Relative nullity

4199
Abraham McLaughlin
Relative nullity
A contract that supposes a relative nullity can be annulled

What is relative nullity?

A relative nullity It is a contract that violates any regulation that aims to protect individuals or private entities. Therefore, this nullity is intended to protect one of the contracting parties in particular, who, because they are in a special situation, is observed by the law with some interest..

A contract that is a relative nullity can be annulled, returning the parties to their original positions. Also called voidability, it can be restored by confirming the parties when the object involved is considered valid.

The purpose of any action for relative nullity is to get the courts to declare the uselessness of an act, contract or legal business, because it is missing some fundamental element or because it suffers from some defect or vice that makes it suitable to produce its nullity..

In the matter of companies, there may be vices that affect the will of the employer for reasons that require their assent and lead to the nullity of the contract. The vices of consent due to fraud and error generate a relative nullity.

Characteristics of relative nullity

This is the mode of nullity in the generic sense, which a contract suffers when, despite containing all the fundamental requirements and without being contrary to a prohibitive or imperative regulation, it suffers from a defect or vice that makes it suitable to be declared. its uselessness through the action of objection.

This nullity does not affect the contract since it began, so its effects do not occur until the judicial authority effectively declares it as null..

It is applied when, although the administrative act has all the six requirements or constituent elements (content, motive, procedure, competent subject, form and purpose), in one of them it turns out to be imperfect, unless it makes it impossible to carry out the objective, being in this case absolute nullity, without being able to fix.

The act with relative nullity is supposed to be legitimate and can be applied as long as the opposite is not judicially declared..

It is prescribable

The action of relative nullity is prescribable, for which there is a term given by law to carry it out. However, since the vices you are dealing with are not considered fundamental to the contract, they can be corrected.

Can be sanitized

The relative nullity can be corrected in different ways, either by the passage of time, or because the parties ratify the agreement correcting the defect, or by unquestionable conduct, when the benefits created despite the defect that it contains are met..

Requirements

The contract is given relative nullity when the buyer's obligation or the seller's duty is not fulfilled..

  • The intention or the intention to deceive must have previously existed.
  • It must come from the contractor or a third person with their knowledge.

Declaration of nullity

Relative nullity requires that the action of the application to obtain the declaration of nullity is only exercised by the party that is affected or harmed by the vice. That is, your declaration will not be possible if there is no prior request..

It will always be required that its recognition is sought, because otherwise, despite the existing vice, it may be sanitized thanks to the passage of time or because the parties adhere to the agreement.

Effect

The nullity action will have the natural effect that the contract is annulled, returning the situation as such to the state in which everything was before the contract was concluded, as if the obligation had never been contracted..

Examples of relative nullity

Let's take several examples of relative nullity:

Unfit person

When a minor enters into a contract, which is later confirmed to have a legal representative, correcting the act with the approval of his representative.

Non-competent body

When the body that ruled the act is not competent. This defect can be validated if the competent body decides to rule on a new act, indicating that this legal disagreement was detected and corrects it simultaneously, adopting said act as its own..

Buyer fraud

An example of relative nullity results when the seller is the victim of fraud by the buyer. In this case, the sale is canceled and it is without effect. Obviously, only the seller will be able to claim that such a sale be annulled.

For example, when a seller, incited by violence, threats or deception on the part of the buyer, signs a contract in which he sells his property. In this case it is the existence of defects in the consent, in which the seller was surprised by the fraud of the buyer.

Marriage

For example, not all formal requirements for the marriage ceremony were followed. For example, the civil registrar was not properly notified.

  • Lack of consent

When one of the spouses did not give their free consent to the marriage or was not fully informed. This may be due to coercion, being forced to marry by misrepresentation, error or fraud.

There may also be the case in which one of the spouses suffers from a mental illness or was seriously intoxicated at the time of marriage..

Stocks buyselling

Two sisters sold the shares of two investment companies to a buyer. As the buyer did not have sufficient funds to pay the full amount of these shares, the purchase payment was partially deferred..

This allowed the buyer to pay that amount over time with the profits of those investment firms. As an additional guarantee for the sellers, the investment companies were responsible for paying the deferred amount.

Unfortunately, a financial crisis occurred and the value of the two companies was lost. The shares of the investment companies plummeted and the buyer could not continue to fulfill his duty to pay the rest of the amount.

Therefore, the two sisters sued the buyer, thus hoping to obtain the remainder of the sale amount..

  • Invocation of relative nullity

However, the buyer invoked the relative nullity of the sale contract, since the guarantee of the two investment companies for deferred payment constituted financial aid and according to the legislation in force at that time it was totally prohibited to carry out financial assistance.

The sisters' claim was returned to them like a boomerang: the court declared the purchase contract void. Therefore, instead of collecting the rest of the purchase amount, the sisters had to return everything they had already received. They recovered their shares, but they had already lost value.

References

  1. Legal Data (2021). The absolute and relative nullity of the contract. Taken from: datojuridico.com.
  2. Your Legal Solution (2019). Absolute or Relative Nullity of Sale. Taken from: tusolucionlegal.com.ve.
  3. Raimundo Valdivieso (2016). When is there a nullity of a contract? My Attorneys. Taken from: misabogados.com.
  4. Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo (2010). Relative Nullity. Taken from: uaeh.edu.mx.
  5. Gerencie (2021). Nullity of contracts - When it occurs. Taken from: gerencie.com.

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