Obligations and Contracts – Contract Classifications

Obligations and Contracts – Contract Classifications

Art. 1907. Unilateral contracts. A contract is unilateral when the party who accepts the obligation of the other does not assume a reciprocal obligation.

Art. 1908. Bilateral or synallagmatic contracts. A contract is bilateral, or synallagmatic, when the parties obligate themselves reciprocally, so that the obligation of each party is correlative to the obligation of the other.

Art. 1909. Onerous contracts. A contract is onerous when each of the parties obtains an advantage in exchange for his obligation.

Art. 1910. Gratuitous contracts. A contract is gratuitous when one party obligates himself towards another for the benefit of the latter, without obtaining any advantage in return.

Art. 1911. Commutative contracts. A contract is commutative when the performance of the obligation of each party is correlative to the performance of the other. A

rt. 1912. Aleatory contracts. A contract is aleatory when, because of its nature or according to the parties’ intent, the performance of either party’s obligation, or the extent of the perfor­mance, depends on an uncertain event.

Art. 1913. Principal and accessory contracts
A contract is accessory when it is made to provide security for the performance of an obligation. Suretyship, mortgage, pledge, and other types of security agreements are examples of such a contract. When the secured obligation arises from a contract, either between the same or other parties, that contract is the principal contract.