General Provision
Article 1156. An obligation is a juridical necessity to give, to do or not to do.
Essential Requisites of an Obligation
● Subject
a) Passive subject (Debtor or Obligor) - he who has duty.
b) Active subject (Creditor or Obligee) – he who has right.
● Object or Prestation- conduct required to be observed by the debtor.
● Juridical or Legal tie- binds or connects the parties to the obligation.
Kind of Obligation according to Subject Matter
● To give- a real obligation.
● To do- positive personal obligation.
● No to do- negative personal obligation.
Form of obligation
● General rule- the law does not require any form in obligations arising from
contracts for their validity or binding force.
● Obligations arising from other sources do not have any form at all.
Obligation, right, and wrong (cause of action)
● Obligation is the act or performance which the law will enforce.
● Right is the power which a person has under the law, to demand from another
any prestation.
● A wrong (cause of action), according to its legal meaning, is an act or omission
of one party in violation of the legal right or rights of another, causing injury to the
latter.
Essential elements of cause of action.
● Its essential elements are:
a) a legal right in favor of a person creditor by whatever means and under
whatever law it arises or is created;
b) a correlative legal obligation on the part of another debtor to respect or
not to violate said right; and
c) an act or omission in breach or violation of said right by the defendant with
consequential injury or damage to the plaintiff for which he may maintain
an action for the recovery of damages or other appropriate relief.
● If any of these elements is absent, the complaint becomes vulnerable to a motion
to dismiss on the ground of failure to state a cause of action.
● A cause of action only arises when the last element occurs, i.e., at the moment a
right has been transgressed.
a) It is to be distinguished from right of action or the right to commence and
maintain an action, in that the former is governed by procedural law while
the latter depends on substantive law. The right of action springs from the
cause of action, but does not accrue until all the facts which constitute the
cause of action have occurred.
b) An obligation on the part of a person cannot exist without a corresponding
right existing in favor of another, and vice-versa, for every right enjoyed by
a person, there is a corresponding obligation on the part of another to
respect such right.
Injury, damage, and damages
● Injury is the illegal invasion of a legal right; it is the wrongful act or omission
which causes loss or harm to another.
● Damage is the loss, hurt, or harm which results from the injury.
● Damages denote the sum of money recoverable as amends for the wrongful act
or omission.
Article 1157. Obligations arise from: Law; Contracts; Quasi-contracts; Acts
or omissions punished by law; and Quasi-delicts.
Sources of obligations
● Law- when they are imposed by the law itself.
● Contracts- when they arise from the stipulation of the parties.
● Quasi-contracts- when they arise from lawful, voluntary and unilateral acts and
which are enforceable to the end that no one shall be unjustly enriched or
benefited at the expense of another.
● Crimes or acts or omissions punished by law- when they arise from civil
liability which is the consequence of a criminal offense.
● Quasi-delicts or torts- when they arise from damage caused to another through
an act or omission, there being fault or negligence, but no contractual relation
exists between the parties.
Article 1158. Obligations derived from law are not presumed. Only those expressly
determined in this Code or in special laws are demandable, and shall be regulated
by the precepts of the law which establishes them; and as to what has not been
foreseen, by the provisions of this Book.
Legal obligations
● They are not presumed because they are considered a burden upon the obligor.
They are the exception, not the rule. To be demandable, they must be clearly set
forth in the law.
● Special laws refer to all other laws not contained in the Civil Code.
Article 1159. Obligations arising from contracts have the force of law between the
contracting parties and should be complied with in good faith.
Contractual obligations
● A contract is a meeting of minds between two persons whereby one binds himself,
with respect to the other, to give something or to render some service.
● Binding force- Obligations arising from contracts are governed primarily by the
agreement of the contracting parties.
a) The law, recognizing the obligatory force of contracts, will not permit a party
to be set free from liability for any kind of misperformance of the contractual
undertaking or a contravention of the tenor thereof.
b) In law, whatever fairly puts a person on inquiry is sufficient notice, where
the means of knowledge are at hand, which if pursued by proper inquiry,
the full truth might have been ascertained.
c) If it occurs to one of the contracting parties to allege some defect in a
contract as a reason for invalidating it, such alleged defect must be proved
by him by convincing evidence since its validity or compliance cannot be
left to the will of one of them.
d) Courts have no alternative but to enforce contracts as they were agreed
upon and written when the terms thereof are clear and leave no room for
interpretation.
e) A compromise agreement is immediately executory and not appealable,
except for vices of consent or forgery.
● Requirements of a valid contract- A contract is valid if it is not contrary to law,
morals, good customs, public order, and public policy. It is invalid or void if it is
contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order, or public policy.
● Where a contract requires approval by the government- Where a contract is
required to be verified and approved by the government before it can take effect
such a contract becomes the law between the contracting parties only when
approved, and where there is nothing in it which is contrary to law, etc., its validity
must be sustained.
● Compliance in good faith- It means compliance or performance in accordance
with the stipulations or terms of the contract or agreement. Good faith and fair
dealing must be observed to prevent one party from taking unfair advantage over
the other.
● Liability for breach of contract- Although the contract imposes no penalty for its
violation, a party cannot breach it with impunity. Our law on contracts recognizes
the principle that actionable injury inheres in every contractual breach.
● Preservation of interest of promise- A breach upon the contract confers upon
the injured party a valid cause for recovering that which may have been lost or
suffered.
Article 1160. Obligations derived from quasi-contracts shall be subject to the
provisions of Chapter 1, Title XVII, of this Book. (n)
Quasi-contractual obligations
● A quasi-contract is that juridical relation resulting from certain lawful, voluntary and
unilateral acts by virtue of which the parties become bound to each other to the
end that no one will be unjustly enriched or benefited at the expense of another.
(Art. 2142.)
Kinds of quasi-contracts.
1. Negotiorum gestio is the voluntary management of the property or affairs of
another without the knowledge or consent of the latter. (Art. 2144.)
This juridical relation does not arise in either of these instances:
a. When the property or business is not neglected or abandoned, in which
case the provisions of the Civil Code regarding unauthorized contracts
(Arts. 1317, 1403[1], 1404.) shall govern; or
b. If, in fact, the manager has been tacitly authorized by the owner, in which
case the rules on agency shall govern. (Art. 2144.)
2. Solutio indebiti is the juridical relation which is created when something is received
when there is no right to demand it and it was unduly delivered through mistake.
(Art. 2154.) The quasi-contract of solutio indebiti is based on the ancient principle
that no one shall enrich himself unjustly at the expense of another.
Solutio indebiti applies where:
a. payment is made when there exists no binding relation between the payor,
who has no duty to pay, and the person who received the payment; and
b. The payment is made through mistake and not through liberality or some
other cause.
Article 1161. Civil obligations arising from criminal offenses shall be governed by
the penal laws,14 subject to the provisions of Article 2177,15 and of the pertinent
provisions of Chapter 2, Preliminary Title on Human Relations, and of Title XVIII of
this Book, regulating damages. (1092a)
Civil liability arising from crimes or delicts.
This article deals with civil liability arising from crimes or delicts.
1. The commission of an offense has a two-pronged effect: one, on the public and
the other, upon the private victim.
2. The rule has been established that every person criminally liable for a felony is
also civilly liable. (Art. 100, Revised Penal Code; see Albert, the Revised Penal
Code Annotated, p. 276.) In crimes, however, which cause no material damage,
there is no civil liability to be enforced. But a person not criminally responsible may
still be liable civilly. (Art. 29; Rules of Court, Rule 111, Sec. 2[c].)
Reservation of right to recover civil liability.
Under the present rule, only the civil liability arising from the offense charged is
deemed instituted with the criminal action unless the offended party waives the civil
action, reserves his right to institute it separately, or institutes the civil action prior to the
criminal action.
Scope of civil liability.
1. Restitution
2. Reparation for the damage caused; and
3. Indemnification for consequential damages. (Art. 104, Revised Penal
Code.)
Article 1162. Obligations derived from quasi-delicts shall be governed by the
provisions of Chapter 2, Title XVII of this Book, and by special laws. (1093a)
Requisites of quasi-delict.
Before a person can be held liable for quasi-delict, the following requisites must be
present:
1. There must be an act or omission by the defendant;
2. There must be fault or negligence of the defendant;
3. There must be damage caused to the plaintiff;
4. There must be a direct relation or connection of cause and effect between the act
or omission and the damage; and
5. There is no pre-existing contractual relation between the parties.
Crime distinguished from quasi-delict.
The following are the distinctions:
1. In crime or delict, there is criminal or malicious intent or criminal negligence,
while in quasi-delict, there is only negligence;
2. Crime affects public interest, while quasi-delict concerns private interest;
3. In crime, there are generally two liabilities: criminal and civil, while in quasi-
delict, there is only civil liability;
4. In crime or delict, the purpose is punishment, while in quasi-delict,
indemnification of the offended party;
5. Criminal liability can not be compromised or settled by the parties
themselves, while the liability for quasi-delict can be compromised as any
other civil liability;
6. In crime, the guilt of the accused must be proved beyond reasonable doubt,
while in quasi-delict, the fault or negligence of the defendant need only be
proved by preponderance of evidence; and
7. In crime, the liability of the person responsible for the author of the negligent
act or omission is subsidiary, while in quasi-delict, it is direct and primary.
Members:
Bachanicha, Charlotte
Congson, Krissel
Gicole, Aizel Jane
Sedoro, Quenilyn
Tagud, Cleo Therese
Tejano, Chelly Jane
