Understanding Joint Obligations and Pecuniary Debts
Measurement Principle Report: Obligations Pool
B) Obligations Pool
The Commonwealth responds with the idea of community among the different subjects included in each part. This is reflected in the action, both as passive and active, of coordinated action. The measurement principle states that the right only causes damage to the collective acts of the creditors or debtors. If one party does something detrimental, only that one party is obligated to compensate, becoming partially liable. An exception is recognized where any of the holders act for the benefit of the community.
C) Several Liabilities
External relations should be distinguished between the obligations of the parts and internal relations. There are various creditors and debtors, respectively. The external peculiarity is that each subject can act individually, independent of the participation of others. This gives individual recognition and legitimacy. Each creditor, conversely, does not deny the existence of all credit or debt.
The following apply:
- Solidarity in the Act (Active): Each legitimate acre is able to demand and receive fulfillment.
- Several Liability (Debt): The creditor may claim fulfillment from some or all of the debtors simultaneously.
The internal relations between creditor and debtor are governed by the measurement principle of partial liability.
D) Application in Every Legal System
The Civil Code presumes a regime of partial liability, unless otherwise stated. This presumption favors joint obligations when the commonwealth is indivisible and solidarity is only stated by the parties. However, in the first place, it should be noted what the parties have established in the obligatory relationship. If it is not expressly stated, the entirety of the obligation is not to be understood as the established regime.
If the creditors or debtors are not bound by professional links (partial liability), if there is any legal relationship between them (solidarity), if all creditors require the participation of debtors (commonwealth).
T10: Pecuniary Obligations
A) Money
This type identifies the object of the obligations where the prestation is money. Money is key in a developed economy and has two functions: a medium of exchange and a general measure of value. Its regulation corresponds to the law, which determines what things are and their value. The ideal measure of currency is represented by paper or metal money. Legal tender is the general means of payment. In money, we must distinguish intrinsic value (the material it is made of), nominal value (assigned by the State), and current value (purchasing power in the currency market at the time).
B) Debts Owed
Debts can take various forms:
- Total Debt: The benefit is a fixed amount of money that can be specified by its nominal value for payment in the corresponding amount of coins.
- Specific Currency: The parties fix the specific currency or species with which the obligation must be paid.
- Debt Value: The quantity of money is determined initially, but the value is fixed in relation to other assets that replace the money.
Only debt deserves the appellation of “great monetary debt,” and strictly speaking, we mean it.
C) Changes in the Value of Money: The Nominalist Principle
The problem arises from the principle that money can undergo changes in its exchange value, and that it can lose or gain purchasing power (due to inflation or deflation). There are several solutions expressed by two principles:
- Nominalist Principle: The debtor must deliver the amount set under the nominal value, so inflations and deflations are irrelevant, although this can lead to injustices.
- Value Principle: The debt is fixed according to the real value of the money at the moment of payment, making money debts into debts of value. This is more just.
Our legal system governs the nominalist principle.
D) Interest Debt
Interest is fundamental in the nature of money and compensates for the productive use of another’s capital. It is a pecuniary obligation of an accessory character. Its amount is calculated by a percentage, although other criteria can be set. Interest may be of legal or conventional origin.