Short answer. The same as a guarantor's, plus any set by special law. Article 2082 says a bondsman offered under a law or court order must have the qualifications in Article 2056: integrity, capacity to bind himself, and sufficient property to answer for the obligation. He must also be within the court's jurisdiction where the obligation is performed.
What the law says
The bondsman who is to be offered in virtue of a provision of law or of a judicial order shall have the qualifications prescribed in article 2056 and in special laws
Civil Code, Article 2082 — Legal/Judicial Bondsman. Read the full provision →
What the law says
integrity, capacity to bind himself, and sufficient property to answer for the obligation which he guarantees
Civil Code, Article 2056 — Qualifications of a Guarantor. Read the full provision →
A legal or judicial bondsman is held to the guarantor's standard
When a bond is required not by private agreement but by a statute or a court order, the person offered to give it cannot be just anyone willing to sign. Article 2082 sets the bar: The bondsman who is to be offered in virtue of a provision of law or of a judicial order shall have the qualifications prescribed in article 2056 and in special laws. It borrows the qualifications the Code already fixes for a guarantor and adds whatever particular statutes require. So to know whether a proposed bondsman is acceptable, you read the general list in Article 2056 and then check for any special-law requirements layered on top.
The three core qualifications
Article 2056 requires a person who possesses integrity, capacity to bind himself, and sufficient property to answer for the obligation which he guarantees. Integrity speaks to trustworthiness — the assurance is worth little from someone whose word and dealings cannot be relied on. Capacity to bind himself means he must be legally able to undertake the obligation, not someone the law disqualifies from contracting. Sufficient property is the substance behind the promise: he must own enough to actually cover the obligation if called upon. A bondsman short on any of the three does not truly secure anything, which is why all three are demanded together.
He must also be within reach of the court
There is a fourth element that is easy to overlook. Under the same provision, the bondsman must be subject to the jurisdiction of the court of the place where the obligation is to be complied with. A guarantor who cannot be reached by the court that would enforce the obligation is of little practical use, however honest and wealthy he may be, because the security has to be enforceable where it matters. This requirement keeps the assurance real: the person standing behind the obligation must be answerable in the forum that would have to make him pay.
Plus whatever the special law adds
Article 2082's phrase and in special laws is a live part of the test, not a throwaway. Particular kinds of bonds required in particular proceedings may carry their own additional or stricter requirements set by the statute that calls for them, and those sit on top of the Civil Code baseline rather than replacing it. So when a bondsman is being offered or scrutinised, the safe course is to satisfy the three core qualifications and the jurisdiction requirement, and then confirm that any special law governing that specific bond does not demand more.
Related provisions
- Civil Code, Article 2082 — Legal/Judicial Bondsman
- Civil Code, Article 2056 — Qualifications of a Guarantor