Short answer. Article 1185 makes the obligation effective once the time set for the event has run out, or once it becomes evident the event cannot occur — whichever comes first. If no time was fixed, the condition is deemed fulfilled at the time the nature of the obligation suggests was probably contemplated.
What the law says
The condition that some event will not happen at a determinate time shall render the obligation effective from the moment the time indicated has elapsed, or if it has become evident that the event cannot occur.
Civil Code, Article 1185 — Negative Condition. Read the full provision →
Two moments that can trigger effectiveness
Article 1185 addresses an obligation conditioned on some event will not happen at a determinate time. It becomes effective at one of two moments: from the moment the time indicated has elapsed, or, earlier than that, if it has become evident that the event cannot occur. Either point is enough on its own — the obligation does not need to wait for both the deadline to pass and the impossibility to be confirmed.
Certainty, not mere unlikelihood, ends the wait early
The second trigger requires that it have become evident that the event cannot occur — a real threshold of certainty, not a guess that the event is improbable. An event that looks unlikely, or that has simply not happened yet with time still remaining, has not necessarily become evident as impossible. Only once that clear certainty is reached does the obligation become effective ahead of the fixed deadline.
When no time was fixed at all
Article 1185 also covers the case where the parties never set a specific time: if no time has been fixed, the condition shall be deemed fulfilled at such time as may have probably been contemplated, bearing in mind the nature of the obligation. Rather than leaving the obligation in permanent suspense for want of a deadline, the article supplies one — measured against what the nature of the obligation itself suggests the parties likely had in mind.
Why this mirrors the rule for positive conditions
This structure — a fixed deadline plus an earlier trigger once the outcome becomes certain — mirrors how the code treats the opposite case, where an obligation depends on an event happening rather than not happening. Article 1185 is the negative-condition counterpart: instead of ending when it becomes certain a hoped-for event will not occur, it takes effect once it becomes certain a specified event will not occur, or once the time set for that certainty to matter has simply run out.
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.
- The Wellex Group, Inc. vs. U-Land Airlines, Co., Ltd, G.R. No. 167519, January 14, 2015 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Sergio R. Osmeña III vs. Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation, et al, G.R. No. 212686, October 5, 2016 — read the decision on LawPhil →