PRESUMPTION OF SURVIVORSHIP

If there is a doubt, as between two or more persons who are called to

succeed each other, as to which of them died first, whoever alleges the
death of one prior to the other, shall prove the same; in the absence of
proof, it is presumed that they died at the same time and there shall be
no transmission of rights from one to the other. When two persons perish
in the same calamity, such as a wreck, battle, or conflagration and it is
not shown who died first, and there are no particular circumstances
from which it can be inferred, the survivorship is presumed the
probabilities resulting from the strength and age of the sexes, according
to the following rules. If both were under the age of fifteen years, the
older is presumed to have survived. If both were above the age of sixty,
the younger is presumed to have survived. If one be under fifteen and
the other above sixty, the former is presumed to have survived.
DOCTRINE OF NECESSARY IMPLICATIONS

The doctrine of necessary implications means that “that

which is plainly implied in the language of a statute is as
much a part of it as that which is expressed”.

No statute can be enacted that can provide all the details involved in its
application. There is always an omission that may not meet a particular situation.
What is thought, at the time of enactment, to be an all-embracing legislation may
be inadequate to provide for the unfolding events of the future. So-called gaps in
the law develop as the law is enforced. One of the rules of statutory construction
used to fill in the gap is the doctrine of necessary implication. Every statute is
understood, by implication, to contain all such provisions as may be necessary to
effectuate its object and purpose, or to make effective rights, powers, privileges
or jurisdiction which it grants, including all such collateral and subsidiary
consequences as may be fairly and logically inferred from its terms. Ex
necessitate legis.
COLLATERAL ATTACK DOCTRINE

A decree of registration and registered title cannot be

impugned, enlarged, altered, modified, or diminished either
in collateral or direct proceeding, after the lapse of one
year from the date of its entry. In terms of marriage, as a
general rule, a void marriage may be collaterally attacked.
This means that the nullity of a marriage can be asserted
even if it is not the main or principal issue of a case and
that no previous judicial declaration of nullity is required by
law (except for remarriage) with respect to any other
matter where the issue of the voidness of a marriage is
pertinent or material, either directly or indirectly.
WAIVER

It is the intentional or voluntary relinquishment of a known

right or such conduct as warrants and inference of the
relinquishment of such right.

Requisites for a valid waiver: 1. waiving party must actually

have the right he is renouncing 2. he must have full
capacity to make the waiver 3. waiver must be clear and
unequivocal -waiver must not be contrary to law, public
order, public morals, etc. -when formalities are required,
they must be complied with.
CONTRA BONUS MORES

Means against good morals and is applied through Article

19, 20 and 21 of the New Civil Code of the Philippines.
Article 21 deals with acts contra bonus mores, and has the
following elements: 1) There is an act which is legal; 2) but
which is contrary to morals, good custom, public order, or
public policy; 3) and it is done with intent to injure. Thus,
under any of these three (3) provisions of law, an act which
causes injury to another may be made the basis for an
award of damages.
MEETING OF THE MINDS IN A CONTRACT OF SALE

This doctrine speaks of the intent of the parties in entering

into the contract respecting the subject matter and the
consideration thereof, and if the words of the contract
appear to be contrary to the evident intention of the
parties, the latter shall prevail over the former.
RIGHT OF ACCRETION

Article 457 of the Civil Code provides that to the owners of

lands adjoining the banks of rivers belong the accretion
which they gradually receive from the effects of the current
of the waters. This doctrine has 3 requisites: 1. that the
deposit be gradual and imperceptible; 2. that it be made
through the effects of the current of the water; and 3. that
the land where accretion takes place is adjacent to the
banks of rivers.
ALLUVIAL FORMATION

Alluvial formations along the seashore forms part of the

public domain and therefore, not open to the acquisition by
adverse possession by private persons. The adjoining
registered owner of the foreshore land cannot claim
ownership by right of accretion.
RIGHT OF ACCESSION

Riverbeds which are abandoned through the natural change in the

course of waters ipso facto belongs to the owners whose lands are
occupied by the new course in proportion to the area lost. However, the
owners of the lands adjoining the old bed, shall have the right to acquire
the same by paying the value thereof – which value shall not exceed the
value of the area occupied by the new bed. Requisites of the application
of Art. 461 of the New Civil Code in accordance to the aforementioned
doctrine are: 1. The change must be sudden in order that the old river
may be identified; 2. The changing of the course must be more or less
permanent, and not temporary overflowing of another’s land; 3. The
change of the river must be natural; 4. There must be definite
abandonment of the government; 5. The river must continue to exist,
that is, it must not completely dry up or disappear.
RESCISSION

Resolution of litigation is not a condition to rescission. Contracts which are

rescissible due to fraud or bad faith include those which involve things under
litigation, if they have been entered into by the defendant without the knowledge
and approval of the litigants or of competent judicial authority. Thus, Article 1381
(4) of the Civil Code provides: “The following contracts are rescissible: (4) Those
which refer to things under litigation if they have been entered into by the
defendant without the knowledge and approval of the litigants or of competent
judicial authority.” The rescission of a contract under Article 1381 (4) of the Civil
Code only requires the concurrence of the following: first, the defendant, during
the pendency of the case, enters into a contract which refers to the thing subject
of litigation; and second, the said contract was entered into without the
knowledge and approval of the litigants or of a competent judicial authority. As
long as the foregoing requisites concur, it becomes the duty of the court to order
the rescission of the said contract.
JUS SANGUINIS

Latin of right of blood, it is a principle of nationality law by

which citizenship is not determined by place of birth but by
having instead one or both parents who are citizens of the
state or more generally by having state citizenship or
membership to a nation determined or conferred by -ethnic,
cultural or other- descent or origin.
POLITICAL QUESTION

These are non-justiciable cases that are beyond the

jurisdiction, competence or ability of even the Supreme
Court to decide. The so-called Political Question Doctrine
holds that it would be a meaningless, inconsistent,
contradictory and unacceptable self-referential invalidation
for a Supreme Court to even take up the validity or
legitimacy or Constitutionality of the revolution, coup
d'etat, or other political process that established that
Constitution and the Court.
LIS PENDENS

Lis pendens literally means a pending suit. Doctrine that refers to the
jurisdiction, power or control which a court acquires over a property involved
in a suit, pending the continuance of the action, until final judgment. The
reasons behind the doctrine are first, to protect the rights of the party
causing the registration of the lis pendens, second is to advise third persons
who purchase or contract on the subject property that they do so at their
peril and subject to the result of the pending litigation. It may involve actions
that deal not only with title or possession of a property but also with the use
and occupation of a property. The litigation must directly involve a specific
property which is necessarily affected by the judgment. The notice of lis
pendens is a notice to the whole world that a particular real property is in
litigation. The inscription serves as a warning that one who acquires interest
over litigated property does so at his own risk, or that he gambles on the
result of the litigation over the property.
DOCTRINE OF OSTENSIBLE AGENCY

The doctrine which imposes liability, not as the result of

the reality of a contractual relationship, but rather because
of the actions of a principal or an employer in somehow
misleading the public into believing that the relationship or
the authority exists.
REFORMATION OF WRITTEN INSTRUMENTS

Reformation of an instrument is that remedy in equity by

means of which a written instrument is made or construed
so as to express or conform to the real intention of the
parties when some error or mistake has been committed. It
is predicated on the equitable maxim that equity treats as
done that which ought to be done. The rationale of the
doctrine is that it would be unjust and unequitable to allow
the enforcement of a written instrument which does not
reflect or disclose the real meeting of the minds of the
parties. However, an action for reformation must be
brought within the period prescribed by law, otherwise, it
will be barred by the mere lapse of time.

SELF-HELP DOCTRINE

Doctrine in juridical science which holds that a person has

the right to exclude another from the enjoyment and
disposal of his property, with authority to use such force as
may be reasonably necessary to repel or prevent an actual
or threatened unlawful physical invasion or usurpation
thereof.
REGALIAN DOCTRINE

All lands of public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum and other
mineral oils, all forces of potential energy, fisheries, wildlife, and other
natural resources of the Philippines belong to the State. With the exception
of agricultural, industrial or commercial, residential, or resettlement lands of
the public domain, natural resources shall not be alienated, and no license,
concession, or lease for the exploration, or utilization of any of the natural
resources shall be granted for a period exceeding twenty five years, except
as to water rights for irrigation, water supply, fisheries, or industrial uses
other than development of water power, in which cases, beneficial use may
by the measure and the limit of the grant.

There is an existence of native title to land, or ownership of land by Filipinos by

virtue of possession under a claim of ownership since time immemorial and
independent of any grant from the Spanish Crown, as an exception to the theory
of jura regalia.

ACT OF GOD DOCTRINE/FORTUITOUS EVENT

The doctrine that requires all human agencies to be

excluded from creating the cause of the mischief. Such
doctrine cannot be invoked to protect a person who has
failed to take steps to forestall the possible adverse
consequences of loss or injury. Since the delay in payment
in the present case was partly a result of human
participation ‐ whether from active intervention or neglect ‐
the whole occurrence was humanized and was therefore
outside the ambit of a caso fortuito.
RES NULLIUS

Res nullius, is a Latin-based legal term that refers to a property or object that has
no owner or has been abandoned. The term is derived from Roman law and, when
translated, literally means "nobody’s property." There are a variety of objects that
can be claimed as res nullius and are considered ownerless property, meaning
they are free to be owned.

In this definition, the object, or ‘res’, must be something a person can claim to
own. While the law covers animals and land, the object in question cannot be a
person, though its original meaning covered slaves as property rather than as
people. As stated by law, if the owner of an object abandons or gives up his
property, then it is automatically deemed res nullius. Traditionally, the abandoned
property can then be owned by any person and the person who first takes
possession of said property is deemed its rightful owner. Res nullius does not
apply to any object or property that has been stolen or illegally acquired, only to
property that has no owner or has been abandoned.
FORCE MAJEURE

Force majeure is generally intended to include risks beyond the

reasonable control of a party, incurred not as a product or result of the
negligence or malfeasance of a party, which have a materially adverse
effect on the ability of such party to perform its obligations, as where
non-performance is caused by the usual and natural consequences of
external forces (for example, predicted rain stops an outdoor event), or
where the intervening circumstances are specifically contemplated.

The Civil Code which provides that except in cases expressly specified
by the law, or when it is otherwise declared by stipulation, or when the
nature of the obligation requires assumption of risk, no person shall be
responsible for those events which could not be foreseen, or which
though foreseen, were inevitable.
ADHERENCE OF JURISDICTION

Once jurisdiction is vested in the court, it is retained up to

the end of the litigation, it remains with the court until the
case is finally terminated .

The exception to the rule: when a newly enacted statute

changing the jurisdiction of a court is given retroactive
effect. It can divest a court of jurisdiction over cases
already pending before it which were filed before the
statute came to force or became effective.
PRESUMED REVOCATION

Where a will which cannot be found, is shown to have been

in the possession of the testator when last seen, the
presumption is, in the absence of other competent
evidence, that the same was cancelled or destroyed.
DEPENDENT RELATIVE REVOCATION

The failure of a new testamentary disposition upon whose

validity the revocation depends, is equivalent to the non-
fulfillment of a suspensive conditions, and hence prevents
the revocation of the original will. But a mere intent to
make at some time a will in the place of that destroyed will
not render the destruction conditional. It must appear that
the revocation is dependent upon the valid execution of a
new will.
POWER TO RESCIND OBLIGATIONS

The power to rescind obligations is implied in reciprocal

ones, in case one of the obligors should not comply with
what is incumbent upon him. The injured party may choose
between the fulfillment and the rescission of the obligation,
with the payment of damages in either case. He may also
seek rescission, even after he has chosen fulfillment, if the
latter should become impossible. The court shall decree
the rescission claimed, unless there be just cause
authorizing the fixing of a period. This is understood to be
without prejudice to the rights of third persons who have
acquired the thing, in accordance with Laws.
MIRROR DOCTRINE

The general rule is that a purchaser may be considered a purchaser in good faith when
he has examined the latest certificate of title. An exception to this rule is when there
exist important facts that would create suspicion in an otherwise reasonable man to
go beyond the present title and to investigate those that preceded it. Thus, it has been
said that a person who deliberately ignores a significant fact which would create
suspicion in an otherwise reasonable man is not an innocent purchaser for value. A
purchaser cannot close his eyes to facts which should put a reasonable man upon his
guard, and then claim that he acted in good faith under the belief that there was no
defect in the title of the vendor as has been held in other cases, if the buyer fails to
take the ordinary precautions which a prudent man would have taken under the
circumstances, specially in buying a piece of land in the actual, visible and public
possession of another person, other than the vendor, constitutes gross negligence
amounting to bad faith. In this connection, it has been held that where, the land sold is
in the possession of a person other than the vendor, the purchaser is required to go
beyond the certificate of title to make inquiries concerning the rights of the actual
possessor. Failure to do so would make him purchaser in bad faith.
PUBLICATION OF EXTRA-JUDICIAL SETTLEMENT

The publication of the settlement does not constitute

constructive notice to the heirs who had no knowledge or did not
take part in it because the same was notice after the fact of
execution. The requirement of publication is geared for the
protection of creditors and was never intended to deprive heirs of
their lawful participation in the decedent’s estate. In this
connection, the records of the present case confirm that
respondents never signed either of the settlement documents,
having discovered their existence only shortly before the filing of
the present complaint. Following Rule 74, these extrajudicial
settlements do not bind respondents, and the partition made
without their knowledge and consent is invalid insofar as they
are concerned.
MINORITY IN A CONTRACT/ESTOPPEL

In the Mercado case, the minors who pretended or actively

misrepresented their age were estopped from contesting
the contract executed by him. However, in the case of
Bambalan vs Maramba (51 Phil 417 G.R. No. L-27710, 1928),
it was not applied because the minors passively
misrepresented or did not pretend their age and his
minority was known to the purchaser.
BURCA DOCTRINE (Burca v. Republic)

By constitutional and legal precepts, an alien woman who

marries a Filipino citizen, does not by mere fact of marriage
automatically become a Filipino Citizen. The reason is that
she must possess all the qualification and none of the
disqualifications for naturalization.
APPARENT SIGN

Easements are inseparable from the estate to which they

actively or passively pertain. The existence of apparent
sign under Art. 624 is equivalent to a title. It is as if there is
an implied contract between the two new owners that the
easement should be constituted, since no one objected to
the continued existence of the windows.
CLERICAL ERROR

A clerical error does not take away equity.

CULPA AQUILIANA

In Culpa Aquiliana, or quasi-delict,

(a) when an act or omission causes physical injuries, or

(b) where the defendant is guilty of intentional tort, moral

damages may aptly be recovered.

This rule also applies, as aforestated, to contracts when

breached by tort.
RES INTER ALIOS ACTA

This is a technical phrase which signifies acts of others, or

transactions between others. Neither the declarations nor
any other acts of those who are mere strangers, or, as it is
usually termed, any res inter alios acta, are admissible in
evidence against anyone. When the party against whom
such acts are offered in evidence, was privy to the act, the
objection ceases; it is no longer res inter alios.
OBITER DICTUM

These are opinions not necessary to the determination of a

case. They are not binding and cannot have force of
judicial precedents. It has been said that an obiter dictum
is an opinion “uttered by the way, not upon the point of
question pending.” “It is as if the court were turning aside
from the main topic of the case to collateral subjects.
PARI MATERIA

Statutes are said to be in pari materia when they relate to the same
person or thing, or to the same class of persons or things, or have the
same purpose or object. When statutes are in pari materia, the rule of
statutory construction dictates that they should be construed together.
This is because enactments of the same legislature on the same subject
matter are supposed to form part of one uniform system; that later
statutes are supplementary or complimentary to the earlier enactments
and in the passage of its acts the legislature is supposed to have in mind
the existing legislation on the same subject and to have enacted its new
act with reference thereto. Having thus in mind the previous statutes
relating to the same subject matter, whenever the legislature enacts a
new law, it is deemed to have enacted the new provision in accordance
with the legislative policy embodied in those prior statutes unless there
is an express repeal of the old and they all should be construed
together.