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Article 19 and the Chapter on Human Relations

 

Persons 12: Art. 19 and the Chapter on Human Relations (lexinmotion)

The Chapter on Human Relations exists to prescribe the norm of conduct, or the things we have to observe, to comply with and to abide by, when we deal with other human beings. This chapter tells us about the limits of our rights, the specific causes of action or bases for legal action and the remedies for the violation of our rights.

Art. 19 of the Civil Code provides that, “Every person must, in the exercise of his rights and in the performance of his duties, act with justice, give everyone his due and observe honesty and good faith.”

-       This provision may be used in questions specifically referring to a problem involving abuse of rights

Art. 19 of the Civil Code is also known as the principle of abuse of rights, because it tells us the hard limits of our rights. It also defines for us the maximum limitations of our rights and how these rights should be exercised.

The right of the owner of an animal is not absolute. If the same animal causes damage to another, at the time and place any person has the right to defend himself, his family and his property.

Noe censis - defined under Art. 694 of the Civil Code

The right to the freedom of expression is not absolute.There are certain limitations, like the crime of libel

If we fail to do three things under Art.19 of the Civil Code, then to a certain extent, we are abusing our rights. Our rights are guaranteed by law, but if we misuse or more accurately, abuse these rights, then they can be the source of some illegalities.

There is an abuse of rights when the following requisites concur:

  1. There is a legal right or duty
  2. It is exercised in bad faith
  3. The sole intention is to prejudice or cause injury to another

...Art. 19 prescribes that a person should not use his right unjustly or contrary to honesty and good faith, otherwise he opens himself to liability. It seeks to preclude the use of, or the tendency to use, a legal right (or duty) as a means to unjust ends.

There is an abuse of right when it is exercised solely to prejudice or injure another. The exercise of the right must be in accordance with the purpose for which it was established and must not be excessive or unduly harsh; there must be no intention to harm another. Otherwise, liability for damages to the injured party will attach.”

Under the law of sales, the seller of a personal property on installments (motor na hulugan)

Seller’s options if ever the buyer can’t pay hulugan

  1. Exact fulfillment of the sale
  2. Cancel the sale
  3. Foreclose the mortgage if one has been constituted (hindi na niya pwede habulin ang kulang)

The three duties under Art. 19 are (1) act with justice, (2) give everyone his due, (3) observe honesty and good faith

 

In the case of Philippine National Bank vs. De Jesus, the SC teaches us that, “good faith, here understood, is an intangible and abstract quality with no technical meaning of statutory definition, and it encompasses among other things, an honest belief, the absence of malice and the absence of design to defraud or to seek an unconscionable advantage. An individual’s personal good faith is a concept of his own mind and, therefore, may not conclusively be determined by his protestations alone. It implies honesty of intention  and freedom from knowledge of circumstances which ought to put the holder upon inquiry. The essence of good faith lies in an honest belief in the validity of one’s right, ignorance of a superior claim, and absence of intention to overreach another.”

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