ELEMENTS OF AN OBLIGATION - 1129 PJP 19 (2019)
According to Article 1156 of the New Civil Code of the Philippines (NCC), an obligation is a juridical necessity to give, to do, or not to do.[1] Thus, it is a legal bond (vinculum juris) by which one or more parties (also known as “obligants”) are bound to deliver a thing, to perform an act, or not to do an act in accordance with the terms and conditions of their legal agreement.
An obligation is a juridical necessity because there are legal repercussions for noncompliance (also known as “breach”). As a result, in the eyes of the law, by their mere consent over the object and the consideration of their contract, contracting parties forge a law between or among them. Noncompliance with this may entitle the aggrieved party to go to court and demand that damages be paid.
Justinian defined an obligation (obligatio) in his Institutiones as “a legal bond, with which we are bound by the necessity of performing some act according to the laws of our [state].”[2] He further separated the law on obligations into contracts, delicts, quasi-contracts, and quasi-delicts.[3] In the context of Philippine law, this is true as an obligation, according to the NCC, may arise from law, contracts, quasi-contracts, delicts, and quasi-delicts.[4]
There are observations, however, that there are only two sources of obligations, i.e., law and contracts. This is because obligations arising from quasi-contracts, quasi-delicts, and delicts are provided for by law.
Every obligation has four essential elements: (a) an active subject; (b) a passive subject; (c) prestation; and (d) legal tie.
- The ACTIVE SUBJECT is the person who has the right or power to demand the performance or payment of the obligation. He is also called the obligee or the creditor. In a debtor-creditor relationship, the person who has the power to collect payment is the active subject. This subject is so-called “active” because, in case of a breach, it is the creditor’s active participation and pursuit that may result in compliance or a favorable judgment from the court. In short, s/he is the one who must actively demand.
- The PASSIVE SUBJECT is the person bound to perform or to pay. He is the one against whom the obligation can be demanded. He is also called the obligor or the debtor. In a debtor-creditor relationship, the person from whom collection may be demanded or, in other words, the person who is expected to pay is the passive subject. This subject is so-called “passive” because, in case of a breach, s/he is the one who awaits a demand from the active subject.
- PRESTATION is the object of the contract. It is the conduct required to be observed by the debtor or the obligor. It may be an obligation to give, to do, or not to do. Insofar as a creditor in a loan agreement is concerned, the object of the contract is payment.
- The VINCULUM JURIS is also known as the juridical or legal tie. Other authors call it the “efficient cause.” It is that, according to De Leon, which binds or connects the parties to the obligation. In other words, it is the legal relation between the debtor and the creditor (or obligor and obligee), which gives rise to the obligation. In a mother-and-child relationship, the vinculum juris is the law that imposes upon the mother the obligation to support the child.
If one has an obligation to do something, it is his/her duty to do that thing.[5] In Black's Law Dictionary, an obligation is a moral or legal duty to perform or not perform an act. Some legal scholars, including Fredrick Pollock, claim that obligation is another word for duty; however, this is not always the case as the term “obligation” is technical in the civil law sense.
The legal sense of obligation from early Roman law[6] claims that obligations are the bond of vinculum juris, or legal necessity, between at least two individuals or parties.[7] Also, in Roman law, as with its successor, civil law, theorists describe a fundamental feature of obligations (torts and contracts) by the legal tie, the vinculum juris that it creates between two persons.[8] In other words, two persons are strangers in the eyes of the law until they agree to bind themselves to each other or unless the law creates such a bond.
“Vinculum juris” literally means “the chain of law. It is a term that refers to the binding nature of a legal obligation.[9]
[1] ALBURO LAW, CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS DURING COVID-19, https://www.alburolaw.com/contractual-obligations-of-businesses-during-covid-19/.
[2] WIKIPEDIA, Legal relationship, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_relationship.
[3] JUSTINIAN. Institute. Trans. John B. Moyle. [Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1889) at 132].
[4] CIVIL CODE, Article 1157.
[5] COLLINS DICTIONARY, “Legal obligation,” www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/legal-obligation.
[6] THE LAWYERS & JURISTS, Law Of Obligations, https://www.lawyersnjurists.com/article/law-of-obligations.
[7] UP COUNSEL, “Definition of obligation in law,” www.upcounsel.com/definition-of-obligation-in-law.
[8] DUHAIME, “Vinculum juris,” www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/V/VinculumJuris.aspx.
[9] OXFORD REFERENCE, “Vinculum juris,” www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195369380.001.0001/acref-9780195369380-e-2107.