ECEN65 A - ECE Laws and Ethics.docx

**I. INTRODUCTION TO LAW** - Law -- any rule of action or system of uniformity. - General Divisions of Law: - Law in strict legal sense -- promulgated and enforced by the state (state law). - Law in the non-legal sense -- divine/natural/moral/physical law. - Subject of...

**I. INTRODUCTION TO LAW** - Law -- any rule of action or system of uniformity. - General Divisions of Law: - Law in strict legal sense -- promulgated and enforced by the state (state law). - Law in the non-legal sense -- divine/natural/moral/physical law. - Subject of Law -- comprised in the definition of law as a rule of action; apply to men as rational beings only. - Physical Law -- operates on all things without regard to the latter's use of their willpower and intelligence; law of only figuratively speaking; uniformities of actions and orders of sequence which are the physical phenomena that we sense and feel. - Divine Law -- law of religion and faith which concerns itself with the concept of sin and salvation. - Source -- formally promulgated by God and revealed or divulged to mankind. - Sanction -- lies in the assurance of certain rewards and punishments in the present life. - Natural Law -- divine inspiration in man of the sense of justice, fairness, and righteousness, not by divine revelation or formal promulgation; ever present and binding on all men everywhere and at all times; impressed in mas as the core of his higher self at the very moments of being; reasonable basis of state law. - Moral Law -- totality of the norms of good and right conduct growing out of collective sense; no definite legal sanction like imprisonment for violation; not absolute; varies with the changing times; influences state law. - State/Positive/Municipal/Civil/Imperative Law -- all the laws taken together; mass of obligatory rules established for the purpose of governing the relations of persons in society. - Characteristics of State Law: - It is a rule of conduct -- law tells us what shall be and not be done. - It is obligatory -- law is considered a positive command imposing a duty to obey and involving a sanction which forces obedience. - It is promulgated by legitimate authority -- competent authority is the legislature (congress). - It is of common observance and benefit -- law must be observed by all for the benefit of all. - What would life be without law -- the need for internal order is as constant as need for external defense. - What does law do -- secures justice, resolves conflict, orders society, protects interests, control social relations. - What is our duty as members of society -- every citizen should have some understanding of law. - Sources of Law: - Constitution -- written instrument by which the fundamental powers of the government are established, limited, and defined. - Legislation -- declaration of legal rules by competent authority; acts passed are called enacted/statute law. - Administrative/Executive Orders, Regulations, and Rulings -- issued by administrative officials under legislative authority. - Judicial Decisions/Jurisprudence -- decisions of the courts particularly the Supreme Court; decisions of a superior court are called doctrine of precedent or stare decisis. - Custom -- habits and practices which go through long and uninterrupted usage. - Other Sources -- may consist of principles of justice and equity. - Organization of Courts: - Regular Courts -- Philippine judicial system consists of hierarchy of courts resembling a pyramid with the Supreme Court at the apex. - Court of appeals - Regional Trial Courts - Metropolitan Trial Courts; Municipal Trial Courts; Municipal Circuit Trial Courts - Special Courts -- special anti-graft court (Sandiganbayan); forms part of the judicial hierarchy together with the Court of Tax Appeals. - Quasi-judicial Agencies -- administrative bodies under the executive branch - National Labor Relations Commission - Securities and Exchange Commission - Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board - Insurance Commission - Independent Constitutional Commission - Civil Service Commission - Commission on Elections - Commission on Audit - Classifications of Law: - As to its purpose: - Substantive Law -- portion of the body of law creating and defining rights (Law on Obligation and Contracts) - Adjective Law -- prescribing the manner or procedure by which rights may be enforced. - As to its subject matter: - Public Law -- body of legal rules which regulates rights and duties arising from relationships (Criminal/International/Constitutional/Administrative Law). - Private law -- regulates relations of individuals with one another. - Law on Obligations and Contracts -- deals with the nature and sources of obligations and rights. - Civil Code of the Philippines (RA 386) -- divided into four books: Book IV of the Civil Code. **II. OBLIGATIONS** - Obligation (Latin obligatio -- tying or binding) -- tie or bond recognized by law by virtue of which one is bound in favor of another to render something; consist in giving a thing, doing a certain act, or not doing a certain act. - Civil Code: Article 1156 -- an obligation is a juridical necessity to give, do, or not do. - Juridical Necessity -- in case of noncompliance, the courts of justice may be called upon by the aggrieved party to enforce its fulfilment. - Essential Requisites of an Obligation: - Passive Subject/Debtor/Obligor -- person who is bound to the fulfilment of the obligation; he who has a duty. - Active Subject/Creditor/Obligee -- person entitled to demand the fulfilment of the obligation; he who has a right. - Object/Prestation/Subject Matter of the Obligation -- conduct required to be observed by the debtor; consist in giving, doing, or not doing; without this, there is nothing to perform. - Juridical Tie/Legal Tie/Efficient Cause -- that which binds or connects the parties to the obligation. - Forms of Obligations: - Oral - In Writing - Partly Oral and Partly in Writing - Difference Between: - Obligation -- act or performance which the law will enforce. - Right -- power which a person has under law, to demand from one another any prestation. - Wrong -- act or omission of one party in violation of the legal right or of another (injury). - Kinds of Obligation According to the Subject Matter: - Real Obligation -- obligation to give; the subject matter is a thing which the obligor must deliver to the obligee. - Personal Obligation -- to do or not do; subject matter is an act to be done or not to be done. - Positive -- obligation to do or render service. - Negative -- not to do or give. - Source of Obligations: - Law -- when they are imposed by the law itself. - Legal Obligation -- obligations arising from law; not presumed because they are considered a burden upon the obligor; they are the exception, not the rule. To be demandable, they must be clearly set forth in the law. - Contracts -- when they arise from the stipulation of the parties. - Contract -- meeting of minds between two parties whereby one binds himself, with respect to the other. - Contractual Obligations -- obligations arising from contracts or voluntary agreements; presumed that the contracts entered into are valid and enforceable. - Quasi-contracts -- arise from lawful, voluntary, and unilateral acts which are enforceable to the end that no one shall be unjustly enriched or benefited at the expense of another. - Quasi-contract -- juridical relation resulting from lawful acts by virtue of which the parties become bound to each other. - Negotiorum gestio -- voluntary management of the property or affairs of another without the knowledge or consent of the latter. - Solutio indebiti -- juridical relation which is created when something is received when there is no right to demand it. - There is no right to receive the thing delivered. - The thing was delivered by mistake. - Quasi-contractual Obligation -- obligations that arise from quasi-contracts or contracts implied by law. - Crimes or Acts or Omission Punished by Law -- when they arise from civil liability which is the consequence of a criminal offense. - The extent of the civil liability for damages arising from crimes is governed by the Revised Penal Code and the Civil Code: - Restitution - Reparation for the damages caused - Indemnification for consequential damages - Quasi-delicts or Torts -- they arise from damage caused to another through an act or omission, there being fault or negligence, but no contractual relation exists between the parties. - Quasi-delict -- act or omission by a person (tortfeasor) which causes damage to another in his person, property, or rights giving rise to an obligation to pay for damage done. - Requisites: - There must be an act or omission - There must be fault or negligence - There must be damage caused - There must be a direct relation or connection of cause and effect between the act or omission and the damage, and - There is no pre-existing contractual relation between the parties - (Actually, there are only two sources: law and contracts, because obligations arising from quasi-contracts, delicts, and quasi-delicts are really imposed by law.) **III. NATURE AND EFFECT OF OBLIGATIONS** - Article 1163: "Every person obliged to give something is also obliged to take care of it with the proper diligence of a good father of a family, unless the law or the stipulation of the parties requires another standard of care." - "Something" -- an obligation involving specific or determinate thing. - Specific/Determinate Thing -- a particularly designated or physically segregated thing from others of the same class. - The debtor cannot substitute a determinate thing with another although the latter is of the same kind and quality without the consent of the creditor. - Duties of Debtor in an Obligation to Give Determinate Thing: - Preserve the thing -- the obligor has the incidental duty to take care of the thing. - Deliver the fruits of the thing -- Article 1164. - Deliver the accessions and accessories -- Article 1166. - Deliver the thing itself. - Answer for damages in case of non-fulfillment or breach -- Article 1170. - Generic/Indeterminate Thing -- refers only to a class or genus to which it pertains and cannot be pointed out with particularity. - The debtor can give anything of the same class as long as it is of the same kind. - Duties of Debtor in an Obligation to Give Indeterminate Thing: - To deliver a thing which is of the quality intended by the parties taking into consideration the purpose of the obligation and other circumstances. - To be liable for the damages in case of fraud, negligence, or delay, in the performance of his obligation, or contravention of the tenor thereof. - Article 1164: "The creditor has a right to the fruits of the thing from the time the obligation to deliver it arises. However, he shall acquire no real right over it until the same has been delivered to him. - The creditor is entitled to the fruits of the thing to be delivered from the time the obligation to make delivery arises. The intention of the law is to protect the interest of the obligee should the obligor commit delay, purposely or otherwise, in the fulfillment of his obligation. The obligation to deliver the thing due and, consequently, the fruits thereof, if any arises from the time of the "perfection of the contract." - Kinds of Fruits mentioned by the law: - Natural Fruits -- spontaneous products of the soil and the young and other products of animals (Grass, Tress, Plants). - Industrial Fruits -- produced by lands of any kind through cultivation or labor (Sugar cane, Vegetables, Rice). - Civil Fruits -- those derived by virtue of a juridical relation (Rents of buildings, Price of leases). - Meaning of Personal Right and Real Right: - Personal Right -- the right or power of a person (creditor) to demand from the another (debtor), as a definitive passive subject, the fulfillment of the latter's obligation to give, to do, or not to do. - Real Right -- the right or interest of a person over a specific thing (ownership, possession, mortgage), without a definite passive subject against whom the right may be personally enforced. - Ownership and other real rights over property are acquired and transmitted in consequence of certain contracts by tradition (Article 712) or delivery. - Article 1165: "When what is to be delivered is a determinate thing, the creditor, in addition to the right granted him by Article 1170, may compel the debtor to make the delivery. If the thing is indeterminate or generic, he may ask that the obligation be complied with at the expense of the debtor. If the obligor delays, or has promised to deliver the same thing to two or more persons who do not have the same interest, he shall be responsible for fortuitous event until he has effected the delivery." - Remedies of Creditor in Real Obligation: - In a specific real obligation (obligation to deliver a determinate thing), the creditor may exercise the following remedies or rights in case the debtor fails to comply with his obligation: - Demand specific performance or fulfillment (if it is still possible) of the obligation with a right to indemnity for damages; or - Demand rescission or cancellation (in certain cases) of the obligation also with a right to recover damages (Article 1170); or - Demand payment of damages only, where it is the only feasible remedy. - In an obligation to deliver a determinate thing, the very thing itself must be delivered (Article 1244). Consequently, only the debtor can comply with the obligation. This is the reason why the creditor is granted the right to compel the debtor to make the delivery (Article 1165, par. 1). It should be clear, however, that the law does not mean that the creditor can use force or violence upon the debtor. The creditor must bring the matter to court and the court will be the one to order the delivery. - A generic real obligation can be performed by a third person since the object is expressed only according to its family or genus. It is, thus, not necessary for the creditor to compel the debtor to make the delivery, although he may ask for performance of the obligation. In any case, the creditor has the right to recover damages under Article 1170 in case of breach or violation of the obligation. The manner of compliance with an obligation to deliver a generic thing is governed by Article 1246. - Article 1166: "The obligation to give a determinate thing includes that of delivering all its accessions and accessories, even though they may not have been mentioned." - Meaning of Accessions and Accessories: - Accessions -- fruits of a thing or additions to or improvements upon a thing/property; permanent and integral part (house or trees on land, AC in car). - Accessories -- things joined to or included with the principal thing for the latter's embellishment, better use, or completion, but can be removed without damaging the principal object; not essential to the function (key of a house, frame of a picture, bow of a violin). - While accessions are not necessary to the principal thing, the accessory and the principal thing must go together. - Right of Creditor to Accessions and Accessories: - All accessions and accessories are considered included in the obligation to deliver a determinate thing although they may not have been mentioned. - Unless otherwise stipulated, an obligation to deliver the accessions or accessories of a thing does not include the latter. - Article 1167: "If a person obliged to do something fails to do it, the same shall be executed at his cost. The same rule shall be observed if he does it in contravention of the tenor of the obligation. Furthermore, it may be decreed that what has been poorly done be undone." - Refers to an obligation to do (to perform an act or render a service). It contemplates three situations: - The debtor fails to perform an obligation to do; - The debtor performs an obligation to do but contrary to the terms thereof; or - The debtor performs an obligation to do but in poor manner. - Remedies of Creditor in Positive Personal Obligation: - If the debtor fails to comply with his obligation to do, the creditor has the right to: - To have the obligation performed by himself, or by another, unless personal considerations are involved, at the debtor's expense; and - To recover damages (Article 1170). - In case the obligation is done in contravention of the terms of the same or is poorly done, it may be ordered (by the court upon complaint) that it be undone if it is still possible to undo what was done. - A personal obligation to do, like a real obligation to deliver a generic thing, can be performed by a third person. While the debtor can be compelled to make the delivery of a specific thing, a specific performance cannot be ordered in a personal obligation to do because this may amount to involuntary servitude which, as a rule, is prohibited under our Constitution. - Where, however, the personal qualifications of the debtor are the determining motive for the obligation contracted, the performance of the same by another would be impossible or would result to be so different that the obligation could not be considered performed. Hence, the only feasible remedy of the creditor is indemnification for damages. But where the obligation can still be performed at the expense of the debtor notwithstanding his failure or refusal to do so, the court is not authorized to merely grant damages to the creditor. - Article 1168: "When the obligation consist in not doing, and the obligor does what has been forbidden him, it shall also be undone at his expense." - Remedies of Creditor in Negative Personal Obligation: - In obligation not to do, the duty of the obligor is to abstain from an act. Here, there is no specific performance. The very obligation is fulfilled in not doing what is forbidden. Hence, in this kind of obligation, the debtor cannot be guilty of delay. - As a rule, the remedy of the obligee is the undoing of the forbidden thing plus damages. However if it is not possible to undo what was done, either physically or legally, or because of rights acquired by third persons who acted in good faith, or for some other reason, his remedy is an action for damages caused by the debtor's violation of his obligation.