Search Wikipedia Search Create account Log in

Law of obligations 40 languages

Contents hide Article Talk Read Edit View history Tools

(Top) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

History
The law of obligations is one branch of private law under the civil law legal system and so-called "mixed" legal systems. It is the body of rules that
Definition organizes and regulates the rights and duties arising between individuals. The specific rights and duties are referred to as obligations, and this area of
Classification in Roman Law law deals with their creation, effects and extinction.

Sources An obligation is a legal bond (vinculum iuris) by which one or more parties (obligants) are bound to act or refrain from acting. An obligation thus imposes
Contracts on the obligor a duty to perform, and simultaneously creates a corresponding right to demand performance by the obligee to whom performance is to be
tendered.
Delicts

Quasi-contracts
History [ edit ]
Quasi-delicts
The word originally derives from the Latin "obligare" which comes from the root "lig" which suggests being bound, as one is to God for instance in "re-
Subject matter ligio".[1] This term first appears in Plautus' play Truculentus at line 214.
See also
Obligations did not originally form part of Roman Law, which mostly concerned issues of succession, property, and family relationships. It developed as a
References solution to a gap in the system, when one party committed a wrong against another party. These situations were originally governed by a basic
Citations customary law of revenge.[2] This undesirable situation eventually developed into a system of liability where people were at first encouraged and then
essentially forced to accept monetary compensation from the wrongdoer or their family instead of seeking vengeance. This signaled an important shift in
Sources
the law away from vengeance and towards compensation. The state supported this effort by standardizing amounts for certain wrongs. Thus the earliest
form of Obligation law derives out of what we would today call Delict.[3]

However, it is important to note that liability in this form did not yet include the idea that the debtor "owed" monetary compensation to the creditor, it was
merely a means of avoiding punishment. If the debtor or his family didn't have the means to pay then the old rules still applied as outlined in the Twelve
Tables, specifically Table III.[4] This section, despite how harsh it may appear to us, was originally developed as a means to protect debtors from the
excessive abuses of creditors.[5]

Definition [ edit ]

Justinian first defines an obligation (obligatio)[6] in his Institutes, Book 3, section 13 as "a legal bond, with which we are bound by necessity of performing
some act according to the laws of our State."[7] He further separates the law of obligations into contracts, delicts, quasi-contracts, and quasi-delicts.

Nowadays, obligation, as applied under civilian law, means a legal tie (vinculum iuris) by which one or more parties (obligants) are bound to perform or
refrain from performing specified conduct (prestation).[8] Thus an obligation encompasses both sides of the equation, both the obligor's duty to render
prestation and the obligee's right to receive prestation. It differs from the common-law concept of obligation which only encompasses the duty aspect.

Every obligation has four essential requisites otherwise known as the elements of obligation. They are:

1. the obligor: obligant duty-bound to fulfill the obligation; he who has a duty.
2. the obligee: obligant entitled to demand the fulfillment of the obligation; he who has a right.
3. the subject matter, the prestation: the performance to be tendered.
4. a legal bond, the vinculum juris: the cause that binds or connects the obligants to the prestation.

Classification in Roman Law [ edit ]

Sources [ edit ]

Obligations arising out of the will of the parties are called voluntary, and those imposed by operation of law are called involuntary. Sometimes these are
called conventional and obediential. The events giving rise to obligations may be further distinguished into specified categories.

voluntary:
unilateral promise (pollicitatio) - undertaking by promisor only to perform, not requiring the promisee's agreement
contract
quasi-contract
negotiorum gestio - duty to repay an intervenor (gestor) who has managed the affairs or property of another (dominus negotii) who was unable
to so
solutio indebiti - undue payment or delivery of a thing to another (accipiens), who is then obligated to return the thing to the payer (solvens)
involuntary:
delicts and quasi-delicts (equivalent to the common-law tort).
unjust enrichment (condictio indebiti)

One of the first known classifications was made by Gaius in his Institutes, who divided obligations into obligations ex contractu (obligations arising from
legal actions) and obligations ex delicto (obligations arising from illegal, unlawful actions). However, since this classification was too vague, in his work
Res cottidinanae Gaius classified all obligations into the aforementioned obligations ex contractu and obligations ex delicto, as well as obligations ex
variis causarum figuris, which was a heterogeneous category that was supposed to include all the cases of obligations not arising from delicts or
contracts.

The most precise Roman classification of obligations was featured in Justinian's Institutes (not to be confused by Gaius' Institutes), which classified them
as obligations arising from contracts (ex contractu), those arising from delicts (ex maleficio), those arising from quasi-contracts (quasi ex contractu), and
those arising from quasi-delicts (quasi ex maleficio).[9]

Contracts [ edit ]
See also: Contract

A contract can be broadly defined as an agreement that is enforceable at law. Gaius classified contracts into four categories which are: contracts
consensu, verbal contracts, contracts re, and contracts litteris. But this classification cannot cover all the contracts, such as pacts and innominate
contracts; thus, it is no longer used. According to many modern legal scholars, the most important classification of contracts is that of contracts
consensu, which only require the consent of wills to create obligations, and formal contracts, which have to be concluded in a specific form in order to be
valid (for example, in many European countries a contract regulating the purchase of real estate must be concluded in a special written form that is
validated by a public notary).[10]

Delicts [ edit ]
See also: Obligatio ex delicto

Quasi-contracts [ edit ]

Quasi-contracts are supposed to be sources of obligations very similar to contracts, but the main difference is that they are not created by an agreement
of wills. The main cases are negotiorum gestio (conducting of another person's affairs without their authorization), unjust enrichment, and solutio
indebiti.[11] This Roman classification is quite controversial for today's standards, since many of these cases would be considered as completely different
from contracts (most notably unjust enrichment), and would instead be classified as delicts or special sources of obligations. They are formed by
implication from circumstances regardless of the assent or dissent of parties. They are called quasi-contracts. The following are the examples of quasi-
contractual obligations under the Roman law;

Quasi-delicts [ edit ]
See also: Obligatio ex delicto § Obligationes quasi ex delicto

The designation comprised a group of actions that are very similar to delicts, but lacking one of key elements of delicts. It includes res suspensae,
responsibility for things poured or thrown out of buildings, responsibility of shippers/innkeepers/stablekeepers, and erring judges. For example, the
responsibility of innkeepers creates obligations when certain things left by guests in the lodging are destroyed, damaged or lost by the innkeeper's
assistants or employees. In this case, the innkeeper is responsible for the damages to the guest's property, even though he did not cause them
personally.[12]

Subject matter [ edit ]

Obligations are classified according to the nature of the performance (prestation):

real obligation - related somehow to immovable property[13]

obligation to give - obligations to give or possession, or enjoyment[14]
specific obligation - delivery of a determinate thing when it is particularly designated or physically separated from all others of the same class[15]
generic obligation - delivery of a generic thing[15]
personal obligations - undertakings either to do or not do all kinds of work or service
positive personal obligation - undertaking or obligation to do
negative personal obligation - forbearance or obligation to not do

See also [ edit ]

Right
Solidary obligations
Swiss Code of Obligations

References [ edit ]

Citations [ edit ]
1. ^ Zimmermann 1996, p. 1. 9. ^ Bujuklić, Žika (2015). Rimsko privatno pravo. Pravni fakultet Univerziteta u
2. ^ see for example: Exodus 21.23-25 Beogradu. pp. 350–351. ISBN 978-86-7630-579-7.
3. ^ Zimmermann 1996, pp. 2–3. 10. ^ Perović, Slobodan (1980). Obligaciono pravo. Privredna štampa.
4. ^ XII tables, specifically Table III "Debt" 11. ^ Bujuklić, Žika (2015). Rimsko privatno pravo. Pravni fakultet Univerziteta u
5. ^ Zimmermann 1996, p. 3. Beogradu. p. 425. ISBN 978-86-7630-579-7.
6. ^ Albanese, Bernardo. "Papimano e la definizione di obligatio in J, 3, 13, pr." 12. ^ Bujuklić, Žika (2015). Rimsko privatno pravo. Pravni fakultet Univerziteta u
(1984) 50 SDHI 166 sqq. Beogradu. pp. 430–432. ISBN 978-86-7630-579-7.
7. ^ Justinian. "Institute." Trans. John B. Moyle. (Oxford: Oxford University 13. ^ "Legal definition of Real obligation" . legal-glossary.org. 9 March 2014.
Press. 1889) at 132 Retrieved 2014-03-09.
8. ^ J.-L. Baudouin, P.-G. Jobin, & N. Vézina, Les Obligations, 6th edn. 14. ^ "Gifts and Nations: The Obligation to Give, Receive [sic], and Repay" .
(Cowansville: Yvon Blais, 2005), 19. 15. ^ a b "Laws on Obligation and Contracts - Contract Law Essays" . 30 May
2020.

Sources [ edit ]

Zimmermann, Reinhard (1996). The Law of Obligations: Roman Foundations of the Civilian Tradition. Oxford University Press.
doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198764267.001.0001 . ISBN 9780198764267.

· · Law [hide]

Administrative law · Civil law · Constitutional law · Contract · Criminal law · Deed · Equity · Evidence · International law · Law of obligations ·
Core subjects
Private law · Procedure (Civil · Criminal) · Property law · Public law · Restitution and unjust enrichment · Statutory law · Tort
Abortion law · Agricultural law · Aviation law · Amnesty law · Banking law · Bankruptcy · Commercial law · Competition law · Conflict of laws ·
Construction law · Consumer protection · Corporate law · Cyberlaw · Drugs law · Election law · Energy law · Entertainment law (Media law) ·
Environmental law · Family law · Financial law · Financial regulation · Health law · Immigration law · Intellectual property · International criminal law
Disciplines · International human rights · International slavery laws · International trade law · Jurimetrics · Labour · Landlord–tenant law · Law of war ·
Legal archaeology · Legal fiction · Maritime law · Marriage law · Military law · Nationality law · Probate (Estate · Will and testament) ·
Product liability · Public international law · Refugee law · Reparations · Space law · Sports law · Tax law · Transport law · Trust law ·
Unenforced law · Women in law
Charter · Legal code / Statutory law · Constitution · Custom · Divine right (Divine law) · Human rights · Natural law (Natural and legal rights) ·
Sources of law
Case law (Precedent · Law reports) · Legal treatise · Regulations
Ballot measure · Codification · Decree (Edict · Executive order · Proclamation) · Legislation (Delegated legislation · Regulation · Rulemaking) ·
Law making
Promulgation · Repeal · Treaty (Concordat) · Statutory law (Statute · Act of parliament · Act of Congress) · Basic structure doctrine
Civil law · Common law · Chinese law · Legal pluralism · Religious law (Canon law (Catholic canon law) · Hindu law · Jain law · Jewish law ·
Legal systems
Parsi law · Sharia) · Roman law (Byzantine law) · Socialist law · Statutory law · Xeer · Yassa
Anarchist · Contract theory · Critical legal studies · Comparative law · Expressive function · Feminist · Law and economics · Legal formalism ·
Legal theory
History · Libertarian · International legal theory · Principle of legality · Principle of typicality · Pseudolaw · Rule of law · Sociology
Adjudication · Administration of justice · Criminal justice · Court-martial · Dispute resolution · Fiqh · Lawsuit/Litigation · Legal opinion · Legal remedy
Jurisprudence · Judge (Justice of the peace · Magistrate) · Judgment · Judicial review · Jurisdiction · Jury · Justice · Practice of law (Attorney · Barrister · Counsel
· Lawyer · Legal representation · Prosecutor · Solicitor) · Question of fact · Question of law · Trial · Trial advocacy · Trier of fact · Verdict
Barristers' chambers · Bureaucracy · The bar · The bench · Civil society · Court · Court of equity · Election commission · Executive · Judiciary ·
Legal institutions
Law enforcement · Legal education (Law school) · Legislature · Military · Police · Political party · Tribunal
History History of the legal profession (History of the American legal profession)

Law portal · Category · Index · Outline

Authority control databases: National Israel · United States · Latvia · Japan · Czech Republic

Portal: Law

Category: Law of obligations

This page was last edited on 16 December 2023, at 18:39 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit
organization.

Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Contact Wikipedia Code of Conduct Developers Statistics Cookie statement Mobile view