NATURE AND EFFECT OF OBLIGATIONS

(1ST LECTURE)
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

 Meaning of specific or determinate thing

o Generic or indeterminate thing- when it 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.
o Specific or determinate- particularly designated or physically segregated others of the
same class. The debtor cannot substitute it with another although the latter is of the same
kind and quality without the consent of the creditor
 Duties of debtor in obligation to give a determinate thing
o Diligence of a good father of a family- “ordinary care”
o Another standard of care- if the law or stipulation of the parties provide
o Factors to be considered- the diligence required is contingent upon the nature of the
obligation and correspond to the circumstances of the person, time and of the place.
o Reason for debtor’s obligation- diligence must be exercised to insure that the thing to be
delivered would subsist in the same condition as it was when the obligation was
contracted.
 Deliver the fruits of thing
 Deliver the accessions and accessories
 Deliver the thing itself
 Answer for damages in case of non-fulfillment or breach
ARTICLE 1164. The creditor has a right to the fruits of the thing from the time the obligation to deliver
arises. However, he shall acquire no real right over it until the same has been delivered to him.

 Different kinds of fruits

o Natural fruits- spontaneous products of the soil. and the young and other products of
animals
o Industrial fruits- produced by lands of any kind through cultivation of labor
o Civil fruits- those derived by virtue of a juridical relation
 When obligation to deliver fruits arises
o Perfection of the contract
o If obligation is subject to a suspensive condition or period
o In a contract of sale
o In obligations to give arising from law
 Meaning of personal right and real right
o Personal right- right or power of person to demand from another. There is a definitive
active subject and a definite passive subject. It is binding or enforceable only against a
particular person.
o Real right- right or interest of a person over a specific thing. There is only a definite active
subject without any definite passive subject. It is directed against the whole world.
 He shall acquire no real right over it until the same has been delivered to him.
o The creditor does not become the owner until the specific thing has been delivered to
him.
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 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 the fortuitous event until he has effected the delivery.
 Remedies of creditor in real obligation
o In a specific real obligation, the creditor may exercise the following remedies:
 Demand specific performance or fulfillment of the obligation with the right to
indemnity for damages
 Demand rescission or cancellation of the obligation also with a right to recover
damages
 Demand payment of damages only, where is the only feasible remedy