Short answer. Article 1520 lets a creditor go to court for aid, by injunction or otherwise, to attach the negotiable document itself or satisfy the claim through it, using whatever remedy at law or in equity applies to property that ordinary legal process cannot readily attach or levy upon.
What the law says
A creditor whose debtor is the owner of a negotiable document of title shall be entitled to such aid from courts of appropriate jurisdiction by injunction and otherwise in attaching such document or in satisfying the claim by means thereof as is allowed at law or in equity in regard to property which cannot readily be attached or levied upon by ordinary legal process.
Civil Code, Article 1520 — Creditor's Remedy Against the Document. Read the full provision →
Ordinary attachment does not work on the goods directly
A negotiable document of title, such as a warehouse receipt or bill of lading, represents goods that are usually held by a third party like a warehouseman or carrier, not by the debtor personally. Because the document itself, rather than physical possession, controls who can claim the goods, ordinary levy or attachment procedures aimed at property in a debtor's direct possession do not fit neatly. Article 1520 exists because this kind of property, in the words of the article, cannot readily be attached or levied upon by ordinary legal process.
The remedy: court aid by injunction and other means
Article 1520 gives the creditor a path around that gap. It provides that a creditor whose debtor is the owner of a negotiable document of title shall be entitled to such aid from courts of appropriate jurisdiction by injunction and otherwise in attaching such document or in satisfying the claim by means thereof. Rather than trying to seize the goods physically, the creditor can seek the court's assistance to reach the document that represents them, or otherwise use that document to satisfy the debt, through whatever equitable relief the situation calls for.
Why the law treats the document as the target
Because a negotiable document of title can be transferred to someone else, whoever properly holds it generally controls the right to the goods it represents. Letting a creditor attach only the physical goods, while ignoring the document, would leave the debtor free to transfer the document to a third party and effectively move the goods beyond the creditor's reach. Directing the remedy at the document itself, with the court's help, closes that gap and lets the creditor's claim actually follow the property it is meant to reach.
What this means practically for a creditor
If your debtor owns goods that are represented by a negotiable warehouse receipt, bill of lading, or similar document rather than being in the debtor's own hands, going after the physical goods alone is unlikely to be effective. Article 1520 points you toward seeking the court's aid specifically to reach the document, since attaching or otherwise controlling it is what lets you actually satisfy the claim out of the goods it stands for.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- In the Matter of Urgent Petition for the Release of Prisoners on Humanitarian Grounds, G.R. No. 252117, July 28, 2020 — read the decision on LawPhil →