Skip to content
Civil Law

Explanation of Article 26

Explanation of Article 26

This article addresses the distinction between "public things" and "private things," and this distinction results in many provisions in civil transactions.

Public things are: "things owned by the state or public legal entities, and designated for public benefit."

By "owned by the state or public legal entities," it is meant that ownership is for the state, or one of the agencies, public institutions, or interests that are granted legal personality under statutory texts.

By "designated for public benefit," it is meant that they are prepared to serve the public, such as: roads, bridges, parks, hospitals, schools, universities, and others.

In contrast, private things are those not owned by the state or public legal entities, nor designated for public benefit, such as: private homes, private lands, private cars, private furniture, and others.

It is established that the criterion for describing a thing as "public" or "private" is the nature of the thing itself. For example, a public road differs from a private road owned by a specific person.

The ruling of the article is not affected if the thing is prepared for public benefit despite its nature not requiring that, such as: the sale of rare antiques at public auction, or the sale of old machines at exhibitions. In this case, the criterion is the intention of the parties involved.

This article has a significant impact on transactions. For example, public things cannot be seized, executed upon, or acquired by prescription, unlike private things.

It is noteworthy that this classification of things does not include endowments. If the endowment is for a private entity, it is a private endowment, and if it is for a public entity, it is a public endowment, each having its own specific provisions.

Related To

Article 26

  1. A right in rem is either original or ancillary.

  2. Original rights in rem are the rights of ownership, usufruct, use, habitation, easement, and endowment as well as any other right deemed as such pursuant to legal provisions.

  3. Ancillary rights in rem are the rights of pledge and priority rights as well as any other right deemed as such pursuant to legal provisions.