This document provides an in-depth analysis of the ultra petita control in contract law, specifically focusing on the determination of the object in a synallagmatic contract. It examines a landmark ruling by the Court of Cassation, dated May 23, 1995, and its implications on contract validity and balance.
Extract
[...] The lessor then lodged an appeal against this decision. It claimed that, taking into account the determination of the quantity of rented cassettes, as well as their genre, the contract was sufficiently determined to be valid. The Court of Cassation thus had to question the validity of a contract, whose object is determined only by its genre, and its quantity. The First Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation by a judgment dated 23 May 1995, quashed the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Caen. [...]
[...] 93-17.367 - Is a contract whose object is determined only by its genre and quantity valid? - Introduction and detailed plan Introduction In order to be valid, the object of a synallagmatic contract must be sufficiently determined. This is what the Court of Cassation recalls in a landmark ruling dated May rendered in the First Civil Chamber. In this case, a video cassette rental contract had been concluded. This contract stipulated that the lessor gave for rent, for a period of 12 months video cassettes, so that he could offer them to his clientele. [...]
[...] - Furthermore, in the absence of specific texts on the precise method to be used in the control of the object of this kind, the court must verify the economy of the contract to consider it valid. - Finally, specify that article 1166 new of the Civil Code innovates in that it gives the criteria for determining an uncertain object. - Specify the identification criteria given by the article. - In conclusion, specifying that with this new mode of determination, it is likely that judges will no longer use execution criteria to justify the existence of an object. [...]
[...] The interest is therefore to consider the control of the existence of the object, condition of validity of the contract, even if it appears as insufficiently precise. The Court of Cassation delivers a decision that is at least didactic. It recalls, on the one hand, the criteria for assessing the object, a thing of a kind It performs, on the other hand, a control of the balance of the contract. Detailed Plan The criteria for assessing the object, a thing of a kind An obligation relating to a thing of a kind - Recall the provisions of Article 1108 old of the Civil Code, according to which, the object must be certain. [...]
[...] - This balance is controlled in the execution of the services. - It checks, taking into account the absence of precise identification of the object, that the landlord does not execute in bad faith or abusively. - This control allows for maintaining the economy of the contract, namely the rental by the tenant to its own clientele. - Taking into account the tenant's ability to exchange unwanted cassettes for free, the court considers that the balance of the contract is maintained. [...]
