Resolutory condition or agreement on resolution for breach? The triumph of the party autonomy

Abstract

This commentary examines the interesting sentence of the Supreme Court,  First  Chamber, Section 1, of May 16,  2012,  which raises  whether the  contractual clause,  which gives  a partner  the  power  to  decide  on  the  proper  compli- ance  of  the  obligations of  another, constitutes or  not  a facultative condition. In this  regard, it is essential to  analyze  how  the  High  Court  differentiated rigorously potestative conditions, which do  depend,  exclusively, on  the  will  of  the  debtor  or on  the  mere  discretion of the  obligor  and  that,  under  article  1115  del Código  civil, are considered null;  of  those  other  simply optional conditions, whose fulfillment depends, in  part,  on  other  facts  or motives, which exclude  any  possibility of arbi- trariness and  that  allow, therefore,  that  these  be considered lawful, in  accordance with our  legal system. After  making this distinction, our  Supreme Court  declared that  «the  autonomative  freedom that  inspires our  private  contract law  allows  the parties  to freely configure causes  of resolution, and under  the protection of freedom of pacts  — always, of course,  not  to exceed  the  limits imposed by Article  1255  of the  Civil  Code—  attribute the  nature of the  main obligation to  certain  benefits or their  exact  execution, so  that  their  non-compliance —including the  inexact com- pliance  modality— has  a decisive  significance by express  decision of the  parties». Finally,  it should be noted  that  the First Chamber of the High  Court  has  estimated the  validity of the  agreed clause,  given  that  said  clause  is linked  to  the  event  that gives  rise to  the  breach.