Text of the provision
Art. 37. Juridical capacity, which is the fitness to be the subject of legal relations, is inherent in every natural person and is lost only through death. Capacity to act, which is the power to do acts with legal effect, is acquired and may be lost.
(n)
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
The Code distinguishes two capacities. Juridical capacity is the passive fitness to be the subject of rights and obligations — it is inherent in every person from birth and lost only at death. Capacity to act is the active power to do legally effective acts — it is acquired (typically on reaching majority) and can be lost or restricted (by insanity, civil interdiction, and the like). A newborn has juridical capacity but not yet capacity to act.
Questions about this provision
Related provisions
- Article 38 — restrictions on capacity to act.
- Article 39 — circumstances that modify or limit capacity to act.
Cases citing this article
- Heirs of Antonio Lopez vs. Spouses Felix and Marita Empaynado, G.R. No. 196517, November 11, 2024 — 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.