LECTURE 1: OBLIGATIONS AND CONTRACT

RA 386 – Obligation (Article 1156)

- An (Civil) OBLIGATION is a juridical necessity to give, to do, or not to do.
- Juridical necessity – in case of noncompliance, there will be legal consequences, sanctions, and
penalty.
- It does not cover Natural Obligations – obligations that cannot be enforces in court

4 ELEMENTS OF CIVIL OBLIGATIONS

1. Active Subject (creditor = obligee) – is the one (person) who is demanding the performing of the
obligation. It is he who is in his favor that the obligation is established.
2. Passive Subject (debtor = obligor) – bound to perform the obligation.
3. Object / Prestation – is not a thing, it is the particular conduct of the debtor.
4. Efficient Cause / Legal Tie / Juridical Tie – which binds or connects the parties to the obligation.
Note: If these are all present there’s Civil Obligation if not, then there is none.

SOURCES OF CIVIL OBLIGATION – Article 1157

1. Law Note: If there is no source of
2. Contracts (Oral or Written) obligations, then there are no
3. Quasi-contracts civil obligation and there will be
4. Delicts / Crimes / Felonies – acts or omissions punished by no legal sanctions.
(criminal) law
5. Quasi-delicts

EXAMPLE 1: (Unilateral – only one party has an obligation)

Contreras is the lender and Sir
Fidel is the borrower. The
agreement they had is called
the Contract of Loan. Sir Fidel
has the obligation to pay back
the loan while Contreras
doesn’t have any obligation.
 Elements of Civil Obligation
o Active Subject – Contreras (lender)
o Passive Subject – Sir Fidel (borrower)
o Prestation – to pay back the loan
o Efficient Cause – Contract of Loan
 Source of Obligation – Contract of Loan

EXAMPLE 2: (Bilateral – both parties have obligation)

Vierneza is the seller and Sir
Fidel is the buyer of cellphone.
The agreement they had is
called the Contract of Sales.
Vierneza (seller) has the
obligation to deliver or transfer
the ownership of the product
and Sir Fidel (buyer) has the
obligation to pay the purchase
price.
 Elements of Civil Obligation
o Active Subject – Vierneza (seller); Sir Fidel (buyer)
o Passive Subject – Sir Fidel (buyer); Vierneza (seller)
o Prestation – to transfer the ownership of the product; to
pay for product
o Efficient Cause – Contract of Sales
 Source of Obligation – Contract of Sales
 EXAMPLE 3: (Unilateral)
Sir Fidel lends his books to
Balosca. The agreement they
had is called Contract of
Commodatum. Only the
Balosca (borrower) has the
obligation to return the book
while Sir Fidel (lender) has no
obligation.
 Elements of Civil Obligation
o Active Subject – Sir Fidel (lender)
o Passive Subject – Balosca (borrower)
o Prestation – to return the borrowed book
o Efficient Cause – Contract of Commodatum
 Source of Obligation – Contract of Commodatum