Tolentino Commentary Introduction

Art. 386 June 18, 1949 Philippine Civil Code

Introduction
Concepts of Law
Law
- The General sense (derecho)
o The science of moral rules, founded on nature of man, which govern his
free activity, for the realization of the individual and social ends, of a
nature both demandable and reciprocal.
o The mass of obligatory rules established for the purpose of governing the
relations of person in society
- The Specific sense (ley)
o Juridical proposition or an aggregate of juridical propositions,
promulgated and published by the competent organs of the State in
accordance with the Constitution.
o A norm of human conduct in social life, established by a sovereign
organization and imposed for the compulsory observance of all.
o A rule of conduct, just, obligatory, promulgated by legitimate authority,
and of common observance of benefit.
o A just precept promulgated by the competent authority for the common
good of a people or nation, which constitutes an obligatory rule of conduct
for all its members.

Foundations of Law
- A product of social life and creation of human nature
- Regulates relations of humans to maintain harmony
- Rests upon the concepts of order, co-existence, and liberty

Characteristics of Law
- A rule of human conduct
- Promulgated by competent authority
- Obligatory
- General observance

Law and Morals

- Law and morals spring from social conscience but pnly rules of law have legal
sanction and can be enforced by public authority
- Jus the art of being good and fair
- Law takes into account moral concepts but not all moral duties have been
converted into juridical obligations because then morals would lose their
essential characteristic of being voluntary
- Law covers social activities and relations of man, morals includes duties to man
as well as to his God.
- Purpose: happiness which will exist through permanent and stable equilibrium
between human personalities
- Laws and morals are two intersecting circles with many principles in a common
zone (but laws may oppose morals sometimes and vice versa)

General Divisions of Law

- Divine Law
 o Legislated by God
- Human Law
o Promulgated by man to regulate relations
o General/public law
International law governs relations between nations (humans in
their collective concept)
Constitutional law governs the relations between humans of a
State and the governing power
Administrative law governs the relations between officials and
employees of the government
Criminal law guarantees coercive power of law
Religious law regulates the practice of religion
o Individual/private law
Civil law regulates the relations of individuals with other individuals
for purely private ends
Mercantile law regulates the special relations produced by
commercial transactions
Procedural law provides for the means by which private rights may
be enforced
Kinds of Specific Law
Generally classified into:
- Mandatory commands that something be done
- Prohibitory commands something should not be done
- Permissive commands that what it permits to be done should be tolerated
Other form of classification:
- Absolute has obligatory character
- Suppletory leaves the will of the individual free to act, and only when this has
not manifested itself does the law present the rule to determine the juridical fact

Codification of Laws
- A code is a collection of laws of a particular branch of the law
- Reasons
o Necessity of simplifying and arranging the many juridical rules scattered
in laws and customs
o Necessity of unifying various legislations in the same country
o Necessity of introducing reforms occasioned by social changes
Codification in Modern Times
- Codes take hella long to make

Codification in the PH
- Pres. Manuel L. Quezon took first steps in codification of private law in 1940
when he created a Code Committee to do so headed by SC Justice Ramon
Avancea
- Code Committee was retained as an office in the Japanese-sponsored
government
- Progress was lost in Battle and liberation of Manila in 1945
- Pres. Manuel Roxas created new Code Commission that started work in May
1947 and completed first draft 5 months later.
- Final draft was completed on December 1947 and approved by Congress on
June 1949.
- CC wa in effect on 1950
Definitions of Civil Law
Old:
1. Equivalent to national law (law applicable to individuals)
2. Used to distinguish the body of law composed of plebiscites, imperial
constitutions, and other forms of jus honorarium or pretorium
3. The law applicable to the citizens of Rome, distinguished from that applicable
to foreigners or jus gentium
4. Used to designate opinion of authorized jurisconsults
New:
Branch of the law which has for its double purposes the organization of family
and the regulation of property. Thus, the mass of precepts which determine and
regulate the relations of assistance, authority, and obedience among the members of a
family, and those which exist among members of a society for the protection of private
interests.

Sources of PH Civil Law

- The new Civil Code
- Some statutes such as the Copyright Law, Patent Law, and various labor laws
and other social legislation

Influences on Spanish Civil Law

- The canonical influence as due to the spread of Christianity and the constant
intervention of the clergy in legislation

Anglo-American Common Law

- Founded on sound principles applicable to local conditions

Civil and Commercial Law

- Because of modern developments in commercial law (banking, corporations,
maritime commerce, securities, etc.), unification is becoming increasingly more
difficult especially because commerical law is disintegrated into definite
independent branches
- Merely partial unification is possible. The present civil code is a step towards that
unifying law on sales, agency, guaranty, deposit, partnership and has repealed
many provisions of the code of commerce.