MAGSINO, PATRICIA MARIE C.

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Principles on personal status and capacity

Personal status
Includes both condition and capacity
Embraces matters such as beginning and end of human personality, capacity to have rights,
capacoty to engage in legal transactions, protection of personal interests and family relations

Status
Taken from Roman doctrine status libertates (freedom), status civitates (citizenship), status
familiae (status as the head of the house

Juridical Capacity v Capacity to Act

Juridical capacity is the fitness of man to be subject to legal relations; inherent and lost only
through death
Capacity to act is the power to do acts with legal effects; acquired and may be lost

Legislative Jurisdiction v judicial jurisdiction

Legislative jurisdiction
o Power of the state to apply its laws to create or affect legal interests
o eg. Civil status
Judicial jurisdiction
o Power of the state to try a case in its courts
o eg. Right to sue and be sued

Barnuevo v. Fuster
Legislative jurisdiction as applied is the capacity of the state to rule on whether the divorce
being sought for can be decreed
Judicial jurisdiction as applied is the power of the state to hear and try the case

Beginning and end of personality

The determination of the exact moment personality begins is referred to the individuals
personal law
Philippine Law:
Art. 40. Birth determines personality; but the conceived child shall be considered
born for all purposes that are favorable to it, provided it be born later with the
conditions specified in the following article
Art 41. For civil purposes, the fetus is considered born if it is alive at the time it is
completely delivered from the mothers womb. However, if the fetus had an intra-
uterine life of less than seven months, it is not deemed born if it dies within twenty-
four hours after its complete delivery from the maternal womb
Civil personality is extinguished by death
Upon death of a person, some of his rights and obligations are totally extinguished while
others are passed to his successors
 Limjoco v Intestate Estate of Fragrante:
the estate of Pedro O. Fragrante should be considered an artificial or juridical
person for the purpose of settlement and distribution of his estate
absence
First: Presumption that a person is dead when he has been absent for a number of years
Second: A persons unexplained absence is judicially investigated and established which
results to legal effects similar to death
Third: Judicial decree declaring the person to be dead before the legal effects of death
take place

Name
A persons name is determined by law and cannot be changed without judicial
intervention
Art. 376. No person can change his name or surname without judicial authority.
Grounds where a person was allowed to change name;
Name is ridiculous and is tainted with dishonor or extremely difficult to
pronounce
When the change is necessary to avoid confusion
When the right to a new name is consequence of a change in status
A sincere desire to adopt a Filipino name to erase signs of a former alien
nationality

Age of majority
It is the individuals personal law which determines whether he has reached the age of
majority
Once emancipated, parental authority over the person and property of the child is
terminated and he is qualified and responsible for all acts of civil life

Capacity
A persons ability to act with legal effects is governed by his personal law
The general rule on capacity is subject to several exceptions
eg. When a person who is fully capacitated under his personal law enters into a
contract which will be performed in a foreign country that does not consider him
capable of contracting due to an impediment such as minority

Question:

Distinguish Legislative jurisdiction from Judicial jurisdiction

Answer:

Legislative jurisdiction
o Power of the state to apply its laws to create or affect legal interests
o eg. Civil status
Judicial jurisdiction
 o Power of the state to try a case in its courts
o eg. Right to sue and be sued

INSULAR GOVERNMENT v. FRANK

FACTS:
o Insular Government of the Philippine Islands contracted with George Frank
o George Frank was to receive a salary of $1,200/year as a stenographer
o To be paid in advance the expenses incurred in traveling from Chicago to Manila
and half of his salary during such period
o Contract: if Frank violates it, he will be liable for the amount expended by the
government for his travel expenses and one half salary paid during such period
o 1903: Frank entered upon the performance of the contract and was paid half
salary
o 1904: Frank left the service of Insular Government of the Philippine Islands and
refused to further comply with the terms of the contract
o Insular the commenced an action in CFI MANILA to recover the amount paid to
Frank
o Franks defense: he was a minor at the time the contract was entered into and
therefore not responsible under the law

ISSUE:
o Is Frank liable?

HELD:
o Yes. The Supreme Court applied the law of the place of the contract or lex loci
contractus. Frank was fully qualified to enter into the contract at the place and
time the contract was made, he can not plead infancy as a defense at the place the
contract is being enforced
o Age of majority 23 years old