Vinarao, John Gabriel T.

BSA 1-16
STUDY GUIDE
CHAPTER 3
I. Definitions
1. Form of contract
 A contract refers to the manner in which a contract is executed or manifested. The contract
maybe oral, or in writing or partly oral and partly in writing.

2. Informal contract
 A contract that which may be entered into in whatever form, provided, all the essential
requisites for their validity are present. This refers only to consensual contracts such as
the contract of sale. An informal contract may be oral or written.
II. Discussions
1. What maybe the form of contract
 The contract maybe oral, or in writing or partly oral and partly in writing. It maybe express when
the parties expressly set forth their intentions, or implied when their intentions may be inferred
from their actions or conduct. If in writing, it may be in a public or a private instrument.

2. If the law requires a contract to be in writing, will the contract be invalid if it is not in writing?
 According to Article 1356 that states that, Contracts shall be obligatory, in whatever form
they may have been entered into, provided all the essential requisites for their validity are
present. However, when the law requires that a contract be in some form in order that it
may be valid or enforceable, or that a contract be proved in a certain way, that
requirement is absolute and indispensable. In such cases, the right of the parties stated in
the following article cannot be exercised. Meaning when the law requires a contract to be
in writing the parties should follow and if not the contract will be invalid.
III. Problems
1. S (seller) and B (buyer) entered into a contract of sale of a parcel of land. The sale is embodied
only in a private document and not in a public instrument because it was not acknowledged
before a notary public as required by law. Is the sale valid?
  Yes, because according to Article 1358, The contracts covered by this article are valid
and enforceable though not embodied in a public document or instrument or in writing.
The public document is required only for the convenience and greater protection of the
parties and registration is needed only to make the contract effective as against third
persons. Meaning that even though the contract of sale is in only in a private document
the contract is still valid.

2. In the same example, what rights, if any, are acquired by the contracting parties?

 If the law requires a document or other special form, as in the acts and contracts
enumerated in the following article, the contracting parties may compel each other to
observe that form, once the contract has been perfected. This right may be exercised
simultaneously with the action upon the contract (Article 1357).
 Meaning the contract is valid and binding, although it is still executory, but only as
between the parties and not as against third persons without notice until the sale is
registered in the Registry of Property. B has a right to compel S to put the contract in a
public instrument so that it can be registered to affect third persons, even in the absence
of express agreement between them to the effect.