B. Ownership

B. Ownership (Civil Code, arts. 427-439)

Ownership (Civil Code, arts. 427-439)

TITLE II

OWNERSHIP

CHAPTER 1

Ownership in General

Article 427. Ownership may be exercised over things or rights. (n)

Article 428. The owner has the right to enjoy and dispose of a thing, without other limitations than those established by law.

The owner has also a right of action against the holder and possessor of the thing in order to recover it. (348a)

Article 429. The owner or lawful possessor of a thing has the right to exclude any person from the enjoyment and disposal thereof. For this purpose, he may use such force as may be reasonably necessary to repel or prevent an actual or threatened unlawful physical invasion or usurpation of his property. (n)

Article 430. Every owner may enclose or fence his land or tenements by means of walls, ditches, live or dead hedges, or by any other means without detriment to servitudes constituted thereon. (388)

Article 431. The owner of a thing cannot make use thereof in such manner as to injure the rights of a third person. (n)

Article 432. The owner of a thing has no right to prohibit the interference of another with the same, if the interference is necessary to avert an imminent danger and the threatened damage, compared to the damage arising to the owner from the interference, is much greater. The owner may demand from the person benefited indemnity for the damage to him. (n)

Article 433. Actual possession under claim of ownership raises a disputable presumption of ownership. The true owner must resort to judicial process for the recovery of the property. (n)

Article 434. In an action to recover, the property must be identified, and the plaintiff must rely on the strength of his title and not on the weakness of the defendant's claim. (n)

Article 435. No person shall be deprived of his property except by competent authority and for public use and always upon payment of just compensation.

Should this requirement be not first complied with, the courts shall protect and, in a proper case, restore the owner in his possession. (349a)

Article 436. When any property is condemned or seized by competent authority in the interest of health, safety or security, the owner thereof shall not be entitled to compensation, unless he can show that such condemnation or seizure is unjustified. (n)

Article 437. The owner of a parcel of land is the owner of its surface and of everything under it, and he can construct thereon any works or make any plantations and excavations which he may deem proper, without detriment to servitudes and subject to special laws and ordinances. He cannot complain of the reasonable requirements of aerial navigation.

Article 438. Hidden treasure belongs to the owner of the land, building, or other property on which it is found.

Nevertheless, when the discovery is made on the property of another, or of the State or any of its subdivisions, and by chance, one-half thereof shall be allowed to the finder. If the finder is a trespasser, he shall not be entitled to any share of the treasure.

If the things found be of interest to science or the arts, the State may acquire them at their just price, which shall be divided in conformity with the rule stated. (351a)

Article 439. By treasure is understood, for legal purposes, any hidden and unknown deposit of money, jewelry, or other precious objects, the lawful ownership of which does not appear. (352)

What is OWNERSHIP?

The independent and general right of a person to the exclusive enjoyment and control of a thing in his possession, enjoyment, disposition, and recovery, subject only to the restrictions or limitations established by law and the rights of others. (Art. 428)

Possession is an essential attribute of ownership. Whoever owns the property has the right to possess it. Adjudication of ownership includes the delivery of possession if the defeated party has not shown any right to possess the land independently of her rejected claim of ownership. (Pascual vs. Daquioag, GR No. 162063, 2014)

What is OWNERSHIP?

The independent and general right of a person to the exclusive enjoyment and control of a thing in his possession, enjoyment, disposition, and recovery, subject only to the restrictions or limitations established by law and the rights of others. (Art. 428)

Possession is an essential attribute of ownership. Whoever owns the property has the right to possess it. Adjudication of ownership includes the delivery of possession if the defeated party has not shown any right to possess the land independently of her rejected claim of ownership. (Pascual vs. Daquioag, GR No. 162063, 2014)

What are the KINDS OF OWNERSHIP?

• Full ownership (dominium or jus in re propria) comprises all the rights of an owner.
• Naked ownership (nuda proprietas) exists when the rights to use the property and receive its fruits are separated from ownership. Naked ownership together with usufruct constitutes full ownership.
• Sole ownership is ownership vested in one person.
• Co-ownership or tenancy in common is ownership vested in two or more persons. The property is one, but its owners are several. Each co-owner owns the whole property while holding an undivided share in it.

Seven rights of ownership (De Leon, Comments and Cases on Property, 77, 1993):

• Jus possidendi — right to possess. This is the right to hold the thing; it does not necessarily carry the right to use it, as in a contract of deposit.
• Jus utendi — right to use and enjoy. This includes excluding others from the enjoyment and disposal of the thing. Its exercise must not injure another person’s rights.
• Jus fruendi — right to fruits. Fruits may be natural, industrial, or civil.
• Jus abutendi — right to consume. This includes transforming the thing or consuming or destroying it through use.
• Jus disponendi — right to dispose. This includes the choice not to dispose of or alienate the thing.
• Jus vindicandi — right to vindicate or recover. This includes bringing an action to recover the thing from its holder or possessor.
• Jus accessionis — right to accessories.

Limitations of ownership

What are the limitations on the right of ownership?

• Conflicting private rights, such as those arising in accession continua.
• Limits imposed by law, such as legal easements.
• Limits established by the owner, such as a voluntary easement, pledge, or lease.
• Limits placed by the grantor on the grantee, whether by contract, such as a donation, or by last will.
• Limits imposed by the State through eminent domain, police power, or taxation. A taking through eminent domain requires competent authority, public use, and payment of just compensation under Article 435 of the Civil Code; if these requirements are not first met, the courts shall protect the owner and, in a proper case, restore possession. Police-power measures and taxation do not require just compensation merely because they limit property rights.

Limitations of ownership

What are the Limitations on the Right of Ownership? (CLOGS)

• Those arising from Conflicts of private rights (e.g., those which take place in accession continua)
• Those imposed by Law (e.g., Legal easements)
• Those imposed by the Owner himself (e.g., Voluntary easement, pledge, lease)
• Those imposed by the Grantor of the property on the grantee
• by contract (e.g., donation)
• by last will
• Those imposed in general by the State (Art. 435)
• Power of eminent domain
• Police power
• Power of taxation

Nature of Reservista’s Right

• The reservista’s right over the reserved property is one of ownership;
• The ownership is subject to a resolutory condition. (The existence of reservatarios at the time of the reservista’s death)
• The reservista’s right of ownership is registrable. (Edroso v. Pablo, G.R. No. 6878)

The reservista has no power to appoint, by will, which reservatarios are to get the reserved property. (Gonzales v. CFI, G.R. No. L-34395)