- Statute
- Civil Code
- Article
- Art. 1409
- Topic
- Void and inexistent contracts
- Year
- 1949
The provision
Art. 1409. The following contracts are inexistent and void from the beginning:
(1) Those whose cause, object or purpose is contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order or public policy;
(2) Those which are absolutely simulated or fictitious;
(3) Those whose cause or object did not exist at the time of the transaction;
(4) Those whose object is outside the commerce of men;
(5) Those which contemplate an impossible service;
(6) Those where the intention of the parties relative to the principal object of the contract cannot be ascertained;
(7) Those expressly prohibited or declared void by law.
These contracts cannot be ratified. Neither can the right to set up the defense of illegality be waived.
Key points
Void or inexistent contracts — e.g. those contrary to law, morals, public order, or public policy, absolutely simulated, or without cause or object — produce no legal effect, cannot be ratified, and the action to declare their nullity does not prescribe.