RFBT

Obligation (Article 1156)

A juridical necessity to give, to do, or not to do.

Creditor

The person who has a right; he in whose favor the obligation is constituted.

Debtor

The person who is bound to fulfill the obligation; he who has a duty.

Object of Obligation

The conduct required to be observed by the debtor which may consist in giving a thing, doing or not doing a certain act.

Juridical Tie

The reason why the obligation exists.

Sources of Obligations

Law, contracts, quasi-contracts, acts punishable by law, and quasi-delicts.

Legal Obligations

Obligations that are imposed by law and must be clearly set forth.

Contractual Obligations (Obligations Ex Contractu)

Obligations arising from a contract, which binds the parties involved.

Quasi-Contracts

Lawful, voluntary, and unilateral acts which require the person to reimburse or compensate another.

Civil Liability

An obligation resulting from the commission of a crime or delict.

Specific Real Obligations

Duties of a debtor in specific obligations, such as preserving the thing due.

Duty of Diligence

The debtor has the incidental duty to take care of the thing due pending delivery.

Natural Fruits

Spontaneous products of the soil and the young and other products of animals.

Industrial Fruits

Produced by land through cultivation or labor.

Remedies in Breach Cases

Specific performance, rescission, or payment of damages.

Generic Obligation

Obligations where the debtor can deliver any item from a certain class.

Penal Clause

An accessory undertaking attached to an obligation to assume greater liability in case of breach.

Dation in Payment

Conveyance of ownership of a thing as an accepted equivalent of performance.

Mutual Consent

The agreement of the minds of the parties in a contract.

Ratification

The act of confirming or adopting a contract, making it valid.

Annulment

A remedy for declaring a voidable contract ineffective.

Remission of Debt

The gratuitous abandonment of a right to demand payment of a debt.

Compensation

The extinguishment of debts that two persons owe each other to the extent of the lesser obligation.

Unenforceable Contracts

Contracts that are valid but cannot be enforced unless ratified.

Void Contracts

Contracts that produce no legal effect due to defects.

Legal Delay or Default

Failure to perform an obligation within the stipulated time frame.

Fortuitous Event

An unforeseen and unavoidable event that prevents the fulfillment of an obligation.

Interpreting Contracts

Determining the meaning of terms or provisions used by the parties.

Voidable Contracts

Contracts which are valid but can be annulled due to a defect in consent.

Relative Simulation

When parties conceal their true agreement while presenting a different contract.

Malafide Acquirer

A third person who acquires property under the influence of fraud.

Legal Effect of Ratification

Validity and enforceability triggered by confirming a previously unenforceable contract.

Legal obligations

Obligations mandated by law.