CIVIL PERSONALITY

CHAPTER 1 – GENERAL PROVISION

Article 37 – Juridical capacity, which is the fitness to be the subject of legal relations is inherent in every
natural person and is lost only through death. Capacity to act, which is the power to do acts with legal
effect is acquired and may be lost.

* Person – any being, natural or artificial, capable of possessing legal rights and obligations.
* Personality – also termed as a status or civil capacity.
* Juridical capacity – is synonymous to legal personality.

PERSON
(1) Natural person (2) Juridical person
- Has a physical existence - Exists only in contemplation of law
- Is a product of procreation - Is a product of legal fiction/deliberation

(1) Juridical Capacity – is the fitness to be the subject of legal relations.

(2) Capacity to Act – is the power to do acts with legal effect.
(3) Civil Capacity - is the union of both (1) and (2).

DIFFERENCE OF:
(1) Juridical Capacity (2) Capacity to Act
- Is inherent in every natural person - Is acquired
- Lost only thru death - Can be lost to other means/circumstances
- Cannot be limited/restricted - Can be limited/restricted by circumstances
- Can exist without capacity to act - Cannot exist without juridical capacity

Article 38 – Minority, insanity, or imbecility, the state of being a deaf-mute, prodigality, and civil
interdiction are mere restrictions on capacity to act, and do not exempt the incapacitated person from
certain obligations, as when the latter arise from his acts or from property relations, such as easements.

* Full Civil Capacity – when a person is endowed with both juridical capacity and capacity
to act.

* A person who have juridical capacity may have the capacity to act, but not fully.

-example: minors, PWD, civilly interdicted persons.

Civil Interdiction – is an accessory to penalty imposed on those convicted on crimes punished by

at least 12 years of imprisonment.

People affected by civil interdiction are deprived of:

(1) Parental authority

 (2) Guardianship to person, ward to property
(3) Marital authority
(4) Management of property
(5) Disposal of properties by any act, or conveyance of intervivos.

Conveyance of intervivos – transfer of property while serving sentence time in imprisonment.

Article 39 – The following circumstances, among others, modify or limit capacity to act: age, insanity,
imbecility, the state of being deaf-mute, penalty, prodigality, family relations, alienage, absence,
insolvency, and trusteeship. The consequences of these circumstances are governed by in this Code,
other codes, the Rules of Court, and in special laws. Capacity to act is not limited on account of religious
belief or political opinion.

A married woman, 21 years of age or over, is qualified for all acts of civil life, except in cases
specified by law.

* a person cannot marry collateral relatives up to 4th civil degree of consanguinity.

* deaf-mute cannot be witnesses to a will.

* alien cannot be elected president of the country.

* an insolvent cannot transfer any of his properties. Payments to the insolvent of an debts due
to him is not allowed.

Marriage:

(1) The age of majority is 18 years old for both Male and Female, thus qualified for all
civil activities.
(2) But contracting marriages, requires parental consent until 21 years of age.

*A married couple cannot sell or encumber community or conjugal properties without the

consent of the other. They cannot enter into universal partnership.

Definitions:

(1) Insolvent – a person who ceased to pay debts in the ordinary course of business, or
time’s due.
(2) Encumber – to burden or impede with debts or legal claims.
 (3) Universal partnership - a partnership formed by persons who agree to contribute all
their individual owned property to the partnership.

Article 40 – birth determines personality; but the conceived child shall be considered born for all
purposes that are favorable to it, provided it to be born later with the conditions specified in the following
article.

*personality begins at conception, which is called presumptive personality, and not at birth.

*From another perspective, it can be opined that actual personality really does commences at birth,

for conception in certain cases, be already considered birth.

*when there is no registration made, the birth & death of the fetus will not be recorded in the Civil

registry.

DIFFERENCES OF:
(1) Conception (2) Birth
- The meeting of egg & sperm, marking - Spells the end of intra-uterine life where
intra-uterine life the zygote is expelled from the womb.
- Presumptive/provisional personality - Actual personality
- Even before birth, it may be a recipient of
donation, capable of succession; but
cannot be invoked if there is pre-natal
death

*The state shall protect the life of the mother and life of the unborn from conception. (parens
patriae)

2 CASES WHEN FETUS IS BORN:

- A fetus with an intra-uterine life of 7 - A fetus with an intra-uterine life of less
months or more than 7 months (premature)
Article 41: For civil purposes, the fetus is considered born if it is alive at the time it is completely delivered
from the mother’s womb. However, if the fetus had an intra-uterine life of less than 7 months, it is not
deemed born if it dies within 24 hrs. after its complete delivery from the maternity womb.