Text of the provision
Art. 44. The following are juridical persons:
(1) The State and its political subdivisions;
(2) Other corporations, institutions and entities for public interest or purpose, created by law; their personality begins as soon as they have been constituted according to law;
(3) Corporations, partnerships and associations for private interest or purpose to which the law grants a juridical personality, separate and distinct from that of each shareholder, partner or member.
(35a)
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 law recognizes juridical persons — entities, not human beings, that hold rights and obligations. There are three classes: the State and its political subdivisions; public corporations and entities created by law (whose personality begins on lawful constitution); and private corporations, partnerships, and associations that the law endows with a personality separate and distinct from their members. This last clause is the statutory root of the corporate veil.
Questions about this provision
Related provisions
- Article 45 — the laws that govern each class.
- Article 46 — a juridical person's powers.
Cases citing this article
- Boy Scouts of the Philippines vs. Commssion on Audit, G.R. No. 177131, June 7, 2011 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Philippine Primark Properties, Inc. vs. China Banking Corporation Trust and Assets Management Group, G.R. No. 263887, August 19, 2024 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Fr. Ranhilio Callangan Aquino, Dr. Pablo F. Narag, in representation of Permanent Employees of, G.R. No. 227715, November 3, 2020 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Aniceto G. Saludo, Jr. vs. Philippine National Bank, G.R. No. 193138, August 20, 2018 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Association of Flood Victims, et al. vs. Commission on Elections, et al, G.R. No. 203775, August 5, 2014 — 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.