Civil Code Art. 1156: Statutory provision

Statute: Civil Code
Article: Art. 1156
Topic: Statutory provision
Status: In force
Book: BOOK IV Obligations and Contracts
Title: TITLE I Obligations
Chapter: CHAPTER 1 General Provisions
Year: 1949
Cited by: Multiple Supreme Court decisions

The provision

Art. 1156. An obligation is a juridical necessity to give, to do or not to do. (n)

Intellegal Wiki · In plain terms

This gives the Code's basic definition of an obligation: it is a legal tie or 'juridical necessity' that compels a person to give something, to do something, or to refrain from doing something. In short, an obligation is a legally enforceable duty of one of those three kinds.

An editorially maintained plain-language explanation of this provision — not legal advice.

Key points

An obligation is a juridical necessity to give, to do, or not to do. "Juridical necessity" means it is legally demandable — the creditor may enforce it in court, and the debtor's breach makes him liable for damages.

Cases applying this article

Andres Zapanta v. Eduardo de Rotaeche G.R. No. 6910
Chua Chienco (Alias Tima) v. Angel Vargas G.R. No. 4414

Related provisions in this Chapter

Civil Code, Art. 1157 Sources of obligations
Civil Code, Art. 1305 Contract, definition

Civil Code, Art. 1156 is found in CHAPTER 1 General Provisions of TITLE I Obligations of BOOK IV Obligations and Contracts of the Civil Code of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 386).

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Reviewed by the Intellegal Legal Team for currency against amending laws and Supreme Court jurisprudence.

Research aid — not legal advice. Verify the current text against the Official Gazette. Provisions may have been amended or repealed. Using this page creates no attorney-client relationship. For legal advice, consult a Philippine lawyer.