week 8-9 Flashcards
Contract vs Obligation
Contract is one of the sources of obligations. (NCC 1157)
On the other hand, obligation is the legal tie or relation itself that exists after a contract has been entered into. Hence, there can be no contract if there is no obligation. But an obligation may exist without a contract.
Contract vs Agreement
There can be no contract in the true sense in the absence of the element of agreement, or of mutual assent of the parties. Contracts are agreements enforceable through legal proceedings.
Those agreements which cannot be enforced by action in the courts of justice (like an agreement to go to a dance party) are not contracts but merely moral or social agreements.
An agreement is broader than contract because the former may not have all the elements of a contract. (NCC 1318)
So, all contracts are agreements but not all agreements are contracts.
Perfected promise
merely tends to insure and pave the way for the celebration of a future contract.
Imperfect promise
mere unaccepted offer.
Pact
an incidental part of a contract which can be separated from the principal agreement.
Stipulation
an essential and dispositive part which cannot be separated from such principal agreement.
PARTIES TO A CONTRACT
There must be at least two persons or parties because it is impossible for one to contract with himself.
Auto-contract
A single person may create a contract by himself where he represents distinct interests subject to specific prohibitions of law against the presence of adverse or conflicting interests.
his own and that of another for whom he acts as agent, or
of two principals for both of whom he acts in a representative capacity
ELEMENTS OF A CONTRACT (COMMON)
consent of the contracting parties;
object certain which is the subject of the contract;
cause of the obligation which is established.
NATURAL
They are presumed by the law, although they can be excluded by the contracting parties if they so desire.
Derived from the nature of the contract and ordinarily accompany the same.
Warranty against eviction is implied in a contract of sale, although the contracting parties may increase, diminish, or even suppress it.
ACCIDENTAL
Exist only when the parties expressly provide for them for the purpose of limiting or modifying the normal effects of the contract.
Conditions, terms and modes.
CLASSIFICATION OF CONTRACTS
- ACCORDING TO SUBJECT MATTER
- ACCORDING TO NAME
- ACCORDING TO PERFECTION: BY MERE CONSENT
- ACCORDING TO ITS RELATION TO OTHER CONTRACTS
- ACCORDING TO FORM
- ACCORDING TO PURPOSE
- ACCORDING TO NATURE OF LEGAL TIE CREATED
- ACCORDING TO CAUSE
- ACCORDING TO RISK
- ACCORDING TO SUBJECT MATTER
Contracts involving things
like sale
Contracts involving rights or credits
provided these are transmissible
like a contract of usufruct or assignment of credits
Contracts involving services
like agency, lease of services, a contract of common carriage, a contract of carriage (simple carriage)
- ACCORDING TO NAME
Nominate (special contracts)
Innominate (contratos innominados) (NCC 1307)
Nominate (special contracts)
Those which have their own individuality, particular, or special name, and are regulated by special provisions of law.
Innominate (contratos innominados) (NCC 1307)
Those which lack individuality, are not given any special names, and are governed by the general laws on contracts.
The impossibility of anticipating all forms of agreement on one hand, and the progress of man’s sociological and economic relationships on the other, justify this provision.
Innominate contracts are based on the well-known principle that “no one shall unjustly enrich himself at the expense of another.”
Kinds OF Innominate
do ut des (I give that you may give)
no longer an innominate contract - barter or exchange.
do ut facias (I give that you may do)
facio ut des (I do that you may give)
facio ut facias (I do that you may do)
ACCORDING TO PERFECTION: BY MERE CONSENT
Consensual (NCC 1315)
Real (NCC 1316)
Formal or solemn
Consensual (NCC 1315)
Those which are perfected by the mere agreement of the parties.
like sale, lease
Real (NCC 1316)
Those which require not only the consent of the parties for their perfection, but also the delivery of the object by one party to the other.
like commodatum, deposit, pledge.
Formal or solemn
Those where special formalities are essential before the contract may be perfected.
like donation inter vivos of real property
ACCORDING TO ITS RELATION TO OTHER CONTRACTS
Principal
Accessory
Preparatory
Principal
Where the contract may stand alone by itself.
sale, lease, loan
Accessory
Depends for its existence upon another contract.
a real estate mortgage as an accessory contract to a loan
Preparatory
Where the parties do not consider the contract as an end by itself, but as a means through which future transaction or contracts may be made.
agency, partnership
- ACCORDING TO FORM
Common or informal
Special or formal
Common or informal
Those which require no particular form.
Example — loan
Special or formal
Those which require some particular form
Examples — donations, chattel mortgage.
- ACCORDING TO PURPOSE
Transfer of ownership
Example — sale
Conveyance of use
Example — commodatum
Rendition of services
Example — agency
- ACCORDING TO NATURE OF LEGAL TIE CREATED
Unilateral
Bilateral
Unilateral
When it creates an obligation on the part of only one of the parties.
Even here, the giving of consent must be mutual or bilateral.
commodatum (like the borrowing of a bicycle), gratuitous deposi
Bilateral
When it gives rise to reciprocal obligations for both parties.
sale, lease
- ACCORDING TO CAUSE
Onerous
Gratuitous or lucrative
Remunerative
Onerous
Where there is an interchange of equivalent valuable consideration.
Example — sale
Gratuitous or lucrative
This is free, thus one party receives no equivalent prestation except a feeling that one has been generous or liberal.
Example — commodatum.
Remunerative
One where one prestation is given for a benefit or service that had been rendered previously.
- ACCORDING TO RISK
Commutative
Aleatory
Commutative
Those where each of the parties acquires an equivalent of his prestation and such equivalent is pecuniarily appreciable and already determined from the moment of the celebration of the contract.
Example — lease
Aleatory
Those where each of the parties has to his account the acquisition of an equivalent of his prestation, but such equivalent, although pecuniarily appreciable, is not yet determined at the moment of the celebration of the contract, since it depends upon the happening of an uncertain event, thus charging the parties with the risk of loss or gain.
Fulfillment is dependent upon chance; thus the values vary because of the risk.
Example — insurance.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A CONTRACT
Obligatory force or character
Autonomy of contracts
Mutuality of contracts
Relativity of contracts
OBLIGATORY FORCE OR CHARACTER
Once the contract is perfected, it shall be of obligatory force upon both of the contracting parties.
Consequently, such contracting parties are bound, not only to the fulfillment of what has been expressly stipulated, but also to all of the consequences thereof.
Just as nobody can be forced to enter into a contract, in the same manner once a contract is entered into, no party can renounce it unilaterally without the consent of the other, otherwise he is liable for damages.
A contract is an agreement which gives rise to an obligation. It must bind both parties in order that it can be enforced against either. Without this equality between parties, it cannot be said that the contract has the force of law between them.
AUTONOMY OF CONTRACTS
The contracting parties may establish such agreements as they may deem convenient, provided they are not contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order, or public policy.
Hence, the freedom to contract is both a constitutional and a statutory right; therefore, to uphold this right, courts should move with all the necessary caution and prudence in holding contracts void.
Tolentino - The right to enter into lawful contracts constitutes one of the liberties of the people of the state. If that right be struck down or arbitrarily interfered with, there is a substantial impairment of the liberty of the people under the Constitution. The legislature, under the Constitution, is not permitted to prescribe the terms of a legal contract and thereby deprive the citizens of the state from entering freely into such contracts according to their own convenience and advantage, so long as the contracts entered into are not prohibited by law, public policy or morals. To enter into contracts freely and without restraints, is one of the liberties guaranteed to the people of the state.
All contractual obligations are subject — as an implied reservation therein — to the possible exercise of the police power of the state.
Compromise Agreement
An agreement between two or more persons, who, for preventing or putting an end to a lawsuit, adjust their difficulties by mutual consent in the manner which they agree on, and which everyone of them prefers in the hope of gaining, balanced by the danger of losing
Compromise Agreement, general rule?
The general rule is that a compromise has upon the parties the effect and authority of res judicata, with respect to the matter definitely stated therein, or which by implication from its terms should be deemed to have been included therein. This holds true even if the agreement has not been judicially approved.
From the time a compromise is validly entered into, it becomes the source of the rights and obligations of the parties thereto. The purpose of the compromise is precisely to replace and terminate controverted claims.
AUTONOMY OF CONTRACTS
B. EXCEPTIONS
WHEN IT IS INEQUITABLE (NCC 1310)
II. SPECIAL DISQUALIFICATIONS
III. WHAT MAY NOT BE STIPULATED
WHEN IT IS INEQUITABLE (NCC 1310)
A contracting party is not bound by the determination if it is evidently inequitable or unjust as when the third person acted in bad faith or by mistake.
This qualifies NCC 1309 as to the determination by third parties.
In such case, the courts shall decide what is equitable under the circumstances.
What is equitable is a question of fact, to be ascertained from the attendant circumstances.
II. SPECIAL DISQUALIFICATIONS 1310
Donation or grant of gratuitous advantage, direct or indirect, between the spouses during the marriage. (FC 87)
The husband and the wife cannot sell property to each other, except:
When a separation of property was agreed upon in the marriage settlements; or temuim
When there has been a judicial separation of property under article 191. (NCC 1490)
Persons who cannot acquire by purchase, even at a public or judicial auction, either in person or through the mediation of another: (NCC 1491)
The guardian, the property of the person or persons who may be under his guardianship;
Agents, the property whose administration or sale may have been intrusted to them, unless the consent of the principal has been given;
Executors and administrators, the property of the estate under administration;
Public officers and employees, the property of the State or of any subdivision thereof, or of any government-owned or controlled corporation, or institution, the administration of which has been intrusted to them; this provision shall apply to judges and government experts who, in any manner whatsoever, take part in the sale;
Justices, judges, prosecuting attorneys, clerks of superior and inferior courts, and other officers and employees connected with the administration of justice, the property and rights in litigation or levied upon an execution before the court within whose jurisdiction or territory they exercise their respective functions; this prohibition includes the act of acquiring by assignment and shall apply to lawyers, with respect to the property and rights which may be the object of any litigation in which they may take part by virtue of their profession;
Any others specially disqualified by law.
Persons who are prohibited from giving each other any donation or advantage cannot enter into universal partnership. (NCC 1782)
Donations between
Those made between persons who were guilty of adultery or concubinage at the time of the donation;
Those made between persons found guilty of the same criminal offense, in consideration thereof;
Those made to a public officer or his wife, descendants and ascendants, by reason of his office. (NCC 739)
III. WHAT MAY NOT BE STIPULATED
The stipulation, clause, term or condition established by the contracting parties must not be contrary to
law,
morals,
good customs,
public order, or
public policy.
Can a contract be given effect if it is contrary to law?
no, because law is superior to a contract.
Those which are mandatory or prohibitive in character - except when the law itself authorizes their validity.
Those which, without being mandatory or prohibitive, nevertheless, are expressive of fundamental principles of justice, and, therefore, cannot be overlooked by the contracting parties; and
Those which impose essential requisites without which the contract cannot exist.
must the contract of the parties conform with the law in force at the time the contract was executed?
yes, statutes generally have no retroactive effect and only the laws existing at the time of the execution of the contract are applicable to the transaction.
Contracts must respect the law, for the law forms part of the contract. Indeed, the provisions of all laws are understood to be incorporated in the contract.
The parties to a contract are charged with knowledge of the existing law at the time they enter into the contract and at the time it is to become operative, and a person is presumed to be more knowledgeable about the law of his country than an alien.
Non-impairment clause
Where a contract is entered into by the parties on the basis of the law then obtaining, the repeal or amendment of said law will not affect the terms of the contract, nor impair the rights of the parties hereunder. This rule applies even if one of the contracting parties is the government.
“upset price”
An upset price is a specified price below which the mortgaged property is not supposed to be sold at the execution sale.
An “upset price” is not allowed in a mortgage contract
- pactum commissorium (NCC 2088)
A clause providing that the mortgagee will automatically own the property mortgaged if the debt is not paid at maturity.
The mortgage itself, however, remains valid.
Elements of pactum commissorium:
There should be a property mortgaged by way of security for the payment of the principal obligation, and
There should be a stipulation on automatic appropriation by the creditor of the thing mortgaged in case of non-payment of the principal obligation within the stipulated period.
- pactum leonina (NCC 1799)
A stipulation which excludes one or more partners from any share in the profits or losses is void.
goes against the essence of contracts is partnerships where resources are pooled for a sharing of profits
- pactum de non alienando (NCC 2130)
A stipulation forbidding the owner from alienating the immovable mortgaged shall be void.
undue restriction on the right of ownership
banks’ stipulations not covered - prior approval needed but no absolute prohibition
musually
must a custom be proved as a fact?
yes
- MUTUALITY OF CONTRACTS (NCC 1308)
A contract containing a condition which makes its fulfillment or extinguishment dependent exclusively upon the uncontrolled will of one of the contracting parties is void.
ultimate purpose of the MUTUALITY OF CONTRACTS ?
to nullify a contract containing a condition which makes its fulfillment or pre-termination dependent exclusively upon the uncontrolled will of one of the contracting parties.
When the fulfillment of the condition depends upon the sole will of the debtor (potestative)
If the conditional obligation is suspensive
void (NCC 1182)
When the fulfillment of the condition depends upon the sole will of the debtor (potestative)
If the conditional obligation is resolutory
valid
Contract of adhesion
contract in which one party has already prepared a form of a contract containing stipulations desired by him and he simply asks the other party to agree to them if he wants to enter into the contract.
Breach of contract
The failure, without legal reason, to comply with the terms of the contract.
Termination of contract
- Termination by stipulation of the parties
- Termination, by stipulation, at option of one party
- Termination by one party with conformity of the other
Termination by stipulation of the parties
As a rule, the method of terminating a contract is primarily determined by the stipulation of the parties. The unilateral termination of a contract by a party is violative of the principle of mutuality of contracts ordained in Article 1308. A contract may be superseded by a compromise agreement (NCC 2028) provided it is not contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order or public policy (NCC 1306.) To be valid, a compromise agreement is merely required by law to be based on real claims and to be actually agreed upon in good faith.
Termination, by stipulation, at option of one party
A contract may provide, however, that it shall come to an end at the option of one, or either of the parties and such stipulation, when fairly entered into, will be enforced if not contrary to equity and good conscience.
Termination by one party with conformity of the other
Where one party opts to cancel an existing agreement and the other party expresses its conformity thereto, in legal effect, the parties enter into another contract for the dissolution of the previous one, and they are bound by their contract.
Termination of contract General Rule
The mere fact that a party to a contract has made a bad bargain, may not be a ground for setting aside the agreement. (NCC 1355)
Doctrine of unforeseen events -
Where, however, the performance of the contract has become so difficult as to be manifestly beyond the contemplation of the parties, the obligor may be released therefrom, in whole or in part. (NCC 1267)
Impossibility of prestation without fault of the debtor
The debtor in obligations to do shall also be released when the prestation becomes legally or physically impossible without the fault of the obligor. (NCC 1266)
RELATIVITY OF CONTRACTS
A. Contracts take effect only between the parties, their assigns, and heirs.
B. No one may contract in the name of another (NCC 1317)
C. Stipulations in favor of third persons (stipulation pour autrui) (NCC 1311, par. 2)
can, RELATIVITY OF CONTRACTS, as a general rule, produce any effect upon third persons?
no. in conformity with the principle of res inter alios acta aliis neque nocet prodest.
a thing done between others does not harm or benefit others.
“real interest’’
defined as a present substantial interest, as distinguished from a mere expectancy or a future, contingent, subordinate or consequential interest.
who must be considered as the continuation of the decedent’s personality.
the estate, rather than the heir,
Exceptions to heirs
The cases when a contract is effective only between the parties are when the rights and obligations arising from the contract are not transmissible:
by their nature (like a contract requiring or involving personal qualifications, as painting, singing, etc.)
by stipulation (in accordance with the principle of freedom to contract)
by provision of law (as in agency, partnership, and commodatum, when death extinguishes the legal relationships)
does death of a party excuse non-performance?
no, death of a party does not excuse non-performance of a contract which involves a property right. (e.g., contract of lease), and the rights and obligations thereunder pass to the personal representatives of the deceased. Similarly, nonperformance is not excused by the death of the party when the other party has a property interest in the subject matter of the contract.
General Rule on transmissibility
Parties can assign their rights or receivables even without stipulation since contracts are under property rights.
B. No one may contract in the name of another (NCC 1317)
A contract entered into in the name of another by one who has no authority is unenforceable against the former.
Unless it is ratified by the principal before it is revoked by the other contracting party.
Implied Ratification
can be implied from acts, such as when the owner of a hacienda which was sold to strangers without his authority, collected the amount in a promissory note given as purchase price (Tacalinar v. Corro)
what does Ratification do?
cleanses the contract from all its defects from the moment the contract was entered into. (NCC 1396) Hence, there is a retroactive effect.
Requisites for a Person to Contract in the Name of Another
- The person entering into the contract must be duly authorized, expressly or impliedly, by the person in whose name he contracts or he must have, by law, a right to represent him (like a guardian or an administrator); and
- He must act within his power. A contract entered into by an agent in excess of his authority is unenforceable against the principal, but the agent is personally liable to the party with whom he contracted where such party was not given sufficient notice of the limits of the powers granted by the principal
B. No one may contract in the name of another (NCC 1317) Exceptions to third parties
Stipulation pour autrui (NCC 1311)
In contracts creating real rights (NCC 1312)
In contracts entered into to defraud creditors (NCC 1313)
In contracts which have been violated at the inducement of the third person (NCC 1314)
In contracts creating “status” (e.g., the resulting status of marriage must be respected, even by strangers, while the contract is in force)
In the quasi-contract of negotiorum gestio, the owner is bound in a proper case, by contracts entered into by the “gestor’’ (unauthorized manager) (NCC 2150)
In “collective contracts” where the majority rules over the minority (e.g., collective bargaining contracts which affect even nonunion members; “suspension of payments” and “compositions” under the Insolvency Law or Act No. 1956, as amended, where creditors are bound by the contracts of the majority)
Where the law authorizes the creditor to sue on a contract entered into by his debtor (accion directa).