Essential Elements of Legal Acts and Contracts

Posted on Nov 11, 2024 in Law & Jurisprudence

Elements of a Legal Act

The structure of a legal act, as defined in Article 1444, consists of three key elements:

Essential Elements

  • General Requirements for Legal Existence: These are fundamental aspects that determine the validity of the act.
    • Will
    • Object
    • Cause
    • Solemn formalities (if required)
  • Specific Requirements: These are unique characteristics of the act, such as the purchase price in a sales contract (Article 1793).

Natural Elements

These are elements that are inherent in the nature of the legal act and are presumed to exist unless explicitly excluded by the parties.

Accidental Elements

These are elements that are not essential to the nature of the legal act but are added by the parties to modify its effects, such as conditions, terms, or modes.

Legal Classification of Acts

Legal acts can be classified into various categories based on different criteria:

Number of Parties Involved (Article 1439)

  • Unilateral: Involve the will of only one party (e.g., a will). Governed by Article 999 and following, with interpretation rules in Article 1069. For consent to be vitiated, the vice must come from a third party.
  • Bilateral: Involve the agreement of two parties (e.g., a sales contract). Governed by Book 4, with interpretation rules in Article 1560. For fraud to vitiate consent, the vice must come from the other party.
  • Plurilateral: Involve the agreement of more than two parties.

Benefit Provided (Article 1440)

  • Gratuitous: Based on pure generosity or the intention to do good (e.g., a donation). Error in the person does not vitiate consent (Article 1445), unless the identity of the person is crucial.
  • Onerous: Involve an exchange of benefits or considerations.
    • Commutative: The benefits exchanged are considered equivalent (e.g., a sales contract). Subject to the doctrines of unforeseen hardship and rebus sic stantibus.
    • Aleatory: The benefits exchanged are uncertain or dependent on chance (e.g., an insurance contract).

Other Classifications

  • Mortis Causa vs. Inter Vivos: Based on whether the act takes effect upon death (e.g., a will) or during the lifetime of the parties.
  • Family vs. Patrimonial: Based on whether the act relates to family matters or property rights. Patrimonial acts are subject to greater restrictions on autonomy.
  • Typical vs. Atypical: Based on whether the act is expressly regulated by law (typical) or not (atypical). Atypical acts are governed by analogy to the most similar typical act.
  • Pure and Simple vs. Subject to Conditions: Based on whether the act’s effects are immediate and unconditional or depend on the fulfillment of certain conditions.
  • Principal vs. Accessory: Based on whether the act is independent or dependent on another act (e.g., a guarantee is accessory to a loan contract).
  • Real, Consensual, or Solemn: Based on the formalities required for the act to be valid. Real acts require delivery of a thing, consensual acts require only agreement, and solemn acts require specific formalities prescribed by law.
  • Instantaneous, Deferred, or Successive: Based on the timing of the act’s performance. Instantaneous acts are performed immediately, deferred acts are performed at a later time, and successive acts are performed over a period of time.

Invalidity of Legal Acts (Articles 1682 and 1691)

  • Absolute Nullity: Occurs when the act violates a rule of public order. The act is void from the beginning and cannot be validated.
  • Relative Nullity: Occurs when the act violates a rule that protects private interests. The act can be validated by the parties or by a court decision.

Disability (Article 1447)

Disability refers to the legal incapacity of certain individuals to perform legal acts. There are three types of disability:

  • Absolute Disability: Applies to individuals who lack the capacity to understand the nature and consequences of their actions.
    • Insane persons
    • Minors (prepubertal)
    • Deaf or mute persons who cannot clearly understand
  • Relative Disability: Applies to individuals whose capacity is limited by law.
    • Adult children under parental authority
    • Individuals under interdiction (legal guardianship)
  • Special Disability: Applies to individuals who are prohibited by law from performing certain specific acts.

Requirements for the Existence of a Legal Act

Will

The will is the conscious and voluntary intention to perform a legal act. It must be free from vices of consent, such as error, fraud, or duress.

Cause (Article 1467)

The cause is the underlying reason or purpose for the legal act. It can be:

  • Efficient Cause: The immediate reason for the obligation.
  • Final Cause: The ultimate purpose or goal of the obligation.
  • Occasional Cause: The specific motive or circumstance that led to the legal act. It must be lawful and not contrary to public order or morality.

Theories of Cause

  • Classic/Traditional Theory: Focuses on the final cause.
  • Mobile/Determining Theory: Focuses on the occasional cause.
  • Neocausalismo/Italian/Economic Order Theory: Considers both the final cause and the social and economic context of the act.
  • Anticausal Theory: Rejects the concept of cause as unnecessary or illogical.

Cause in the Civil Code

The Civil Code adopts a bifurcated approach to cause, distinguishing between:

  • Cause as a Condition of Existence: This refers to the final cause (Article 1467, paragraph 1).
  • Cause as a Condition of Validity: This refers to the occasional cause (Article 1467, paragraph 2).

Requirements for Cause in the Civil Code

The cause must be real (Articles 1467, 1816, and 2299) and lawful (Article 1463).

Object (Article 1461)

The object is the subject matter of the legal act. It can be a thing, a right, or an action. The object must be lawful, possible, determined or determinable, and have a pecuniary value.

Solemn Formalities

Some legal acts require specific formalities to be valid, such as being in writing, signed by the parties, or witnessed. These formalities are prescribed by law (e.g., Article 1801 for sales of real estate, Article 1554 No. 1 for marriage contracts, Article 2409 paragraph 1 for mortgages, Article 767 for wills, Article 17 of Law 19.947 for certain corporate acts).