Civil Code, Article 2265 — Retention Rights After Effectivity

What this article means

A transitional rule for the 1950 changeover: a right of retention over real or personal property arising after this Code took effect extends to things that came into the creditor's possession before that date.

A right of retention allows a person lawfully holding property belonging to another to keep possession of it as security until a debt or obligation is satisfied, rather than being compelled to surrender the property first and pursue payment separately afterward.

Article 2265 makes clear that this remedy is not confined to property a creditor first came to possess only after the new Code took effect; property already in the creditor's hands before that date is equally covered once the right of retention itself arises under the new rules, so the timing of possession does not defeat the security.

Questions about this provision

• I have been in possession of property since before the Civil Code took effect and have made improvements — does my right of retention over that property still apply under the new code?

Related provisions

• Article 2263 — Which Law Governs Succession.
• Article 2267 — Provisions Applied To Pending Cases.

Cases interpreting this article

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