CLASSIFICATION OF PROPERTY Thing Property-Broader in scope because it includes both appropriable and non-

PROPERTY appropriable objects. E.g. Stars, planets, and the sun are things (cosas) yet they
PROPERTY IN THE NCC cannot be appropriated. Hence, they are not technically property (bienes). Property
Property is considered as an object that which is or may be appropriated.(Art. 414, involves not only material/tangible objects but also intangible things, such as rights
NCC) or credits.
PROPERTY -It is an object or a right which is appropriated or susceptible of AIR AS PROPERTY
appropriation by man, with capacity to satisfy human wants and needs.(Pineda)
•GR:Air is merely a thing.
PROPERTY AS A SUBJECT IN A LAW COURSE
•XPN:If under certain conditions (e.g. a portion of it is placed in a container), air may
Property is a branch of civil law which: be considered as property.
•Classifies and defines the different kinds of appropriable objects; REQUISITES/CHARACTERISTICS OF PROPERTY
•Provides for their acquisition and loss; and 1.Utility – having the capability to satisfy human need; i.e. food, shelter, clothing,
recreation, etc.
•Treats of the nature and consequences of real rights (in general).
2.Substantivity or individuality – it can exist by itself and not merely as a part of a
TWO ELEMENTS OF EVERY RIGHT
whole; hence, the human hair only becomes property when it is detached from the
Every right has 2 elements: owner (See

•Subjects (persons); and Prudential Life v. Panis – a house/building in itself, even if separate and distinct
from the land upon which it stands, is considered immovable and may be subject to
•Objects (properties) Book I of the NCC deals with Persons. On the other hand, Book
REM)
II deals with Property.
3. Appropriability – susceptible of being possessed by man; things which cannot be
THINGS VS. PROPERTY THING
subjected to human control by reason of sheer impossibility cannot be considered
Any object that exists and is capable of satisfying human needs. This includes both as property
objects that are [1] already owned or possessed and [2] those susceptible of
a. The sun, stars, and oceans are not capable of human control because of distance,
appropriation.
depth, or immensity.
PROPERTY-Anything which is already the object of appropriation or is found in
b. Forces of nature, like lightning and rain, also cannot be considered as property
possession of man.
(unless they are brought under human control by science, e.g. electricity, oxygen in
tanks, distilled water).
CLASSIFICATION OF THINGS (ACCORDING TO APPROPRIABILITY) Property also includes intangibles like rights or credits. As property, rights are
intangible or incorporeal in materiality.
RES NULLIUS -Belonging to no one
There are two kinds of rights which may be considered property:
RES COMMUNES-Belonging to everyone
1.Real rights
RES ALICUJUSBelonging to someone
2.Personal rights
RES NULLIUS
ARE RIGHTS CONSIDERED THINGS?
•These things belong to no one because they have not yet been appropriated or
because they have been abandoned (res derelictae) by the owner with the intention Rights are not things. They are neither movable nor immovable. The classification of
of no longer owning them. rights follows that of the things or objects over which they are exercised and to
which they are considered united.
•Examples
ART. 1164, NCC
: Fish still swimming in the sea; wild animals (ferae naturae); wild birds; and pebbles
lying on the seashore. The creditor has a right to the fruits of the thing from the time the obligation to
deliver it arises ( personal right ). However, he shall acquire no real right over it until
RES COMMUNES
the same has been delivered to him.
•Although no one in particular owns common property, res communes are really
REAL RIGHT/JUS IN RE
owned by everybody, such that their use and enjoyment are given to all mankind.
A real right is a right which is enforceable against anyone in the world interfering
•Examples: Air that we breathe; wind; sunlight; and starlight.
with that right, founded on some specific relationship, status, or particular property
RES ALICUJUS accorded legal protection from interference by anyone. This right accrues when the
property is actually or constructively delivered to the creditor.
•These are objects (tangible/intangible) which are privately owned either in a
collective or individual capacity. Examples: Right to be free from slander; right to enjoy one’s own property The

•Because these objects can be owned, they really should be considered as Rest of a real right may be:
properties.
1.Personal property – e.g. pledge, chattel mortgage
•Examples:
2.Real property – e.g. easement, lease record, real mortgage, antichrists 3.
Your book; your stock shares; your parcel of land.
Personal or real property – e.g. ownership, possession, usufruct, hereditary rights,
RIGHTS AS PROPERTY RIGHTS conventional or legal redemption
CLASSIFICATION OF REAL RIGHTS ACCORDING TO DOMINION This right accrues when the obligation to deliver/to do/not to do arises. Example:
Right to demand/compel the delivery of a thing; right to demand specific
1.Domino pleno– powers to enjoy and to dispose are united
performance
a.Dominion
ELEMENTS
b.Civil possession
1. Active subject
c.Hereditary right 2.
– person with whom the right resides 2.
2.Domino menos pleno
2.Passive subject
– powers to enjoy and to dispose are separated
– person against whom the right is enforceable
a.Surface right
3. Object/prestation
b.Usufruct
– conduct which must be observed by the debtor (to give, to do, or not to do) 4.
3.Domino limitado
4.juridical tie/vinculum
– powers to enjoy and to dispose are united but limited a.
– binds the parties to the obligation
By a charge – easement; tax b.
EXAMPLE SITUATION
By a guaranty – mortgage; pledge c.
A is obliged to give B, on December 3, 2004, a particular parcel of land. Before Dec.
By a privilege – preemption; redemption; lease record 3, B has no right whatsoever over the fruits of the land. After Dec. 3, B is entitled
(only as of right) to the fruits. However, if the fruits and land are actually or
PERSONAL RIGHT/JUS IN PERSONAM/ RIGHT OF OBLIGATION constructively delivered on Dec. 15, B only becomes owner of said fruits and land
A personal right is a right which is enforceable only against a single person or group from said date onwards.
of persons (to do, to give, or not to do). It is the right or power of a person to
demand from another the fulfillment of the latter’s obligation as a definite passive
subject. This is also called

right of obligation.