Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Wuolah Free Chapter 10
Wuolah Free Chapter 10
Wuolah Free Chapter 10
anita_ch11
No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
By the contract of provision of services, one party is obliged to render a service in favour of the other
party who pays for it a certain price, Art 1544.
The CC only regulates the services provided by salaried workers, but Labour Laws nowadays rules
these services.
a) Characteristics:
. Provision of services is a contract by consensus, bilateral and onerous, and it is not a
formal contract.
. Obligation to use means. The provider undertakes the obligation to use the best
. Price certain: the consideration paid for the services rendered usually depends on the
period of time while services were provided.
. Confidence: the client is usually confident on the manner in which the professional is
going to provide the service. The provider of the service is generally free as to how to
provide the service, being only bound to perform it in accordance with the diligence of his
profession.
However, it might be that the person who ask for the service gives the professional
instructions or suggestions for the performance thereof.
b) Elements:
. Personal elements: person who provides the service and person that entrust and enjoys the
service.
. Real elements: the performance of service which is an activity that entails an obligation to
use means. Or, the counter-performance consists on the obligation to pay a determined price
for the service.
If the parties have not fixed the price a the time of the contract, it shall be fixed with reference
to the usage or the market price for the service concerned.
a64b0469ff35958ef4ab887a898bd50bdfbbe91a-4025534
c) Obligations of the parties:
The provider of the service has to render the service acting with the diligence correspondent to his
profession.
However, assistants can be used in the provision of the services if the parties so agree or, lacking
No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
any agreement, if the usages admit such assistance.
The action for the payment of the fees for the services rendered has a term of three years, Art
1967.
- Construction contracts:
Construction contracts, literally called contracts of work, are those through which a person, the
contractor or builder, assumes the obligation to carry out a work for the benefit of another, the
owner, who pays a price for it.
The work shall be carried out as agreed. In order to modify the final result of the work a new
The contractor has an obligation to achieve a certain result; he enters into a commitment to attain
a particular end: the work (obligation of result). The contractor has to carry out the work in
accordance with the contract performing the work in the manner established.
Once the work is finished, the contractor has the obligation to deliver and the owner has the
obligation to receive the work if it is in accordance with the contract.
The reception of the work can be tacit or express. The first one results from a behaviour of the
owner which demonstrates his acceptance of the work. The latter exist when there is an express
declaration of will of the owner approving the work.
The necessary materials to carry out the work can be provided either by the owner or by the
contractor.
If the work consists on the construction of a specific thing, we undertake that the production process
is more important than the obligation to deliver the work and it shall be a construction contract.
Should the work consist on a fungible thing the result of mass production, we can understand that it
is a contract of sale.
a) Object:
In construction contracts buildings and other constructions are the object. However, the work can
consist on anything that has to have a final result (dress, painting, boat…)
Art 1590: the contractor can contribute to the contract only with his work.
Art 1589: or he can furnish his work and the materials to be use to perform it.
. It can consist of a lump sum, being a total price fixed for the whole of the work.
. When the work is to be carried out by pieces or units, the price can be fixed by units, in which
case the contractor can ask the owner to make payments s the different units are received,
Art 1592.
No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
. When the plan has been agreed with the owner of the land, the contractor cannot raise the
price of the work.
He only have the possibility to raise the price in such cases if changes authorized by the owner
are introduced in the plans and have as a result an increase of the work, Art 1593.
It is very common in practice to accord that the increase of the work or of the price of the
building materials shall entail the revision of the initial price.
Relating to the moment of payment of the price, if the parties have agreed nothing in this regard,
payment shall take place upon delivery of work.
The payment shall take place upon delivery of the work and the contractor has the right to retain
the thing until the work is paid.
c) Term:
The parties can freely agree on the term for the work to be concluded.
If the parties don’t set a term, the Courts shall set it, according to the general rule stated in Art 1128.
It is very usual to establish penalty clauses for the cases in which the terms are not complied with.
In the case that the contractor does not finish the work on time, the penalty clause shall work in order
to make him pay the foreseen compensation.
The compensation that the defaulting party has to pay for the delay in the performance of the work
may consist of a lump sum or of a sum proportional to the delay.
It is also possible for the parties to agree on an alteration thereof. However, modifications on the
work do not entail the alteration of the term established in the contract, unless the modification
consist in the increase of the work.
Finally, the owner can desist of the work at any time, even if it has already started, but he shall have
to indemnify the contractor for all the expenses, labour and profits that he might have obtained from
the work, Art 1594.
However, the owner shall have to pay the price if he was a fault because he was in a state of
delinquency for not having received the thing when due.
Also, the contractor shall have to compensate the owner for damages caused if he was at fault for
not having timely warned the owner about the bad quality of the materials.
No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
Art 1590, presume that the owner furnishes the materials.
Art 1589: contains a special provision in case it was the contractor the one who undertakes the
obligations to furnish the materials for the work. If it was so, the contractor shall be one to bear the
risk of the loss of the thing without fault before delivery, unless the creditor is in a state of
delinquency.
e) Breach of contract:
There is a breach of contract if the contractor does not deliver the work or does not deliver it in
accordance with the project.
Art 1591, regulates the liability of the contractor and of the architect of the building ruined due to
the existence of vices in the construction.
There are different kinds of defects, depending on the gravity thereof and establish different periods
of liability.
Foundation vices affect the structural elements of the construction are covered for ten years from
delivery.
Construction or habitability vices or defects are covered for three years and finish defects are
covered for one year and only the constructor is made liable for these latter. The action to claim for
the liability of the Construction Agent responsible for the defect has a term of two years from the
moment of the damage.
However, if the responsible Agent cannot be identified, the possible responsible Agents shall be
joint and severally liable for the defect.
- Mandate:
The mandate is a contract through which one party, the mandatory, assumes the obligation to
perform an act with legal implications for the account or at the request of another, the mandator,
Art 1709.
Mandate is different from representation. The mandate is the contract concluded between the
mandator and the mandatory and it regulates the relations between them.
. Mandate without representation, when there is not an empowering or, when there is an act
No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
of empowering, but the mandatory does not use it, entering into relations with third parties
in his own name.
. Mandate with representation, when the mandatory acts in the name and on behalf of the
mandator, with contemplation domine; that is, declaring his representation.
When there is an empowering and the mandatory acts in the name and on behalf of the
mandator, the effects of his acts, directly affect the latter.
a) Characteristics:
The mandate entails a cooperation by which the mandatory substitutes the mandator. This is a
In the contract of mandate with representation, when the mandatory executes the act entrusted to
him he binds the mandator, so that it shall be the mandator the one legally implicated by transaction.
This because the mandatory acts in the name and on behalf of the mandator. All the legal
consequences of the act performed by the mandatory shall be for the mandator.
- The mandatory is not implicated in the transaction, he has to act in the interest of the mandator.
- The mandate is based in the confidence between the parties. The mandatory has the obligation
to follow the instructions of the mandator, the obligation to respect the limits of the mandate,
the reporting obligation once the mandate is concluded, the fact that the mandate shall be
extinguished in case any of the parties die.
b) Capacity:
The mandator needs to have general legal capacity.
He has to be able to execute the act which is the object of the mandate, this because the acts
performed by performed by the mandatory are going to have effect in the legal sphere of the
mandator.
It is the mandator the one bound by the act and therefore the one that has to have the capacity to
conclude it.
The act that is the object of the mandate does not have to be prohibited for him.
a64b0469ff35958ef4ab887a898bd50bdfbbe91a-4025534
Art 1716, even recognizes in emancipated minors sufficient capacity to become mandatory, as they
can act as if they were of full legal age with exception of the legal acts stated in Art 323.
However, in order to undertake the legal act which is the subject matter of the mandate the
mandatory does not need a special capacity because the effects of his actions are not going to fall on
him but on the mandator, and this later is the one that has to have the special capacity if needed .
c) Types of mandate:
The mandate can be express or tacit.
No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
. The mandate is express when there is an express appointment of the mandatory by the
mandator in order to carry out the legal act that is the object of the mandate
Art 1713.2, requires the mandate to be express in order to comprise, alienate, mortgage or
execute any other act of strict ownership.
. The mandate is tacit when the mandator behaves in such a way that it implies the existence
of an underlying mandate.
He shall have to advance to the mandatory all the amounts he asks for which are necessary for the
execution of the mandate, Art 1728.
If the mandatory advances such amounts, the mandatory has to reimburse them with interest from
the day on which the advance was made, no matter if the transaction was not successful, unless the
mandatory acted with negligence.
The mandator has to compensate the mandatory for all the damages he might have suffered in
complying with the mandate unless he acted negligently, Art 1729. This is the principle of indemnity
of the mandatory, whose patrimony should not be affected as a consequence of the performance of
the mandate.
The mandatory has a right to retain the things received in the course of the performance of the
mandate until both, the reimbursement envisaged Art 1728 and the compensation provided in Art
1729 are paid, Art 1730. This right of the mandatory to retain does not cover the fees to be paid by
the mandator for the performance of the mandate.
Art 1726, provides that the mandatory is liable not only for the deceit but also in case of fault, which
shall be judge by the Courts with more or less severity depending on if the mandate was onerous or
not.
No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
According to Art 1715, if the limits of the mandate are not trespassed if the action of the mandatory
results more advantageous to the mandator than that specified by him.
If the limits of the mandate are trespassed, it shall be the mandatory and not the mandator the one
bound by the legal act performed, unless the mandator ratifies it. The act shall be ineffective.
The third party may ask the mandatory for a compensation for not being bound with the mandator
as it was his wish.
The mandatory has to carry out the mandate following the instructions of the mandator, Art 1719.
The instructions should be fulfilled in good faith and in the interest of the mandatory.
Lacking instructions to follow, the mandatory has to act diligently and according to the nature of the
affairs.
The mandatory has to report to the mandator about the actions he has undertaken to fulfil the
mandate and shall pay the mandator everything that he has received under the mandate and due to
the mandate.
If the mandatory is acting in the name and behalf of the mandatory and empowered by him,
the third party with whom the mandatory is concluding the transaction entrusted to him knows
that the business is not the mandatory’s business, but that he is acting for the mandator.
In this case there is contemplation domine the effects of the transaction directly affect the
mandator.
Art 1725 provides that a mandatory who acts as such is not liable to the person with whom he
contracts.
This last expression is interpreted in the sense that were the things belong to the mandatory, the
third party shall also have an action against him.
No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
contracted.
Art 1727.1, provides that the mandator has to fulfil all the obligations that the mandatory performed
within the limits of the mandate.
Art 1725 in fine, provides that this shall not be so if the mandatory expressly assumes the obligations
or exceeds the limits of the mandate.
- Partnership:
Is an artificial person in which several persons get together to undertake an economic activity for
profit and share the profits thereof.
The fact that the union is for profit makes partnerships different from associations.
Art 1665: defines the partnership contract as one through which two or more persons bind
themselves to contribute money, property or industry, with the intention of dividing the profits
among themselves.
The partnership has a common fund consisting on the contributions of the partners and that the
intention is to divide the gains between them.
It has a contractual nature.
Upon its constitution and during its life, there are different interests, as each of the partners shall
try to take the most of their contributions.
There is not an exchange between the parties but a coordination between them to attain a common
aim. It is a contract with an associative nature with a specific organization. The rules that govern the
cooperation are set by the parties or, lacking a specific agreement thereof, by the CC.
No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
to a long-lasting entity.
. There is a relation of trust between the partners. The condition of partner cannot be
transferred, Art 1696. If one of the partners dies, the partnership is extinguished, Art 1700.3.
. Partnerships have to have a lawful object and have to be established for the common interest
of the parties, Art 1666.
If the object of the partnership is unlawful it shall be dissolved. Once an unlawful partnership
is dissolved its gains shall be allotted to charity organizations.
The object of the partnership, the activity developed thereby, is what makes civil partnerships
different from commercial partnerships.
. In a partnership there is affectio societatis; a permanent will of the partners to join their work,
. The partnership is made for profit. It is the essential aim (this is what makes partnership
different from association).The losses and profits shall be distributed as agreed by the
partners. Lacking agreement about the distribution thereof, the share of each partner in the
profits and losses shall be in proportion to their contributions, Art 1689.
If only the share of each partner in the profits has been agreed, their share in the losses shall
be the same and vice versa.
The only limit to the possibility that the partners have to establish the distribution of profits
and losses is that the agreement excluding one or more partners from sharing in them is null
and void, Art 1691.
. The partnership is an onerous contract. The partners make contributions so that they can
produce fruits and benefits in the common business.
The totality of the contributions is called common fund or corporate assets. The contributions
can consist of any kind of assets.
The partnership can be constituted in any form whatsoever, safe for the case of the
contributions being immovable goods or real property or real rights, in which case it is
necessary to raise it into a public deed, Art 1667.
b) Legal personality:
Partnerships have legal personality as long as their existence as an independent entity different
from the partners is public or known to third parties different from the partners.
Art 1669: provides that the partnerships which covenants are kept secret among the partners and in
which the partners in their own name contract with third parties shall not have legal personality and
shall be ruled as a joint ownership.
As long as they are public, partnerships do have legal personality. They are autonomous entities
and therefore have their own patrimony, liabilities, management, etc. They also have legal
personality as far as the standing in legal proceedings is concerned
a64b0469ff35958ef4ab887a898bd50bdfbbe91a-4025534
c) Irregular partnerships:
Are those which don’t have legal personality because of defects in the form or constitution or due
to the way they act in the traffic.
If the covenants are kept secret between the partners contracting with them are not aware of the
existence of the partnership. In such case, the partnership is fully effective in the internal relations
between the partners, but not in the external relations with third parties.
No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
In internal partnerships the goods of partnership (that exist for the partners but does not have legal
personality) do not form a separate patrimony shall face the debts and liabilities of the internal
partnership.
No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
. All of the partners are empowered to manage the partnership. Whatever any of the
partners do by himself binds the partnership, but also any of them may block an act of any
other before they produce legal effects.
We have to bear in mind that this article empowers the partners to manage the
partnership, but they cannot undertake acts of disposition.
. All of the partners can use the corporate assets, unless they do it against the interest of
the partnership or impeding the use to which his co-partners are entitled.
. All partners are obliged to pay the expenses necessary for the conservation of the things
. None of the partners can alter the partnership immovable goods without the other’s
consent.
No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
- Suretyship contract: Guaranty
Suretyship is a contract of personal guaranty through which, a third person different from debtor
and creditor (guarantor or surety), undertakes to perform an obligation which corresponds to the
debtor in case the debtor does not fulfil it.
The guarantor binds himself to perform for the debtor in case he fails to perform, Art 1822.2.
The suretyship contract is an accessory obligation that binds the creditor and the guarantor or
surety. The main obligation is between debtor and creditor.
2. Object:
. The obligation guaranteed is the object of the contract.
. Art 1824: provides that suretyship cannot exist without a valid obligation.
No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
b) Rights and obligations of the guarantor or surety:
The guarantor is responsible for the performance of the main obligation if the debtor does not
perform it himself.
The guarantor can oblige himself to less but not more than the principal debtor. If he has bound
himself to more than the principal debtor, his obligation shall be reduced to the limits of the principal
obligation, Art 1824. (consequence of the accessory character)
The guarantor’s obligation is accessory and therefore he can only be compelled to perform the
debtor’s obligation if the debtor himself does not perform.
While the debtor has enough patrimony to pay the debt the guarantor can refuse to perform the
suretyship obligation, Art 1830 (benefit of discussion).
a64b0469ff35958ef4ab887a898bd50bdfbbe91a-4025534
. He has been sued for payment.
. In case of bankruptcy or insolvency.
. When a term was set therefore and the term has come.
. When the debt has become demandable because the term to pay it has expired.
. After 10 years if a term was not fixed.
No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
Reservados todos los derechos.