The Civil Code of the Philippines, influenced by the Spanish Civil Code of 1889, was enacted in 1950 after a lengthy process interrupted by World War II. It repealed earlier laws and introduced new rights and causes of action, including provisions on moral actions, trust, and municipal liability. The code is divided into five books covering various aspects of civil law, reflecting both Spanish and American legal influences.

1. The Civil Code of the Philippines

2. History
• The Civil Code is strongly influenced by the
Spanish Civil Code – The Codigo Civil, which
was first enforced in 1889 within the
Philippines, then a colony of Spain.
• It remained in effect even during the American
colonization of the Philippines.

3. History
• By 1940, the Commonwealth Government of
President Manuel Quezon had created a
Commission to create a new Civil Code.
• However, it was interrupted by the Japanese
invasion of the Philippines, and its records
were destroyed during the Battle of Manila in
1945.

4. History
• In 1947, President Manuel Roxas created a new Code
Commission, this time headed by the former Dean of
the University of the Philippines College of Law Jorge
Bocobo.
• The Commission completed the final draft of the
new Civil Code by December 1947, and this was
submitted to Congress, which enacted it into law
through Republic Act No. 386. The Civil Code took
effect in 1950.

5. History
• The Civil Code repealed:
– Those parts and provisions of the Civil Code of 1889 which
were in force and effective when the Civil Code took effect;
– The provisions of the Code of Commerce governing sales,
partnership, agency, loan, deposit and guaranty;
– The provisions of the then Code of Civil Procedure on
prescriptions insofar as inconsistent with the Civil Code;
and
– All laws, acts, rules of court, executive orders and
administrative regulations which are inconsistent with the
Civil Code.

6. History
• The Civil Code introduced new rights and causes of action not
found in the Civil Code of 1889, such as those recognized in:
– Article 21(acts contrary to morals;
– Article 29 ((civil action for acquittal on reasonable doubt);
– Article 32 (civil action for obstruction of civil liberty);
– Article 706 (abatement of private nuisance);

7. History
– Article 1359 (reformation of instruments);
– Articles 1448-1456 (implied trusts);
– Articles 2174-2175 (two additional quasi-contracts);
– Article 2189 (liability of municipalities for defective conditions of streets);
– Articles 2217 and 2221 (moral and nominal damages).

8. The Body of the Code
• The Civil Code is divided into 5 “books”, with a
specific book covering certain parts of civil law.
– Persons and Family Relations
– Property
– Succession
– Obligations and Contracts
– Special Contracts*
*Special contracts encompasses several classes of contracts as sales, agency, and
partnership. The law on torts and damages is found in Book V, although
developments in tort and damages law have been guided less by the Code than by
judicial precedents.

9. The Body of the Code
• The influence of the Spanish Civil Code is most
evident in the books on property, succession and
obligations and contracts.
• Many of the provisions on special contracts,
particularly on sales, are derived from American
common law, reflecting the influence of American
rule over the Philippines and the influx of
commercial relations involving Americans during
that time.

10. • Sources:
– http://www.thecorpusjuris.com/legislative/republi
c-acts/ra-no-386.php
– https://philippineslaw.wordpress.com/2011/02/15
/civil-code-of-the-philippines-an-overview/