Talk:Civil Code of the Philippines

More detail needed re: Family Code

With the recent death of former president Aquino, the Family Code reforms are going to draw new attention from Wikipedia users who run across a mention of them as being one of her earliest steps as a new president. It would be helpful if the section were more clear about (a) what is meant by the part of the description that refers to foreign ideas that had proven incompatible with Filipino culture and (b) how the new code was different from prior law. For example, I remember from reading about changes in Nicaraguan family law around this same time that divorce laws were changed in specific ways (they escape my mind right now, but they're delineated in various sources) as well as women's rights regarding the custody of children born within or outside of marriage. More detailed description, as well as any sources that could be consulted online - to supplement the printed sources already cited - would be welcome improvements. Lawikitejana (talk) 17:45, 3 August 2009 (UTC)

That could be difficult. I took a quick look at just the first few articles, and finding the differences seems a bit complicated and needful of judgement calls.

Changes wrought by the Cory Aquino Family code
(first few articles only)

Civil Code Title III: Marriage From Book I, Republic Act No. 386, June 18, 1949 Chapter 1. Requisites of Marriage Article 52	Family Code Title I : Marriage From Executive order No. 309, July 6, 1987 Chapter 1. Requisites of Marriage Article 1	Observed substantive changes
pre Art. 52. Marriage is not a mere contract but an inviolable social institution. Its nature, consequences and incidents are governed by law and not subject to stipulation, except that the marriage settlements may to a certain extent fix the property relations during the marriage. (n)	pre Article 1. Marriage is a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life. It is the foundation of the family and an inviolable social institution whose nature, consequences, and incidents are governed by law and not subject to stipulation, except that marriage settlements may fix the property relations during the marriage within the limits provided by this Code. (52a)	pre 1. Article 1 explicitly defines marriage as being between a man and a woman.

Articles 53-55	Articles 2-6	Observed substantive changes
pre Art. 53. No marriage shall be solemnized unless all these requisites are complied with: (1) Legal capacity of the contracting parties; (2) Their consent, freely given; (3) Authority of the person performing the marriage; and (4) A marriage license, except in a marriage of exceptional character (Sec. 1a, Art. 3613). Art. 54. Any male of the age of sixteen years or upwards, and any female of the age of fourteen years or upwards, not under any of the impediments mentioned in Articles 80 to 84, may contract marriage. (2) Art. 55. No particular form for the ceremony of marriage is required, but the parties with legal capacity to contract marriage must declare, in the presence of the person solemnizing the marriage and of two witnesses of legal age, that they take each other as husband and wife. This declaration shall be set forth in an instrument in triplicate, signed by signature or mark by the contracting parties and said two witnesses and attested by the person solemnizing the marriage. In case of a marriage on the point of death, when the dying party, being physically unable, cannot sign the instrument by signature or mark, it shall be sufficient for one of the witnesses to the marriage to sign in his name, which fact shall be attested by the minister solemnizing the marriage. (3)	pre Art. 2. No marriage shall be valid, unless these essential requisites are present: (1) Legal capacity of the contracting parties who must be a male and a female; and (2) Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer. (53a) Art. 3. The formal requisites of marriage are: (1) Authority of the solemnizing officer; (2) A valid marriage license except in the cases provided for in Chapter 2 of this Title; and (3) A marriage ceremony which takes place with the appearance of the contracting parties before the solemnizing officer and their personal declaration that they take each other as husband and wife in the presence of not less than two witnesses of legal age. (53a, 55a) Art. 4. The absence of any of the essential or formal requisites shall render the marriage void ab initio, except as stated in Article 35 (2). A defect in any of the essential requisites shall not affect the validity of the marriage but the party or parties responsible for the irregularity shall be civilly, criminally and administratively liable. (n) Art. 5. Any male or female of the age of eighteen years or upwards not under any of the impediments mentioned in Articles 37 and 38, may contract marriage. (54a) Art. 6. No prescribed form or religious rite for the solemnization of the marriage is required. It shall be necessary, however, for the contracting parties to appear personally before the solemnizing officer and declare in the presence of not less than two witnesses of legal age that they take each other as husband and wife. This declaration shall be contained in the marriage certificate which shall be signed by the contracting parties and their witnesses and attested by the solemnizing officer. In case of a marriage in articulo mortis, when the party at the point of death is unable to sign the marriage certificate, it shall be sufficient for one of the witnesses to the marriage to write the name of said party, which fact shall be attested by the solemnizing officer. (55a)	pre 1. Articles 3(3) and 6 effectively prohibits marriages by proxy, explicitly requiring personal appearance of the parties. 2. Articles 4 and 5 revised minimum ages upwards from 16(m) and 18(f) to 18 for both.

Articles 56-58	Articles 7-10	Observed substantive changes
pre Art. 56. Marriage may be solemnized by: (1) The Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court; (2) The Presiding Justice and the Justices of the Court of Appeals; (3) Judges of the Courts of First Instance; (4) Mayors of cities and municipalities; (5) Municipal judges and justices of the peace; (6) Priests, rabbis, ministers of the gospel of any denomination, church, religion or sect, duly registered, as provided in Article 92; and (7) Ship captains, airplane chiefs, military commanders, and consuls and vice-consuls in special cases provided in Articles 74 and 75. (4a) Art. 57. The marriage shall be solemnized publicly in the office of the judge in open court or of the mayor; or in the church, chapel or temple, as the case may be, and not elsewhere, except in cases of marriages contracted on the point of death or in remote places in accordance with Article 72 of this Code, or in case of marriage referred to in Article 76 or when one of the parents or the guardian of the female or the latter herself if over eighteen years of age request it in writing, in which cases the marriage may be solemnized at a house or place designated by said parent or guardian of the female or by the latter herself in a sworn statement to that effect. (5a) Art. 58. Save marriages of an exceptional character authorized in Chapter 2 of this Title, but not those under Article 75, no marriage shall be solemnized without a license first being issued by the local civil registrar of the municipality where either contracting party habitually resides. (7a)	pre Art. 7. Marriage may be solemnized by: (1) Any incumbent member of the judiciary within the court's jurisdiction; (2) Any priest, rabbi, imam, or minister of any church or religious sect duly authorized by his church or religious sect and registered with the civil registrar general, acting within the limits of the written authority granted by his church or religious sect and provided that at least one of the contracting parties belongs to the solemnizing officer's church or religious sect; (3) Any ship captain or airplane chief only in the case mentioned in Article 31; (4) Any military commander of a unit to which a chaplain is assigned, in the absence of the latter, during a military operation, likewise only in the cases mentioned in Article 32; (5) Any consul-general, consul or vice-consul in the case provided in Article 10. (56a) Article. 8. The marriage shall be solemnized publicly in the chambers of the judge or in open court, in the church, chapel or temple, or in the office the consul-general, consul or vice-consul, as the case may be, and not elsewhere, except in cases of marriages contracted on the point of death or in remote places in accordance with Article 29 of this Code, or where both of the parties request the solemnizing officer in writing in which case the marriage may be solemnized at a house or place designated by them in a sworn statement to that effect. (57a) Art. 9. A marriage license shall be issued by the local civil registrar of the city or municipality where either contracting party habitually resides, except in marriages where no license is required in accordance with Chapter 2 of this Title. (58a) Art. 10. Marriages between Filipino citizens abroad may be solemnized by a consul-general, consul or vice-consul of the Republic of the Philippines. The issuance of the marriage license and the duties of the local civil registrar and of the solemnizing officer with regard to the celebration of marriage shall be performed by said consular official. (75a)	pre 1. Article 7 removed the authority of Mayors of cities and municipalities to solemnize marriages (however, Article 35(2) later provides that marriages solemnized by any person not legally authorized to perform marriages are not void if such marriages were contracted with either or both parties believing in good faith that the solemnizing officer had the legal authority to do so), and added special-case authority for ship captains, airplane chiefs, military commanders, consuls-general, consuls or vice-consuls. 2. Article 10 provided a mechanism for marriage of Filipino citizens abroad by RP authorities.

Also, such an analysis by WP editors looks to me like original research. Wtmitchell (talk) (earlier Boracay Bill) 02:01, 5 August 2009 (UTC)