Text of the provision

Art. 1997. The deposit referred to in No. 1 of the preceding article shall be governed by the provisions of the law establishing it, and in case of its deficiency, by the rules on voluntary deposit. The deposit mentioned in No. 2 of the preceding article shall be regulated by the provisions concerning voluntary deposit and by article 2168.

(1782)

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

A necessary deposit by legal obligation is governed by the law establishing it (and, for gaps, the voluntary-deposit rules); a calamity deposit follows the voluntary-deposit rules and Art. 2168.

This article establishes a hierarchy rather than a single rule: for a necessary deposit that exists because some other law compels it, that special law governs first, and the Civil Code's voluntary-deposit provisions step in only to fill whatever gaps the special law leaves. A calamity deposit is treated differently — it is not primarily governed by any separate law, but directly by the voluntary-deposit rules together with the specific provision on calamity deposits, Article 2168. In both cases, the general deposit rules in this Title function as a suppletory framework rather than the primary source of the depositary's obligations.

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Note. The text of the provision above is reproduced in full from the official enactment (Republic Act No. 386), verified against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings. The annotation and commentary around it are the work of Vivas & Nobles Law Office and are general legal information, not legal advice. How a provision applies to a particular situation depends on facts that only a lawyer reviewing your case can assess.