CIVIL LAW AND LAND TITLES AND DEEDS SYLLABUS FOR THE 2027 BAR EXAMINATIONS

 

CIVIL LAW AND LAND TITLES AND DEEDS (20%)

 

NOTE: Only laws, rules, issuances, and jurisprudence pertinent to the topics below as of June 30, 2026 are examinable in the 2027 Bar Examinations.

 

I.                  EFFECT AND APPLICATION OF LAWS

 

A.                      When Laws Take Effect

B.                      Ignorance of the Law

C.                      Retroactivity of Laws 

D.                      Mandatory and Prohibitory Laws 

E.                      Waiver 

F.                       Repeal and Nullification of Laws; Operative Fact Doctrine

G.                     Judicial Decisions 

H.                     Legal Periods (EO 292, Book I, Ch. VIII, Sec. 31)

I. Territoriality of Penal Laws 

J.                        Conflict of Laws 

1.                        Jurisdiction; Forum Non Conveniens

2.                        Choice of Law

a.                        Lex Nationalis vs. Lex Domicilii 

b.                       Lex Rei Sitae

c.                        Lex Contractus

d.                       Lex Loci Celebrationis

e.                        Lex Loci Delicti

f. Lex Loci Solutionis

g.                       Lex Fori

h.                       Doctrine of Renvoi

i. Doctrine of Processual Presumption

 

II.               PERSONS

 

A.                      Juridical Capacity

1.                        Natural Persons

2.                        Juridical Persons 

a.                        The State and its Political Subdivisions

b.                       Corporations (RA 11232, Secs. 2, 4, and 18)

c.                        Cooperatives (RA 6938, as amended by RA 9520,

Arts. 3, 4, 9, and 16)

B.                      Capacity to Act

1.                        Presumption of Capacity to Act

2.                        Acquisition (RA 6809)

3.                        Restrictions

a.                        Further Restrictions for Minors (RA 11596)

III.           FAMILY RELATIONS 

(EO 209, as amended)

 

A.                      Marriage (Const., Art. II, Sec. 12, and Art. XV)

1.                        General Principles

a.                        State Policy on Marriage

b.                       Essential and Formal Requisites of Marriage; Effects of Absence, Defect, or Irregularity

c.                        Rights and Obligations Between Husband and Wife

2.                        Validity of Marriages Celebrated Abroad

3.                        Mixed Marriages and Foreign Divorce

4.                        Void and Voidable Marriages

5.                        Legal Separation

6.                        Property Relations between the Spouses

a.                        Antenuptial Agreements or Marriage Settlements

b.                       Donation Propter Nuptias  

c.                        Property Regimes

B.                      Family Relations

1.                        General Concepts 

2.                        Paternity, Filiation, and Legitimacy (RA 9255 and 9858)

a.                        Concepts

b.                       Marital (Legitimate) and Nonmarital (Illegitimate)

Children 

i. Proof of Filiation  ii.  Rights

iii.  Action to Impugn Legitimacy 

c.                        Legitimated Children 

i. Rights

ii.                       Grounds to Impugn Legitimacy 

3.                        Adoption and Care of Children

a.                        Domestic Administrative Adoption (RA 11642)

i. Who may Adopt

ii.                       Who may be Adopted iii.  Process iv.  Effects

v.  Rescission

b.                       Intercountry Adoption (RA 8043, as amended by RA

11642)

c.                        Foundlings (RA 11767)

i. Citizenship ii.  Registration iii.  Adoption

iv.                     Recovery of Legal Custody and Restoration of

Parental Authority

v.                       Safe Haven

4.                        Support 

5.                        Family Home 

6.                        Parental Authority 

 

IV.            CIVIL REGISTER

 

A.                      Required Entries 

B.                      Cancellation and Correction of Entries (Rules of Court, Rule

108, Secs. 1–3; RA 9048, as amended by RA 10172)

1.                        Rectification of Simulated Birth Record (RA 11222)

2.                        Prohibition on Collateral Attack on Personal Status through Correction of Entries

 

V.               PROPERTY, OWNERSHIP, AND ITS MODIFICATIONS

 

A.                      Classification of Property

1.                        According to Nature

a.                        Immovable Property

b.                       Movable Property

2.                        According to Ownership

a.                        Property of Public Dominion

i. Water Resources

(a)                    Ownership (PD 1067, Arts. 5–8)

(b)                   Use (PD 1067, Arts. 13–16)

b.                       Patrimonial Property

c.                        Property of Private Ownership

B.                      Ownership  

C.                      Right of Accession

D.                      Quieting of Title

E.                      Co-Ownership (See also RA 4726, as amended by RA 7899)

F.                       Possession

G.                     Actions to Recover Property

1.                        Accion Interdictal

2.                        Accion Publiciana

3.                        Accion Reivindicatoria

H.                     Usufruct

I. Easements

1.                        General Provisions

2.                        Selected Legal Easements

a.                        Relating to Waters

b.                       Right of Way

c.                        Party Wall

d.                       Light and View 3. Voluntary Easements

J.                        Nuisance

K.                     Modes of Acquiring Ownership 

1.                        Occupation 

2.                        Tradition

3.                        Donation 

4.                        Prescription

                     

 

VI.            LAND TITLES AND DEEDS 

(PD 1529, as amended by RA 6732 and 11573)

 

A.                      Regalian Doctrine (Const., Art. XII, Sec. 2) 

B.                      Nationality Restrictions on Land Ownership (Const., Art. XII, Secs. 7–8)

C.                      Torrens System 

1.                        Decree of Registration 

2.                        Review of Decree of Registration

3.                        Innocent Purchaser for Value; Rights 

D.                      Original Registration

E.                      Judicial Confirmation of Imperfect Title (CA 141, Sec. 48, as amended by RA 11573) 

F.                       Certificate of Title 

G.                     Subsequent Registration 

1.                        Voluntary Dealings 

2.                        Involuntary Dealings 

a.                        Adverse Claims and Notice of Lis Pendens 

H.                     Non-registrable Properties (Civil Code, Art. 420)

I. Dealings with Unregistered Lands 

J.                        Assurance Fund 

1.                        Nature 

2.                        Conditions for Compensation 

3.                        Respondents in Action to Claim

4.                        Limitation of Action 

K.                     Reconstitution of Title (RA 26 and 6732)

 

VII.        SUCCESSION

 

A.                      General Provisions

B.                      Testamentary Succession

1.                        Wills

2.                        Institution and Substitution of Heirs

3.                        Conditional Testamentary Dispositions and Dispositions with a Term

4.                        Legitime

5.                        Disinheritance

6.                        Legacies and Devises

C.                      Legal or Intestate Succession

1.                        General Provisions; Relationship; Right of Representation

2.                        Order of Intestate Succession

D.                      Provisions Common to Testate and Intestate Succession

1.                        Right of Accretion

2.                        Capacity to Succeed by Will or by Intestacy

3.                        Acceptance and Repudiation of the Inheritance

4.                        Collation

5.                        Partition and Distribution of the Estate

VIII.    OBLIGATIONS AND CONTRACTS

 

A.                      Obligations

1.                        General Provisions 

a.                        Definition and Essential Elements

b.                       Sources of Obligation

2.                        Nature and Effects of Obligations 

a.                        Breaches of Obligations; Remedies

b.                       Fortuitous Event 

3.                        Civil Obligations

a.                        Pure 

b.                       Conditional; Kinds of Conditions

c.                        With a Period

d.                       Alternative 

e.                        Joint and Solidary 

f. Divisible and Indivisible 

g.                       Obligations with a Penal Clause

4.                        Natural Obligations 

5.                        Extinguishment

a.                        Payment or Performance

b.                       Loss of the Thing Due 

c.                        Condonation

d.                       Confusion 

e.                        Compensation        

f. Novation

i. Express and Implied Novation ii.   Expromisión vs. Delegación iii. Legal and Conventional Subrogation

6.                        Estoppel

7.                        Trusts 

B.                      Contracts

1.                        General Provisions 

a.                        Definition

b.                       Fundamental Principles

i. Autonomy  ii.  Mutuality iii.  Relativity iv.  Consensuality

v.  Obligatory Force

c.                        Real vs. Consensual Contracts

2.                        Essential Requisites 

3.                        Form of Contracts

4.                        Reformation of Instruments

5.                        Interpretation of Contracts 

6.                        Defective Contracts 

a.                        Rescissible Contracts

b.                       Voidable Contracts

c.                        Unenforceable Contracts

d.                       Void and Inexistent Contracts

IX.            SPECIAL CONTRACTS

 

A.                      Sales

1.                        Nature and Form 

a.                        Contract of Sale vs. Contract to Sell

b.                       Option Contract

c.                        Right of First Refusal

d.                       Earnest Money

2.                        Capacity to Buy or Sell 

3.                        Effects of Loss of Thing Sold 

4.                        Obligations of the Vendor and of the Vendee

5.                        Remedies of the Parties 

6.                        Double Sale 

7.                        Installment Sales

a.                        Personal Property 

b.                       Real Property (RA 6552)

i. Transactions Covered ii. Computation of Installment Payments iii. Rights Given to the Buyer on Installment iv. Requisites for Valid Cancellation; Effect of Failure to Comply

8.                        Conventional and Legal Redemption

9.                        Equitable Mortgage

B.                      Lease

1.                        General Provisions 

2.                        Rights and Obligations of the Lessor and of the Lessee 

3.                        Sublease and Assignment 

C.                      Agency 

1.                        Nature, Form, and Kinds

2.                        Obligations of the Agent and of the Principal

3.                        Extinguishment

D.                      Credit Transactions

1.                        Loan 

a.                        Commodatum

b.                       Mutuum

i. Interest

2.                        Deposit 

a.                        Definition and Kinds

b.                       Obligations of the Depositary and of the Depositor

3.                        Guaranty and Suretyship 

a.                        Nature and Extent

b.                       Effects 

c.                        Extinguishment

d.                       Legal and Judicial Bonds

4.                        Real Estate Mortgage 

a.                        Requisites and Characteristics

b.                       Foreclosure (Rules of Court, Rule 68; Act 3135, as amended by Act 4118; RA 8791, Sec. 47)

i. Judicial vs. Extrajudicial Foreclosure

ii.                       Deficiency Judgment; Recovery of Deficiency iii.  Right of Redemption vs. Equity of Redemption

5.                        Personal Property Security (RA 11057)

a.                        Creation, Perfection, and Priority of Security Interest

b.                       Registration of Notice of Security Interest

c.                        Enforcement of Security Interest

 

X.               QUASI-CONTRACTS

 

A.                      Definition 

B.                      Kinds

1.                        Negotiorum Gestio  

2.                        Solutio Indebiti 

a.                        Distinguished from Accion In Rem Verso

b.                       Mistake of Law as Basis for Solutio Indebiti

c.                        Effect of Good Faith of the Payee

C.                      Other Quasi-contracts 

 

XI.            TORTS AND QUASI-DELICTS

 

A.                      Principles

1.                        Concept and Elements of Quasi-Delict

2.                        Culpa aquiliana vs. Culpa contractual vs. Culpa criminal

3.                        Human Relations

a.                        Abuse of Rights

b.                       Acts Contrary to Law

c.                        Acts Contrary to Morals, Good Customs, or Public

Policy

d.                       Unjust Enrichment

e.                        Tortious Interference

4.                        Liability Despite Absence of Fault or Negligence

B.                      Classification of Torts

1.                        Intentional

2.                        Negligent

3.                        Strict Liability

C.                      The Tortfeasor

1.                        Direct Tortfeasor 

2.                        Persons Made Responsible for Others 

a.                        In General

i. Quasi-delicts ii.     Indirect Liability for Intentional Acts

                                                                  iii. Presumption     of    Negligence    on    Persons

Indirectly Responsible iv. Nature of Liability

b.                       Specific Instances of Vicarious Liability 3.   Joint Tortfeasors 

D.                      Negligence

1.                        Standard of Care

2.                        Presumptions of Negligence

3.                        Res Ipsa Loquitur 

4.                        Contributory Negligence

E.                      Proximate Cause

1.                        Concept

a.                        Natural and Probable Consequences

b.                       Foreseeability

c.                        Distinguished from

i. Immediate Cause ii. Intervening Cause iii. Remote Cause iv. Concurrent Cause

2.                        Cause vs. Condition

3.                        Efficient Intervening Cause

4.                        Last Clear Chance

F.                       Defenses and Other Grounds Affecting Liability

1.                        Due Diligence

2.                        Plaintiff’s Negligence as Immediate and Proximate Cause

3.                        Accident or Fortuitous Event

4.                        Damnum Absque Injuria

5.                        Assumption of Risk

6.                        Acts of Public Officers

7.                        Prescription

8.                        Waiver

9.                        Double Recovery

G.                     Medical Negligence and Malpractice

 

XII.        DAMAGES

 

A.                      General Considerations

B.                      Actual and Compensatory Damages

1.                        Concept

2.                        Duty of Injured Party to Mitigate Damages

3.                        Damages in Case of Death

4.                        Attorney’s Fees and Expenses of Litigation

C.                      Other Kinds of Damages

1.                        Moral Damages

2.                        Nominal Damages

3.                        Temperate or Moderate Damages

4.                        Liquidated Damages

5.                        Exemplary or Corrective Damages

 

END OF SYLLABUS FOR

CIVIL LAW AND LAND TITLES AND DEEDS