Short answer. Article 1 of the Civil Code simply gives Republic Act No. 386 its official name: the "Civil Code of the Philippines." Approved in 1949 and effective in 1950, it is the general law on persons, property, obligations and contracts, and succession, though special laws and the Family Code control wherever they specifically apply.
What the law says
This Act shall be known as the "Civil Code of the Philippines."
Civil Code, Article 1 — Title of the Code. Read the full provision →
The law's official short title
Article 1 does one narrow but useful thing: it fixes the correct legal name for Republic Act No. 386, approved by Congress on June 18, 1949 and taking effect on August 30, 1950. Whenever a contract, pleading, or article on this site cites "the Civil Code of the Philippines," it is citing this same statute. Knowing the formal title matters because the Code is cited constantly in Philippine legal practice, and getting the citation right avoids confusion with other, more specific codes such as the Family Code or the Revised Penal Code. This is why citations on this site and elsewhere read "Civil Code, Article ___" rather than referencing the number alone.
What the Civil Code covers
The Code is the general law governing persons and family relations, property and property rights, obligations and contracts, and succession. It is one of the foundational statutes Philippine lawyers turn to whenever a dispute does not fall neatly under a narrower special law. Later legislation, most notably the Family Code, has since carved out and replaced large parts of what the original 1950 Code covered on marriage and parental relations.
How special laws and the Family Code fit in
The Civil Code does not operate alone. Special statutes, and, for marriage, annulment, and parental authority, the later Family Code, take priority over the Civil Code wherever they specifically govern a matter. The Code also functions as suppletory law, meaning it fills gaps in the Code of Commerce and other special statutes whenever those laws are silent on a point, rather than being the exclusive source of every civil-law rule in the country. This suppletory role explains why civil-law principles from the Code often surface even in corporate, labor, or property disputes governed primarily by other statutes.
Why the correct title matters when researching a specific right
Because the Civil Code has been amended, and parts of it superseded, article by article since 1950, knowing its exact official title helps a reader locate the current, correct source rather than an outdated summary. When researching a specific right or obligation, it is worth checking whether a later statute, such as the Family Code, has already replaced the particular article being read. A reader who confuses an early, superseded provision with current law risks relying on a rule that no longer reflects Philippine practice.
Related provisions
- Civil Code, Article 1 — Title of the Code
- Civil Code, Article 2 — When Laws Take Effect
- Civil Code, Article 18 — Civil Code as Suppletory Law