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CHAPTER 1 possibility of adopting the word “tort” in lieu of quasi-

delict as a separate source of obligation. The


GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS Commission later decided against the use of the word
“tort” because the members believed that such use
1. TORT DEFINED would not be accurate because “tort” in Anglo-
The word “tort’’ is taken directly from the French and American law “is much broader than the Spanish-
is a derivation of the Latin word ‘torquere’ meaning ‘to Philippine concept of obligations arising from non-
twist.’ In common law, tort is an unlawful violation of contractual negligence. ‘Tort’ in Anglo-American
private right, not created by contract, and which gives jurisprudence includes not only negligence, but also
rise to an action for damages. It is an act or omission intentional criminal acts such as assault and battery,
producing an injury to another, without any previous false imprisonment and deceit. (Report of the Code
existing lawful relation of which the said act or Commission, pp. 161-162).” The general plan sought
omission may be said to be a natural outgrowth or to be implemented in the New Civil Code was for
incident. (Robles vs. Castillo, 61 O.G. 1220, 5 C.A.R. intentional acts to be governed by the Revised Penal
[2s] 213). Code.

It is also defined as a “private or civil wrong or injury, However, the New Civil Code as enacted and other
other than breach of contract,’’ for which the court will statutes clearly deviate from the general plan which
provide a remedy in the form of an action for the Commission had articulated. For instance,
damages. It is a violation of a duty imposed by general although the word tort does not appear in the New
law or otherwise upon all persons occupying the Civil Code, there are statutory provisions that use the
relation to each other which is involved in a given word thereby recognizing tort as a source of liability.
transaction. There must always be violation of some The provisions that recognize tort liability and use the
duty that must arise by operation of law and not by term “tort” include Sections 22 and 100 of the
mere agreement of the parties. (Black’s Law Corporation Code, Art. 68 of the Child and Youth
Dictionary, 5th Ed., p. 1335, citing Coleman vs. Welfare Code and Sec. 17(a)(6) of the Ship Mortgage
California Yearly Meeting of Friends Church, 27 Cal. Decree.
App. 2d 579, 81 P. 2d 469, 470). It is a legal wrong The Supreme Court had, in fact, repeatedly used the
committed upon person or property independent of term tort in deciding cases involving negligent acts or
contract. (ibid.). omissions as well as those involving intentional acts.
As a general legal classification, it encompasses a In a recent case, the Supreme Court broadly defined
number of different civil causes of action providing a tort as a breach of legal duty. The Supreme Court
private remedy, almost always in the form of money explained that tort essentially consists in the violation
damages, for an injury to a person caused by the of a right given or omission of statutory duty imposed
tortious conduct of another. (Edward J. Kionka, Torts, by law. (Naguiat vs. NLRC, The New Civil Code as
1988 Ed., p. 92). Each tort is separately named and enacted and the Report of the Code Commission itself,
defined. Although some rules or principles are reveal an evident intent to adopt the common law
common to various torts or groups of torts, there is no concept of tort and to incorporate the different,
universal formula for tort liability. (ibid.). intentional and unintentional common law torts in the
New Civil Code. Tortious conduct for which civil
As thus defined, tort in common law includes remedies are available are embodied in different
intentional torts, negligence, and strict liability in provisions of the New Code. For instance, the Code
tort. Intentional torts include conduct where the actor Commission explained that the justifications for the
desires to cause the consequences of his act or believes the inclusion of independent civil actions (Arts. 32, 33, 34,
35 and 36 of the Civil Code) are:
consequences are substantially certain to result from it.
Intentional torts include assault, battery, false imprisonment, “In England and the United States, the
defamation, invasion of privacy and interference of property. individual may bring an action in tort for
Negligence, on the other hand, involves voluntary acts or assault and battery, false imprisonment,
omissions which result in injury to others, without intending libel and slander, deceit, trespass, malicious
prosecution, and other acts which also fall
to cause the same. The actor fails to exercise due care in
within criminal statutes. This independent
performing such acts or omissions. There is strict liability in civil action is in keeping with the spirit of
tort where the person is made liable independent of fault or individual initiative and the intense
negligence upon submission of proof of certain facts. awareness of one’s individual rights in
those countries.” (Report of the Code
B. SCOPE AND APPLICABLE LAWS. Commission, p. 47).
The Code Commission which prepared the draft of the The same intent to incorporate Anglo-American rules
New Civil Code of the Philippines contemplated the is present in the rules regarding proximate cause and
contributory negligence (Article 2199, NCC) as the When the law provides for compensation to another
Code Commission explained that the rules are a for personal injuries, the law is protecting the person’s
“blending of American and Spanish-Philippine law.” interest over his body. A person is entitled to the
(Report of the Code Commission, p. 163). physical integrity of his or her body; if the integrity is
violated or diminished, actual injury is suffered for
2. PURPOSES OF TORT LAW which actual or compensatory damages are due and
A. MAJOR PURPOSES. assessable. (Gatchalian vs. Delim, 203 SCRA 126, 137
[1991]). However, although tort law is mainly
The major purposes of tort law include the following: concerned with providing compensation for personal
(1) to provide a peaceful means for adjusting the injury and property damage caused by negligence, it
rights of parties who might otherwise take the law also protects other interests such as reputation,
into their own hands; (2) deter wrongful conduct; (3) personal freedom, enjoyment of property, and
to encourage socially responsible behaviour; and (4) to commercial interests. (A Dictionary of Law, Oxford
restore injured parties to their original condition, University Press, 1994, p. 401). The interests
insofar as the law can do this, by compensating them protected under the Civil Code and example of
for their injury. (William L. Prosser, John W. Wade, provisions which protect such interests are:
Victor E. Schwartz, Cases and Materials on Torts, Interests Protected Torts and/or Provisions Involved
1988 Ed., p.1). In one case, the Supreme Court
observed that the governing law (Article 2176, Civil Person
Code) seeks to reduce the risks and burden of living in Freedom from contact Physical Injuries (Art. 32),
the society and to allocate them among the members Quasi-Delict (Art. 2176)
of society. (Phoenix Construction, Inc. vs. Intermediate
Appellate Court, 148 SCRA 353 [1987]). Freedom from distress Moral Damages (Arts. 2217-
B. BALANCING OF CONFLICTING INTERESTS. 2220)

The purposes specified above directly serve the Dignity


general purpose of protecting different interests in the
Reputation Defamation (Art. 33)
society. This is consistent with the view that civil law
is the mass of precepts that determine or regulate Privacy Violation of Privacy (Art. 26)
relations that exist between members of the society
Freedom from wrongful actions Malicious Prosecution
for the protection of private interests. (Quisaba vs.
(Arts. 20 and 21)
Sta. Ines-Melale Veneer and Plywood, Inc., 58 SCRA
771, August 30, 1974, citing 1 Sanchez Roman 3). Property
Dean Wright explained that:
Real Property Nuisance (Arts. 694-770) Quasi-Delict
“Arising out of the various ever-increasing (Art. 2176)
clashes of activities of persons living in a
common society, carrying on business in Economic/Pecuniary
competition with fellow members of that
Contracts Interference with contractual rights (Art.
society, owning property which may in any
1314)
of a thousand ways affect the person or
property of others – in short doing all the Freedom from Deception Fraud (Art. 33)
things that constitute modern living – there
4. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
must of necessity be losses, or injuries of
many kind sustained as a result of the The above-mentioned purposes are sought to be
activities of others. The purpose of the law achieved in the pursuit of the fundamental principles
of torts is to adjust these losses and to which are being upheld under the New Civil Code.
afford compensation for injuries sustained These fundamental principles include, equity, justice,
by one person as the result of the conduct of democracy, and respect for human dignity.
another . . . The study of the law of torts is,
therefore, a study of the extent to which the
law will shift the losses sustained in
modern society from the person affected to
the shoulder of him who caused the loss or
more realistically in many fields, to the
insurance companies who are increasingly
covering the many risks involved in the
conduct of business and individual activi-
ties.” (Wright, Cases on the Law of Torts, p.
1).

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