Text of the provision
Art. 523. Possession is the holding of a thing or the enjoyment of a right.
(430a)
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
Possession is the holding of a thing or the enjoyment of a right. It is a fact protected by law independently of ownership — the possessor is shielded even against the owner until the owner recovers the thing through legal process.
Related provisions
- Article 500 — Accounting on Partition.
- Article 524 — Possession Through Another.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.
Note. The text of the provision above is reproduced in full from the official enactment (Republic Act No. 386), verified against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings. The annotation and commentary around it are the work of Vivas & Nobles Law Office and are general legal information, not legal advice. How a provision applies to a particular situation depends on facts that only a lawyer reviewing your case can assess.