Short answer. It depends on the source and any conflict. Article 2196 says the Title's general rules on damages give way to special provisions on damages found elsewhere in the Code, and that rules on damages laid down in other laws are observed insofar as they are not in conflict with the Civil Code. The special rule generally governs its own field.
What the law says
The rules under this Title are without prejudice to special provisions on damages formulated elsewhere in this Code.
Civil Code, Article 2196 — Special Provisions Prevail. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Rules governing damages laid down in other laws shall be observed insofar as they are not in conflict with this Code.
Civil Code, Article 2196 — Special Provisions Prevail. Read the full provision →
Special provisions within the Code come first
Article 2196 sets an order of priority for the law of damages. It opens: The rules under this Title are without prejudice to special provisions on damages formulated elsewhere in this Code. The Title on damages states the general rules, but where the Code itself lays down a special rule on damages for a particular situation, that special rule prevails over the general one. This reflects a familiar principle: the specific controls over the general. So before applying the broad damages rules, you look to see whether the Code has a tailored provision for the matter at hand.
Damages rules in other laws
The article then turns outward to statutes beyond the Code: Rules governing damages laid down in other laws shall be observed insofar as they are not in conflict with this Code. So a special law that provides its own damages rules is to be followed — but only to the extent it does not clash with the Civil Code. Where the special law and the Code can stand together, both are given effect. Where they truly conflict, this clause tells you to respect the special-law rule only so far as it is compatible; the compatibility limit is built into the article itself.
The workmen's compensation example
The article gives a concrete illustration. It states that Compensation for workmen and other employees in case of death, injury or illness is regulated by special laws. So for work-related death, injury, or illness, you do not apply the Civil Code's general damages provisions as if they were the whole story — a dedicated body of special legislation governs that compensation. This is the clearest signal of how the article works in practice: certain fields are carved out and handed to their own statutes, and the Code steps back to the extent those special laws occupy the ground.
How to read it together
Putting the parts together answers your question. When a special provision — inside the Code or in another law — addresses damages for a particular situation, it generally governs that situation, and the Civil Code's general damages rules yield to it. The Code does not disappear: it continues to supply the general framework and still controls where a special law is silent, or where a special rule would conflict with it. The safest reading is to identify the most specific applicable rule first, then apply the Civil Code's general provisions to fill whatever the special rule leaves open.
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.
- Oceanmarine Resources Corporation vs. Jenny Rose G. Nedic, on behalf of her minor son, G.R. No. 236263, July 19, 2022 — read the decision on LawPhil →