TITLE V.-POSSESSION.

CHAPTER FIRST.-Possession and its kinds.

ART. 430. Natural possession is the holding of a thing or the enjoyment of a right by a person. Civil possession is the same holding or enjoyment, together with the intention of acquiring ownership of the thing or right.

ART. 431. Possession of things or rights is exercised either by the same person who holds and enjoys them or by another in his name.

ART. 432. Possession of things and rights may be held in one of two different ways either as an owner, or as a holder of the things or rights to keep or enjoy them, the ownership belonging to another

person.

ART. 433. Any person who is not aware that there is in his title or in the manner of acquiring it any flaw invalidating the same shall be considered a possessor in good faith.

Possessors aware thereof are considered possessors in bad faith. ART. 434. Good faith is always presumed, and any person alleging bad faith on the part of the possessor is obliged to prove it.

ART. 435. Possession acquired in good faith does not lose this character, except in the case and from the moment some act exists proving that the possessor is aware that he posseses the thing illegally.

ART. 436. It is presumed that the possession is still enjoyed in the manner in which it was acquired until the contrary is proven.

ART. 437. Only things and rights capable of being appropriated can be the object of the possession.

CHAPTER SECOND.-Acquisition of possession.

ART. 438. Possession is acquired by the material occupancy of the thing or right possessed, or by the fact that the latter remains subject to the action of our will, or by the proper legal steps and formalities established for acquiring such rights.

ART. 439. Possession may be acquired by the same person who is to enjoy it, by his legal representative, by his agent, or by a third person, without any mandate whatsoever, but in the last case possession shall not be considered as acquired until the person in whose name the instrument of possession has been executed has ratified the same.

ART. 440. The possession of hereditary property is understood as transferred to the heir without interruption and from the instant of the death of the testator, in case the inheritance be accepted.

A person who repudiates an inheritance in a valid manner is understood as not having ever possessed it.

ART. 441. In no case can possession be forcibly acquired while there is a possessor opposing it. A person believing that he has an action or right to deprive another of the holding of a thing must request the assistance of the competent authority whenever the holder refuses the delivery.

ART. 442. A person succeeding by an hereditary title shall not suffer the consequences of a faulty possession of the testator, unless it is proven that he had knowledge of the defects affecting it; but the effects of the possession in good faith shall benefit him only from the date of the death of the testator.

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ART. 443. Minors and incapacitated persons may acquire the possession of things; but they shall require the assistance of their legal representatives to make use of the rights in their favor arising from possession.

ART. 444. Acts which are merely tolerated and those clandestinely executed, without knowledge of the possessor of a thing, or by force, do not affect the possession.

ART. 445. Possession, as a fact, can not be recognized in two different personalities, except in cases where there is no division. Should a question arise as to the fact of the possession, the actual possessor shall be preferred; when there are two, the oldest shall be preferred; if the dates of the possession are the same, the one presenting a title; and if all these conditions are equal, the thing shall be placed in deposit or judicial keeping until the possession or ownership thereof is decided in the proper manner.

CHAPTER THIRD.-Effects of possession.

ART. 446. Every possessor has a right to be respected in his possession; and should he be disturbed therein, he must be protected or possession must be restored to him by the means established in the laws of procedure.

ART. 447. Only the possession acquired and enjoyed by virtue of ownership can serve as a title to acquire it.

ART. 448. The possessor by virtue of ownership has in his favor the legal presumption that he holds possession by reason of a sufficient title and he can not be forced to show it.

ART. 449. The possession of real estate is also a presumption of possession of the furniture and objects contained therein unless it is shown or proven that they should be excluded.

ART. 450. Each one of the participants in a thing possessed in common is considered as having exclusively possessed the part which may be allotted to him on the distribution for the entire period during which there is no division. Interruption in possession of the whole or a part of a thing held in common shall affect all possessors equally. ART. 451. The fruits collected in good faith by a possessor during the time the possession is not legally interrupted become his own. Natural and industrial fruits are understood as collected from the moment they are gathered or harvested.

Civil fruits are considered as daily proceeds and belong to the possessor in good faith in this proportion.

ART. 452. If, at the date on which good faith ceases, some natural or industrial fruits are ungathered, the possessor shall have a right to recover the expenses he may have incurred in their production, and furthermore, to a part of the net proceeds of the crop in proportion to the time of his possession.

The expenses shall be distributed pro rata, in the same manner, between the two possessors.

in possessor, The owner of a thing may, if he desires, grant to the good faith, the right to finish the cultivation and collection of the growing fruits as an indemnity for the part of the cost of cultivation and net proceeds belonging to him; the possessor in good faith, who, for any reason whatsoever may not desire to accept this concession, shall lose the right to be indemnified in any other manner.

ART. 453. Necessary expenses are refunded to every possessor, but only the possessor in good faith may retain the thing until they are repaid to him.

Useful expenses are paid the possessor in good faith with the same right of retention, the person who has defeated him in his possession having the option of refunding the amount of the expenses or paying him the increase in value the thing has acquired by reason thereof.

ART. 454. The expenses purely for luxury or mere pleasure are not repaid the possessor in good faith; but he may remove the ornaments with which he has embellished the principal thing if it does not suffer injury thereby and if the successor in the possession does not prefer to refund the amount expended.

ART. 455. A possessor in bad faith shall pay for the fruits collected, and for those which the legitimate possessor could have received, and shall only have a right to be reimbursed for the necessary expenses incurred for the preservation of the thing. The expenses incurred in improvements for luxury and pleasure shall not be repaid the possessor in bad faith; but the latter may remove the object for which such expenses have been incurred, provided the thing suffers no damage and the legitimate possessor does not prefer to retain them, and paying the value they may have at the time of taking possession.

ART. 456. The improvements arising from nature or time always redound to the benefit of the person who has gained the possession. ART. 457. A possessor in good faith is not liable for the deterioration or loss of the thing possessed, with the exception of the cases in which it is proved that he has acted with fraudulent intent. A possessor in bad faith is liable for the deterioration or loss in any case, even in those caused by force majeure, when he has maliciously delayed the delivery of the thing to its legitimate possessor.

ART. 458. The person obtaining possession is not bound to pay for improvements which have ceased to exist at the time of the acquisition of the thing.

ART. 459. The actual possessor who shows his possession at a prior period is presumed to have had possession also during the intermediate period, until the contrary is proven.

ART. 460. The possessor may lose his possession—

1. By the abandonment of the thing.

2. By transfer to another for a good or valuable consideration. 3. By the destruction or total loss of the thing or by the thing becoming unmarketable.

4. By the possession of another, even against the will of the former possessor, if the new possession has lasted more than one year.

ART. 461. The possession of personal property is not considered lost while it is under the control of the possessor, even though the latter may accidentally not know its whereabouts.

ART. 462. The possession of real property and property rights is not considered lost, nor transferred for the purposes of prescription to the prejudice of a third person, except in accordance with the provisions of the mortgage law.

ART. 463. Instruments relating to possession, either executed or admitted by the person possessing another's thing as a mere holder for its enjoyment or retention for any reason, does not bind nor prejudice the owner, unless the latter should have granted to the

former express powers to execute them or unless he ratifies them subsequently.

ART. 464. The possession of personal property, acquired in good faith, is equivalent to a title thereto. However, the person who has lost personal property or has been illegally deprived thereof may recover it from whoever possesses it.

If the possessor of personal property, lost or stolen, has acquired it in good faith at a public sale, the owner can not recover it without reimbursing the price paid therefor.

Neither can the owner of things pledged in pawn shops, established with the authorization of the Government, recover them, whosoever may be the person who pledged them, without previously refunding to the institution the amount of the pledge and the interest due.

With regard to things acquired on exchange, or at fairs or markets or from a merchant legally established and usually employed in similar dealings, the provisions of the code of commerce shall be observed. ART. 465. Wild animals are only possessed while they are under one's control; domestic or tame ones are considered as tame or domestic if they are accustomed to return to the home of their possessor. ART. 466. A person who recovers the possession, according to law, which was improperly lost, is considered as having enjoyed it without interruption, for all the purposes which may redound to his benefit.

TITLE VI.-USUFRUCT, USE, AND OCCUPANCY.

CHAPTER FIRST.-Usufruct.

SECTION FIRST.-Usufruct in general.

ART. 467. Usufruct gives a right to enjoy another's property under the obligation of preserving its form and substance unless the instrument creating it or the law otherwise permits.

ART. 468. Usufruct is constituted by law by the wish of private persons expressed in instruments, inter vivos, or by last will, and by prescription.

ART. 469. Usufruct can be created on the whole or on part of the fruits of a thing, in favor of one or more persons, simultaneously or successively, and in any case from or to a certain day, conditionally or unconditionally. It may also be created on a right, provided the same is not absolutely personal or not transferable.

ART. 470. The rights and duties of the usufructuaries shall be those fixed in the instrument creating the usufruct; in its absence, or if the latter is not sufficient, the provisions contained in the two following sections shall be observed.

SECTION SECOND.-Rights of the usufructuary.

ART. 471. The usufructuary shall be entitled to receive all the natural, industrial, and civil fruits of the property in usufruct. With regard to the treasures which may be found on the estate, he shall be deemed a stranger.

ART. 472. The natural or industrial fruits, growing at the time of the beginning of the usufruct, belong to the usufructuary.

Those growing at the time the usufruct expires, belong to the

owner.

In the preceding cases, the usufructuary, at the beginning of the usufruct, is not bound to pay to the owner any of the expenses incurred; but the owner is bound to defray from the proceeds of the growing fruits, at the expiration of the usufruct, the ordinary cost of cultivation, sowing, and other similar expenses incurred by the usufructuary.

The provisions of this article shall not prejudice the rights of a third person, acquired at the beginning or expiration of the usufruct. ART. 473. If the usufructuary has leased the lands or estates given in usufruct, and the latter should expire before the lease, he or his heirs and successors shall only receive the proportionate part of the rent, to be paid by the lessee.

ART. 474. The civil fruits are understood to be paid day by day, and belong to the usufructuary in proportion to the time the usufruct may last.

ART. 475. When a usufruct is created on the right to collect a rent or a periodical pension, either in money or in fruits, or in interest on obligations, or certificates payable to bearer, each payment due shall be considered as proceeds or fruits of said right.

When it consists in the enjoyment of the benefits arising from an interest in any industrial or commercial enterprise, the distribution of which is not to take place at a definite date, such benefits shall have the same consideration.

In either case, they shall be distributed as civil fruits and shall be applied in the manner prescribed in the foregoing article.

ART. 476. The usufructuary of an estate containing mines is not entitled to the proceeds of those denounced, granted, or which are being worked at the beginning of the usufruct, unless they are expressly granted to him by the instrument creating the latter or if it be universal.

The usufructuary, however, may remove stones, lime, and chalk from the quarries for repairs, or works which he may be obliged to make or which may be necessary.

ART. 477. Notwithstanding the provisions of the foregoing article, the usufructuary, in a legal usufruct, may work the mines denounced, granted, or which are being worked contained in the estate, retaining one-half of the proceeds which may be obtained after deducting the expenses, which he shall equally share with the owner.

ART. 478. The status of a usufructuary does not deprive the person possessing it of the right granted to everyone by the mining law to denounce and obtain the concession of mines existing on the estate in usufruct in the form and under the conditions established by said law.

ART. 479. The usufructuary shall have a right to enjoy the increase which the thing in usufruct may receive by accretion, as well as the easements existing in its favor, and in general all the benefits inherent thereto.

ART. 480. The usufructuary may personally enjoy the thing in usufruct, lease it to another person, or alienate his right to the usufruct, even for a good consideration; but all the contracts he may make as such usufructuary shall terminate at the expiration of the usufruct, except the lease of rural estates, which shall be considered in force during the agricultural year.