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Abuse of rights


In civil law jurisdictions, abuse of rights is the exercise of a legal right only to cause annoyance, harm, or injury to another. The abuser is liable for the harm caused by their actions. Some examples of this are abuse of power, barratry or vexatious litigation, forum shopping, abuse of process, tax avoidance (vs. anti-avoidance rules, step transaction doctrine, economic substance), etc. The principle is a creature of case law and was expanded from the neighborhood law doctrine of aemulatio vicini under the jus commune. This principle departs from the classical theory that “he who uses a right injures no one”, instead embracing the maxim “a right ends where abuse begins” (= le droit cesse où l'abus commence).

The principle is laid out in German law by the so-called Schikaneverbot ‘ban on vexatiousness’ (BGB §226). It reads as follows:

Die Ausübung eines Rechts ist unzulässig,
wenn sie nur den Zweck haben kann, einem anderen Schaden zuzufügen.

The exercise of a right is unlawful if its purpose
is only to cause harm to another.

Article 2 of the Titre préliminaire to the Swiss Civil Code states:

Chacun est tenu d'exercer ses droits et d'exécuter ses obligations selon les règles de la bonne foi. L'abus manifeste d'un droit n'est pas protégé par la loi.

Everyone is expected to exercise their rights and fulfill their obligations according to the rules of good faith. The manifest abuse of a right is not protected by statute.

Articles 19, 20 and 21 of the Civil Code of the Philippines state that:

At least one of four conditions is required to invoke the doctrine:

The principle does not exist in common law jurisdictions.


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