Short answer. A legal obligation cannot be assumed or implied — it must come from the law itself. Article 1158 states that obligations derived from law are not presumed: only those expressly determined in the Civil Code or in special laws are demandable. If no statute creates the obligation, it cannot be imposed on you.
What the law says
Obligations derived from law are not presumed. Only those expressly determined in this Code or in special laws are demandable, and shall be regulated by the precepts of the law which establishes them; and as to what has not been foreseen, by the provisions of this Book.
Civil Code, Article 1158 — Obligations From Law. Read the full provision →
Legal obligations must come from an express provision
Article 1158 applies specifically to obligations that the claimant says come from the law itself — not from your contract, not from a wrongful act, but from a legal rule that allegedly binds you independently. The statute answers the threshold question clearly: such obligations are not presumed. The party claiming you owe a legal obligation must point to a specific provision in the Civil Code or in a special law that creates it. If they cannot, the obligation does not exist.
This is different from contractual obligations
Obligations under a contract arise from what the parties agreed — what is written, and sometimes what is implied by the nature of the transaction and good faith. Article 1158 addresses a different source: obligations the law itself imposes on a person by reason of their status, role, or conduct, regardless of any agreement. Examples include obligations of parents toward their children, obligations of employers under labor law, and obligations arising from the ownership or possession of property. These must be expressly created by statute, not inferred by analogy.
What the other party must show to succeed
If someone is claiming you owe an obligation that is not in your contract and is not arising from a wrong you committed, ask them to identify the specific law that creates it. The answer to 'what law says I owe this?' must be a real provision in the Civil Code, the Labor Code, or another applicable statute. A vague claim that 'fairness requires it' or that 'it is customary' does not satisfy Article 1158. Courts follow the law, and absent an express statutory basis, the legal obligation is simply not demandable.
The limits of this rule
Article 1158 applies to obligations from law — but obligations can also arise from contracts, quasi-contracts, delicts, and quasi-delicts. The rule that legal obligations are not presumed does not immunize you from all claims: if the other party can reframe their claim as arising from your contract (through interpretation), from a wrong you committed, or from unjust enrichment, Article 1158 does not protect you. It specifically addresses the category of obligations whose sole basis is a legal provision. A lawyer can assess whether the claim against you fits that category or rests on a different, more viable ground.
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.
- The Office of the Solicitor General vs. Ayala Land Incorporated, et al, G.R. No. 177056, September 18, 2009 — read the decision on LawPhil →