All About Article 1156-1179

• Subjects of law include state law, divine law, natural law, and moral law, applying to rational beings, while physical law operates on all things, including humans, without regard to their will power and intelligence
• Divine Law: Concerns religion and faith, focusing on sin and salvation
• Natural Law: Divine inspiration to man of justice, fairness, and righteousness
• Moral Law: Totality of norms of good and right conduct based on the collective sense of right and wrong of every community
• Physical Law: Refers to the uniformities of actions and orders of sequence in nature, known as the laws of physical science
• State Law: Also known as positive law, municipal law, civil law, or imperative law, promulgated and enforced by the state
• Characteristics of law:

  • Rule of conduct, obligatory, promulgated by legitimate authority, and of common observance and benefit
• Necessity and functions of law:

  • Law secures justice, resolves social conflict, orders society, protects interests, and controls social relations
• Conclusive presumption of knowledge of law:

  • Ignorance of the law excuses no one from compliance
  • Everyone is conclusively presumed to know the law, even though this presumption is far from reality
• An obligation is a juridical necessity derived from the Latin word "obligatio," meaning tying or binding, where one is bound to render something, which may consist of giving, doing, or not doing
• Article 1156 of the Civil Code defines obligation as a legal duty to give, do, or not do, emphasizing the duty of the debtor or obligor when it speaks of obligation as a juridical necessity
• Obligations can arise from various sources, including laws, contracts, quasi-contracts, acts punished by law, and quasi-delicts, establishing legal duties
• Article 1157 states that obligations can arise from various sources, including laws, contracts, quasi-contracts, acts punished by law, and quasi-delicts
• Obligations derived from law are not presumed; only those expressly determined in the Civil Code or special laws are demandable
• Special laws refer to all other laws not contained in the Civil Code, such as the Corporation Code, Negotiable Instruments Law, Insurance Code, and others
• Article 1158 specifies that legal obligations must be explicitly stated in the law to be enforceable and are regulated by the laws that created them
• Contractual obligations have the force of law between the contracting parties and should be complied with in good faith
• A contract is valid if it is not contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order, and public policy
• Compliance in good faith means fulfilling obligations honestly and fairly, preventing unfair advantage over the other party
• Article 1159 emphasizes that contractual obligations are like laws between the parties involved and must be followed faithfully, acting in good faith
• Obligations derived from quasi-contracts are legal obligations that arise in situations where there is no formal contract, but where the law implies a duty to prevent unjust enrichment
• Quasi-contracts are legal obligations that arise in situations where there is no formal contract, but where the law implies a duty to perform based on fairness and equity
• Obligations arising from quasi-contracts are created by law to prevent unjust enrichment or unfairness
• Article 1160 states that obligations arising from quasi-contracts are regulated by the rules and provisions found in Chapter 1 of Title XVIII of the Civil Code
• Civil obligations arising from crimes or delicts are governed by the penal laws, subject to the provisions of Article 2177 and of the pertinent provisions of Chapter 2, Preliminary Title, on Human Relations, and of Title XVIII of the Civil Code regulating damages
• Article 1161 specifies that civil liability arising from crimes or delicts includes restitution, reparation for damages caused, and indemnification for consequential damages
• Civil liability arising from crimes or delicts is in addition to criminal liability and is caused by both moral evil and material damage
• Civil liability without criminal liability can occur in cases such as failure to pay contractual debt or causing damages to another's property without malicious intent or negligence
• Obligations derived from quasi-delicts refer to situations where harm or damage is caused to another person unintentionally, without the presence of a contract or a deliberate criminal act
• Obligations arising from quasi-delicts are governed by the rules and principles outlined in Chapter 2 of Title XVII of the Civil Code, as well as any special laws or regulations that apply to such cases
• Before a person can be held liable for quasi-delict, the requisites include an act or omission, fault or negligence, damage caused, a direct relation of cause and effect, and no pre-existing contractual relation between the parties
• A determinate thing is identified by its individuality, and the debtor cannot substitute it with another of the same kind and quality without the consent of the creditor
• A generic thing is identified only by its specie, and the debtor can give anything of the same class as long as it is of the same kind
• In obligations to give a determinate thing, the obligor has the duty to take care of the thing with the diligence of a good father of a family pending delivery
• In obligations to give (real obligations), the obligor has the incidental duty to take care of the things due with the diligence of a good father of a family pending delivery
• The phrase "diligence of a good father of a family" equates to ordinary care or the diligence an average person exercises over their own property
• If the law or stipulation of the parties provides for another standard of care (slight or extraordinary diligence), said law or stipulation must prevail
• The diligence required necessarily depends upon the nature of the obligation and corresponds with the circumstances of the person, time, and place
• The debtor must exercise diligence to ensure that the thing to be delivered would subsist in the same condition as when the obligation was contracted
• The creditor has the right to the fruits of the thing from the time the obligation to deliver it arises, but they require no real right over it until the thing has been physically delivered to them