Obligations and Contracts and Related Laws

Article 1305

A 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. (1254a)

Article 1307

Innominate contracts shall be regulated by the stipulations of the parties, by the provisions of Titles I and II of this Book, by the rules governing the most analogous nominate contracts, and by the customs of the place. (n)

Article 1308

The contract must bind both contracting parties; its validity or compliance cannot be left to the will of one of them. (1256a)

Article 1309

The determination of the performance may be left to a third person, whose decision shall not be binding until it has been made known to both contracting parties. (n)

Article 1310

The determination shall not be obligatory if it is evidently inequitable. In such case, the courts shall decide what is equitable under the circumstances. (n)

Article 1311

Contracts take effect only between the parties, their assigns and heirs, except in case where the rights and obligations arising from the contract are not transmissible by their nature, or by stipulation or by provision of law. The heir is not liable beyond the value of the property he received from the decedent. If a contract should contain some stipulation in favor of a third person, he may demand its fulfillment provided he communicated his acceptance to the obligor before its revocation. A mere incidental benefit or interest of a person is not sufficient. The contracting parties must have clearly and deliberately conferred a favor upon a third person. (1257a)

Article 1312

In contracts creating real rights, third persons who come into possession of the object of the contract are bound thereby, subject to the provisions of the Mortgage Law and the Land Registration Laws. (n)

Article 1313

Creditors are protected in cases of contracts intended to defraud them. (n)

Article 1314

Any third person who induces another to violate his contract shall be liable for damages to the other contracting party. (n)

Article 1315

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 the consequences which, according to their nature, may be in keeping with good faith, usage and law. (1258)

Article 1316

Real contracts, such as deposit, pledge and commodatum, are not perfected until the delivery of the object of the obligation. (n)

Article 1317

No one may contract in the name of another without being authorized by the latter, or unless he has by law a right to represent him. A contract entered into in the name of another by one who has no authority or legal representation, or who has acted beyond his powers, shall be unenforceable, unless it is ratified, expressly or impliedly, by the person on whose behalf it has been executed, before it is revoked by the other contracting party. (1259a) General Provisions