Civil Code, Article 2198 — General Law on Damages Adopted

What this article means

The principles of the general law on damages are adopted insofar as they are not inconsistent with this Code.

This is a gap-filling provision. Rather than attempting to spell out every rule on damages in exhaustive detail, the Code incorporates the broader body of general legal principles on the subject that existed before its enactment, so long as those principles do not conflict with anything the Code itself provides. In effect, the specific articles that follow in this Title are treated as the primary and controlling rules, while older general principles remain available to fill in gaps those specific articles do not address.

Questions about this provision

• The general law on damages recognizes a type of loss not expressly mentioned in the Civil Code — does Philippine law adopt those general principles?

Related provisions

• Article 2197 — The Six Kinds of Damages.
• Article 2199 — Actual Damages Must Be Proved.

Cases interpreting this article

• Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.