LAW ESSENTIAL REVIEWER

1. What are the essential requisites of contracts?

1) Consent of the contracting parties (Consent)

2) Object certain which is the subject matter of the contract; (Object of Contracts)

3) Cause of the obligation which is established (Cause of Contracts)

2. What is consent and requisites?

Consent- is the conformity or concurrence of wills (offer and acceptance)

Requisite Consents means those permissions, consents, approvals, licences, certificates and permits in
legally effectual form as may be necessary to lawfully commence, carry out and complete the Tenant's
Works.

3. When are contracts perfected?

In general, when a consent is given, the contract is considered perfected. It can be deemed an oral
contract that binds both contracting parties. One person must have a definite offer and the other must
have an absolute acceptance of the offer

4. What is the effect of death, civil interdiction, insanity or insolvency before acceptance is conveyed?

Under Article 1323, even if the offer is not withdrawn, its acceptance will not produce a meeting of the
minds in case the offer has already become ineffective because of the death, civil interdiction, insanity, or
insolvency of either party before the conveyance of the acceptance to the offeror.

5. Who are incapacitated to give consent in a contract?

The persons enumerated under Article 1327 incapacitated to give consent to contracts due to their lack
of mental capacity to do so. They are either deaf-mutes, insane or demented

Minors, insane, demented person, deaf, mute, civil interdiction, hospitalized lepers, prodigals

6. Exceptions to the rule that a contract entered into by emancipated minor without the consent of his
parents or guardians are voidable.

- a minor cannot void a contract for necessities like food, clothing, and lodging.

- a minor can void a contract for lack of capacity only while still under the age of majority. In most
states, if a minor turns 18 and hasn't done anything to void the contract, then the contract can no
longer be voided.

7. Who is prohibited from entering into a contract?

Minor, those who are under civil interdiction, hospitalized lepers, prodigals, deaf and dumb, those who
cannot read and write, those who has disease, weak mind and other causes.

7. Distinguish incapacity to enter a contract vs prohibition to enter into a contract

Minors are incapacity to enter a contract, it means a person who is under 18 years old cannot enter into
a contract. While prohibited to enter into a contract are those contracts that are contrary to law, morals,
customs, public order and public policy.

8. What are the vices of contract?

- To attack the validity of consent, one must generally demonstrate that a vice of consent existed.
Louisiana Civil Code 1948 provides three (3) vices of consent: Error, Fraud, and Duress. Error: An error
can be either bilateral or unilateral. A bilateral error occurs when both parties to a contract are in error.

- Failure by one or both parties to disclose a material fact. A mistake, misrepresentation, or

fraud. Undue influence or duress. One party's legal incapacity to enter a contract (e.g., a
minor)

10. Define mistake of fact and mistake of the law.

Mistake of fact arises from ignorance or lack of knowledge.

Substantial mistake– the party would not have given his consent had he known of the mistake. NOT
every mistake will vitiate consent and make a contract voidable.

Unilateral- when only one party is mistaken about material fact

Bilateral- both parties are in error. Person who makes mistake cannot avoid liability to the innocent
party unless he shows that he was free of fault or negligence.

Mistake of law arises from an ignorance of some provisions of law, or from an erroneous conclusion as
to the legal effect of an agreement, on the part of one of the parties.

RULE: mistake of law does not invalidate consent because “ignorance of the law excuses no one from
compliance therewith.

- The mistake of law is no defence to the violation of the law. ... A mistake of fact can be an exception in
reducing or eliminating the liability of the person. A person cannot escape his liability for intentional
mistakes. A criminal defendant can argue that he/she never intended to commit the crime.

11. Which of those can be vitiate consent rendering the contract voidable?

If the consent of one party is not freely given because such consent was obtained through fraud, violence
intimidation, undue influence, the contract is voidable. This is when it is said that the consent is vitiated.
-Mututal errors as to the legal effect of an agreement when the real purpose of the parties is frustrated,
may vitiate consent.
 - mistake of law does not generally vitiate consent. But when there is a mistake on a doubtful question
of law, or on the construction or application of law, this is analogous to a mistake of fact.

12. What mistake of fact will render the contract voidable?

A voidable contract is a formal agreement between two parties that may be rendered
unenforceable for any number of legal reasons, which may include: Failure by one or both
parties to disclose a material fact. A mistake, misrepresentation, or fraud.

13. Is there any exemption to the rule that a mistake of law CAN'T vitiate consent rendering the contract
voidable?

When there is a mistake on a doubtful question of law or on the construction or application of law, this
is a analogous to make a mistake of fact, and the ignorance of the law excuses no one should have no
proper application.

14. What is violence and intimidation?

Violence requires the employment of the physical force. Under Art 1335, to make consent defective, the
force employed must be either serious or irresistible.

"There is intimidation when one of the contracting parties is compelled by a reasonable and
well-grounded fear of an imminent and grave evil upon his person or property, or upon the
person or property of his spouse, descendants or ascendants, to give his consent
Intimidation need not resort to physical force. It is an internal while violence is external.

15. Requisites of violence and intimidation which will render a contract voidable.

Requisites of Violence

1. irresistible physical force

2. such force is the determining cause for giving consent

Requisites for Intimidation

1. Determining cause for the contract

2. Threatened act is unjust and unlawful
3. Real and serious
4. Produces a well gounded fear that the person making it will carry it forever

16. Distinguish violence and intimidation.

Violence is a physical force or compulsion while intimidation is a moral force or compulsion.

 Intimidation is intentional behavior that would cause a person of reasonable apprehension to fear
injury or harm.

17. What is undue influence?

it is influence of a kind that so overpowers the mind of a party as to prevent him from acting
understandingly and voluntarily to do what he would have done if he had been left to exercise freely on
his own judgment and discretion.

18. What is fraud?

There is fraud when through insidious words or machinations of one of the contracting parties, the
other is induced to enter into a contract which, without them, he would not have agreed to.

Casual fraud is the fraud committed by one party before or at the time of the celebration of the contract
to secure the consent of the other. Used by a party to induce the other to enter into a contract without
which the latter would not have agreed to.

19. Requisites of fraud which will render a contract voidable.

1. There must be misinterpretation or concealment of a material fact of knowledge of its falsity (ART
1338-1339)

2. It must be serious. (ART 1344)

3. It must have been employed by only one of the contracting parties. Fraud committed by a third
person does not vitiate consent unless it was practiced in connivance with, or atleast with the
knowledge of, the favored contracting party (ART 1342)

20. Differentiate clauses of fraud.

Causal fraud is a ground for the annulment of a contract, although it may also give rise to an action for
damages

Incidental fraud which only renders the party who employs it liable for damages because the fraud was
not the principal inducement that led the other to give his consent.

21. Distinguish dolo causante and dolo incidente.

Dolo Causante which determines or is the essential cause of the consent; fraud in the perfection of
contract. (ART 1338) can be a ground for annulment.

Dolo Incidente which does not have such a decisive influence and by utself cannot cause the giving of
consent, but refers only to some particular or accident of the obligation. (ART 1344 & 1170) cannot be
ground for annulment.
 Dolo causante determines or is the essential cause of the consent, while dolo incidente refers only to
some particular or accident of the obligation. The effects of dolo causante are the nullity of the contract
and the indemnification of damages, and dolo incidente also obliges the person employing it to pay
damages..

22. What is meant by simulation of contract and its effect?

Simulation of contract is the act of deliberately deceiving others, by feigning or pretending by

agreement, the appearance of a contract which is either non-existent or concealed.

Simulated contract, in Civil law, is a contract that, by mutual agreement, does not express the true intent
of the parties. A simulated contract is absolute when the parties intend that the contract will impose no
obligations. Such a contract cannot enforce any obligations on the parties.

Objects:

23. What is the meaning of object of contract?

All things which are not outside the commerce of men, including future things, may be the subject of a
contract.

Object of every contract is the obligation created. It maybe the thing, service or right which is the object
of the obligation .

24. Requisites in order that a thing, right or service maybe the subject of the contract.

Requisites of things as object of contract.

(1) The thing must be within the commerce of men, that is, it can legally be the subject of
commercial transaction (Art. 1347.)
(2) It must not be impossible, legally or physically (Art. 1348.);
(3) It must be in existence or capable of coming into existence (see Arts. 1461, 1493, 1494.); and
(4) It must be determinate or determinable without the need of a new contract between the
parties. (Arts. 1349, 1460,

Requisites of services as object of contract.

(1) The service must be within the commerce of men;

(2) It must not be impossible, physically or legally (Art. 1348.); and

(3) It must be determinate or capable of being made determinate. (Arts. 1318, 1349.)
25. What things, rights, or services cannot be the subject of contract.

-when they are intransmissible by their nature, or by stipulation, or by provision of law. (Art. 1311)

26. Exemptions to the rule that no person can enter into a contract with regard to future inheritance.

No contracts may be entered into upon future inheritance except in cases expressly authorized by law.
All services which are not contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order or public policy may
likewise be the object of a contract.

27. What is meant by the cause of contract?

The cause of the contract is the “why of the contract”, the immediate and most proximate purpose of
the contract, the essential reason which impels the contracting parties to enter into ti and which
explains and justifies the creation of the obligation through such contract.

28. Distinguish cause vs consideration.

29. Distinguish cause vs object of the contract.

30. Distinguish cause of a contract is a motives of contracting parties.

31. Requisites that must concur in order that there will be a sufficient cause upon which a contract maybe
founded.