Obligations

Obligations

• According to Holland “an obligation is a tie, whereby one person is bound to perform some act for the benefit of another”.
• An obligation is part of the law that creates rights in personam.
• Obligation Ex lege (obligations quasi ex contratu):
• There are many rights and obligations created otherwise than the contract, such rights and obligations are called rights or obligations exlege.
• There are opposed to the ‘obligations ex contractu’.
• Holland subdivides obligations ex lege into the following four classes:

1. Domestic obligations: obligations borne by members of a family ex: obligation of husband.
2. Fiduciary obligations: They made include trusts, implied trusts.
3. Meritorious obligations: One who rendered voluntary service for benefit of another with his consent then he is entitled to reasonable payment for the work done.
4. The official obligations: Public servants by virtue of their public obligations bound to help a member of the public.

Sources of obligation

• According to SALMOND, there are four sources of obligations:-

1. Contractual obligations (obligations ex contractu)

• An important source of obligation.
• By contract, rights and duties can be created between the parties.
• For example. Contract of sale x purchase.

2. Delictal obligations (obligations ex delicto)
(tortious obligations):

• Delictal obligations arise from torts.
• Tortious obligation means the duty of making monetary satisfaction for that species of wrong.

3.Quasi – contractual obligations ( obligations quasi ex contactua):

There is a certain obligation which is not in truth contracts, but which the law treats them as if they were contracts.
An obligation imposed by unjust enrichment.
A person who is unjustly enriched at the expense of another must legally return the unfairly kept money.

4. Innominate obligations :

• An innominate obligation is a residuary class of obligation in so far as it arises from a source other than contractual, quasi-contractual, or delictal.
• Bailee toward bailor.

5. Solidary obligation :

A solidary obligation is an obligation in which two or more person is under some duty or liability to the same person of inheritance.

This obligation may be classified into 3 kinds: