OBLIGATION
received (solution indebiti)
I. What is Obligation?
 According to National Competition Council or
NCC, It is juridical necessity to give, to do or not
to do.
 The definition of obligation in law refers to the
responsibility to follow through on actions
agreed upon in a contract, promise, law, oath,
or vow.
 In the original sense, the idea of obligation
referred only to the responsibility to pay any
money outlined in the terms of specific written
documents. In order to be considered an
obligation, the document had to be executed
under the seal. In today's legal world, obligation
refers to the requirement to participate in a
certain action because of their agreement to
another party or under the law.
 Obligation ay responsibilidad ng isang tao na
gawin ang isang bagay dahil nakalagay ito sa
batas or mayroong kasunduan.
II. ELEMENTS OF OBLIGATION
JAPOC
Juridical or legal tie- Efficient Cause (Judicial
cause/vinculum juris) is that of which binds or
connects the parties to the obligation.
 Nagkokonekta sa dalawang tao para gawin
yung obligasyon nila.
 How is vinculum juris established?
 Law must be expressly and impliedly set forth
and cannot be presumed. Agreement of parties
is not necessary. Example: duty of paying taxes
(Internal Revenue Code)
 Bilateral acts- Contracts arise from the
stipulation of parties; it is the “law” between
parties. Also, contract is a meeting of two minds
between two parties whereby one binds himself
with respect to the other, to give something or
render some services (Art.1305). Example:
settlement of a loan with interest by virtue of
an agreement. (Art.1315)
 Unilateral acts
o -Quasi-contracts are those that arise
from lawful, voluntary and unilateral act
based on the maxim that no one shall
unjustly enrich himself at the expense
of another (Art. 2142) Example: duty of
returning an item he mistakenly
o -Quasi delicts arise from damage
caused to another through an act or
omission, there being by fault or
negligence, but no contractual relation
exists between the parties. Example:
road accident
Active subject – (creditor/obligee) who has the
power to demand the prestation.
Passive subject – (debtor/obligor) who is bound to
perform the prestation; has the juridical necessity
of adjusting his conduct to the demand of the
creditor in accordance with the efficient cause.
Example: Under a contract of sale, D agreed to
deliver a book to C for Php1000.
 C is the active subject
 D is the passive subject
 the delivery of the book is the prestation
 the contract of sale is the juridical tie that
binds X and Y.
 Suppose X had already delivered the book
but Y has not yet paid for it.In this case, X
becomes the active subject and Y is the
passive subject.
 The active subject has the right to go to
court in case of non-performance by the
passive subject. The passive subject should
hence comply with the obligation to avoid
civil action against him.
Object – (the prestation) is the conduct in which the
debtor should act upon.
 What are the requisites of a valid object?
The object must be:
1. Licit or lawful
2. Possible, physically and judicially
3. Determinate or determinable
4. Pecuniary value or possible equivalent in
money.
Pecuniary value-consisting of or measured in money
Cause- same with juridical or legal tie.
III. DIFFERENT KINDS OF PRESTATION
 What is prestation?
1. Feudal law : a rent, tax, or due paid in kind or in
services (as in return for the lord's warrant or
authority for taking wood)
2. Civil law : a performance of something due
upon an obligation
1. TO GIVE. The prestation to give is a real
obligation. It is the obligation to deliver either
[a] a specific or determinate thing, or [b] a
generic or indeterminate thing. An example of
this would be the vendor's obligation to give the
vendee the thing purchased.
2. TO DO. The prestation to do is a positive
personal obligation. It includes all kinds of work
or service. An example of this would be the
obligation of a painter to create an artwork for
the person who commissioned him.
3. NOT TO DO. The prestation not to do is a
negative personal obligation. It refers to the
duty to abstain from doing an act and includes
the obligation not to give.
An object (subject matter) is a thing, service, or
right that constitutes the prestation of an
obligation in a contract. It could be anything
that is within the commerce of men, either
present or future.
IV. CLASSIFICATION OF OBLIGATIONS
 What are the kinds of obligation?
1. Sanction
 Civil- gives the right of action to compel
their performance.
 Natural- A natural obligation is
an obligation that has no legal basis and
hence does not give a right of action to
enforce its performance. It is based on
equity, morality, and natural law, and
should be voluntary.
 Moral-is an obligation arising out of
considerations of right and wrong. It is
an obligation arising from ethical
motives, or a mere conscientious duty,
unconnected with any legal obligation,
perfect or imperfect, or with the receipt
of benefit by the promisor of a material
or pecuniary nature
2. Performance
 Positive- to give or to do
 Negative- not to do
3. Subject Matter
o Personal- to do or not to do
o Real- to give
4. Object
 Determinate
 Generic
 Limited generic
5. Person obliged
 Unilateral- only one party is bound
 Bilateral - where both parties are bound
Ex. Contract of sale: the buyer is
obliged to pay; seller obliged to pay.
6. Creation
 Legal- imposed by law
 Conventional- established by the
agreement of the parties like contracts.
7. Susceptibility of partial fulfillment
 Divisible- obligation is susceptible of
partial performance.
 Indivisible- obligation is not susceptible.
8. Existence of burden or condition
 Pure- obligation is a debt which is not
subject to any conditions and no specific
date is mentioned for its fulfillment. A pure
obligation is immediately demandable.
 Conditional- refers to impossible suspensive
conditions.
9. Character of responsibility or liability
 Joint- part of a whole
 Solidary- whole
10. Right to choose and substitution
 Alternative- obligor may choose to
completely perform one out of the
several prestation.
 Facultative- only one prestation has
been agreed upon, but the obligor may
render one in substitution of the first
one.
11. Imposition of Penalty
 Simple- there is no penalty imposed for
violation
 Obligation with penalty- obligation
which imposes a penalty for violation.
V. SOURCES OF OBLIGATION
 What are the sources of obligation?