2017 BAR EXAMINATIONS

CIVIL LAW

PART I - GENERAL PRINCIPLES

I. Effect and Application of Laws
II. Human Relations (Arts. 19-22, NCC)

PART II - PERSONS AND FAMILY RELATIONS

Concept: A person is any being susceptible orf rights and obligation, or more specifically it is every
physical or moral, real or judicial and legal being susceptible of rights and obligations or being the
I. Persons and Personality subject of legal relations. Personality is the aptitude to be the subject, active or passive, of juridical
relations.

BIRTH: Personality (in case of actual personality) commences at birth. In case of presumptive
personality, it begins at conception for all purposes rhat are favorable to it, provided it is born with
the conditions specified in article 41, NCC.

Article 41, NCC: For civil purposes, the fetus is considered born if it is alive at the time it is
completely delivered from the mother's womb. However, if the fetus had an intra-uterine life of
less than seven months, it is not deemed born if it dies within twenty-four hours after its
complete delivery from the maternal womb.

DEATH: Civil personality is extinguished by death.The effect of death upon the rights and obligations
of the deceased is determined by law, by contract and by will.
 CITIZENS OF THE PHILIPPINES: The following are citizens of the Philippines:
(1) Those who were citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of the Constitution of the
Philippines;

(2) Those born in the Philippines of foreign parents who, before the adoption of said Constitution,
had been elected to public office in the Philippines;

(3) Those whose fathers are citizens of the Philippines;

(4) Those whose mothers are citizens of the Philippines and, upon reaching the age of majority, elect
Philippine citizenship;

(5) Those who are naturalized in accordance with law.

JURIDICAL PERSONS: The following are juridical persons: (1)

The State and its political subdivisions;

(2) Other corporations, institutions and entities for public interest or purpose, created by law; their
personality begins as soon as they have been constituted according to law;

(3) Corporations, partnerships and associations for private interest or purpose to which the law grants
a juridical personality, separate and distinct from that of each shareholder, partner or member.

DOMICILE: For the exercise of civil rights and the fulfillment of civil obligations, the domicile of
natural persons is the place of their habitual residence.
When the law creating or recognizing them, or any other
provision does not fix the domicile of juridical persons, the same shall be understood to be the place
where their legal representation is established or where they exercise their principal functions.

Marriage is a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in
accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life. It is the foundation of the
II. Marriage (Family Code) family and an inviolable social institution whose nature, consequences, and incidents are governed by
law and not subject to stipulation, except that marriage settlements may fix the property relations
during the marriage within the limits provided by this Code.
 REQUISITES OF A VALID MARRIAGE: ESSENTIAL
REQUISITES:
(1) Legal capacity of the contracting parties who must be a male and a female; and
(2) Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer.
FORMAL REQUISITES:
(1) Authority of the solemnizing officer;
(2) A valid marriage license except in the cases provided for in Chapter 2 of this Title; and
(3) A marriage ceremony which takes place with the appearance of the contracting parties before the
solemnizing officer and their personal declaration that they take each other as husband and wife in
the presence of not less than two witnesses of legal age.

III. Legal Separation (Family Code)

IV. Rights and Obligations between Husband and Wife
V. Property Relations between the Spouses
VI. The Family
VII. Paternity and Filiation
VIII. Adoption
A. Domestic Adoption Act of 1998 (RA8552)
B. Inter-Country Adoption Act of 1995 (RA8043)
C. Distinctions: RA 8552 vs. RA 8043
IX. Support
X. Parental Authority
XI.Emancipation
XII. Retroactivity of Family Code
XIII. Funerals (Arts. 305-310, NCC)
XIV. Use of Surname
 Art. 41. A marriage contracted by any person during subsistence of a previous marriage shall be null
and void, unless before the celebration of the subsequent marriage, the prior spouse had been absent
for four consecutive years and the spouse present has a well-founded belief that the absent spouse
was already dead. In case of disappearance where there is danger of death under the circumstances
XV. Absence set forth in the provisions of Article 391 of the Civil Code, an absence of only two years shall be
sufficient. For the purpose of
contracting the subsequent marriage under the preceding paragraph the spouse present must
institute a summary proceeding as provided in this Code for the declaration of presumptive death of
the absentee, without prejudice to the effect of reappearance of the absent spouse.

PART III - PROPERTY

I. Characteristics
II. Classification
III. Ownership
IV. Accession
V. Quieting of Title
VI. Co-ownership
VII. Possession
VIII. Usufruct
IX. Easements
X. Nuisance
XI. Modes of Acquiring Ownership
XII. Donations

PRESCRIPTION
I. Definition
II. Acquisitive and Extinctive Prescriuption
III. Instances when Prescription is not allowed
IV. Prescription or Limitation of Actions

PART IV - OBLIGATIONS AND CONTRACTS

 OBLIGATIONS
I. Definition, Elements
II. Souces of Obligation
III. Nature and Effects of Obligations
IV. Kinds of Obligations
1. Pure and Conditional
2. Obligations with a Period
3. Alternative Obligations
4. Joint and Solidary Obligations
5. Divisible and Indivisible Obligations
6. Obligations with a Penal Clause
V. Extinguishment of Obligations
1. Payment of Performance
2. Loss of the Thing Due
3. Condonation or Remission of Debt
4. Merger or Confusion of the rights of the debtor and creditor
5. Compensation
6. Novation

CONTRACTS
I. Essential Requisites
II. Kinds of Contracts
III. Objects, Causes, and Form of Contracts
IV. Reformation of Instrument
V. Interpretation of Contracts
VI. Rescissible Contracts
VII. Voidable Contracts
VIII. Unenforceable Contracts
IX. Void and Inexistent Contracts

NATURAL OBLIGATIONS
Estoppel
 PART V - SALES
I. Nature and Form of Contract
II. Capacity to Buy and Sell
III. Effects of the Contract when the Thing Sold has been lost
IV. Obligations of the Vendor
V. Obligations of the Vendee
VI. Breach of Contract
VII. Extinguishment of Sale
VIII. Assignment of Credits

PART VI - LEASE
I. General Provisions
II. LEASE OF Rural and Urban Lands
III. Rights and Obligatins of Lessor and Lessee
IV. Special Rules for Lease of Rural/Urban Lands

PART VII - PARTNERSHIP

I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.

PART VIII - AGENCY

I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
 PART IX - TRUST
I.
II.

PART X - CREDIT TRANSACTIONS

I. Loan
II. Deposit
III. Guaranty and Suretyship
Art. 2047. By guaranty a person, called the guarantor, binds himself to the creditor to
fulfill the obligation of the principal debtor in case the latter should fail to do so.

If a person binds himself solidarily with the principal debtor, the provisions of Section 4,
Chapter 3, Title I of this Book shall be observed. In such case the contract is called a
suretyship.

PLEDGE

Pledge is a contract wherein the debtor delivers to the creditor or to ka third person a movable
or document evidencing incorporeal rights for the purpose of securing the fulfillment of a
principal obligation with the understanding that when the obligation is fulfilled, the thing
delivered shall be returned with all its fruits and accessions.
IV. MORTGAGE

A real mortgage is a contract whereby the debtor secures to the creditor the fulfillment of a
principal obligation, specially subjecting to such security immovable property or real rights over
immovable property in case the pricipal obligation is not complied with at the time stipulated.
ANTICHRESIS

Art. 2132. By the contract of antichresis the creditor acquires the right to receive the fruits of
an immovable of his debtor, with the obligation to apply them to the payment of the interest, if
owing, and thereafter to the principal of his credit.
CHATTEL MORTGAGE
 Art. 2140. By a chattel mortgage, personal property is recorded in the Chattel Mortgage Register
as a security for the performance of an obligation. If the movable, instead of being recorded, is
delivered to the creditor or a third person, the contract is a pledge and not a chattel mortgage
V. Quasi-Contracts
Art. 2142. Certain lawful, voluntary and unilateral acts give rise to the
juridical relation of quasi-contract to the end that no one shall be
unjustly enriched or benefited at the expense of another.
VI. Concurrence and Preferrence of Credits
RA 10142: AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE REHABILITATION OR LIQUIDATION OF FINANCIALLY DISTRESSED
ENTERPRISES AND INDIVIDUALS

Section 133.Concurrence and Preference of Credits.- The Liquidation Plan and its Implementation
shall ensure that the concurrence and preference of credits as enumerated in the Civil Code of the
Philippines and other relevant laws shall be observed, unless a preferred creditor voluntarily waives
his preferred right. For purposes of this chapter, credits for services rendered by employees or
laborers to the debtor shall enjoy first preference under Article 2244 of the Civil Code, unless the
claims constitute legal liens under Article 2241 and 2242 thereof.

PART XI - SUCCESSIONS
I.
II.
III.
IV.

PART XII - LAND TITLES AND DEEDS

I. Torrens System
II. Original Registration
III. Subsequent Registration

PART XIV - TORTS AND DAMAGES

Book I - Torts/Quasi-Delicts
I. Definition, Elements
II. Classification of Torts
III. Tortfeasor
IV. Concepts and Doctrines
V. Legal Injury
1. Negligent Torts
2. Intentional Torts
3. Strict Liability
1. Direct Tortfeasor
2. Persons made responsible for others
3.Nature of Liability
1. Res Ipsa Loquitur
2. Last Clear Chance
3. Proximate Cause
4. Damnum Absque Injuria
5. Presumtion of Negligence
6. Vicarious Liability

Book II - Damages
I. General Provisions
II. Actual and Compensatory Damages
III. Moral Damages
IV. Nominal Damages
V. Temperate or Moderate Damages
VI. Liquidated Damages
VII. Exemplary or Corrective Damages
VIII. Damages in Case of Death