Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Ley La Salle
Based on H. De Leons The Law on Obligations and Contracts and the Civil
Code of the Philippines
Part 1: The Law on Obligations
Chapter 1-General Provisions
- Obligation is derived from the Latin word obligation which means
tying or binding
- An obligation is a bond recognized by law by virtue of which one is
bound in favor of another to render something- giving a thing, doing an
act, or not doing an act. (1156)
-Obligation is a juridical necessity because in case of noncompliance,
the courts of justice may be called upon by the aggrieved party to
enforce its fulfilment or, in thereof, the economic value that it
represents.
-Debtor or obligor may also be made liable for damages, which
represents the sum of money given as a compensation for the injury or
harm suffered by the creditor or oblige for violation of his rights
Nature of Obligations under the Civil Code
-Civil obligations are obligations which give to the creditor or oblige a
right under the law to enforce their performance in courts of justice
-Natural obligations are obligations which do not grant a right of action
to enforce their performance
-Every obligation has 4 essential requisites
1. A debtor or obligor (passive subject)- person who is bound to
fulfill obligation
2. A creditor or oblige (active subject)- person who is entitled to
demand fulfillment of obligation.; he who has a right.
3. Object or prestation (subject matter of the obligation)- The
object or act that the debtor has to render.
4. A juridical or legal tie (cause)- that which bind the parties to
the obligation.
- Form of an obligation refers to the matter in which an obligation is
incurred. It may be oral, in writing, or partly oral and partly in writing.
Terms:
Obligation- the act or performance which the law will enforce
Right- the power which a person has under the law, to demand from another
any prestation
Wrong- an act or omission of one party in violation of the legal right or rights
Injury- wrongful violation of the legal right of another
Kinds of Obligation according to subject matter:
1) Real Obligation (obligation to give)- subject matter is a thing which the
obligor must deliver to the obligee.
2) Personal Obligation- Obligation to do (Positive personal obligation) or
not to do (negative personal obligation)
-Obligations arise from (1157):
Law
Contracts,
Quasi-contract, Acts or omissions punished by law and
Quasi-delicts
Sources of obligations(as enumerated by law): mainly, LAW and CONTRACTS
1) Those emanating from law
2) Those emanating from private acts which may be further subdivided
into (a) those arising from licit acts, in the case of contracts and quasicontracts and (b) those arising from illicit acts, which may either be
punishable in the case of delicts or crimes, or not punishable in the
case of quasi-delicts or torts
-Obligations derived from law are not presumed. (1158)
*Ex: An employer has no obligation to furnish free legal assistance to
his employee because there is no law that requires this.
-Obligations arising from contracts should be complied in good faith.
Compliance in good faith means sincerely complying with the
stipulations of the contract. This is to prevent one party from unfairly
taking advantage of another. (1159)
Contract- meeting od the minds between two persons whereby one
binds himself, with respect to the other, to give something or to render
some service.
Compliance in good faith- compliance or performance in accordance
with the stipulations or terms of the contract or agreement. Sincerity
and honesty must be observed to prevent one party from taking unfair
advantage over the other.
-Obligations arising from quasi-contracts are treated as if the parties
have entered into a real contract, even if they did not intend to. (1160)
-Solidary may exist even if the debtors and creditors are not bound
in the same manner and by the same periods and conditions. (1211)
-Each one of the solidary creditors may do whatever is useful to the
others, but not what is prejudicial. (1212)
-A solidary creditor cannot assign his rights without the consent of
the others. (1213)
-The debtor may pay any one of the solidary creditors; but if any
demand has been made by one of them, payment should be made
to him. (1214)
-Novation (creation of new obligation), compensation (parties are
debtors and creditors of each other), confusion (meeting in one
person of debtor and creditor), or remission (or condonation) of the
debt (donation), made by any of the solidary creditors or with any of
the solidary debtors, shall extinguish the obligation without
prejudice to Art. 1215
-The creditor who may have executed these acts, as well as whoever
collects the debt, shall be liable to the others for their corresponding
share. (1215)
-In a solidary obligation, any one or some or all of the solidary
debtors simultaneously, may be made to pay the debt as long as it
has not been fully collected. The choice is left to the solidary
creditor to determine against whom he will enforce collection.
(1216)
-Payment made by one of the solidary debtors extinguishes the
obligation. The debtor who made the payment may claim
reimbursement from his co-debtors. When one of the co-debtors
cannot, due to his insolvency, reimburse his share, the share shall
be borne by all his co-debtors, in proportion to the debt of each.
(1217)
-Payment made by a solidary debtor shall not entitle him for
reimbursement if the payment was made after the obligation has
prescribed or made illegal. (1218)
-The remission made by the creditor of the share which affects one
of the solidary debtors does not release the latter from his
responsibility towards the co-debtors, in case the debt had been
totally paid by anyone of them before the remission was effected.
(1219)
Section 5- Compensation
-Compensation sis the extinguishment of the concurrent amount of the
debts of two persons who are debtors and creditors of each other.
(1278)
-In order that compensation may be proper, it is necessary:
1. The parties are principal creditors and debtors to each other
2. Both debts consist in a sum of money, or of consumable things of
the same kind and quality.
3. The two debts are due or demandable.
4. The two debts are liquidated; and
5. No retention or controversy commenced by a third person.
(1279)
-An exception to the above rule, the guarantor may set up
compensation as regard what the creditor may owe the principal
debtor. (1280)
-Compensation may be total or partial. When the two debts are of the
same amount, there is total compensation. (1281)
-The parties may agree upon the compensation of debts which are not
yet due. (1282)
-A party may set off his claim for damages against his obligation to the
other party by proving his right to said damages and the amount
thereof. (1283)
-When one or both debts are rescissible or voidable, they may be
compensated against each other before they are judicially rescinded or
avoided. (1284)
- Where compensation has taken place after assignment (1285):
Assignment with the consent of debtor- The debtor cannot set up
against the assignee the compensation which would pertain to
him against the assignor
*Unless, the assignor was notified by the debtor that he
reserved his right to compensation, at the time the debtor
gave consent
Assignment with the knowledge but without the consent of the
debtor- Debtor may set up compensation of debts previous to
assignment, but not to subsequent ones
Must be certain
Person making the offer may fix the time, place, and
manner of acceptance, which must all be complied
with (1321)
An offer made through an agent is accepted from the
time acceptance is communicated to him (1322)
Offer becomes ineffective upon the death, civil
interdiction, insanity, or insolvency of either party
before acceptance in conveyed (1323)
When a certain period is allowed for acceptance, an
offer can be withdrawn before acceptance through
communicating the withdrawal (1324)
o Exception- when option is founded upon a
consideration (such as option contracts-e.g. the
offeree pays the offeror to give him a 10-day
period to secure the offer)
Business advertisements are not definite offers
(1325)
Advertisements are invitations to make proposal;
advertiser is not bound to accept highest or lowest
bidder, unless the contrary appears (1326)
*Acceptance
Assent to the terms of the offer must be absolute, or
must agree completely with all the aspects of the
offer for the meeting of the minds
It can be express or implied (1320)
-The following
Violence
-Occurs when serious or irresistible force is employed
(1335)
Intimidation
-Occurs when one of the parties is compelled by a
reasonable fear of an imminent and grave evil upon his
person or property, or person or property of his spouse,
descendants or ascendants (1335)
Undue influence
-Occurs when a person takes improper advantage over
another by depriving a reasonable freedom of choice
(1337)
Fraud
-Causal fraud- when one of the parties induces the other
to enter into a contract through insidious words or
machinations, which, without them, he would not have
agreed to (1338)
-Fraud by concealment- when one of the parties fails to
disclose all facts concerning the contract when there is
a duty to reveal them (1339)
-Exaggerations in trade are not fraudulent, when the
other party had the opportunity to know the facts
(1340)
-Expressions of opinion are not fraudulent (1341)
*Exception- those made by experts, and the other
party relied on
the false opinion of the expert
order or public policy, binds the parties to the real agreement (1345,
1346)
*Simulated contract- act of deliberately deceiving others through
a contract which is either non-existent or concealed
2. Object (1347, 1348, 1349)
-The subject matter of the contract
-All things not outside the commerce of men, including future things,
may be objects
-Rights which are not intransmissible may be objects
*Examples of intransmissible right- right to vote, right to public
office, marital rights
-Future inheritance cannot an object of a contract (unless in cases
expressly stated by law)
-Must not be an impossible thing or service (physically or legally)
-Must be determinate as to its kind, even if quantity is not determinate
3. Cause
-Proximate purpose why the parties entered into the contract
-Contracts according to cause (1350)
Onerous- cause is the promise of a thing or service by the
other; parties reciprocally obligated to each other
Remuneratory- the services or benefit obtained
Gratuitous- cause is the liberality of the benefactor
-Motive and cause are different. Motive is a purely personal reason for
a party whereas the cause is the reason known and accepted by both
parties (1351)
-Contracts without cause, or with an unlawful one, are void (1352)
-False causes render the contracts void, if it is not proved that they
were founded upon a true and lawful cause (1353)
-A cause is presumed to exist, even if it isnt stated in the contract,
unless the debtor proves the contrary (1354)
-Except in cases specified by law, lesion/inadequacy of cause shall not
invalidate a contract, unless there was fraud, mistake or undue
influence
*Lesion- damage caused by unjust/inadequate pricing
Chapter 3- Form of Contracts
-Form of a contract: manner in which a contract is executed
-Contracts are effective and obligatory in whatever form entered into,
as long as all the essential requisites (consent, object, cause), are
present. (1356)
*In case the law requires for a contract to be in some form so
that it will be valid
-The third person who acquires the alienated thing in fraud of creditors
in bad faith is liable for damages to the creditors who suffered
alienation, if it is impossible to return the thing. (1388)
*If there are 2 or more alienations, the first acquirer shall be
liable first, and so on successively
-The action to claim rescission must be commenced within 4 years.
(1389)
*For persons under guardianship and for absentees, the period
begins from the termination of the guardians incapacity, or until
the domicile of the absentee is known
Chapter 7- Voidable Contracts
-Voidable contracts-has all the requisites of a valid contract but one of
the parties is incapable of giving consent, or consent is vitiated by
mistake, violence, intimidation, undue influence, or fraud
*Void for contract of marriage
-Contracts which are voidable even if there was no damage to both
parties (1390):
Those where one of the parties is incapable of giving
consent
Those where consent is vitiated by mistake, fraud,
violence, intimidation, undue influence, or fraud
*These contracts are binding, unless annulled in court. They can
be ratified.
-Annulment shall be brought within 4 years. The period shall begin:
(1391)
For intimidation, violence or undue influence, from the time
the defect of consent ceases
For mistake or fraud, from the time of discovery of the
same
For those entered into by minors or other incapacitated
person, from the time the guardianship ceases
*Annulment- remedy for the declaration of the inefficacy of a
contract to restore the parties to their original position before the
contract was executed
-Ratification extinguishes the action to annul a void contract.(1392)
-Ratification may be effected expressly or tacitly/impliedly. (1393)
*There is a tacit ratification if the person who has the right to
invoke it:
Natural Obligations
Natural Obligations- Do not grant a right of action to enforce their
performance, but after a voluntary fulfilment by the obligor, they