Essential Elements and Classifications of Contracts

Plurality of Parties: Essential Requirement

A contract is a legal act whose existence requires two or more people (parties). Unlike a will, which only requires the legally expressed will of the testator, a contract requires multiple parties.

The parties must also possess the capacity to contract. Incapacity can be categorized as:

• Absolute Incapacity: Those entirely incapable of contracting.
• Relative Incapacity: Those incapable only in specific, legally prohibited cases.
• Specific Prohibition: This includes, historically, professed religious individuals of either sex.

Concurrence of Wills (Consent)

The concurrence of wills is an essential element of a contract, representing the mutual intention of the parties. This intention must be demonstrated through bids or proposals from one party and acceptance by the other.

Consent can be manifested in several ways:

• Express Consent: Manifested verbally, in writing, or through unequivocal signs.
• Tacit Consent: Inferred from factual behavior or actions.
• Consent Through Agents: When the contract takes place between absent people, consent can be legally provided through authorized agents.

Purpose (Object) of the Contract

The purpose or object of contracts must align with what the law prescribes for legal acts. The object must refer to things that are in commerce. Consequently, contracts cannot cover things or facts that are legally or physically impossible.

Form of Contract

The Form of Contract refers to the set of formalities required by law for the intervening parties to express their consent. The form serves as a means of proving the existence of the legal act performed.

Contracts are typically distinguished based on their formal requirements:

Solemn Contracts

Compliance with the form required by law is essential for the celebration and validity of the contract. Failure to comply renders the contract invalid (nullity).

Non-Solemn Contracts

The failure to observe the required form does not invalidate the contract itself, but rather creates an obligation for the party who fails to grant the required form to comply with it.

Classification of Legal Contracts

Unilateral Contracts

Contracts in which only one party is bound to an obligation.

Bilateral Contracts

Contracts in which both parties agree and are mutually bound.

Onerous Contracts (For Consideration)

Contracts in which the advantages received by one party are offset by a corresponding burden or benefit provided by the other party.

Gratuitous Contracts (Free of Charge)

Contracts in which one party receives advantages or benefits without providing compensation.

Consensual Contracts

Contracts that are concluded and perfected solely by the mutual consent of both sides.

Real Contracts

Contracts that are completed only when the delivery of the ordered goods or object is performed.

Nominate Contracts

Contracts that possess a special legal name that distinguishes them from others (e.g., sale, lease).

Innominate Contracts (Unnamed)

Contracts that do not fit into a specific legal category or framework.

Commutative Contracts

Contracts in which the benefits payable by each party are determined and certain at the time the contract is formed.

Aleatory Contracts (Random)

Contracts in which one or more of the benefits are subordinated to an uncertain event that may or may not occur (e.g., insurance).

Contractual Theory: Good Faith and Imprevisibility

Legal principles dictate that contracts should be held, interpreted, and implemented in good faith. This principle serves to protect parties from potential damage during the execution of the contract caused by extraordinary and unforeseeable events (the doctrine of imprevisibility or hardship).