Text of the provision
Art. 23. Even when an act or event causing damage to another's property was not due to the fault or negligence of the defendant, the latter shall be liable for indemnity if through the act or event he was benefited.
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 narrow but striking rule: even without fault or negligence, a person who was benefited by an act or event that damaged another's property must indemnify — but only to the extent of the benefit received. The classic illustration: to save your own goods you divert a flood onto your neighbor's land; though blameless, you must compensate the neighbor because you gained. It is another application of the unjust-enrichment idea in Article 22.
Questions about this provision
Related provisions
- Article 22 — unjust enrichment generally.
- Article 24 — protection of the disadvantaged.
Cases citing this article
- Far East Bank and Trust Company vs. Robert Mar Chante a.k.a. Robert Mar G. Chan, G.R. No. 170598, October 9, 2013 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- People of the Philippines vs. Romeo Dianos, G.R. No. 119311, October 7, 1998 — 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.