LAWS ON OBLIGATIONS AND CONTRACTS

obligation

is a juridical necessity to give, to do or not to do.

ACTIVE SUBJECT

(Obligee/Creditor): the person who has the right or power to demand the prestation.

PASSIVE SUBJECT

(Obligor/Debtor): the person bound to the perform the prestation.

PRESTATION

(Object): the conduct required to be observed by the debtor/obligor (to give, to do or not to do).

VINCULUM JURIS

(Juridical or Legal Tie;
Efficient Cause): that which binds or
connects the parties to the obligation.

QUASI-CONTRACTS

Juridical relation resulting from lawful, voluntary and unilateral acts, which has for its purpose, the payment of indemnity to the end that no one shall be unjustly enriched or benefited at the expense of another.

LAW

must be expressly or impliedly set forth and cannot be presumed

Negotiorum Gestio

officious or voluntary
management of the property or affairs of another without the knowledge or consent of the latter.

Solutio Indebiti

undue payment. The juridical relation arises when:
a thing is received without any right; and
the thing delivered by mistake.

DELICTS

Acts or omissions punished by law;
crimes

felony

Every person criminally liable for a is also civilly liable.

QUASI-DELICTS

Voluntary acts or omissions
with fault or negligence causing damage to another; not a crime nor a contract

real obligation

TO GIVE: to deliver either
(1) a specific or determinate thing, or (2) a generic or indeterminate thing.

Personal Obligation

obligation to do (positive) or not to do (negative)

Accessories

those joined to or included with
the principal for the latter's completion, better use, perfection or enjoyment

Accessions

additions to or improvement upon a thing, either naturally or artificially

Specific thing

Particularly designated or physically segregated from all other of the same class; identified by individuality.

Generic thing

Object is designated only by its class/
genus/ species.

Limited Generic Thing

When the generic objects are confined to a particular class.

Voluntary

Breach of Obligation: fraud, negligence, delay or contravention of tenor of the obligation

Involuntary

Breach of Obligation: fortuitous event

Substantial Breach

Total breach

Casual Breach

Partial breach

FRAUD

(DOLO): deliberate or intentional
evasion of the normal fulfillment of an
obligation

NEGLIGENCE

(CULPA): omission of that diligence which is required by the nature of the obligation and corresponds with the circumstances of the person, of the time and of the place

Causal Fraud

(Dolo Causante) - fraud employed in the execution of the contract

Incidental Fraud

(Dolo Incidente) - fraud in performance of obligation already existing because of a contract

Culpa Contractual

negligence in the performance of a contract

Culpa Aquiliana

Quasi-delicts (Kind of Negligence)

Culpa Criminal

wrong or negligence in
the commission of a crime

DELAY

(MORA): failure to
perform an obligation on time which
constitutes breach of the obligation

Mora Solvendi

delay on the part of the
debtor to fulfill his obligation either to
give (Ex re) or to do (Ex persona),

Mora Accipiendi

delay on the part of
the creditor to accept the performance of the obligation

Compensatio Morae

delay of the parties in reciprocal obligations; effect: as if there is no default.

CONTRAVENTION OF THE TENOR

violation of the terms and conditions
stipulated in the obligation, which must not be due to a fortuitous event or force majeure

Fortuitous Event

Any event which could not be foreseen, or which though foreseen are inevitable

Fortuitous Event

A happening independent of the will of the debtor and which makes the normal fulfillment of the obligation impossible

Act of God

an accident, due directly or
exclusively to natural causes without human intervention, which by no amount of foresight, pains or care, reasonably to have been expected, cold have been prevented.

Act of Man

force majeure is a superior or
irresistible force, which is essentially an ; Includes unavoidable accidents, even if there has been an intervention of human element, provided that no fault or negligence can be imputed to the debtor

Ordinary Delay

failure to perform an obligation on time.

Legal Delay

failure to perfume an obligation on time which failure constitutes a breach of obligation.

Specific Performance

performance by the debtor of the prestation itself

Substituted Performance

someone else performs or something else is performed at the debtor's expense

Equivalent Performance

right to claim damages (in either performance or rescission)

Rescission

right to rescind or cancel
the contract

Pursue the Leviable

to attach the properties of the debtor, except those exempt by law from execution

Accion Subrogatoria

right of creditor to exercise all of the rights and bring all of the actions which his debtor may have against third persons;

Accion Pauliana

Rescission, which involves the right of the creditor to attack or impugn by means of a rescissory action any
act of the debtor which is in fraud and to the prejudice of his rights as creditor.

Accion Directa

the right of lessor to go directly to a
sublessee for unpaid rents of the lessee

Pure Obligation

Effectivity or extinguishment does not depend upon the fulfillment or non-fulfillment of a condition or
upon the expiration of a term or period and characterized by the quality of its being IMMEDIATELY DEMANDABLE.

Conditional Obligation

Effectivity is subject to the fulfillment or non-fulfillment of a condition, which is characterized to be a FUTURE and UNCERTAIN event.

Suspensive Condition

Obligation shall only be effective upon the fulfillment of the condition (Art.1181).

Resolutory Condition

Obligation becomes demandable immediately after its establishment or constitution.

Casual Condition

The fulfillment of the condition depends upon chance and/or upon the will of a third person

Mixed Condition

The fulfillment of the condition depends partly upon the will of a party to the obligation and partly upon chance and/or will of a third person

Impossible Condition:

conditions which are impossible, contrary to good customs, or
public policy and those prohibited by law shall annul the obligations which depend upon them

Reciprocal Obligations

Obligations which are established from same cause, such that one obligation is correlative to the other. It results in mutual relationship between the creditor and the debtor.

Potestative

dependent on sole will of 1 party

Obligations with a period

an obligation which depends on a future and certain event

Alternative Obligations

Several prestations are due but the performance of one is sufficient

Facultative Obligation

Only one prestation has been agreed upon but the debtor may render another in substitution

Joint Obligations

One where a concurrence of several creditors, or of several debtors, or of several creditors and debtors, by virtue of which, each of the creditors
has a right to demand, and each of the debtors is bound to render compliance with his proportionate part of the prestation which constitute the object of the obligation

Solidary Obligation

An obligation where there is concurrence of several creditors, or of several debtors, or of several creditors and several debtors, by virtue
of which, each of the creditors has the right to demand, and each of the debtors is bound to render, entire compliance with the prestation
which constitutes the object of the obligation

Divisible Obligation

One which is susceptible of partial performance; that is, the debtor can legally perform the obligation by parts and the creditor cannot demand a single performance of the entire
obligation

Indivisible Obligation

One which cannot be validly performed in parts

Obligation with a Penal Clause

An accessory undertaking to
assume greater liability in case of breach. It is attached to an obligation in
order to ensure performance.

Payment

means not only delivery of money but also performance, in any manner, of the obligation.

Cession/Assignment

Act whereby a debtor abandons all his property to his creditors, so that the latter may apply the proceeds (of its sale) to their credits.

dacion en pago

Delivery and transmission of ownership of a thing by the debtor to the creditor as an accepted equivalent of the performance of the obligation.

Tender of payment

Manifestation made by debtor to creditor of his desire to comply
with his obligation, with offer of immediate performance

Consignation

Deposit of the object of obligation in a competent court in accordance to the rules prescribed by law, whenever the creditor unjustly refuses payment or because of some circumstances
which render direct payment to the creditor impossible or inadvisable.

Loss of a thing Due

A thing is lost when it perishes, goes out of commerce or disappears in such a way that its existence is unknown or it cannot be recovered

CONDONATION

An act of liberality, by virtue of
which, without receiving any equivalent, creditor renounces the enforcement of the obligation.

COMPENSATION

Offsetting of two obligations
which are reciprocally extinguished if they are of the same value, or extinguished to the concurrent amount if of different values.

CONFUSION

The meeting in one person of the
qualities of creditor and debtor of the same obligation

NOVATION

Extinguishment of an obligation by
the substitution or change of the obligation by a subsequent one which extinguishes or modifies the first either by changing the object or principal
conditions, or by substituting the person of the debtor, or by subrogating a third person in the rights of the creditor.

contract

is a meeting of minds, between two persons whereby one binds
himself, with respect to the other, to give something or to render some service.

Solemn or formal

special formalities are
required for perfection (Contract)

Consensual

consent is enough (Contract)

Real

consent and delivery is required (contract)

Accessory

depends on another contract
for its existence (contract)

Preparatory

a preliminary step towards
the celebration of a subsequent
contract (contract)

Unilateral

only one party is bound by
the prestation (contract)

Bilateral

where both parties are bound by reciprocal prestations;

Commutative

fulfillment is determined in
advance (contract)

Aleatory

fulfillment is determined by
chance (contract)

Gratuitous

no correlative prestation is
received by a party (contract)

Onerous

there is an exchange of
correlative prestations (contract)

Remuneratory

the prestation is based on services or benefits already received (contract)

Do ut des

I give so that you may give

Do ut facias

I give so that you may do

Facio ut facias

I do so that you may do

Facio ut des

I do so that you may give

Consent, Object, Consideration

Elements of Contracts

Preparation, Perfection, Consummation

Stages of Contracts

MUTUALITY

The contract must bind both contracting parties; its validity or compliance cannot be left to the will of one of them

AUTONOMY OF WILLS

The contracting parties may establish such stipulations, clauses, terms and conditions as they may deem convenient, provided they are
not contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order, or public policy

RELATIVITY

Contracts take effect only between parties, their assigns and heirs UNLESS, obligations arising from the contract are not transmissible by their (1) nature, (2) by stipulation or (3) by provision of law.

Stipulations Pour Autrui

If a contract should contain some stipulation in favor of a third person, he may demand its fulfilment provided he communicated his acceptance to the obligor before its revocation.

CONSENSUALITY

Contracts are perfected by mere consent and from that moment, the parties are bound not only
to the fulfillment of what has been expressly stipulated but also to all consequences which, according to their nature, may be in keeping with
good faith, usage and law, (Art.1315) EXCEPT real contracts, such as deposit, pledge and commodatum, are not perfected until the delivery of the object of the obligation.