PERSONS AND FAMILY RELATIONS

NEW CIVIL CODE

took effect on August 30, 1950

Effectivity of laws

GR: Laws take effect 15 days following the
completion of its publication in Official
Gazette or news paper of general
circulation.

EXCEPTION: Unless otherwise provided by the
law. This refers to the 15 day period and NOT to
the requirement of publication. (Tanada vs.
Tuvera)

Publication is mandatory (even if the law
provides for its own weffectivity)
Publication must be in full (otherwise it is
not deemed published at all) since its
PURPOSE is to inform the public of its
contents.
Effect of publication: The people
are deemed to have conclusively
been notifed of the law if they have
not read them.

COVERED BY PUBLICATION REQUIREMENT:
Presidential Decrees and Executive
Orders
Adminidtrative rules and regualtions, if
their purpose is to enforce or implement
existing law pursuant to a valid
legislation

NOT COVERED BY THE REQUIREMENT OF
PUBLICATION:
Interpretative regualtion and this
administrative regualtions internal in
nature
Letter of Instructions
Municipal ordinances

Ignorance of the law excuses no one
considered a CONCLUSIVE presumption
and applies only to mandatory and
prohibitory laws. (Consunji vs. CA)

Non-retroactivity of laws
GR: Laws have no retroactive effect.

EXCEPTIONS:
1. Unless the law otherwise provides
2. Curative statutes
3. Interpretative statutes
4. Procedural/remedial
5. Emergency laws
6. Laws creating new rights
7. Tax laws

EXCEPTIONS TO THE EXCEPTIONS:
1. Ex post facto laws
2. Laws that impair obligation of contracts

ACTS CONTRARY TO THE LAW
GR: Acts which are contrary to mandatory or
prohibitory laws are void.

EXCEPTIONS:
1. When the law itself authorized its validity
(ex. lotto, sweepstakes)
2. When the law makes the act only voidable
and not void (ex. voidable contracts where
consent is vitiated)
3. When the law makes the act valid but
punishes the violator (ex. marriage
solemnized by a person without legal
authority)

Waiver of rights
Requisites:
1. Existence of a right
2. Knowledge of the existence of a right
3. Intention to relinquish the right

GR: Rights can be waived.

EXCEPTIONS:
1. If the waiver is contrary to law, public
order, public policy, morals or good
customs (LPPMG)
2. If the waiver is prejudicial to a third party
with a right recognized by law.

Laws applicable
1. Penal laws and laws of public security
territoriality rule governs

laws of the Philippines will govern upon ALL
those who live or sojourn in it
2. Laws relating to family rights and duties, or to
the status, condition and legal capacity of
persons
nationality rule applies
laws of the Philippines will govern its
citizens, regardless of their residence

EXCEPTION: When a marriage between a
Filipino citizen and a foreigner is validly
celebrated and a divorce is thereafter validly
obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating
him or her to remarry, the Filipino spouse shall
likewise have the capacity to remarry under
Philippine law. (Article 26(2) Family Code)

NOTE: domiciliary rule supplants the nationality
rule in cases involving stateless persons

3. Laws on property
lex rei sitae applies
real property, as well as personal
property is subject to the law of the
country where it is situated
4. Laws on forms and solemnities
lex loci celebrationis applies

Rules on Personal Law
DOMICILIARY RULE NATIONALITY RULE
Basis for determining
personal law of an
individual is his
domicile
Basis for determining
personal law of an
individual is his
citizenship

LEX NATIO-
NALII
LEX REI
SITAE
LEX LOCI
CELEBRA-
TIONIS
Art. 15, CC Art. 16, CC Art. 17, CC
Citizenship is
the basis for
determining
the personal
law
applicable
Law of the
place where
the property
is situated is
the basis for
determining
law
applicable
Law of the
place where
the contract
was executed
is the basis
for
determining
law
applicable
Covers family
rights &
duties, status,
condition &
legal capacity
Covers both
real &
personal
property
Covers only
the forms &
solemnities
(extrinsic
validity)
Exception:
Art. 26, par. 2
of Family
Code
Exceptions:
1. Capacity to
succeed
2. Intrinsic
validity of the
will
3. Amount of
successional
rights
4. Order of
succession
Exceptions:
1. Art. 26,
par. 1 of
Family Code
(marriage
involving
Filipinos
solemnized
abroad, when
such are void
in the
Philippines)
2. Intrinsic
validity of
contracts

Doctrine of Processual Presumption
The foreign law, whenever applicable, should be
proved by the proponent thereof; otherwise, such
law shall be presumed to be exactly the same as
the law of the forum.

Rule on Prohibitive Laws
GR: Prohibitive laws concerning persons, their
acts or property and laws which have for their
object public order, public policy or good customs
are not rendered ineffective by laws, judgments
promulgated or conventions agreed upon in
foreign country.

EXCEPTION: Art. 26, par. 2 Family Code
Example: Divorce law

Human Relations
Every person must, in the exercise of his
rights and in the performance of his
duties, act with justice, give everyone his
due, and observe honesty and good
faith. (Art. 19 of NCC)

NOTE: The elements of an abuse of right under
Art. 19 are:
1. There is a legal right;
2. Which is exercised in bad faith;
3. For the sole intent of prejudicing or injuring
another. (Albenson Ent. Corp. vs. CA)

The SC in Velayo vs. Shell held the defendant
liable under Art. 19 for disposing of its property (a
perfectly legal act) in order to escape the reach
of a creditor. Likewise, in Globe Mackay Cable
and Radio Corp.
vs. CA, the employer corporation was held liable
for damages for an abusive manner in dismissing
an employee, as well as for the inhuman
treatment the latter got from them.

Every person who, contrary to law,
willfully or negligently causes damage to
another, shall indemnify the latter for the
same. (Art. 20 of NCC)
Any person who willfully causes loss or
injury to another in a manner that is
contrary to morals, good customs or
public policy shall compensate the latter
for the damage. (ART. 21 of NCC)

NOTE: Art. 21 deals with acts contra bonus
mores, and has the following elements:
1. There is an act which is legal;
2. But which is contrary to morals,
customs, public order;
3. and it is done with intent to injure.
Arts. 19, 20 and 21 are related to each other and,
under these articles, an act which
causes injury to another may be made the basis
for an award of damages.


There is a common element under Arts. 19 and
21, and that is, the act must be done intentional.
However, Art. 20 does not distinguish, the act
may be done either willfully or negligently.
(Albenson Ent. Corp. vs. CA)

The SC in Pe vs. Pe, applying Art. 21 ruled
that a married man had seduced a girl
through an ingenious and tricky scheme, i.e.
on the pretext of teaching her how to pray
the rosary, to the extent of making her fall in
love with him. Verily, he has committed an
injury to the girls family in a manner contrary
to morals, good customs and public policy.

However, in Tanjanco vs. CA, the SC denied the
award of moral damages based on the fact that
for one year, from 1958-1959, the plaintiff, a
woman of adult age, maintained intimate sexual
relations with defendant, with repeated acts of
intercourse. Such conduct is incompatible with
the idea of seduction. Plainly, there is here
voluntariness and mutual passion; for had the
plaintiff been deceived, had she surrendered
exclusively because of the deceit, artful
persuasions and wiles of defendant, she would
not have again yielded to his embraces, much
less for one year without exacting early fulfillment
of the alleged promises of marriage and would
have cut short all sexual relations upon finding
that defendant did not intend to fulfill his
promises. Hence, no case is made under Art. 21
of Civil Code.

While a breach of promise to marry is not
actionable, it has been held that to formally
set a wedding and go through and spend for
all the wedding preparation and publicity,
only to walk out of it when the matrimony
was about to be solemnized is a different
matter. This palpably and unjustifiably
contrary to good customs for which the
defendant must be held answerable for
damages in accordance with Art. 21 of the
Civil Code. (Wassmer vs. Velez)



The obligation of cohabitation of husband
and wife is not enforceable by contempt
proceedings. In private relations, physical
coercion is barred under the the old maxim
Nemo potest preciso cogi ad factum.
However, the refusal of the wife to perform
her wifely duties, her denial of consortium
and her desertion of her husband would
certainly constitute a willful infliction of injury
upon her husbands feelings in a manner
which is contrary to morals, good customs
and public policy for which Arts. 21 and 2210
(10) of the CC authorize an award for moral
damages. (Tenchavez vs. Escano)

Prejudicial Question
If both criminal and civil cases
are filed in court, the criminal case takes
precedence.
When there is a prejudicial
question or a question that arises in a case, the
resolution of which is a logical antecedent of the
issue involved herein, and the cognizance of
which pertains to another tribunal.
Requisites (Sec. 7, Rule 111, Rules of
Court)
a. Previously instituted civil action involves
an issue similar or intimately related to
the issue raised in the subsequent
criminal action, and
b. The resolution of such issue determines
whether or not the criminal action may
proceed

NOTE: The Civil Code has suppletory
application in matters governed by special laws