Professional Documents
Culture Documents
-The said code did not undergo any changes since 1950
Definition of OBLIGATION
-from the Latin word obligatio or obligare meaning “to tie” or “to bind”
-it means “enforceable in court”. It signifies that the creditor can sue in court if the obligation is not performed by the debtor.
- the creditor can sue in court if the - the creditor is not given the right to sue
obligation is not performed (enforceable in court if the obligation is not performed
in court) (not enforceable in court)
→ the party given by law the right to sue in court if the obligation is not performed by debtor
L- legal tie- also referred as “juridical tie”, “vinculum juris”, or “efficient cause”
→ it is what binds or ties the debtor and the creditor in the performance of the obligation
SOURCES OF OBLIGATION
I. LAW
-the principal source of obligations
-it means, in a general sense, a body or rules of action or conduct prescribed by controlling authority and having binding
legal force or that which must be obeyed and followed by citizens subject to sanctions or legal conditions
-it is a rule of civil conduct prescribed by supreme power in the state, commanding what is right and prohibiting what is
wrong
Kinds of Law
State Law
Constitution
Statutes
Civil Law
Commercial Law
Criminal Law
Remedial Law
Divine Law
Natural Law
Moral Law
Physical Law
Ignorance of the law is not an excuse (Ignorantia Legis Non Excusat) - every individual is conclusively presumed
to know the law
The law looks forward and not backward (Lex Propicit Non Respicit) - generally, laws have prospective effects,
they affect only things which happen after their effectivity and not before
Any statute which violates the Constitution can be judicially declared as unconstitutional and therefore void
Doctor’s obligation to indicate the generic name of the medicine he is prescribing to his patients.
Employer’s obligation to pay minimum wages, holiday pay and overtime pay.
- “Meeting of minds between two persons whereby one binds himself with respect to the other, to give something or to
render some service.” (Article 1305)
Kinds of Contracts
As to PERFECTION
As to INDEPENDENCE
As to EXISTENCE of CONSIDERATION
As to EXISTENCE of DEFECT
a) Perfectly Valid
b) Defective
Imperfectly Valid- defective but capable of producing legal effects
Voidable- valid until annulled and its defect has to do with consent
The essential elements of a contract are CONSENT, SUBJECT, CAUSE. In the absence of any of these three
elements, there will be no existing contract.
A void contract does not exist and cannot produce any legal effect whatsoever.
The contract is the law between the contracting parties and thus must be complied with in good faith.
III. QUASI-CONTRACT
-a juridical relation arising from certain lawful, voluntary, and unilateral acts to the end that no one shall be unjustly
enriched or benefited at the expense of the other (Article 2142)
Kinds of Quasi-Contract
Solutio Indebiti (Mistake in the Payment)-such as when the seller erroneously overpaid the buyer his change or
when a taxpayer mistakenly pays the Government taxes which he is not obliged by law to pay (Article 1254)
“When during fire, flood, storm, or other calamity, property is saved from destruction by another person
without the knowledge of the owner, the latter is bound to pay the former just compensation.” (Article 2168)
“Any person who is constrained to pay the taxes of another shall be entitled to reimbursement from the latter.”
(Article 2175)
General Principles and Concepts
For an obligation arising from quasi-contract to exist, the act done must be lawful, voluntary, and unilateral
Obligation of the patient who was brought to the hospital unconscious to pay his medical bills for the treatment
given to him by the said hospital.
Obligation to refund the amount paid together with its fruits and interest by an obligor who paid before the arrival of
the period of the said debt unaware of the said debt unaware of the said period or under the belief that the obligation
had become due and demandable already. (Article 1195)
IV. DELICT
Kinds of Delict
Mala en se (wrong by itself)-inherently wrong, it is still bad even if we remove the law penalizing the act as a
crime
Mala prohibita (wrong because prohibited by law)-it is bad or evil only because there is a law punishing it as a
crime
For a delict to be a source of an obligation, there must be an overt act done and the said act must be punishale by
law as a crime
If an act is merely exempted by law from criminal liability, civil liability may still be recovered.
-so called a legal wrong committed through fault or negligence on the person or property of another independent of contract
Kinds of Delict
Proximate Cause Doctrine-no damages can be recovered if the immediate and proximate cause of the victim’s
injury is his very own negligence
Contributory Negligence-if the victim’s negligence is not the proximate cause of his injury but is merely
contributory to it, he can still recover damages but it will be reduced
Doctrine of Last Clear Chance-the one who has the last opportunity to prevent the harm done but fails to do so is
the one liable for damages
If there is a contract existing between the party causing the injury and the injured party, the source of obligation is
not quasi-delict but contract.
Government’s obligation to pay damages to a passerby who fell into an open manhole.
Driver’s obligation to pay damages to a pedestrian who was injured by his reckless driving.
Dog owner’s obligation to pay for medical bills of persons bitten by his dog.