Text of the provision
Art. 1174. Except in cases expressly specified by the law, or when it is otherwise declared by stipulation, or when the nature of the obligation requires the assumption of risk, no person shall be responsible for those events which could not be foreseen, or which, though foreseen, were inevitable.
(1105a)
Civil Code of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 386, approved June 18, 1949, effective August 30, 1950. Reproduced in full; verified verbatim against the LawPhil and ChanRobles official-text renderings.
What this article means
As a rule, no one is liable for fortuitous events — those that could not be foreseen or, though foreseen, were inevitable. The exceptions: when the law says so, when the parties stipulate liability, or when the nature of the obligation requires assuming the risk.
Related provisions
- Article 1173 — What Negligence Is.
- Article 1175 — Usury.
Cases citing this article
- Maximo Awayan vs. Sulu Resources Development Corporation, G.R. No. 200474, November 9, 2020 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Duty Paid Import Co. Inc., et al. vs. Landbank of the Philippines, G.R. No. 238258, December 10, 2019 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Jose Sanico and Vicente Castro vs. Werherlina P. Colipano, G.R. No. 209969, September 27, 2017 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Sulpicio Lines, Inc. vs. Napoleon Sesante, et al, G.R. No. 172682, July 27, 2016 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Spouses Jaime and Matilde Poon vs. Prime Savings Bank represent by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation as Statutory Liquidator, G.R. No. 183794, June 13, 2016 — read the decision on LawPhil →
Compiled automatically from Supreme Court decisions published on LawPhil that expressly cite this article, most frequently cited first. A listing means the decision cites the provision — it is not a statement that the case is the leading authority, and it does not show whether a ruling has since been modified or abandoned. Always read the decision itself.