Text of the provision
Art. 2. Laws shall take effect after fifteen days following the completion of their publication in the Official Gazette, unless it is otherwise provided. This Code shall take effect one year after such publication.
(1a)
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 law does not bind the public the moment it is signed. It takes effect 15 days after its publication is completed in the Official Gazette — "unless it is otherwise provided," so Congress may set a different date. The Supreme Court in Tañada v. Tuvera held that publication is indispensable: without it, a law has no binding force, and publication in a newspaper of general circulation now also satisfies the requirement.
Questions about this provision
Related provisions
- Article 3 — ignorance of the law is no excuse (which presupposes publication).
- Article 4 — laws generally have no retroactive effect.
Cases citing this article
- Ma. Merceditas N. Gutierrez vs. The House of Representatives Committee on Justice, et al, G.R. No. 193459, February 15, 2011 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Department of Finance represented by Hon. Cesar V. Purisima, et al. vs. Hon. Mariano M. Dela Cruz, Jr., et al, G.R. No. 209331, August 24, 2015 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Department of Public Works and Highways vs. Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers, Inc, G.R. No. 200015, March 15, 2023 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Miguel Luis R. Villafuerte, Governor of the Province of Camarines Sur, et al., G.R. No. 222450, July 7, 2020 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Ang Nars Party-List, represented by Congresswoman Leah Primitiva G. Samaco-Paquiz and Public Services Labor, G.R. No. 215746, October 8, 2019 — 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.