Short answer. Yes. Article 2141 expressly provides that the Civil Code's rules on pledge apply to chattel mortgages insofar as they are not in conflict with the Chattel Mortgage Law. When the special law is silent on a point, the pledge provisions fill the gap.
What the law says
The provisions of this Code on pledge, insofar as they are not in conflict with the Chattel Mortgage Law shall be applicable to chattel mortgages.
Civil Code, Article 2141 — Chattel Mortgages Are Governed Suppletorily by the Rules on Pledge. Read the full provision →
The supplementary relationship between pledge and chattel mortgage
Chattel mortgage and pledge are both ways of using movable property as security for a debt, but they operate differently. A pledge requires delivery of the item to the creditor; a chattel mortgage allows the mortgagor to retain possession while the property is encumbered by registration. The Chattel Mortgage Law governs chattel mortgages as the primary statute, but it does not answer every question that can arise. Article 2141 closes that gap by making the Civil Code's pledge provisions the default fallback whenever the special law is silent.
The 'not in conflict' condition — when pledge rules do not apply
The supplementary rule has an important limit: pledge provisions apply only insofar as they are not in conflict with the Chattel Mortgage Law. Where the two sets of rules address the same point and reach different answers, the Chattel Mortgage Law governs because it is the more specific and later statute on the subject. This means you cannot use a pledge provision to override something the Chattel Mortgage Law has already regulated. The pledge rules fill silences — they do not override explicit chattel mortgage provisions. Identifying whether a gap exists or a conflict exists requires reading both statutes on the specific point.
Practical examples of where this matters
Situations where Article 2141 becomes relevant typically arise when a chattel mortgage creditor faces a question that the Chattel Mortgage Law does not answer — for instance, questions about the creditor's obligations in caring for the mortgaged property, the effect of partial payments on the security, or the rights of the parties if the chattel is damaged or lost. In those cases, the corresponding Civil Code provisions on pledge are the starting point for analysis. Whether a specific pledge provision conflicts with the Chattel Mortgage Law on a given point is itself a legal question that may require careful interpretation.
Why this matters if you are in a dispute
If you are involved in a chattel mortgage dispute and the other side is relying on a rule that the Chattel Mortgage Law does not explicitly state, ask whether that rule comes from the Civil Code pledge provisions under Article 2141. If it does, the next question is whether it conflicts with anything the Chattel Mortgage Law actually says about that issue. This two-step analysis — gap or conflict — shapes the applicable legal standard. A lawyer familiar with both statutes can identify which set of rules governs the specific point in your case and argue it accordingly.