4.2.

2 TYPES AND CLASSIFICATION OF CONTRACTS

Electronic contracts are voluntary agreements concluded through electronic means by

which the parties volitionally establish enforceable obligations.

Contrary to majority opinion, electronic contracts are not a special type of contract; nor are
they contracts referring to technological goods or services. The electronic contract is the
traditional contract concluded through electronic means.

However, although they do not in themselves constitute legal figures different from the
classic ones, certain additional requirements apply to them in terms of information,
deadlines, form, obligations and rights that were already introduced in the post titled
“Electronic contracting in the Spanish legal system” and that will be treated individually in
subsequent publications of this blog.

In order to make the study of these additional requirements more didactic, we will use the
following classification of contracts:

Due to its form of execution:

 Direct electronic commerce contract: one that allows the virtual delivery of
intangible goods or the provision of services that do not require the physical
presence of the provider. This delivery or provision can be, in turn, immediate or
deferred. Examples: acquisition of licenses to use computer programs or rights to
songs and videos or the contracting of hosting services, payment management,
and virtual services.
 Indirect electronic commerce contract: one that requires the physical delivery of
material goods or in-person delivery. Its execution is necessarily deferred.
Examples: purchasing ink cartridges, hiring a house painter, hiring legal services.

For the issuance of the declarations:

 Pure electronic contract: declarations of will are expressed entirely through

electronic means such as email and interactive pages.
 Reactive Contracts: They require the parties to use additional communication tools
to carry out the contract. They are the most common in micropayment systems,
contracting personalized services and catalog sales. Examples: Contracting
through e-mail, Subscription to services by sending SMS.
  Interactive Contracts: The place where the offer is located allows the contracting to
be carried out in itself.
 “Click” contracts: The formalization of the contract requires the acceptor to express
his will, which he grants by pressing the button indicated for this purpose and which
usually contains the word “I accept.” Example: Acceptance by half-click of the
conditions of use of an online social network.
 “Browse” contracts: The contract is formalized with mere access to the website or
site, without the need for express acceptance. Examples: Tacit acceptance of the
conditions of use of a website or its legal notice.
 Mixed electronic contract. Contracting combines electronic systems of expression
of will with other traditional ones. Example: Download order request form to be sent
by fax or postal mail.

For the subjects who are part of the electronic contract:

 Electronic consumer contract: the contract will be a consumer contract when at

least one consumer or user participates in it. Example: purchasing flight tickets
through a website.
 Commercial electronic contract: the contract will be commercial when all the
contracting parties are businessmen or professionals. Example: Purchase and sale
of wood for the manufacture of chairs.
 Additionally, a classification of electronic contracts can be made based on the
payment method that the parties have established or the purpose of the contract:

By payment method (only applicable to onerous contracts):

 Contract with electronic payment: The means of payment chosen by the parties is
electronic money. The most common examples are the following: payment by
credit card, bank transfer, PayPal. However, payments made with private currency
on e-commerce websites, auctions and MMORPGS are becoming more and more
relevant; Thus, in Second Life payments are made in Linden Dollars (L$), in some
pages it is purchased with tokens and in WOW with gold coins.
 Contract with traditional payment: The chosen means of payment is cash or check,
which can be delivered by postal delivery or cash on delivery.
 By the object of the contract: This classification is closely linked to that indicated by
form of execution.
  Delivery contracts:
 Material delivery contracts.
 Immaterial delivery contracts
 Service contracts:
 Instant service contracts
 Deferred service contracts

Bibliography:

Agustín Isael Arguello Ávila. (Without date). 4.2.2 Types and classification of contracts.
November 20, 2017, from sites.google.com Website:
https://sites.google.com/site/isaelpractica/4-2-2-tipos-y-clasificacion-de-contratos