regulates the government (jus publicum)
 Private law determines the rights and duties of individuals (jus privatum)
 Roman Private law is further divided into:
 Book I on the Law of Persons (De jure Personarum) : concerns personal and
juridical capacity, marriage, adoption, and guardianship
 Book II on the Law of Things (De rerum Divisione) : concerns property and
ownership, possession, usufruct, servitude, inheritance, and wills
 Books III and IV on Law of Actions (De Actionibus) : concerns on obligations and
contracts arising from contracts, quasi-contracts and delicts or crimes
 Roman Jurists formulated the Civil Law concerning contracts trade and commerce,
infringement of rights, property and occupancy, warranty and mortgage, marriage and
divorce.
INSTITUTIONES (HIGHLIGHTS)
ON THE NATURE OF LAW
  Precepts of the law are to:
 Live honestly
 To injure no one
 And give every man his due which is justice
 Study of law consists of two branches:
 Public law- relates to the welfare of the state
 Private law-welfare of the individual citizen

 Laws of states are governed by statutes:

 Partly peculiar (civil law)- rules prescribes by natural reason for all men to
observe as the necessities of human life require
 Partly common to man (law of nations)- common nature of man is the reason for
the mutuality of contract; for instance, sale, hire, partnership, deposit, loan for
consumption and others
THE LAW ON PERSONS
Children and Marriage

 The unborn child from conception is considered to have a presumptive status distinct
from the mother
 If the mother is free at the time of conception and then becomes a slave before the birth
of the child, then the unborn is held to be free born, on the ground that an unborn child
should not to be prejudiced by the mother’s misfortune
 If the mother of an unborn infant is free at any moment between conception and delivery
for the unborn child to be held free even if the mother has become a slave
 Children born out of wedlock are under paternal control
 Emancipation liberates children from their parents
 Wedlock or matrimony is the union of male and female, involving the habitual intercourse
of daily life
 The age of puberty must be reached to get married
 If the childen are still dependant then the consent of parents who exercise parental
powers must first be obtained
 Marriage between certain classes of persons is forbidden. Union of such persons is
criminal and incestuous (ascendants and descendants, ad infinitum) prohibiton also
applies to adoption.
 Collateral relations also are subject to similar prohibitions but not as stringent
 Adopted persons can marry others in the collateral line as well as cousins
Guardianship

 Is the authority and control over a free person

 The law allows a parent to appoint guardians in his will for children who have not
attained the age of puberty
 A guardian may be appointed for a certain time or conditionally however he cannot be
appointed for a particular matter or business because his duties relate to the person
 To prevent the property under curators or guardians from being wasted, the guardian
must give security against mal-administration
  No minor of either sex can sell anything without his or hers guardian’s authority. If there
is attempt to lend money without authority, no property passes and no obligation is
imposed hence the money is recoverable.

LAW ON PROPERTY
Kinds of ownership

 Things can be either:

 Private ownership acquired by various titles
 Public ownership for common use : Things common to all include the air, water,
sea, seashore, rqivers, harbors, and river banks
 Corporate ownership belonging to society or a corporation : buildings in cities,
theaters, racecourses, and such other belongings in corporate capacity
 Res nullius or belonging to no one : things that are sacred or prohibited
The ownership of Animals

 Wild animals and creature in the land, sea and sky become property of their captors as
soon as they are caught
 For natural reason entitles the first occupant to that which previously had no owner
Right to Accession

 Alluvion is a gradual and imperceptible accumulation of soil

Land Title
Usufructuary
Servitudes
Occupations and Possession
Wills and succession
Obligations and Contracts
Special Contracts
Sales
Loan, Mutuum, Deposit and Pledge
Partnership and Agency
Quasi-Contracts
Delicts and quasi-Delicts
Actions and Interdicts