Civil Code Articles 1-18

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Article 1

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This Act shall be known s the Civil Code of the Philippines

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Article 2

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Laws shall take effect after 15 days following the completion of their publication either in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation, unless otherwise provided.

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Article 3

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Ignorance of the law excuses no-one from compliance therewith.

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Article 4

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Laws shall have no retroactive effect, unless the contrary is provided.

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Article 5

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Acts executed against the provisions of mandatory or prohibitory law shall be void, except when the law itself authorizes their validity.

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Article 6

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Rights are waived unless the waiver is contrary to law, public order, public policy, morals or good customs or prejudicial to a third person with a right recognized by law.

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Article 7

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Laws are repealed only by subsequent ones, and their violation our non observance shall not be excused by the disuse, or custom or practice to the contrary.

When the courts declare a law inconsistent with the constitution, the former shall be void and the latter shall govern.

Administrative or executive acts, orders and regulations shall be valid only when they are not contrary to the law or the Constitution.

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Article 8

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Judicial decisions applying or interpreting the laws or the Constitution shall form a part of the legal system of the Philippines.

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Article 9

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No judge our court shall decline to render judgment by reason of the silence, obscurity or insufficiency of the law.

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Article 10

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In case of doubt in the interpretation our application of laws, it shall be presumed that the law making body intended for right and justice to prevail.

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Article 11

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Customs which are contrary to law, public order or public policy shall not be countenanced.

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Article 12

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A custom must be proved as fact according to the rules of evidence.

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Article 13

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When the law speaks of years, months, days, or nights, it shall be understood that years are of 365 days each, months of 30 days, days of 24 hours and nights from sunset to sunrise.

If months are designated by their name, they shall be computed by the number of days which they respectively have.

In computing a period, the first day shall be excluded and the last day included.

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Article 14

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Penal laws and those of public security and safety shall be obligatory upon all who live or sojourn in Philippine territory, subject to the principles of public international law and treaty stipulations.

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Article 15

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Laws relating to family rights and duties, or to the status, condition and legal capacity of persons are binding upon citizens of the Philippines, even though living abroad.

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Article 16

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Real property as well as personal property is subject to the laws of the country where it is situated.

However, intestate and testament succession, both with respect to the order of succession and to the amount of successional rights and to the intrinsic validity of testamentary provisions, shall be regulated by the national law of the person whose succession is under consideration, whatever the nature of the property and regardless of the country where said property may be found.

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Article 17

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The forms and solemnities of contracts, wills and other public instruments shall be governed by the laws of the country in which they are executed.

When the acts referred to are executed before diplomatic or consular officials of the republic of the Philippines, the solemnities established by Philippine laws shall be observed in their execution.

Prohibitive laws concerning persons and property, and those which have for their object public order, public policy and good customs shall not be rendered ineffective by laws or judgements promulgated or by the determinations and conventions agreed upon in a foreign country.

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Article 18

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In matters which are governed by the Code of Commerce and special laws, their deficiencies shall be supplied by the provisions of this code.

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Article 19

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Every person, must in the exercise of his rights and in the performance of his duties, act with justice, give everyone his due, and observe honesty and good faith.

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Article 20

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Every person who, contrary to law, willfully our negligently causes damage to another, shall indemnify the latter for the same.

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Article 21

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Any person who willfully causes loss or injury to another in a manner contrary to morals, good customs or public policy shall compensate the latter for the damage.

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Article 22

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Every person who through an act of performance by another, or any other means, acquires or comes into possession of something at the expense of the latter without just our legal ground, shall return the same to him.

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Article 23

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Even when an act or event causing damage to another's property was not due to the fault or negligence of the defendant, the latter shall be liable for indemnity if through the act or event he benefited.

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Article 24

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In all contractual, property or other relations, when one of the parties is at a disadvantage on account of his moral dependence, ignorance, indigence, mental weakness, tender age or other handicap, the courts must be vigilant for his protection.