A legal act is a manifestation of will to create, modify, transfer or extinguish a right, with a favorable result for whoever promotes the action.
A legal act is any act that has a legal consequence. Such consequences may encourage the creation, modification, transfer or extinction of a right.
While every legal act is a juridical fact, only juridical facts that are of human, lawful and voluntary origin can be considered juridical acts.
| Legal act | Legal act | |
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| It is the manifestation of will to create legal relations, through the creation, modification or extinction of a right. | It is an act that generates legal consequences. | |
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What is a legal act
It is an act of a conscious and voluntary nature executed by an individual whose purpose is to establish relations of a legal nature.
As a result of a legal act, a right or obligation may be created, modified, transferred or extinguished.
Essential elements of a legal act
For a legal act to be considered valid, it must have these elements:
- SubjectPerson or group of persons who intervene in the legal act so that it can be carried out. This is the case of legal representatives, successors or third parties.
- Manifestation of will: it is the free consent expressed by the subject to carry out the legal act.
- Object: the fact or good for which the juridical act is to be performed. It cannot be impossible, illicit, or contrary to good customs.
- Causeis the determining purpose of the will to carry out the legal act. For example, the reason that a person had for selling a property.
- Formare the requirements that must be fulfilled in order to carry out the legal act (drafting of a contract, signing before a notary, etc.).
In a legal act there may also be natural elements, which are those inherent to each specific legal act, and accidental elements, which are those that are added in a manner agreed upon by the parties.
Types of legal acts
Positive and negative legal acts
A legal act is positive when it implies the execution of an action. The sale of a car implies the will to deliver the good in question, for example. While in negative legal acts the subject refrains from executing the action, for example, refusing to comply with the schedule established in the employment contract.
Unilateral and bilateral legal acts.
If a legal act requires the will of only one subject, it is unilateral (the sale of a house you own). When it requires the will of more than one subject, it is a bilateral legal act (such as marriage).
Legal acts between living or last will and testament.
An act between living persons is considered to be one that does not depend on the death of the subject in order to take effect (such as a contract). On the other hand, if the legal effects begin after death, it is a legal act of last will, such as inheritance.
Onerous and gratuitous legal acts
If the act in question requires the obligation of both parties involved, it is an onerous act, such is the case of contracts of sale. If, on the other hand, only one of the parties has obligations, then it is a gratuitous act, such as donations.
Formal and non-formal legal acts
As the name indicates, formal legal acts imply the presentation of a series of requirements in accordance with the laws in force. To perform a civil marriage, for example, the presentation of certain documents is required. This is not necessary for non-formal legal acts, such as rental agreements.
Principal and accessory legal acts
Principal legal acts are those that exist by themselves, such as a contract of sale. Ancillary legal acts are dependent on a principal act, as in the case of sales of mortgaged property.
Patrimonial and extra-patrimonial legal acts.
A legal act that implies an economic sense, is a patrimonial act. Anything outside this scope, especially if it has to do with the family sphere, is considered extrapatrimonial, such as marriage.
Of administration and disposition
In an act of administration, the patrimony is preserved or increased, as occurs with leases. While in those of disposition, the patrimony decreases, as would occur with a sale.
What is a legal act
A legal event is an act or phenomenon that, upon its occurrence, generates a legal effect, foreseen and typified in the rules in force.
Legal events may have their origin in acts of human behavior or of nature and will always be contemplated in the legal system. When executed, they give rise to a right that may be created, changed, given to a third party or may be lost, depending on compliance with the laws.
Types of legal events
According to its origin, a legal fact may be natural or human:
- Natural legal factare caused by nature and have legal effects. For example, a natural disaster that causes material or human losses may trigger a series of legal consequences, such as lawsuits, fines, etc.
- Human legal event: these are acts carried out by an individual or collective and may be involuntary in nature (a car crash) or voluntary (signing a contract). In the latter case, they are legal acts.
According to their structure, legal acts can be simple or complex:
- Simple legal factsare those that arise from a single act, such as the birth or death of a person.
- Complex legal events: they are subject to several acts, such as the possession of a good. In this case, both the good, property or thing itself, and the intention to be the owner are required.
Depending on the type of action, they can be positive or negative:
- Positive legal facts: they require an act or a change of circumstances for the fact to occur. For example, homicide.
- Negative legal facts: they imply the omission or abstention from an action, such as a failure to pay.
According to their temporality, legal events may be simultaneous or successive:
- Simultaneous legal events: they are carried out in a temporary lapse of time, as in the case of a robbery.
- Successive legal events: they imply an extension in time, such as a kidnapping, which implies deprivation of liberty for a period of time.
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