Short answer. No. Under Article 1775, associations and societies whose articles are kept secret among the members, and where any member may contract in his own name with third persons, have no juridical personality. They are not partnerships in the eyes of the law; they are instead governed by the rules on co-ownership, which changes how members and outsiders stand.
What the law says
Associations and societies, whose articles are kept secret among the members, and wherein any one of the members may contract in his own name with third persons, shall have no juridical personality, and shall be governed by the provisions relating to co-ownership.
Civil Code, Article 1775 — Secret Associations. Read the full provision →
Two features that deny personality
Article 1775 singles out a particular kind of arrangement and denies it the status of a partnership. Associations and societies, whose articles are kept secret among the members, and wherein any one of the members may contract in his own name with third persons, shall have no juridical personality. Two features together produce that result: the articles — the terms of the association — are kept secret from outsiders, and the members deal with third persons each in his own name rather than in the name of a firm. Where both are present, the law refuses to recognise a separate juridical person.
Governed by co-ownership, not partnership
The article does not leave such a group in a legal vacuum; it reassigns it. The association shall be governed by the provisions relating to co-ownership. That is a meaningful downgrade. A partnership is a person in law — it can own property in its own name, sue and be sued as an entity, and its assets are distinct from the partners' private estates. A co-ownership is not: each co-owner simply holds an undivided share of the common things, any co-owner may demand partition at essentially any time, and there is no separate entity that contracts or holds title.
Why secrecy is the trigger
The logic is about protecting the people who deal with the group. A partnership's separate personality is a privilege the law grants in exchange for openness — the firm holds itself out under a name, and outsiders know they are contracting with an entity and can look to its assets. A society that hides its terms and lets each member transact under his own name enjoys the benefits of acting together while presenting nothing for third persons to rely on. The law responds by withholding the privilege: no concealed body gets the standing and asset-shielding of a juridical person. Openness, not mere agreement, is what earns partnership personality.
What it means for your group
If your arrangement fits the description — terms kept among yourselves, each of you dealing with outsiders in your own name — do not assume you have a partnership that can shelter you. In practice that means you cannot sue or be sued as a firm, cannot register property in a partnership name, and each of you may be personally exposed on the deals you make. If you want the protections and separate personality of a real partnership, the answer is to stop operating in secret: put the partnership in a public instrument, act under the firm name, and register it where the law requires.