Skip to main content

Doctrine of actio personalis moritur cum persona

Doctrine of actio personalis moritur cum persona

Lat. [The doctrine that] personal action terminates or dies with the person. [Santos v. Sec. of Labor, L-21624, 27 Feb. 1968].

 The following are the cases decided by Supreme Court on the doctrine:
It is true that a public office is personal to the public officer and is not a property transmissible to his heirs upon death. Thus, applying the doctrine of actio personalis moritur cum persona, upon the death of the incumbent, no heir of his may be allowed to continue holding his office in his place. [De Castro vs COMELEC, G.R. No. 125249, February 7, 1997]

But while the right to a public office is personal and exclusive to the public officer, an election protest is not purely personal and exclusive to the protestant or to the protestee such that the death of either would oust the court of all authority to continue the protest proceedings. [De Castro vs COMELEC, G.R. No. 125249, February 7, 1997]

An action for legal separation which involves nothing more than the bed-and-board separation of the spouses (there being no absolute divorce in this jurisdiction) is purely personal. The Civil Code of the Philippines recognizes this in its Article 100, by allowing only the innocent spouse (and no one else) to claim legal separation; and in its Article 108, by providing that the spouses can, by their reconciliation, stop or abate the proceedings and even rescind a decree of legal separation already rendered. Being personal in character, it follows that the death of one party to the action causes the death of the action itself — actio personalis moritur cum persona. [Sy vs Eufemio, G.R. No. L-30977 January 31, 1972]

As a disbarment is a proceedings which is personal to the respondent his death naturally extinguishes the proceedings Actio personalis moritur cum persona. [Sotto vs De Guia, A.M. No. 196, June 30, 1980]

Under Article 89 of the Revised Penal Code, death of the convict extinguishes criminal liability. In view of the fact that one of the juridical conditions of penalty is that it is personal. Actio personalis moritur cum persona; actio peonalis in haeredem non datur nisi forte ex damno locupletior haeres factus sit. (A personal right of action dies with the person. A penal action is not given against an heir, unless, indeed, such heir is benefited by the wrong.) [Petralba vs Sandiganbayan, G.R. No. 81337, August 16, 1991]
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

People vs. Jugueta, 788 SCRA 331, G.R. No. 202124 April 5, 2016

G.R. No. 202124. April 5, 2016. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. IRENEO JUGUETA, accused-appellant. PONENTE:  PERALTA, J.:  Synopsis: In Criminal Case No. 7702-G, Irenneo Jugueta was charged with Multiple Attempted Murder along with Gilbert Estores and Roger San Miguel. However, Roger San Miguel moved for reinvestigation of the case and was eventually dismissed, leaving Irenneo as the only defendant. The prosecution's witness, Norberto, testified that Irenneo and the two other men entered his family's nipa hut and fired shots, causing the death of one daughter and injury to another. Irenneo offered a defense of denial and alibi, but this was found to be weak by the trial court, which ruled that Irenneo conspired with the two other men to shoot the family of Norberto. The trial court's judgment was affirmed by the Court of Appeals. The main issue raised in the appeal was the inconsistencies in Norberto's testimony, but these were deemed to be trivial an...
Read more

Ocampo vs Enriquez, GR No. 225973| 11/8/2016

Full Text:  https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/62526 Doctrines: It is well-settled that no question involving the constitutionality or validity of a law or governmental act may be heard and decided by the Court unless the following requisites for judicial inquiry are present: (a) there must be an actual case or controversy calling for the exercise of judicial power; (b) the person challenging the act must have the standing to question the validity of the subject act or issuance; (c) the question of constitutionality must be raised at the earliest opportunity; and (d) the issue of constitutionality must be the very lis mota of the case. In this case, the absence of the first two requisites, which are the most essential, renders the discussion of the last two superfluous. An “actual case or controversy” is one which involves a conflict of legal rights, an assertion of opposite legal claims, susceptible of judicial resolution as distinguished from a hypothetical...
Read more

Nagkakaisang Maralita ng Sitio Masigasig, Inc. v. Military Shrine Services, et. al. | G.R. No. 187587| 2013

G.R. No. 187587| June 5, 2013  697 SCRA 359 Nagkakaisang Maralita ng Sitio Masigasig, Inc. vs. Military Shrine Services-Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, Department of National Defense; NMSI , Petitioner, vs. MSS - PVAO, DND,  Respondent; ---and--- G.R. No. 187654| June 5, 2013 WBLOA, INC. , represented by its Board of Directors, Petitioner, vs.    MSS - PVAO, DND , Respondent. Ponente :  SERENO, CJ.:  Doctrines :  (1) Petitioners suggest that there should be no distinction between laws of general applicability and those which are not; that publication means complete publication; and that the publication must be made forthwith in the Official Gazette. (2) The requirement of publication is indispensable to give effect to the law, unless the law itself has otherwise provided.  (3) The Supreme Court cannot rely on a handwritten note that was not part of Proclamation No. 2476 as published. Without publication, the note never had any legal...
Read more