Law No.

(22) For the year 2004 issuing the Civil Law

We Hamad Bin Khalifah Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar

Having perused the Temporary Amended Constitution, particularly articles
(1), (23), (34) and (51) thereof,
And the Civil and Commercial Law issued through Law No. (16) For the year
1971, as amended by Law No. (10) For the year 1971,
And the Civil and Commercial Procedures Law issued through Law No. (13)
For the year 1990, as amended by Law No. (7) For the year 1995,
And Decree Law No. (14) For the year 1991 regulating the Ministry of Justice
and defining its powers, as amended by Law No. (11) For the year 2002,
And The Judiciary Law issued through Law No. (10) For the year 2003,
And upon the proposal of the Minister of Justice,
And the draft Law submitted by the Council of Ministers,
And having consulted the Advisory Council,
Have promulgated the following Law:-

Article (1)
The provisions of the Civil law accompanying this Law shall come into effect.
The Introductory Chapter and Book One (Articles 1 through 208) of the Civil
and Commercial Law referred to above shall be repealed.

Article (2)
All competent authorities, each in its own competence, shall execute this law,
and shall be published in the Official Gazette.

Hamad Bin Khalifah Al Thani

Emir of the State of Qatar

Issued at Diwan Emiri on 12/5/1425 H

Corresponding to 30/6/2004

Introductory Division
General Provisions

Chapter One

Temporal and Situ Application of the Law

Part One

The Application of the Law

Article (1)
1. Legislative provisions shall apply to matters dealt with by these
provisions in its letter or meaning.
2. If no legislative provision is available, the judge shall decide in
accordance with Islamic Sharia, if he does not find, he shall then decide
in accordance with custom, otherwise, in accordance with the rules of
equity.
Article (2)
1. No legislative provision shall be repealed except by a subsequent
legislative provision which expressly provides for such repeal or
contains a provision repugnant to the former provision.
2. If legislation is issued which again regulates a matter which was
regulated by a former legislation, the new legislation shall repeal all
the provisions provided for in the former legislation.

Part Two

Temporal Application of the Law

Article 3
1. A new law shall apply to whatever occurs as of its effective date,
unless a provision therein provides otherwise.
2. The effects of acts shall remain subject to the law applicable at the time
on which it was concluded, unless the provisions of the new law relate
to public policy, it shall then apply to such effects after the date on
which it becomes effective.
Article (4)
1. The provisions relating to capacity shall, as of the date of its
effectiveness, be applicable to all persons who are regulated by its
provisions.
2. The change of capacity in accordance with the provisions of the new
law shall not have any effect on the acts occurring before its
effectiveness.
Article (5)
The new provisions relating to limitation shall, as of the date of its
effectiveness, be applicable to every limitation which has not been completed.
The old provisions shall, however, be applicable to matters relating to the
commencement, stoppage and suspension of limitation with regard to the
period preceding the effectiveness of the new provisions.
Article (6)
If the new law prolongs a period of limitation which has not been completed,
the period lapsed before the effectiveness of this law shall be calculated.
Article (7)
If the new law shortens a period of limitation, the new period shall apply
from the date of the effectiveness of the new law, unless the remaining of the
period of limitation by virtue of the old law is less, then limitation shall be
completed on the lapse of this remaining period.

Article (8)
With regard to evidence and its opposability, the provisions of the law
existing at the time the facts and the acts which need to be proved, have
occurred, shall apply.
Article (9)
Time shall be calculated in accordance with Gregorian calendar, unless the
law provides otherwise.

Part Three

Situ Application of the Law

Article (10)
Qatar law shall be the reference in regulating legal relationships when it is
required to determine the type of such relationships in a case where a conflict
of laws exist in order to determine the law applicable amongst them.
Article (11)
The civil status and capacity of persons shall be subject to the law of the state
to which they belong as nationals. However, in financial transactions
concluded in Qatar and which effect results therein, if one party is a foreigner
of incomplete capacity, where the incompleteness of his capacity is
attributable to an unseen reason not easily discernible by the other party, such
reason shall have no effect on his capacity.
Article (12)
The legal system of foreign juristic persons, whether companies, societies,
establishments or others shall be subject to the law of the state in which those
persons have established their actual head office. However, if they undertake
their main activities in Qatar, even if their actual head office does not exist
therein, Qatar law shall apply.
Article (13)
The substantive conditions of the validity of marriage such as capacity,
validity of consent, and the non existence of legal impediments shall be
referred to the law of the nationality of each spouse at the time the marriage
was concluded.
If at the time the marriage was concluded, one of the spouses was Qatari,
Qatar law alone shall apply except to the condition of capacity.
Article (14)
As for matters relating to the formalities of marriage such as legalization and
religious protocols, it shall be governed by the law of the country where the
marriage was concluded or the law of the nationality of each of the spouses or
the law of their joint domicile.

Article (15)
Proof of marriage shall be subject to the law to which the marriage was
subject to in its formalities.
Article (16)
1. Personal and financial effects of marriage such as cohabitation,
obedience, maintenance and dower, shall be subject to the law of the
husbands nationality at the time the marriage was concluded.
2. If however, after marriage, the spouses nationalities have united, the
law of their nationality shall apply to the effects of marriage.
Article (17)
Divorce and separation shall be subject to the law of the spouses joint
nationality at the time of divorce or at the time the divorce or separation case
was initiated. If their nationalities differ, the law of the husbands nationality
at the time marriage was concluded shall apply.
Article (18)
The provisions in the previous articles applicable to marriage shall also apply
to espousals.
Article (19)
The law of the fathers nationality at the time of birth shall apply to matters
relating to filiation, confession of filiation and its denial. If the father dies
before birth, the law of his nationality at the time of death shall apply.
Article (20)
The law of the fathers nationality shall apply to substantive matters relating
to guardianship and custody.
Article (21)
Obligation for maintenance between relatives and relatives by marriage shall
be subject to the law of the nationality of the obligor.
Article (22)
6

Substantive matters relating to guardianship, curatorship, custody and other

regulations prescribed for the protection of minors, interdicted and absent
persons shall be subject to the law of nationality of the person whose
protection is obligatory.
Article (23)
1. Succession shall be subject to the law of the nationality of the deceased
at the time of his death.
2. Estates without heirs which exist in Qatar shall be subject to Qatar law.
Article (24)
1. A will and all dispositions contingent upon death shall be subject to the
law of the nationality of the person who made the disposition at the
time of his death.
2. The form of a will and other dispositions contingent upon death shall
however, be subject to the law of the nationality of the person who
made the disposition at the time of the disposition, or the law of the
country where the disposition took place.
Article (25)
1. Possession of real property, its ownership and the real rights which
ensue from it, the methods of acquiring such rights, its transfer and
termination shall be subject to the law of the place where the real
property exists.
2. The law of the state where the property exists shall determine whether
such property is a real or a movable property.
Article (26)
Possession of a movable, its ownership and the real rights which ensue from
it, the methods of acquiring such rights, its transfer and termination shall be
subject to the law of the place where this movable exists at the time the cause
for acquiring possession, ownership or other real rights, its transfer or
termination, has materialized.

Article (27)
7

A contract, in relation to the substantive conditions for concluding it and the

consequences resulting from it shall be subject to the law of the state of the
joint domicile of the contracting parties. If they have different domiciles, the
law of the state where the contract was concluded shall be applicable, unless
otherwise agreed by the two contracting parties, or the circumstances reveal
that another law is intended to be applied.
The law where a real property exists shall apply to contracts entered into in
relation to this property.
Article (28)
Employment contracts concluded by employers with their employees and
servants shall be subject to the law of the state where the head office of such
businesses is located. If the head office of those businesses is abroad and their
branches in Qatar are the ones who concluded such contracts, Qatar law must
apply.
Article (29)
A contact, in its form shall be subject to the law of the country in which it was
concluded. It is also permissible to apply the law to which the substantive
issues of the contract are subject to. It is also permissible to apply the law of
domicile of the contracting parties or their joint national law.
Article (30)
Obligations resulting from unlawful act are subject to the law of the country
where the act creating the obligation occurred.
The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall not apply to incidents
occurring abroad and are lawful in Qatar, even if considered unlawful in the
country where it occurred.
Article (31)
Obligations resulting from enrichment without cause, payment of what is not
due and officiousness are subject to the law of the country where the act
creating the obligation occurred.
Article (32)

In legal relationships with a foreign element, Qatar courts shall apply

jurisdiction rules and all matters relating to procedures which Qatar law
determines.
Article (33)
The provisions of the preceding articles shall not apply if a provision in a
special law or in an international treaty effective in Qatar exists to the
contrary.
Article (34)
The principles of private international law shall apply to matters of conflict of
laws where no special provision in the preceding articles exists.
Article (35)
1. The judge shall determine the law applicable in the case of persons of
unknown nationalities, or those who are proved to possess several
nationalities simultaneously.
2. As to persons who are proved to possess at the same time, the Qatar
nationality in relation to Qatar and in relation to a foreign country or
several foreign countries the nationality of such countries, Qatar law
shall apply to them.
Article (36)
If its evident from the provisions of the previous articles that the law
applicable is the law of a certain state which has several legal legislations, the
internal law of that state shall determine which of those legal legislations shall
be applicable.
Article (37)
If its determined that a foreign law should be applicable , its internal rules,
excluding those relating to private international law, shall only be applicable.
Article (38)
It is not permissible to apply the provisions of a foreign law determined by
virtue of the preceding articles if those provisions contravene public policy or
morals in Qatar, in such case, Qatar law must apply.

10

Chapter Two

Persons
Part One

Natural persons

Article (39)
1. The personality of a human being shall commence with his complete
birth alive and shall terminate upon his death.
2. Provisions provided for in special laws shall apply to missing, absent
and foundling persons. If no provisions exist the rules of Islamic Sharia
shall apply.
Article (40)
Dormant gestation is entitled to rights the cause of which needs no
acceptance, provided its complete birth alive occurs.
Article (41)
A persons domicile is the place where he usually resides, he may also have
more than one domicile at the same time.

Article (42)
The place where a person exercises a trade or profession shall be considered
his domicile with regard to that trade or profession.
Article (43)
1. The domicile of a minor, interdicted, missing and absent person is the
domicile of those who legally act on their behalf.
2. However a minor and an interdicted person shall have a special
domicile in relation to acts and dispositions which the law considers
him capable of performing.

Article (44)

11

1. It is permissible to assume a domicile of choice for a certain legal act.

2. A domicile of choice shall be acknowledged to all matters relating to
the legal act for which it was chosen, including compulsory execution
procedures unless it has been expressly stipulated that the said
domicile be limited to certain acts to the exclusion of others.
3. Domicile of choice must be proved in writing.
Article (45)
1. A family of a person consists of his/her spouse and relatives.
2. Relatives are those having common ancestor.
Article (46)
1. Direct kinship is the link between descendents and ancestors.
2. Indirect kinship is the link between those with common ancestors but
without anyone being a descendant of the other.
Article (47)
1. The degree of direct kinship is determined by considering each
descendant a degree without calculating the ancestor.
2. The degree of indirect kinship is determined by the number of
descendants upwards from the descendant to the common ancestor
then downwards from that common ancestor to the other descendant
without calculating that ancestor.
Article (48)
The degree of the relationship by marriage is determined by the degree of the
kinship to the husband.
Article (49)
1. Every person who attains the age of majority shall have full capacity to
exercise legal dispositions, unless it was resolved to continue
guardianship or curatorship over his money or has been interdicted.
2. Majority age shall be eighteen complete years.

Article (50)
12

1. Whoever lacks discretion for minority, idiocy, or lunacy shall not be

capable of performing legal dispositions.
2. Whoever has not completed seven years of age shall not be considered
to possess discretion.
Article (51)
Whoever reaches the age of discretion but not the age of majority, and
whoever reaches the age of majority but was a prodigal or inadvertent shall
be considered of incomplete capacity as prescribed by the law.
Article (52)
Persons who lack capacity or are of incomplete capacity shall be subject to the
provisions of guardianship over property determined in special laws.

13

Part Two

Juristic Persons

Article (53)
Juristic persons are:
1. The state, its administrative divisions which the law grants a juristic
personality and the municipalities.
2. Public bodies and corporations.
3. Endowments.
4. Civil and commercial companies, except those excluded by a special
provision.
5. Societies and private foundations as determined by law,
And every group of people or property, that the law grants juristic
personality.
Article (54)
1. A juristic person enjoys all rights except for those attached to the
characteristics of a natural person subject to limitations prescribed by
law.
2. A juristic person shall have :
a. An independent financial estate.
b. Capacity within the limits prescribed by the instrument creating it or
by law.
c. The right of adjudication.
d. An independent domicile, being where its head office is located. It is
permissible to consider the place where one of the branches of the
juristic person is located as its domicile in relation to whatever comes
under the activity of that branch.
e. Nationality.
3. A juristic person shall have someone to represent it in expressing its
will.

Article (55)

14

A juristic person whose head office is abroad and has an activity in Qatar, the
place where his local management exists shall be considered its domicile in
relation to that activity.

15

Chapter Three

Things and Properties

Article (56)
1. Anything which is not excluded from dealing, by nature or by
virtue of the law, may be the subject of financial rights.
2. Things which by their nature are excluded from dealing are
those which no one can possess exclusively, as for the ones
excluded from dealing by virtue of the law, they are the ones
which the law dose not permit to be the subject matter of
financial rights.
Article (57)
1. All real and immovable property belonging to the state or to public
juristic persons shall be deemed to be public property if allotted for a
public benefit whether actually or by virtue of the law.
2. In all cases, the disposition of that property, its attachment or
acquisition by prescription shall not be permissible.
Article (58)
Public property shall lose its description upon the termination of its allotment
for public benefit.
Such allotment shall terminate either actually or by virtue of law or upon the
conclusion of the purpose for which it was allotted to public benefit.
Article (59)
1. Anything that is fixed and constant in its place which can not be
moved therefrom without damage or deformation to its form is an
immovable property. Anything else is a movable property.
2. Nevertheless, a movable property which is placed by its owner in his
immovable property for its service and exploitation and is fixed to the
ground shall be specifically considered as immovable property.
3. Each in kind right over real property shall be considered real property.
Any other financial rights shall be deemed movable property.
Article (60)

16

1. Equivalent things are things whose units are equivalent or

approximate to each other so that some of them may without any
appreciable difference be equivalent to some other of them according
to custom, and they are measured in dealing by number, standard,
weight or measure.
2. Things of value are things whose units are appreciably different in
qualities or value in accordance with custom or the existence of its
units are rare in dealing.
Article (61)
1. Consumable things are those who are not benefited from except by
consumption or spending.
2. Whatever is prepared in stores for sale shall be considered a
consumable thing.

17

Chapter Four

The use of the right

Article (62)
Whoever exercises his right lawfully shall not be responsible for the damage
resulting therefrom.
Article (63)
The exercise of right shall be unlawful in the following cases:
1. If the interest to be achieved is unlawful.
2. If it was only intended to cause damage to others.
3. If the interest to be achieved is at all disproportionate with the damage
inflicted on others.
4. If it inflicts on others severe unfamiliar damage.

18

Section One

Personal Rights Or Obligations

Book One

Obligations in General

19

Division One

Sources of Obligations
Chapter One

The Contract
Part One

Basis of Contract

Article (64)
The contract shall be concluded as soon as offer is joined with acceptance, if
its subject matter and cause were legally accepted, without prejudice to
special conditions for certain contracts that the law requires.

First: Consent

A. Expression of the Will

Article (65)
1. The expression of the will shall be by word, writing, common used
sign, actual exchange denoting consent or by any other position which
the circumstances leave no doubt of the true intention therefrom.
2. Expression of will may be implied unless the law, agreement or the
nature of the dealing requires it to be explicit.
Article (66)
1. The expression of will shall be deemed existing as soon as it is issued
by the person who made it. However it shall not create any effect
unless has reached the knowledge of whom it was addressed to.
2. Reaching the expression of will to whom it was addressed to shall be
deemed a presumption of his knowledge of it, unless evidence proves
otherwise.
Article (67)

20

Expression of will shall have no effect if a renouncement has reached the

person to whom it was addressed to before, or at the time that expression
reaches him.
Article (68)
1. If the expression of will differs from the true intention of the person
who made it, relevance is given to the intention.
2. It is however permissible to whom the expression of will was made to
acknowledge the same notwithstanding its difference with the true
intention of the person who made it, if it has proved that he believed
its concurrence of the true will, and the circumstances raised no doubt
in such concurrence.
Offer
Article (69)
1. Offer may be addressed to undefined persons, provided the
personality of whom contracting with is intended is not of main
consideration in contracting.
2. The exhibition of goods with their prices shall be specifically
considered as an offer, without prejudice to the requisites of the rules
of trade.
3. As for publication, advertisement, the distribution of dealing prices
and every other statement relating to offers or orders to the public or
specific individuals, it shall not be considered an offer unless the
circumstances reveal otherwise.
Article (70)
1. The offeror may withdraw his offer provided it has been joined by
acceptance.
2. If however the offeror specifies a time for acceptance, or the
circumstances or the nature of the dealing requires a time, offer shall
remain during that time and shall terminate upon its lapse.
Article (71)
Offer shall lapse upon the death of the offeror or losing his capacity.
Acceptance

21

Article (72)
1. It is required for concluding a contract that the acceptance be identical
to the offer.
2. If a reply to an offer comes with addition, restriction or amendment
thereto in any other way, it shall be considered as rejection amounting
to a new offer.
Article (73)
1. No statement shall be attributable to a silent person, but silence where
necessity requires is deemed an acceptance.
2. Silence shall be specifically deemed as an acceptance if previous
dealing exist between the contracting parties and the offer was
connected with that dealing or if the offer resulted in a benefit for the
person to whom it was made. Additionally, the silence of a purchaser
after receiving the goods purchased shall be deemed an acceptance to
whatever terms are incorporated in the price list.
Article (74)
Acceptance shall lapse upon the death of the acceptor or losing his capacity
before it reaches the knowledge of the offeror.
Joining of Offer and Acceptance
Article (75)
If offer is made while contracting parties are present but without including a
time for acceptance, the contracting parties shall have the choice until the end
of their meeting. If the offeror withdraws his offer or the meeting disperses
without an acceptance being made, offer shall be deemed rejected.
Article (76)
If the offer is joined with the acceptance, the contract is concluded, unless
agreed otherwise or the law or custom determine otherwise.
Article (77)
Contracting by correspondence shall be deemed to have occurred on the time
and at the place where acceptance reaches the knowledge of the offeror,
unless agreed otherwise or the law or custom determine otherwise.
22

Article (78)
Contracting by telephone or any other similar method shall be deemed to
have been concluded between two present parties with regard to time, and
between two parties not present with regard to place.

Article (79)
If the two parties agree to the material matters in the contract and left detailed
matters to be agreed upon later and did not stipulate that the contract will not
be concluded if no agreement is reach to those matters, the contract shall be
deemed concluded.
If a dispute in relation to the matters not agreed upon arises, the court shall
determine them in accordance with the nature of the dealing and the rules of
law, custom and justice.

Article (80)
1. If the contracting parties agree to apply to their affairs the provisions of
a contract form or a policy form, such provisions shall apply unless any
of them proves that when agreement was made he had no knowledge
of such provisions and did not have the chance to know of them.
2. If the provisions of the contract form or the policy form knowledge of
which did not occur were primary, the contract shall become void. If it
were secondary, the judge shall determine the dispute thereto in
accordance with the nature of the dispute, current custom and the rules
of justice.

Representation in Contracting

Article (81)
A contract may be made through representation unless the law requires it to
be made in person.

23

Article (82)
1. The extent of the power of the representative shall be determined in
accordance with his deed of representation.
2. however, if representation is by virtue of an agreement, and the
principal has announced or has informed others of the authorities of
his representative, it is then for who has received the announcement or
notice to contract with the representative as per those authorities, even
if it exceeds the limits provided for in the deed of representation.

Article (83)
1. In contracting through representation relevance is given to the
personage of the representative not the personage of the principal with
regard to defects of consent and the effects of knowledge or ignorance
of certain circumstances or the presumption of knowledge or ignorance
of the same.
2. However, if representation is by virtue of an agreement, and the
representative acts in accordance with specific instructions received
from the principal, the latter shall not within the limits of the execution
of his instructions, depend on the ignorance of his representative of
circumstances which he himself had known or should have known.
Reference should then be given to the principals defects of consent.
Article (84)
If the representative, within the limits of his representation, concludes a
contract in the name of the principal then whatever effects result from this
contract shall attach directly to the principal.
Article (85)
If a person contracts with a representative who has not revealed his capacity,
the contract shall be deemed to have been entered into between the
representative personally and the person with whom he had contracted
unless that person contracting with the representative knows of this capacity
or was supposed to have known of it, or if it was equal to him to contract with
the representative or with the principal, then, the effects of the contract shall
attach to the principal.
Article (86)

24

In representation by agreement, if the representative contracts in the name of

the principal after the termination of the representation, it is for the person
with whom he contracted, to depend on contracting on the basis of
representation if he and the representative did not know, at the time of
contracting, of its termination, and they would not have been able to know of
the same if they have had made the efforts of a lay man in accordance with
the requirements of the circumstances.
Article (87)
1. If a person concludes a contract on behalf of another without
representation, or he has exceeded in concluding that contract the
limits of his representation, the effects of this contract shall not attach
to the principal unless ratified in accordance with law.
2. If the dealing has not been ratified, the other contracting party may
revert to whoever has used the capacity of representation or exceeded
its limits with compensation, unless he had known of the non existence
of the representation or the exceed of its limits, or should have known
of the same.
Article (88)
A representative may not contract, with himself, in the name of the principal,
even for the account of another person, unless by permission from the
principal, otherwise the dealing shall not be effective against the principal
unless ratified by him. Unless otherwise determined by the law or custom.
Article (89)
A representative may not designate his authority to another, unless allowed
to do so by the agreement or the law.
Article (90)
If the representation has terminated, and the representative had received the
deed evidencing it, he is then obliged to return it upon its termination and
shall not have the right to retain it for any reason whatsoever.
Form of Contract

Article (91)

25

1. It is not necessary for concluding a contract to have consent in a

specific form, unless the law provides otherwise.
2. If the law requires a specific form for concluding the contract, and that
form was not taken into consideration in concluding the contract, the
contract shall be void.
Article (92)
If the contracting parties stipulate for concluding a contract to follow a
specific form, neither of them may without the consent of the other to depend
on the contract being concluded unless it has came in the agreed form.
Article (93)
If the law requires a specific form, or the contracting parties agree to it being
mandatory, and suspension has risen with regard to whether the form was a
requisite for concluding the contract or for another reason then it shall not be
considered a requisite for concluding the contract.
Article (94)
If the law or the agreement requires a specific form for concluding the
contract, such form must be followed in its contract of promise and in the
subsequent agreements amending its effects, but not to whatever
supplemental or detailed conditions which do not contravene its contents,
unless the law provides or the nature of the dealing allows otherwise.
Article (95)
If the contract involves a thing, the delivery of the same shall not be required
for concluding the contract, unless the law, the agreement or custom requires
otherwise.
Some Special Forms in Contracting

The promise to contract

Article 96
The contract by virtue of which the two contracting parties or any of them
promise to conclude a specific contract in the future, shall not be considered
26

concluded unless all material issues of the contract to be entered into, and
time period during which such contract shall be entered into have been
defined taking into consideration the contents of article 94.

Article 97
1. If the contract of promise was binding on the two parties, each party
must enter into it in its final form on the date specified in the contract
of promise.
2. The promised contract is entered into under the same terms of the
contract of promise, unless it is agreed to amend them, or such an
amendment was required by the nature of the dealing or the
circumstances.

Article 98
1. If the contract of promise was binding on one party, then the promised
contract shall emerge if accepted by the party in whose favor the
promise was made, and his acceptance was communicated to the
person who made the promise within the period of the promise.
2. The death of the person who made the promise or the loss of his
capacity shall not prevent the promised contract from being emerged if
its acceptance was made in accordance with the preceding paragraph.
3. If the person in whose favor the promise was made dies, the option to
enter into the promised contract shall be transferred to his successors,
unless the personage of the promised person had a consideration in the
promise.

Article 99
1. If one of the parties to a contract of promise has breached his obligation
to enter into the promised contract, the other party, if he was not in
breach of his obligations, may request judgment of the correctness and
enforcement of the contract of promise against the other party.
2. The judgment of the correctness and enforcement of the contract of
promise shall be considered in place of the contract of promise,
without prejudice to any requirement of registration that the law might
require.
Contracting through Ernest Money
27

Article (100)
The payment of Ernest money at the time of concluding the contract shall
mean that each contracting party shall have the right to withdraw from it,
unless it is evident that they have intended otherwise, or custom provides to
the contrary.
Article (101)
If the person who has paid the Ernest money withdraws, he shall lose it. If the
receiver withdraws he shall be obliged to return it and pay its match, even if
no damage has resulted from the withdrawal.
Article (102)
1. If the agreement or the custom do not specify a time for exercising the
option of withdrawal, such option shall remain until the time a
contracting party issue what indicates his will to confirm the
conclusion of the contract.
2. However, if one of the contracting parties rests from performing his
obligation within the specified time, or slacks for a period exceed the
usual, the other contracting party may consider the same as a
withdrawal from the contract.
Contracting in Auctions
Article (103)
In auctions the bidder shall remain obliged with his tender until another
bidder presents a better tender, or until the auction has been closed without
being adjudicated on anyone.
Failure of the tender against another tender shall not prevent the last tender
from being void or rejected.
The contract shall be concluded upon the adjudication of the auction.
However, if it has been required by the auction terms to ratify its adjudication,
such ratification is required for concluding the contract, where the contract
shall then be considered concluded as of the date of adjudication of the
auction.
All unless the law provides to the contrary, or the intention of the contracting
parties reveals otherwise.
Article (104)
28

As an exception from the provisions of the preceding article, a bidders tender

shall not fail against a better tender in auctions which are conducted in sealed
envelopes. The party calling for the tender may accept from amongst the
presented tenders whichever it deems better. Unless the law provides to the
contrary, or the intention of the contracting parties reveals otherwise.
Contracting in Adhesion
Article (105)
The acceptance by one of the contracting party in adhesion to the will of the
other party, where the former accepts a draft contract prepared by the offeror
in advance for all his customers, and to which terms shall accept no
negotiation, shall not prevent the contract from being concluded.
Article (106)
If the contract concluded in adhesion includes arbitrary terms, the judge may,
upon the request of the adhering party amend such terms in order to lift its
unfairness or to relieve him from it entirely ,even if his knowledge of the same
was proved, in accordance with the requirements of justice. Any agreement to
the contrary shall be void.
Article (107)
In contracts of adhesion, doubt shall be interpreted in the interest of the
adhering party whether being a creditor or a debtor.

B. Soundness of Consent

Article (108)
Consent of a contract shall not be sound unless it comes from someone who
possess the capacity to perform it and which is free from defects.
Capacity:
Article (109)

29

Every person has capacity to contract unless the law provides for his
incapacity or limitation of it.
Article (110)
The dispositions of a non-discerning minor shall be void.
Article (111)
1. Financial dispositions of a discerning minor shall be valid if absolutely
beneficial to him, and shall be void if absolutely harmful to him.
2. Taking into consideration the contents of the subsequent articles, the
financial dispositions of a discerning minor which in nature vary
between benefit and harm shall be voidable in his interest, unless
ratified by whoever initially has guardianship to perform it on his
behalf or the court as the case may be, or ratified by the minor upon
reaching the age of majority. In accordance with the law.
Article (112)
If a discerning boy reaches the age of sixteen and was permitted to receive his
properties to manage it, or has received it in accordance with the law,
management affaires conducted by him shall be deemed valid within the
limits determined by the law.
Article (113)
A discerning boy who has received his properties to manage it shall have the
capacity to perform the dispositions necessitated by the management of such
properties.
However, he shall not have the capacity to lease property for a period
exceeding one year.
Article (114)
A discerning boy shall have the capacity to dispose of whatever property is
usually delivered to him or placed under his disposal for the purpose of his
expenditures. His obligations relating to such objects within the limits of that
property alone shall be valid.
Article (115)

30

1. A discerning boy may conclude an individual employment contract in

accordance with the provisions of the law, and the court may upon the
request of the guardian or the custodian or a concerned party
terminates such contract in the interest of the boy, his future or any
other apparent interest.
2. A discerning boy who has reached the age of fifteen years shall have
the capacity to dispose of whatever he makes from his work be wage
or other. His obligations within the limits of such properties only, shall
be valid. The court may, however, if the interest so requires, to limit the
capacity of the boy in the disposition of the above referred to
properties, then the provision of guardianship or custodianship, as the
case may be, shall apply.
Article (116)

A discerning boy who has reached the age of sixteen shall have the capacity to
conclude the will with the permission of the court.
Article (117)
1. A person with incomplete capacity shall not be prevented from
depending on his incapacity as per the provision of the law, if he has
claimed possessing capacity.
2. However, if the minor has resorted, in order to conceal his incapacity,
to deceptive methods which induce the belief of him possessing
capacity, he shall be obliged whoever he has contracted with for the
damage resulting from annulling the contract. The judge may in such a
case refuse the case of annulment for compensation.
Article (118)
1. The lunatic, the idiot, the inadvertent and the prodigal shall be
interdicted and released from interdiction by the court in accordance
with the rules and procedures determined by law.
2. Interdiction requests shall be registered in registers prepared for this
purpose, in which the contents of the decisions issued in relation
thereto are documented.
Article (119)

31

1. The disposition of a lunatic and an idiot who has been interdicted shall
be void if such disposition has occurred after registering the
interdiction request.
2. If the disposition occurs prior to registering the disposition request, it
shall not be void unless the state of lunacy or idiocy was common at
the time of contracting or the other party was aware of it.
Article (120)
1. The dispositions of those interdicted for prodigy or inadvertence, after
registration of the interdiction request, shall be subject to the
provisions of the disposition of a discerning boy referred to in article
(111).
2. As for the dispositions occurring prior to the registration of the
disposition request, it shall not be void or voidable unless concluded in
conspiracy to avoid interdiction.
Article (121)
The disposition of a person interdicted for prodigy or inadvertence in relation
to endowment or will, shall be valid if the court authorizes him to perform it.
Article (122)
Management acts of the person interdicted for prodigy or inadvertence that is
permitted to receive his properties shall be valid in accordance with the rules
and procedures determined by the law within the limits provided for in
article (112) in relation to a discerning boy.
Article (123)
A person interdicted for prodigy or inadvertence permitted to management
shall have the capacity to perform dispositions necessitated by the
management of whatever properties are delivered to him.
Article (124)
A person interdicted for prodigy or inadvertence shall have the capacity to
dispose of whatever properties are allocated to him for the purpose of his
expenditures, within the same limits prescribed for the capacity of disposition
in expenditure property for the discerning boy provided for in article (114).
Article (125)
32

A person interdicted for prodigy or inadvertence shall have the capacity to

conclude the employment contract and the capacity to dispose of whatever he
earns from his work, be wage or other, within the same limits provided for in
article (115) in relation to a discerning boy.
Article (126)
The dispositions by guardians, custodians and curators shall be valid within
the limits determined by the law.
Article (127)
If a person has a severe physical disability which makes it difficult for him to
be acquainted with the circumstances of contracting, or expressing his will,
more specifically being deaf and dumb, or blind and deaf, or blind and dumb,
the court may appoint a judicial assistant to him, to assist him in the
dispositions in which his interests, the court sees requires assistance.
Article (128)
The disposition, for which the judicial assistance has been decided, shall be
voidable if performed by the person, without the assistance of the assistant
after his judicial assistance decision has been registered, unless the court has
permitted him to conclude it alone.
Article (129)
If its difficult for the person due to his physical or health state to conclude the
disposition even with the assistance of the assistant or if he refrains from
doing so, the court may permit the judicial assistant to conclude it solely on
his behalf if none concluding it threatens his interest with danger.
B. Defects of Consent
Mistake
Article (130)
1. If a contracting party commits a mistake which leads him to
contracting, where if it was not for committing it he would not
consented, he may request the annulment of the contract if the other

33

contracting party has committed the same mistake, or knew of it, or

was easy for him to discover it.
2. However, in donations the request for annulment is permissible
without any regard to the participation of the other contracting party
in the mistake or his knowledge of its occurrence.
Article (131)
Nothing prevents the implementation of the effect of the mistake to matters
relating to a provision in the law with regard to an issue of contracting.
Article (132)
It is not permissible to whoever has consented by mistake to insist on the
same in a way that contravenes the requirements of good will. The other
party shall, specifically, insist against him with the completion of the contract
the conclusion of which was intended without great damage being inflicted
on him.
Article (133)
The validity of the contract shall not be affected by a mere material mistake in
arithmetic or writing. Such mistake should be corrected.

Deception
Article (134)
1. It is permissible to request the annulment of the contract for deception
against whose consent resulted from tricks addressed to him with the
intention of deceiving him and making him enter into the contract, if
has proved that he would not have accepted the contract as consented
to without being deceived with those tricks.
2. Lying in giving information relating to the merits of contracting and its
circumstances or silence to the same shall be considered as tricks.
Article (135)
1. It is necessary to the annulment of the contract for deception that tricks
emanate from the other contracting party or his deputy or any of his
appendents or any of those he used to facilitate concluding the contract
or in whose interest the contract is being concluded.
34

2. If tricks emanate from a third party, the person who has been deceived
may not insist on the annulment unless the other contracting party had
known, at the time the contract was concluded, or was supposed to
have inevitably known of those tricks.
Article (136)
It is permissible in contracts of donation to request the annulment of the
contract if consent resulted from deception, even if the deception emanates
from a third party.
Duress
Article (137)
1. It is permissible to whoever has contracted under dominion dread
existing on a basis brought about him without right, to request the
annulment of the contract for duress.
2. Dread shall be deemed existing on a basis if the contracting party has
been faced with duress methods which made him feel fear of an
eminent grave harm, which threatens him or another whether in the
self or the body or honor or money.
3. In evaluating dread in the self of the contracting party consideration is
given to his manhood or womanhood status, and his age, and his
knowledge or ignorance, and his health or sickness and every other
circumstance which may affect the degree of such dread.
Article (138)
1. It is necessary for the annulment of the contract for duress that duress
has actually occurred by the act of the other contracting party or the act
of his deputy or any of his appendents or any of those he used to
facilitate concluding the contract or in whose interest the contract was
concluded.
2. If duress occurs by the act of a third party, the contracting party under
duress may not insist on the annulment unless the other contracting
party had known, at the time the contract was concluded, or was
supposed to have inevitably known of the occurrence of duress.
Article (139)

35

It is permissible in contracts of donation to request the annulment of the

contract if consent resulted from duress, even if duress emanates from a third
party.
Taking advantage
Article (140)
If a person takes advantage of another persons obligatory need or clear
foolishness or obvious weakness, or sweeping whim or makes advantage of
his moral influence over him, and makes him conclude in his interest or in the
interest of another, a contract, when concluded includes extreme non
compatibility between whatever he is obliged to perform and whatever
financial or moral interest he might achieve from the contract, the judge may,
upon the request of the party the victim of being taken advantage of, reduce
his obligations or increase the obligations of the other party or annul the
contract.
Article (141)
In contracts of donation which result from being taken advantage of, the
judge may, upon the request of the donor party annul the contract or reduce
the amount of the donated property in accordance with the circumstances,
and taking into consideration the necessities of justice and humanitarian
concerns.
Article (142)
1. The case of being taken advantage of lapses with the conclusion of one
year from the date of concluding the contract.
2. However, if the defect from which being taken advantage of resulted
was continuous, the one year period shall only commence from the
date on which such defect extinguishes. In any circumstance the case
shall lapse with the conclusion of fifteen years from the date on which
the contract was concluded.
Unfairness
Article (143)
Unfairness which is not a result of a mistake or deception or duress or being
taken advantage of shall have no effect on the contract unless in the specific
cases determined by the law.
36

Article (144)
1. If the contract results in grave unfairness to the state or to any other
public juristic persons or to any of those who lack capacity or are with
incomplete capacity or to endowment, it is permissible to the person
upon whom the unfairness has fallen to request the amendment of the
other contracting partys obligation or the amendment of his obligation
in order to lift the graveness in the unfairness.
2. Unfairness shall be deemed grave if it exceeds, when the contract is
concluded, the fifth.
3. The contract being performed on behalf of the person upon whom the
unfairness has fallen by whoever is deputized on his behalf in
accordance with the law, or upon the courts permission, shall not
prevent from objecting on the basis of unfairness.
Article (145)
It is permissible to the party contracting with the person upon whom
unfairness has fallen to protect from the amending the effect of the contract by
requesting dissolution, unless the law provides otherwise.
Article (146)
It is not permissible to object upon unfairness to a contract which has been
concluded through auction or tender, if the same has occurred in accordance
with the requirements of the law.
Article (147)
The case of unfairness shall lapse if not filed within one year, commencing in
relation to the state or any other public juristic persons and endowment from
the date on which the contract was concluded. As for those who lack capacity,
or are of incomplete capacity, it shall be from the date of completion of
capacity or death. In any circumstance the case shall lapse with the conclusion
of fifteen years from the date on which the contract was concluded.

Second: The Subject Matter

Article (148)

37

If the subject matter of the obligation was per se impossible, the contract shall
be void.
Article (149)
1. It is permissible for the contract to involve a future thing if deception is
excluded.
2. However, dealing in the legacy with a living person shall be void even
if done with his consent except in the situations provided for in the law.
Article (150)
1. The subject matter of the obligation must be defined beyond serious
lack of recognition; otherwise the contract shall be void.
2. If the obligation relates to a thing, that thing must be defined in its
nature, or its kind, or its amount and the degree of its quality.
However, if the thing has been defined in its kind, it suffices to include in
the contract whatever helps in determining its amount. If the two
contracting parties fail to agree to the degree of its quality, and it was not
possible to conclude the same from custom or any other circumstance, the
debtor is then obliged to deliver a thing of an average type.
Article (151)
If the subject matter of the obligation was contrary to public policy or
morals, the contract shall be void.
Article (152)
If the subject matter of the obligation was the payment of a sum of money,
the debtor is obliged with the amount of its number specified in the
contract, without any effect to the change of its value, even if agreed
otherwise.
Article (153)
1. In the obligations of payment of a sum of money, payment shall be in
the Qatari currency.
2. However, if the contracting parties agree to payment in a foreign
currency, payment must be paid in that currency.
Article (154)

38

1. It is permissible in any contract to include any condition which the

contracting parties accept if it is not legally prohibited or contrary to
public policy or morals.
2. If the condition included in the contract was illegal, the condition shall
be void and the contract shall be valid, unless any of the contracting
parties proves that he would not have accepted the contract without it,
then the contract shall be void.

Third: The Cause

Article (155)
1. The contract shall be void if the contracting parties are committed
without cause or for an illegal cause.
2. In the cause, it is the direct intended purpose to contracting that is
recognized if the other contracting party knows it or was supposed to
have evidently known it.
Article (156)
It is presumed that an obligation has a legitimate cause, even if not
mentioned in the contract, unless evidence is established to the contrary.
Article (157)
1. The cause mentioned in the contract shall be deemed to be the true
cause until evidence is established to the contrary.
2. If the contract has been proved to be fictitious, whoever claims that the
obligation had another legitimate cause must establish evidence to the
correctness of his claim.
Part Two

Nullification

First: The Voidable Contract

39

Article (158)
A voidable contract produces its effects unless decided null. If it has been
decided null, it shall be deemed as if it never originally existed.
Article (159)
1. If the law gives one contracting party the right to annul the contract,
the other contracting party may not depend on that right.
2. If the reason for annulment has risen, and was depended on by in
whose interest it was decided, the court must rule upon it, unless the
law provides otherwise.
Article (160)
Ratifying a voidable contract by whoever has the right to annul it, whether
it was explicit or implied removes such right with regard to the defect to
which ratification was applied.
Article (161)
1. The right to request the annulment of the contract shall lapse, if not
depended on by whoever is entitled to do so, within three years, unless
the law provides otherwise.
2. The lapse period shall commence in the case of incomplete capacity
from the day of its completion, and in the case of mistake or deception
from the day on which it was revealed, and in the case of duress from
the day of its termination.
3. In all cases the right to request the annulment of the contract shall
lapse upon the passage of fifteen years from the time on which it was
concluded.
Article (162)
1. It is permissible for anyone with interest to notify whoever has the
right to annul the contract of the obligation to express his intention to
ratify it or annul it during a period of not less than three months
commencing from the date of the notice.
2. Notice shall not be recognized unless sent after the commencement of
the period of the lapse of the right of annulment.
3. If the notice period ends without, the person who has the right of
annulment, showing his interest in ratifying or annulling the contract,

40

and the notice was delivered to him in person, the same shall be
considered as ratification of the contract
Second: The Void Contract
Article (163)
1. A void contract does not produce any effect, and anyone with interest
may depend on its nullity, and the court may decide upon it by itself.
2. A void contract may not be corrected by ratification or the passage of
time, and the court may of its own accord decide on it.
3. The case for nullification shall lapse with the passage of fifteen years
from the date of the contract.
Third: The Effect of Nullity
Article (164)
1. In the two cases of the annulment of the contract and its nullity, the
two contracting parties shall be returned to the state at which they
were before the contract. If the same was impossible it is permissible to
rule with an equal compensation.
2. Nevertheless, any person lacking capacity or with incomplete capacity
shall not be compelled, in the case of the nullity of the contract or its
annulment for the lack or incompletion of capacity, to return other than
what he has benefited by reason of performing the contract.
Article (165)
1. The annulment of contracts transferring ownership may not be
depended on against the private successor who has received an in kind
right from one of the contracting parties, if that successor has received
his right against consideration and in good will.
2. A private successor shall be deemed with good will if he did not know
when the disposition was made to him the cause for annulling the
contract of his predecessor, and was not in his capability to know of it
if he had exerted whatever caution is required under the circumstances
by a regular person.
Article (166)

41

If the contract shall be partially void or voidable, that part alone shall become
void. Unless it became evident that the contract would not have been
concluded without that part, then the whole contract shall be void.
Article (167)
If the contract was void or voidable and contained the bases for another
contract, the contract shall be deemed valid as being the contract which bases
are contained therein, if it became evident that the will of the contracting
parties was directed to concluding that contract.
Article (168)
1. If the contract becomes void or was annulled by reason of the mistake
of any of the contracting parties, the other contracting party or a third
party may request from him compensation for whatever damage to
him results from the nullity or the annulment.
2. However, no compensation shall be entitled if the person who has
suffered damage as a result of the nullity or the annulment has
participated in whatever caused its occurrence, or had known of its
cause, or is supposed to know of it.
3. All taken into consideration whatever is provided for in article (117)

Part Three

The Effects of the Contract

First: The Interpretation of the Contract and Determining its Contents

Article 169
1. If the language of the contract was clear, it is not permissible to deviate
from it by interpreting it in order to identify the will of the contracting
parties.
2. However if there is room to interpret the contract, then the common
will of the contracting parties must be looked for without stopping at
the literal meaning of the terms, taking into consideration the nature of
the dealing and the trust and integrity that must exist between the

42

contracting parties in accordance with the custom applicable to

dealings.

Article 170
1. Doubt is interpreted in favor of the debtor.
2. However if the contract includes an exemption of liability term, it shall
be narrowly interpreted.

Second: The binding force of the contract

Article 171
1. The contract is the law of the contracting parties; it may not be revoked
or amended except by the parties agreement or for the reasons
decided by the law.
2. However, if public exceptional incidents occur which could not have
been expected, the occurrence of which makes the fulfillment of the
contractual obligation, though not impossible, but exhausting to the
debtor and threatens him of grave loss, the judge may, taking into
consideration the circumstances and after weighing the interests of the
two parties, reduce the exhausting obligation to a reasonable margin.
Any agreement to the contrary shall be void.

Article 172
1. The contract must be performed in accordance with its contents and in
a manner which is consistent with the requirements of good will.
2. The contract is not confined to obliging a contracting party to its
contents, but also includes its requirements in accordance with the law,
custom and equity as per the nature of the obligation.

Article 173

43

If a sham contract was concluded, the hidden contract and not the visible
contract shall apply as between the contracting parties and their general
successor for each of them.

Article 174
1. The creditors of the contracting parties and the private successor of
each of them may depend on the hidden contract and establish with all
means that the contract is a sham contract which caused damage to
them. They may also when being bona fidie depend on the sham
contract.
2. If the interests of those concerned conflict, where some depended on
the sham contract and others depended on the hidden contract,
preference is given to the formers.

Third: The Relativity of the Effects of the Contract

Article (175)
The effects of the contract shall attach to the two contracting parties and
the general successor without prejudice to the rules of succession, unless
the contract or the nature of the dealing or a provision in the law
necessitate none attachment of those effects to the general successor.
Article (176)
1. If the contract has created personal rights and obligations attached to a
certain property which is deemed determining or supplemental to it
and the property thereafter was transferred to a private successor, such
obligations and rights are transferred to that successor at the time in
which the property was transferred.
2. It is required for that effect to take place with regard to the mentioned
obligations that the private successor was aware of it, or it was within
his capability to know of it at the time on which the property was
transferred to him.
3. All unless the law provides otherwise.
Article (177)

44

The contract shall not prescribe an obligation on a third party, but may earn a
right for him.
Article (178)
1. If a person undertakes to another to render a third party obliged by a
specific thing he himself and not the third party shall be obliged with
his undertaking.
2. If the third party refuses to bear the obligation, the undertaker shall be
obliged to compensate to whom the undertaking was made for
whatever damage was caused by the reason of not fulfilling that
undertaking, unless he himself performs the matter undertaken if it
was within his capability and does not cause damage to the person to
whom the undertaking was made.
3. If the third party accepts the undertaking he shall then bear it and the
undertaker shall be released from it. His bearing of it shall be from the
date of his acceptance; unless it is proved that he intended this
acceptance to be as of the date on which the undertaking was made.
Article (179)
1. A person may, when contracting on behalf of himself to stipulate on
the other contracting party certain obligations which he undertakes to
perform to others if the person who made this stipulation in
performing such obligations has a material or moral interest.
2. It is permissible in a stipulation for the benefit of a third party that the
beneficiary is a future person or a person not personally designated at
the time of the stipulation as long as his designation is possible at the
time of fulfilling the stipulated obligation.
Article (180)
1. The stipulation for the benefit of a third party results in the beneficiary
earning a personal right against the undertaker from whom he shall
collect it directly, unless otherwise agreed.
2. The person who made this stipulation may request the undertaker to
perform the right stipulated in favor of the beneficiary unless it is
ascertain from the contract that the same is confined to the beneficiary
alone.
Article (181)

45

The undertaker may depend against the beneficiary on all the defenses
resulting to him from the contract which he could have depended on against
the person who made the stipulation.
Article (182)
1. The person who made the stipulation, to the exclusion of his heirs or
his creditors may repeal the stipulation before the beneficiary declares
to the person who made this stipulation or to the undertaker his
intention to benefit from it, unless the same is repugnant to the
prescriptions of the contract.
2. The repeal of this stipulation shall not result in the discharge of the
undertaker who remains obliged towards the person who made this
stipulation unless it is otherwise agreed or the nature of the obligation
requires otherwise.
3. The person who made this stipulation may when the stipulation is
repealed substitute another beneficiary in place of the original
beneficiary or keep the benefit of the stipulation for him.

Part Four
The dissolution of contract

Article 183
1. In contracts binding on both parties, if one of the contracting parties
has failed to perform its obligations, the other contracting party may,
after notifying the former, request the dissolution of the contract
together with compensation if there are exigencies.
2. The judge may, if the circumstances so require, extend to the debtor
until a date determined by the judge. The judge may also refuse the
dissolution if what the debtor has failed to perform was of minimum
importance in view of his total obligations.

Article 184
1. It is permissible to agree to consider the contract dissolved by itself
without the need for a judicial judgment when the obligations
emanating therefrom has not been performed.
2. Neither the above term nor the agreement to restrict the judges
authority with regard to the dissolution shall be regarded unless the
46

wordings of the contract were clearly indicative towards the parties

intention to the same.
3. The term considering the contract to be deemed dissolved by itself, in
matters other than commercial matters, does not exempt from
notification. The parties agreement to the contrary shall not be
considered.

Article 185
If the contract has been dissolved, the two contracting parties are returned to
the situation at which they were before the contract. If the above is impossible,
compensation may be ordered.
Article 186
1. The dissolution of contracts transferring ownership may not be
depended on against the private successor who has received, against
consideration, an in kind right from one of the contracting parties, if
that successor has received his right against consideration and in good
will.
2. A private successor shall be deemed with good will if he did not know
when the contract was concluded with him the cause for dissolving the
contract of his predecessor, and was not in his capability to know of it
if he had exerted whatever caution is required under the circumstances
by a regular person.
Article (187)
1. If in contracts obligatory on one party the performance of the
obligation becomes impossible due to a extraneous cause beyond the
control of the debtor, the contract shall be per se dissolved.
2. If the impossibility was partial, the creditor may depend on the
contract in relation to the remaining obligation which can be
performed.
Article 188
1. In the contracts which are binding on both parties, if the performance
of the obligations of one of the contracting parties becomes impossible
for a extraneous cause beyond his control, this obligation shall
extinguish together with its corresponding obligations. The contract
shall be per se dissolved.
47

2. If the impossibility is partial, the creditor as per the circumstances may

depend on the contract with regard to the remaining obligation which
can be performed, or request the dissolution of the contract.
Article 189
1. The parties my willingly terminate the contract after being concluded
provided the subject matter of the contract remains existing and in the
possession of either of them.
2. If the subject matter of the contract is destructed or damaged or if it has
been partially transferred to a third party, it is permissible to terminate
the remaining part of it to the extent of its share in the consideration.
Article 190
The result of termination is deemed as dissolution between the contracting
parties and is deemed a new contract in relation to third parties.

Article 191
In the contracts which are binding on both parties, if the corresponding
obligations are due, either party may refrain from performing its obligations if
the other party has failed to perform its obligations, unless it is agreed to the
contrary or the custom decides otherwise.

Chapter Two

Unilateral Will

Article (192)
1. A legal disposition which occurs through unilateral will shall not
create an obligation nor amend an existing obligation nor terminate it
except in special circumstances provided for in the law.
2. If the law decides that an obligation has been created or amended or
terminated by virtue by the legal disposition occurring through
unilateral will, such disposition shall be subject to the provisions of the
law to which the contract is generally subject to, except the ones that

48

contravene with the existence of the disposition upon the unilateral

will.
Article (193)
Whoever addresses to the public a promise to give a prize for a certain work,
shall be obliged to give the prize to so ever performs that work in accordance
with the announced terms, even if he has performed it before the promise or
without paying attention to it or without knowing of it.
Article (194)
1. If the promisor stipulates a time for his promise, he may not withdraw
from the promise during that time and the promise shall fall upon the
lapse of that time.
2. If the promisor did not stipulate a time for his promise, he may
withdraw it by an announcement addressed to the public in the same
manner under which the promise was addressed, or in any other
similar advertisement method.
Article (195)
1. The withdrawal of a promise to give a prize shall only be effective of
its announcement to the public. It shall not affect the right in the prize
to whoever has completed the work prior to that.
2. If no one has completed the work, it is permissible for whoever has
commenced the work but did not complete it before the promise
withdrawal announcement to claim from the promisor within the
limits of the prize the value of what he has spent and the effort exerted
if he proves that he would have completed the work in a suitable time.
Article (196)
The promisor is obliged to decide on the entitlement of the prize within six
months from the date on which the dead line specified in the announcement
ends, unless the announcement provides for another date.
Article (197)
Neither the promise to give a prize nor giving it to whoever is entitled to it,
shall result in the promisors right to the fruits of the work, unless the
promisors stipulations include otherwise.

49

Article (198)
The case for claiming the prize or any other rights resulting from the promise
shall lapse with the passage of six months from the date on which the dead
line for deciding the entitlement of the prize ends or from the date from the
promise withdrawal announcement, as the case may be.

Chapter Three

Responsibility for the Unjust Act

A. Responsibility for Personal Acts:

Article 199
Each mistake which causes damages renders who has committed it liable to
compensation.

Article 200
1. A person is considered responsible for his unjust acts, if committed
while being discerning.
2. However if the damage was caused by a non-discerning person,
without having a person responsible for him, or compensation was not
possible from the person responsible for him, the judge may compel
who has caused the damage with a just compensation taking into
consideration the litigants positions.

Article 201
1.

The damage which the person responsible for the unjust act is
committed to compensate for is determined by the loss which occurred
and the profit that was lost, provided it was a natural result of the
unjust act.

2. The occurred loss and the lost profit are considered a natural result of
the unjust act if it was not possible to avoid them with the exertion of
reasonable effort required by the circumstances from a normal person.

50

Article 202
1. Compensation for unjust act shall include damage even if moral.
2. Compensation for moral damage resulting from death may only be
ordered for spouses and relatives from the second degree for the pain
they suffered from the death of the injured person.

Article 203
The right for compensation for moral damage shall not be transferred to third
parties unless its value was determined by law or agreement, or if the creditor
has requested it before the court.

Article 204
If the person has proved that the damage had resulted from an extraneous
cause beyond his control such as force majeur, a sudden incident, the mistake
of the person who suffered the damage or the mistake of others, then he shall
not be liable for compensation unless a provision providing otherwise exists.

Article 205
Whoever causes damage while being in a case of legitimate defense for
himself, his honor, his money or other self, honor or money, shall not be liable
for compensating that damage, provided it does not exceed the necessary
degree to prevent the harm. If he exceeds that degree, he shall be obliged to
compensation in which the necessities of justice are observed.

Article 206
Whoever causes damage to others in order to avoid an eminent greater
damage to him or others shall only be liable for the compensation which the
judge deems suitable.

Article 207
51

A public servant shall not be responsible for his duty which causes damage to
others if he has performed it by an order issued to him by his superior, when
the obedience of such an order is compulsory on him, or he believed is
compulsory, and he has proved that he had reasonable reasons which made
him believe of the legitimacy of the act he has committed, and that in doing so
he has observed precaution and watchfulness.
B. Responsibility for others act:
Article (208)
1. Whoever is under a legal or contractual obligation to supervise a
person in need of supervision due to his minority or his mental or
physical condition shall be liable to compensate the damage inflicted
by that person to others by his unjust acts. This obligation shall exist
even if the person who committed the harmful act was none discerning.
2. The minor shall be deemed in need of supervision if he has not reached
the age of fifteen years, or has reached that age and was under the
person in charge of his up bringing.
3. Supervision over a minor shall be transferred to his teacher in school or
the supervisor in the craft, as long as the minor remains under the
supervision of the teacher or the supervisor.
4. Supervision over a minor wife shall be transferred to her husband or to
whoever undertakes supervision of the husband.
5. The person designated with supervision may relieve himself from
responsibility if he proves that he has fulfilled the duty of supervision
with whatever care required, or that the damage must have occurred
even if he had done that duty.
Article 209
1. A master shall be responsible for the damage caused by the unjust act
of his appendant when committed by the latter during his duty or
caused by it.
2. The ancillary relationship shall rise, when the duty designated to the
appendant proves that the master had actual authority in his
supervision and direction, even if the master was not free to choose his
appendant.
52

Article 210
1. The person responsible for the acts of another may revert to with all
what he has paid to the person who suffered the damage as
compensation for his unjust act.
2. However the State or the owner of a private school or a private
institute may not revert to the teacher with what has been paid to the
person who suffered the damage, even if it was not possible to collect it
from the money of the student himself, provided it was not proved that
the teacher has committed a personal mistake.
Article (211)
Whoever occupies a place for residing or for any other purpose shall be liable
to compensate whatever damage is inflicted on others for whatever things are
thrown or fall from such places, unless he proves that damage was caused by
a extraneous cause beyond its control, without prejudice to his right to revert
with whatever he pays to whose mistake the thing was thrown or has fallen.

C. Responsibility for Damage Caused by Things

Article 212
1. Whoever is guarding things which require special care to prevent
damage that might result from it shall be liable for compensating the
damage caused by these things unless he proves that the damage was
caused by a extraneous cause beyond his control.
2. Amongst the things that require special care to prevent damage that
might result from it are cars, planes, ships and other transport vehicles,
mechanical equipments, weapons, electrical wires and equipment,
animals, buildings and any other thing which nature or circumstances
can cause danger.
3. Guarding of animals shall remain with the guard even if the animal
has been lost or has run away.
4. However the guard shall not be responsible if the damage occurred at
places where animals are released for grazing without control from any
one.
Article 213

53

1. Whoever is threatened by damage from a specific thing, may request

from its owner or guard to take the necessary measures to prevent its
danger.
2. If the owner of the thing or its guard did not take the necessary
measures to prevent its danger within a suitable time, the person
threatened by the danger may obtain a permission from the court to
take such measures at the cost of the owner or guard.
3. It is permissible in cases of emergency, for whoever is threatened by
the danger of the thing to take the necessary measures to prevent it at
the cost of its owner or guard without the need for permission from the
judge.

D. Compensation for Damage Caused by Unjust Act

Article 214
If the compensation for the damage caused by the unjust act is not agreed
upon, the judge shall determine it.
Article 215
1. The judge estimates compensation in money.
2. The judge may in accordance with the circumstances and upon the
request of the person who suffered the damage, order to restore the
same or any other payment as compensation.
Article 216
1. The judge will determine the compensation which he believes
remedies the damage in accordance with articles 201 and 202, taking
into consideration the applicable circumstances.
2. If the judge at the time of judgment was unable to finally determine the
amount of compensation, he may reserve the right for the person who
suffered the damage to request, within a specified period of time, to
look again into the estimation.
Article 217
The judge may order the payment of compensation in installments or in the
form of a regular income for a fixed period or for life. The judge may then
order the debtor to provide sufficient security if necessitated.
54

Article 218
The collection of Diyya being a compensation for the self does not preclude
the person who suffered, from his/her right to claim compensation for other
damages from the person held responsible in accordance with the rules of
responsibility of unjust act unless it is proved that he/she has waived such
right.
Article 219
1. The case for responsibility of unjust act shall lapse with the passage of three
years from the day on which the person who suffered the damage learnt
of the damage and who is responsible for it, or with the passage of fifteen
years from the date on which the damage occurred, whichever is lesser.
2. If the case of responsibility of unjust act has resulted from a crime, it shall
not lapse as long as the criminal case is still pending, even if the time periods
provided for in the previous article have lapsed.

Chapter Four

Enrichment without Cause on the Account of Others

Article (220)
Every person, even if non-discerning, who enriches without a just cause on
the account of another person is liable within the limits of what he has
enriched with to compensate that person to the loss he has suffered. This
obligation shall remain even if the enrichment later ceases to exist.
Article (221)
The case for enrichment without cause shall laps with the passage of three
years from the date on which the person who suffered damage learnt of his
right to compensation, or fifteen years from the day on which such right
emerges, whichever period is sooner.

A. Receiving What is not Due:

55

Article (222)
1. Whoever has received as settlement, whatever is not due to him, he
must return it.
2. However no room for return shall exist if the person who made the
settlement knew he was not obliged to what he has paid, unless being
lacking capacity, or was under duress in making such settlement.
Article (223)
It shall be valid to recover what was not due if settlement was made in
carrying out an obligation whose cause has not been realized, or an obligation
whose cause has become extinct after its realization.
Article (224)
If settlement was carried out for an obligation which has not matured, and the
payer had no knowledge of the stipulation of the maturity, the creditor may
limit the return to what has benefited from by the premature settlement,
within the limit of the damage inflicted on the debtor.
Article (225)
There shall be no room to recover what is not due if settlement was made by
other than the debtor and resulted in the bona fidie creditor is divested of the
deed of the debt or of the securities ha had taken or he relinquishes his case
against the debtor throughout its limitation period. In this case the debtor is
liable to compensate the other who made the settlement.
Article (226)
1. If whoever has received whatever is not due was bona fidie, he shall
not be obliged to return except what he has received. If he was with
bad faith, he is obliged to return also the fruits that he gained or which
he failed to gain as of the day on which he received the thing or the
day on which he became with bad faith as the case may be.
2. In any circumstance, whoever receives what is not due shall be obliged
to return the fruits as of the day on which a case is filed against him to
return the same.
Article (227)

56

If the capacity to contract was not present in the person who received what is
not due, he shall not be obliged to return except to whatever benefit he has
gained.
Article (228)
The case to recover what was paid without right shall lapse with the passage
of three years from the day on which who has paid what is not due learns of
his right to recover, or with the passage of three years from the day on which
such right emerges, whichever period is sooner.
B. Officiousness:
Article (229)
1. Officiousness is when a person willingly undertakes to expeditiously
perform for the account of another person something that he is not
obliged to do.
2. Officiousness shall exist even if the officious person, during the
performance of matter to himself, has undertaken a matter to another
due to the two matters being connected where one can not be
performed separate from the other.
Article (230)
If the proprietor of the work ratifies what the officious person has performed,
the rules of agency shall apply.
Article (231)
The officious person shall continue to perform the work which he has
commenced until the proprietor of the work is able to perform it himself. He
shall also inform the proprietor of the work of his intervention as soon he is
capable of doing so.
Article (232)
1. The officious person shall exert in the performance of the work the due
care of a regular person. If he fails to do so, he shall be obliged to
compensate the damage caused by his mistake.
2. However a judge may reduce the compensation resulting from the
officious persons mistake or relieve him from it if the circumstances
permit.
57

Article (233)
If the officious person delegates to another all or part of the work he shall be
responsible for the acts of his representative without prejudice to the right of
the proprietor of the work to direct recourse against that representative.
Article (234)
If more than one officious person is involved in the performance of one act,
they shall be jointly responsible towards the proprietor of the work.
Article (235)
An officious person is obliged to return to the proprietor of the work all what
he has gained from as a result of the officiousness. He shall also be obliged to
render an account for what he has done, as in the obligation of an agent
towards the principal.
Article (236)
1. If an officious person dies, his heirs shall be as liable as the heirs of an
agent towards the principal.
2. If the proprietor of the work dies, the officious person shall remain
liable to the heirs for what he was liable for towards the proprietor of
the work.
Article (237)
1. An officious person shall be deemed as a representative of the
proprietor of the work if he has exerted in the performance of the work
the care of a regular person even if the expected result was not
achieved. In this case the proprietor of the work shall be liable to carry
out the undertakings concluded by the officious person for his account,
and to compensate him for the undertakings which he undertook, and
to return the necessary and useful expenses that the circumstances
required, and to compensate him for the damage inflicted on him by
reason of performing the work.
2. An officious person shall not be entitled to a wage for his work, unless
it is within the works of his profession.
Article (238)

58

1. If an officious person lacks the capacity to contract, he shall not, in

performing the work, be responsible except within the limits of the
benefit he has gained, provided his responsibility did not result from
an unlawful act.
2. As for the proprietor of the work, his responsibility shall remain
complete even if lacked capacity to contract.
Article (239)
The case for officiousness shall lapse with the passage of three years from the
day on which knowledge of the right resulting therefrom was known, or with
the lapse of fifteen years from the day on which it resulted, whichever period
is sooner.

59

Chapter Five

The Law
Article (240)
Obligations that are directly created by the law shall be subject to the
provisions that created them.

Division Two

The Effects of the Obligation

Chapter One

The Execution of the Obligation

A. Compulsory Execution:
Article (241)
1. If the debtor does not voluntarily execute the obligation, it shall be
compulsorily executed.
2. However if the obligation was natural, it shall not be executed
compulsorily.
Article (242)
When no provision exists, the judge shall determine whether there is a natural
obligation. In every case no natural obligation shall contravene with public
policy.
Article (243)
A debtor shall not recover whatever he has voluntarily paid intending to
settle a natural obligation, and shall not be deemed as donating what he has
paid.

60

Article (244)
A natural obligation shall be a valid reason for a civil obligation.
B. Specific Execution:
Article (245)
1. A debtor shall after being served with a warning be obliged to perform
his obligation specifically whenever it is possible.
2. However, if the specific performance shall be onerous to the debtor, the
court may, upon his request, limit the right of the creditor to
compensation if that does not inflict serious damage on him.
Article (246)
The obligation to transfer ownership or any other in kind right shall per se
transfer that right. The above shall be without prejudice to rules of
registration.
Article (247)
1. If the obligation to transfer an in kind right relates to a thing not
specified except in its type, the right shall not be transferred unless if
the thing is separated.
2. If the debtor does not perform his obligation, the creditor may obtain a
thing of the same type at the debtors expense after obtaining the
judges permission, or without his permission in expedite cases. He
may also request the value of the thing without prejudice to his right
for compensation in the two cases.
Article (248)
The obligation to transfer an in kind right shall include the obligation to
deliver the thing and preserve it until delivery.
Article (249)
1. If the debtor is obliged to deliver a thing and does not deliver it after
being warned, the destruction of the thing shall be his responsibility,
even if its destruction before the warning was the responsibility of the
creditor.

61

2. However, destruction shall not be the responsibility of the debtor, even

if warned, if he has proved that the thing would have also been
destructed with the creditor, unless the debtor has accepted to bear the
consequences of a force majeur or sudden incident.
3. However if a stolen thing is destroyed or lost in any way whatsoever,
the thief shall bear the consequences.
Article (250)
In the obligation to work, if the agreement or the nature of the debt prescribes
that the debtor shall perform the obligation personally; the creditor may
refuse its performance by another.
Article (251)
1. In the obligation to work, if the debtor does not perform his obligation,
the creditor may request a permission from the judge to perform the
obligation at the expense of the debtor, if such performance was
possible.
2. In an expedite circumstance, the creditor may perform the obligation at
the expense of the debtor, without the courts permission.
Article (252)
The judges decision shall amount to execution if the nature of the obligation
so permits.
Article (253)
1. If what is required from the debtor is to preserve a thing or to manage
it, or to exercise care in the performance of his obligation, he shall be
deemed to have performed his obligation if he has exercised in its
performance the care of an ordinary person even if the intended
purpose was not achieved. Unless the law or the agreement provide
otherwise.
2. In all cases, the debtor shall be liable for his deceit or gross default.
Article (254)
If the debtor was obliged to refrain from work and defaults therein, the
creditor may request the removal of whatever contravened the obligation, and
may request from the judge a permission to perform the removal at the
debtors expense without prejudice to his right for compensation.
62

Article (255)
1. If specific performance of the obligation was not possible or unsuitable
unless performed by the debtor personally, the creditor may obtain a
judgment compelling the debtor to that performance and the payment
of a penalty if refrained from that.
2. If the court finds the value of the penalty ordered not sufficient to have
the debtor perform, it may increase the penalty whenever it deems a
need for the increase exists.
3. If specific performance is done or the debtor insists on refusing
performance, the court shall determine the compensation that the
debtor is obliged to for the non performance or the delay in it taking
into consideration the damage inflicted on the creditor and the
obstinacy of the debtor.

C. Execution through Compensation

Article 256
If the debtor does not perform the obligation specifically, or is delayed in its
performance, he is obliged to compensate the damage caused to the creditor;
unless it is proved that the non-performance or the delay was for an
extraneous cause for which the debtor is not responsible.

Article 257
The court may reduce the amount of compensation or not order any
compensation, if the creditor has participated with his mistake in the
occurrence of the damage or increased it.

Article 258
It is permissible to agree that the debtor shall bear the responsibility of force
majeur or sudden incident.

Article 259

63

1. It is permissible to exempt the debtor from any responsibility resulting

from his non-performance of a contractual obligation or the delay in
performing it, unless it results from his deceit or gross mistake.
2. It is also permissible to exempt the debtor from the responsibility for
deceit or gross mistake committed by persons whom he uses in the
performance of his obligation.
3. Every agreement entered into prior to the rising of the responsibility
for unjust act which provides for the exemption of liability whether
completely or partially, shall be deemed null and void.
Article 260
Compensation shall only be due after warning the debtor, unless the parties
agree to the contrary, or the law provides otherwise.
Article 261
Warning the debtor shall be by serving him with a notice, or with an official
document in place of a notice. Warning can be through registered mail or any
means agreed upon.
Article 262
There shall be no need for warning in the following cases:
1. If it has been agreed to consider the debtor warned once the debt
becomes due.
2. If specific performance of the obligation becomes impossible or non
beneficial as a result of the debtors act.
3. If the subject matter of the obligation is compensation for an unjust act.
4. If the subject matter of the obligation is to return something which the
debtor knows is stolen, or something that he received without right
while knowing so.
5. If the debtor declares in writing that he is not willing to perform his
obligation.
Article 263
1. The court shall assess the compensation if it is not agreed upon or not
provided for in the law.
2. Compensation shall include the loss sustained by the creditor and the
profit that he lost, provided the same is a natural result of the nonperformance or the delay in performance. Damage shall be deemed a

64

natural result if the creditor was not able to avoid it by exerting

reasonable effort.
3. Notwithstanding the above, if the source of the obligation was the
contract, the debtor who did not commit any deceit or gross mistake
shall only be liable to compensate for the damage which could have
been expected at the time of contracting.
Article 264
Compensation shall include moral damage, which shall be subject to articles
202 and 203.
Article 265
If the subject matter of the obligation is not a sum of money, the contracting
parties may agree in advance to the value of the compensation whether in the
contract or in a later agreement.
Article 266
The agreed upon compensation shall not be due if the debtor proves that the
creditor did not suffer any damage. The court may reduce the compensation
from the one agreed upon if the debtor proves that the assessment was
exaggerated to a high degree, or that the obligation has been partially
performed. Any agreement to the contrary shall be null and void.
Article 267
If the damage exceeds the amount of compensation agreed upon, the creditor
may not claim more than such an amount, unless he proves that the debtor
committed deceit or gross mistake.
Article 268
If the subject matter of the obligation was a sum of money and the debtor did
not perform it after being warned and the creditor proved that he sustained
damage as a result of that, the court may order the debtor to pay
compensation taking into consideration the necessities of justice.

65

Chapter Two

The Creditors General Security and the Means to preserve it

A. The Creditors General Security:

Article (269)
1. All the properties of the debtor shall secure his debts.
2. All the creditors shall be equal in that security except those who have a
preferential right in accordance with the law.

B. The use by the Creditor of his debtors Rights (the indirect law suit):

Article (270)
1. Every creditor even if his right is not due may exercise all the rights of
his debtor in the latters name except for those particularly attaching to
his person or are not subject to attachment, if he has proved that the
debtor did not exercise those rights, and that not exercising it may
cause his insolvency or increase such insolvency.
2. It is not necessary for the creditor to exercise the rights of his debtor to
warn the debtor, who shall be joined in the law suit otherwise it will be
unacceptable.
Article (271)
The creditor shall be deemed to be the representative of his debtor in the
exercise of the latters rights. Every benefit which results from the exercise of
those rights shall become part of the debtors properties and shall be security
for all his creditors.
C. The law suit for the ineffectiveness of the debtors disposition

Article (272)

66

Every creditor whose right is due and his debtor does disposition causing
harm to the him may request the ineffectiveness of that disposition against
him, if that disposition has reduced the debtors rights or increased his
obligations resulting in the debtors insolvency or the increase of his
insolvency provided the conditions provided for in the two preceding articles
exist.
Article (273)
1. If the debtors disposition was against consideration the debtors deceit
and the knowledge of such deceit by the person in whose favour the
disposition was made is stipulated for its ineffectiveness against the
creditor .The debtors deceit is presumed if the creditor has proved his
knowledge of his insolvency at the time of the disposition, the
knowledge of the person in whose favour the disposition was made of
the debtors deceit shall also be presumed if the creditor has proved
that the person in whose favour the disposition was made had known
at the time of the disposition that the debtor was insolvent.
2. If the debtors disposition was a donation, neither the debtors deceit
nor the good will of the person in whose favour the disposition was
made shall be stipulated for its ineffectiveness against the creditor.
Article (274)
1. If the debtors disposition was against consideration, and the successor
to whom the right disposed with was transferred has disposed of it to
another successor against consideration, the creditor shall not be
entitled to depend on the ineffectiveness of the disposition unless he
has proved that the second successor had known of the debtors deceit
and the first successor knows of this deceit.
2. If the debtors disposition was a donation, and the successor to whom
the right disposed with was transferred has disposed of it to another
successor against consideration, the creditor shall not be entitled to
depend on the ineffectiveness of the disposition unless he has proved
that the second successor had known of the debtors deceit at the time
of his disposition to the first successor.
Article (275)
If the creditor has claimed that the debtor is insolvent, he shall only need to
prove the amounts of the debts due from the debtor .If the debtor claims his
solvency, he must prove that he owns properties which are equal to the value
of the debts or exceeds them.
67

Article (276)
If it is decided that the disposition shall be ineffective, all the creditors
prejudiced by that disposition shall benefit from the same.
Article (277)
The person in whose favour the disposition was made may relieve himself
from the law suit if he deposits with the courts treasury the value of the
property disposed with provided it is not less than the value of an equivalent.
Article (278)
1. If the disposition of the insolvent debtor was by preferring one creditor
to the others without right, the other creditors may request the
ineffectiveness of the disposition on them. The above shall be without
prejudice to the provisions of articles (272) through (275).
2. If the insolvent debtor settles one of his creditors before the lapse of
time originally specified for settlement, the other creditors may request
the ineffectiveness of the settlement on them. However if the debtor
settles the debt after the lapse of the time, the other creditors shall not
be entitled to request the ineffectiveness unless it occurred through
collusion between the debtor and the creditor who recovered his debt.
Article (279)
The case for the ineffectiveness of the disposition shall lapse with the passage
of three years from the day on which the creditor learnt of ineffectiveness of
the disposition on him. The case shall, in all circumstances, lapse with the
conclusion of fifteen years from the date on which the disposition occurred.

D. The Right of Withholding:

Article (280)
1. Whoever is obliged to perform something may withhold performance
as long as the creditor did not offer to fulfil an obligation due by him
and related to the debtors obligation, or as long as the creditor did not
provide a sufficient security to settle his obligations.

68

2. However, the possessor or the acquirer of a thing may refrain from

returning it until he recovers whatever is due to him necessary or
beneficial expenses which he has spent on the thing, unless his
obligation to return it originated from an unlawful act.

Article (281)
1. Whoever withholds a thing shall preserve it in accordance with the
rules of possessive mortgage, and to render an account of its income.
2. Whoever withholds a thing may procure a permission from the court
to sell the thing in accordance with procedures which the court shall
determine if the withheld thing is feared of being destructed or
impaired, and may sell it without the permission of the court in an
expedite case. The right of withholding shall devolve from the thing to
its price.

Article (282)
The mere right of withholding shall not confer a preferential right upon the
withholder.

Article (283)
If the withheld thing is demolished or impaired, the right of withholding shall
devolve to whatever consideration or compensation becomes due for that
reason.
Article (284)
1. The right of withholding shall terminate by the withheld thing getting
out of the possession of the withholder.
2. However, the withholder may, if the thing is taken out of his
possession without his knowledge or in spite of his objection, request
its recovery within thirty days from the time on which he learnt of the
loss of his possession and before the passage of one year from the time
of loss of the possession.

Division Three

69

Descriptions Amending the Effects of Obligations

Chapter One

The Condition and the Term

A. The Condition
Article (285)
An obligation shall be conditional if its existence or termination depends on a
future matter not definitely occurring.
Article (286)
1. If the obligation is subject to a condition which is contrary to public policy
or morals or impossible it shall prevent the obligation from being evolved if
the condition was suspensive. If a condition was resolutive it shall be non
evolving and shall not effect the validity of the obligation.
2. However, an obligation which was subject to a resolutive condition which
is contrary to public policy or morals shall not evolve if that condition was the
reason for the obligation.
Article (287)
An obligation which is subject to a suspensive condition which makes its
existence dependant on the mere will of the obligor shall not evolve.
Article (288)
1. An obligation which is subject to a suspensive condition unless the
condition has been achieved.
2. The creditor may however, before the condition is achieved to take
whatever procedures to preserve his right.
Article (289)
1. An obligation which is subject to a resolutive condition shall be
effective at once. If the condition is achieved the obligation shall
terminate, and the creditor shall return whatever he has taken. If the
70

return becomes impossible for the creditor due to reasons of his own
he shall be obliged to compensation.
2. However, whatever administration acts performed by the creditor shall
remain effective in spite of the achievement of the condition.
Article (290)
1. If the condition, whether suspensive or resolutive, has been achieved,
its effect shall depend on the time on which the contract was
concluded, unless it has been revealed from the will of the contracting
parties or from the nature of the contract that the existence of the
obligation or its termination shall be on the time on which the
condition has been achieved.
2. However, a condition shall not have a retroactive effect if the
performance of the obligation before the condition has been achieved
has become impossible due to a extraneous causes beyond the control
of the debtor.
B. The Term
Article (291)
An obligation shall be for a term if its effectiveness or termination was
dependant of a future matter definitely occurring even if the time on which it
will occur was not known.
Article (292)
1. If the obligation is added to a suspensive term, it shall not be effective
except at the time in which the term terminates.
2. However, it is permissible to the creditor just before the termination of
the term to take whatever procedures to preserve his right, and may
specifically to request security if he had feared the debtors insolvency
or bankruptcy and depended on that on a reasonable cause.
Article (293)
1. It is presumed in the suspensive term that it has been made in favour
of the debtor unless the law provides or has been revealed from the
contract or from the circumstances that it has been made in favour of
the creditor or in favour of the two parties together.
2. If the term results in favour of one of the parties, it is permissible for
him to wave it.
71

Article (294)
A debtors right in the suspensive term shall lapse in the following cases:
1. If he has been judged bankrupt.
2. If he has, with his act, weakened to a great degree whatever special
security he has given to the creditor, even if that security has been given by a
subsequent contract or in accordance with the law, unless the creditor has
chosen to request from the court the completion of the security. If the
weakening of the security is attributable to a cause not related to the debtors
will, the term shall lapse unless the debtor provides the creditor with
sufficient security.
3. If he did not provide the creditor with the securities which he has promised
in the contract to provide.
Article (295)
If it shall be ascertained from the obligation that the debtor will not fulfil it
until he is able or attains prosperity, the court shall specify a reasonable time
for the maturity of the term, taking into consideration he debtors present and
future resources and presuming in him the care of the person who is keen on
fulfilling his obligations.
Article (296)
An obligation which is connected to a resolutive term shall be effective at
once. However, the lapse of the term shall result in the termination of the
obligation, without this termination having a retroactive effect.

Chapter Two

Plurality of the Subject Matter of the Obligation

A.

The Optional Obligation

Article (297)

72

1. An obligation shall be optional if its subject matter comprises several

things where the debtor is discharged if he fulfils one of them, and the
option to determine it shall be for the debtor or the creditor.
2. If the option to determine was absolute it shall then be for the debtor,
unless the law has determined or the contracting parties have agreed
that the option shall be for the creditor.
Article (298)
1. In the option to determine the period of the option must be specified.
The option has been absolute without a period; the court shall specify a
suitable period upon the request of either party.
2. If the option was for the debtor and has refrained from opting, or if the
debtors are several and have not agreed amongst themselves, the
creditor may request the court to specify the subject matter by itself.
However if the option was for the creditor and has refrained from
opting, or the creditors were several and have not agreed amongst
themselves the option shall be transferred to the debtor.
Article (299)
1. If the option to determine was for the debtor and one of the two things
have been destroyed in his possession he shall be entitled to compel
the creditor with the second thing. If all are destroyed the obligation
shall terminate.
2. If the debtor was responsible for the destruction even if in relation to
one of the things, he shall be obliged to pay the value of the thing that
was destroyed last.
Article (300)
The option to determine is transferred to the heir.
B. Substitutional Obligation
Article (301)
1. An obligation shall be substitutional if its subject matter was only one
thing, where the debtor shall be discharged if he renders a substitute
thing.
2. The principal and not the substitute is alone the subject matter of the
obligation.

73

Chapter Three

Plurality of the Parties to the Obligation

1. Unity
Article (302)
Joint liability between creditors or between debtors is not presumed, but is
upon an agreement or a provision in the law, taking into consideration the
trading rules.
A. Unity between Creditors
Article (303)
1. Joint creditors may claim all the debt from the debtor jointly or
separately, with due consideration being given to whatever description
amending the effect of the debt might effect each creditors connection.
2. If one of the joint creditors demands fulfilment from the debtor, such
debtor shall not be entitled to depend on the grounds of objection
relating to another creditor but may depend on the grounds of
objection relating to that creditor and on the joint grounds relating to
all the creditors.
Article (304)
1. The debtor may settle all his debt to any of the joint creditors unless
another creditor warns him to refrain from that.
2. Nevertheless, unity shall not prevent the debt being divisible between
the heirs of the joint creditors, unless the debt was indivisible.
Article (305)
1. If the debtors liability to any of the joint creditors shall be discharged
for a cause other than settlement, he shall not be discharged from
liability to the remaining creditors except to the extent of the amount of
the share of the creditor to whom the debtors liability was discharged.
2. If one of the joint creditors commits an act which causes damage to the
other creditors, such act shall not be effective to them.

74

Article (306)
Whatever debt is received by any of the joint creditors shall become their right
to be divided in equal shares unless an agreement or an article provides
otherwise.
C. Unity between Debtors
Article (307)
1. The creditor may claim his debt from the joint debtors jointly or
severally, with due consideration being given to whatever description
amending the effect of the debt might effect each debtors connection.
If a creditor initially demands any of the debtors it shall not prevent
him from demanding the remaining debtors.
2. If a creditor demands settlement from the debtor, the debtor shall not
be entitled to depend on the grounds of objection relating to another
debtor, but may depend on the grounds of objection relating to himself
and on the joint grounds relating to all the debtors.
Article (308)
Settling the debt specifically or against consideration by one of the joint
debtors shall result in him and the other debtors being discharged.
Article (309)
The renewal of the debt between the creditor and one of the joint debtors shall
result in the discharge of the other debtors unless the creditor reserves his
right against him.
Article (310)
A joint debtor shall not be entitled to depend on the set off between the
creditor and another joint creditor except to the extent of the share of that
other debtor.
Article (311)
1. If the creditor discharges any one of the joint debtors the others shall
not be discharged unless the creditor so declares.

75

2. If such declaration has not occurred he shall be entitled to claim the

remainder of the debt from the other joint debtors after deducting the
share of the debtor who he has discharged. He shall nevertheless be
entitled to claim all the debt from them if he had reserved this right to
himself. In this latter case those debtors shall be entitled to the right of
recourse against the debtor in whose favour this charge was made to
the extent of his share in the debt.
Article (312)
If the creditor has discharged one of the joint debtors from the joint liability,
his right of recourse against the others for all the debt shall subsist unless it is
agreed otherwise.
Article (313)
1. In all the cases in which the creditor discharges any of the joint debtors
whether the discharge was from the debt or from the joint liability the
remaining debtors may have recourse when necessary against that
debtor for his share in the share of who is insolvent amongst them in
accordance with article (319).
2. Nevertheless, if the creditor relieves the debtor who he has discharged
from all the liability for the debt, the creditor shall be liable for the
debtors portion of the insolvents share.
Article (314)
1. If the debt is terminated for prescription in respect of one of the joint
debtors, the remaining debtors shall not benefit from the same except
to the extent of the share of that debtor.
2. If the period of prescription shall be suspended or stopped in respect of
one of the joint debtors, the creditor shall not be entitled to depend on
the same against the remaining debtors.
Article (315)
1. A joint debtor shall only be liable in the fulfilment of the obligation to
his act.
2. If the creditor warns one of the joint debtors or takes him to court, the
same shall not affect the remaining debtors. However, if one of the
joint debtors warns the creditor the remaining debtors shall benefit
from such warning.

76

Article (316)
If the creditor has compromised with one of the joint debtors which
compromise includes a discharge fro the debt or the discharge from it by any
other means the remainders shall benefit from it. However, if such
compromise should impose on them an obligation or increase their obligation
it shall not be effective unless they accept it.
Article (317)
1. If one of the joint debtors admits of the debt, such admission shall not
bind the others.
2. If one of the joint debtors refrains from oath or requests the oath from
the creditor who swears it, the remaining debtors shall not be
prejudiced by the same.
3. If the creditor limits his request of oath to one of the joint debtors who
swears it, the other debtors shall benefit from the same.
Article (318)
1. If a court decision is pronounced against one of the joint debtors, it
shall have no effect on the remaining debtors.
2. However, if a court judgement is pronounced in favour of any one of
them the remaining debtors shall benefit from it unless the court
decision was based on a cause specifically relating to the debtor in
whose favour the court decision was pronounced.
Article (319)
1. If one of the joint debtors fulfils all the debt or whatever is in excess of
his share therein, or had settled it by one of the means equivalent to
fulfilment, he shall not be entitled to recourse against the remaining
debtors except to the extent of his share in the debt even if recourse
was through the creditors court case on the basis of the subrogation
right to which he is entitled.
2. If one of the debtors fulfils the debt, it shall be divided into equal
shares between everyone, unless an agreement or a provision in the
law provides otherwise.
3. If one of the joint debtors becomes insolvent, the debtor who has
fulfilled the debt and all the remaining debtors each to the extent of his
share shall bear a result of such insolvency, without prejudice to their
right of recourse against the insolvent when becoming solvent.

77

Article (320)
If one of the joint debtors shall alone be the person having interest in the debt,
he shall be liable to all of it in his relationship with the remaining debtors.

2. The Indivisibility
Article (321)
An obligation shall be indivisible in the following cases:
1. If it relates to a subject matter which nature does not accept its division.
2. If it is ascertained from the purpose which the contracting parties
intended that the obligation may not be performed indivisibly, or if the
will of the contracting parties is so directed.
Article (322)
If the debtors in an indivisible obligation were several, each of them shall be
liable for the complete fulfilment of the obligation. The debtor who has made
the fulfilment shall have the right of recourse against the remaining debtors
each to the extent of his share unless the circumstances reveal otherwise.
Article (323)
If the creditors in an indivisible obligation were several, or the heirs of the
creditor in that obligation were several, each creditor or heir may request the
full settlement of the obligation. If one of the creditors or the heirs objects, the
debtor shall be liable to settle the obligation to the creditors jointly, or to
deposit the thing the subject matter of the obligation in accordance with the
requirements of the law.
The creditors shall have recourse against the creditor who received the
obligation, each to the extent of his share.

Division Four

78

Transfer of Obligation
Chapter One

Assignment of Right

Article 324
The creditor may assign whatever right he has against his debtor, unless it is
prevented by a provision in the law, the parties agreement or the nature of
the obligation. An assignment shall be concluded without the need for the
debtors approval.

Article 325
An assignment of right shall not be permissible except to the extent of which
that can be subject to attachment.

Article 326
The assignment shall not be effective against the debtor or against third
parties unless accepted by the debtor or served with it. Its effectiveness
against third parties when accepted by the debtor requires that such
acceptance be date certain.

Article 327
It is permissible for the assignee creditor, before the assignment is served or
accepted, to take whatever actions in order to protect the assigned right.

Article 328
The right is transferred to the assignee together with its descriptions,
ancillaries and securities.

79

Article 329
The assignor must deliver the deed of the assigned right to the assignee and
to provide him with the means of proving it in addition to the necessary
statements to enable him to collect it.

Article 330
1. If the assignment was against consideration, the assignor shall only
guarantee the existence of the assigned right at the time of assignment,
unless an agreement to the contrary exists.
2. If the assignment was without consideration, the assignor shall not
guarantee even the existence of the right.

Article 331
1. The assignor does not guarantee the solvency of the debtor unless a
special agreement to this guarantee exists.
2. If the assignor guarantees the solvency of the debtor, this guarantee
shall only apply to the debtors solvency at the time of the assignment
unless an agreement exists otherwise.

Article 332
1. If the assignee reverts to the assignor with the guarantee in accordance
with the two previous articles, the assignor shall only be obliged to
return whatever he has received from the assignee together with
expenses, even if an agreement to pay more than the above exists.
2. However, if the assignor knew that the right does not exist against the
debtor, he shall be obliged to compensate the bona fidie assignee for
the damage inflicted upon him.

Article 333
1. The assignor shall be responsible for compensating the assignee for the
damage inflicted as a result of the assignors personal acts, even if the
assignment was without consideration.
2. Any condition to the contrary shall be null and void.

80

Article 334
The debtor may depend, against the assignee, on the same exceptions that he
may have had against the assignor at the time when the assignment became
effective against him. He may also depend on the exceptions derived from the
assignment contract.

Article 335
If more than one assignment of the same right exists, the one that became
effective first against third parties shall be given priority.

Article 336
1. If an attachment occurs with the debtor before the assignment becomes
effective against third parties, the assignment will be considered, with
regard to the person who made the attachment, as a second
attachment.
2. In such a case, if another attachment occurs after the assignment has
become effective against a third party, the debt shall be distributed
between the person who made the first attachment, the assignee and
the person who made the late attachment on a pro rata basis, provided
part of the share of the person who made the late attachment is given
to the assignee to complete the assigned right.

81

Chapter Two

Assignment of Debt

Article 337
1. An assignment of debt is concluded through an agreement between the
debtor and another person for the transfer of the debt from the debtor
to the person onto whom the assignment was made.
2. An assignment is considered restricted if its performance is restricted
to something in kind or a debt owed in favour of the debtor by the
person onto whom the assignment was made and shall be absolute if
its performance is not restricted to anything of that even if the debtor
had something in kind or a debt against the person onto whom the
assignment was made from which performance can be made.

Article 338
1. An assignment shall not be valid against the creditor unless approved
by him.
2. If the original debtor or the person onto whom the assignment was
made serve the assignment to the creditor specifying a suitable period
of time to approve it, and the specified time has lapsed without an
approval being issued by the creditor, the creditors silence shall be
considered a rejection of the assignment.

Article 339
The person onto whom the assignment was made shall be obliged towards
the original debtor to satisfy the assigned debt to the creditor in the right time
unless an agreement exists otherwise. This provision shall apply even if the
creditor has rejected the assignment.

Article 340
An assignment may be made by an agreement between the creditor and the
person onto whom the assignment was made. However if the original debtor
does not approve the assignment, the person onto whom the assignment was

82

made shall not have the right of recourse against the debtor except on the
basis of the rules of enrichment without cause if its requirements exist.

Article 341
If the creditor was a party to the contract of assignment or has approved it,
the original debtor shall be discharged from the debt.

Article 342
The original debtor guarantees the solvency of the person onto whom the
assignment was made at the time of the creditors approval of the assignment
unless otherwise agreed.

Article 343
1. The debt is transferred to the person onto whom the assignment was
made together with its descriptions, ancillaries and securities.
2. However, a guarantor, whether in kind or in person shall not remain
obliged towards the creditor except if he had accepted the assignment.

Article 344
The person onto whom the assignment was made may depend, against the
creditor, on the same exceptions that the original debtor may have had in
relation to the same right. He may also depend on the exceptions derived
from the assignment contract.

Article 345
1. If the debt upon which the assignment had been registered expires for
an incidental cause after it has been concluded, the same shall not
affect the assignment. The person onto whom the assignment was
made may have the right of recourse against the original debtor with
what he has paid to the creditor.
2. If the debt upon which the assignment had been registered expires for
a reason prior to its conclusion and which is not attributable to the

83

person onto whom the assignment was made, the assignment shall
become null and void.
Article 346
In all circumstances in which the thing sold which price has been assigned
becomes due, the person onto whom the assignment was made, who has paid
the price, shall have the option of recourse either against the assignor or, the
assignee that he has paid.
Article (347)
If the debtor assigns his creditor to a person with whom a property is
deposited through an assignment restricted to the property deposited with
him, and the deposit was destructed before it was given to the creditor
without a mistake from the person with whom the property was deposited,
the assignment shall be dissolved. If however the deposit has matured in
favour of a third party, the assignment shall become void.
Article (348)
If the debtor assigns his creditor to an extorter through an assignment
restricted to the property extorted, and the property was destructed with the
extorter before it was given to the creditor, the same shall not affect the
assignment. If however the extorted property has matured in favour of a third
party, the assignment shall become void.
Article (349)
The creditor shall not have recourse against the original debtor, unless
recourse is stipulated in the assignment if recovery from the person onto
whom the assignment was made has become difficult, or if the restricted
assignment has been dissolved or became void with the termination of the
debt or the destruction of the property or has become matured in accordance
with the four preceding articles.
Article (350)
If the original debtor has assigned his right through a restricted assignment,
and did not have with the person onto whom the assignment was made a
debt or property, the person onto whom the assignment was made shall have
recourse, after the fulfilment of the debt, against the original debtor, to the
extent of the assigned debt.
84

Article (351)
If the original debtor has assigned his right through a restricted assignment,
and had with the person onto whom the assignment was made a debt or a
deposited or extorted property, he shall retain after the assignment, the right
to claim the debt or the property from the person onto whom the assignment
was made until fulfils the assigned debt to the creditor, and if the person onto
whom the assignment was made has made the fulfilment to the creditor, he
shall be discharged to the extent of what he has fulfilled.
Article (352)
If the assignment has been concluded restricted to a debt or property, the
original debtor shall not be entitled to claim from the person onto whom the
assignment was made, and the person onto whom the assignment was made
shall not be entitled of fulfilment to that debtor.
Article (353)
1. The sale of a property that has been officially mortgaged shall not
necessarily result in the transfer of the debt secured by mortgage to the
buyer unless an agreement to the same exists.
2. If the seller and the buyer agree to the assignment of debt, and the sale
contract was registered, the creditor shall, when officially notified with
the assignment, either approve it or reject it within a period not
exceeding six months. If this period expires without deciding, his
salience shall be deemed an approval.

85

Division Five

Termination of the Obligation

Chapter One

Settlement

Part One

The Two Parties to the Settlement

Article (354)
1. Settlement by the debtor or his representative or any other person who
has an interest in the settlement shall be valid, taking into
consideration the contents of article (250).
2. Settlement by a person who has no interest shall also be valid, even
without the knowledge of the debtor or in spite of his will. The creditor
however may refuse the settlement by others if the debtor objects
thereto and notifies his objection to the creditor.
Article (355)
1. It shall be a prerequisite for the validity of the settlement that the
person who settles is the owner of what he settles with, and shall
possess the capacity to dispose of it.
2. However, settlement by a person lacking capacity with something due
from him shall be valid unless settlement inflicts damage on the person
who has made it.
3. If the debtor settles the debt of certain creditors while in dying sickness
and his money does not fulfil the settlement of all his debts, and the
settlement resulted in damages to the remaining creditors, settlement
shall not be valid against those remaining.
Article (356)
1. If a third party settles the debt, he shall have the right of recourse
against the debtor to the extent of what he has settled.

86

2. However, it is permissible for the debtor without whose will settlement

occurred, to prevent the recourse of the person who made the
settlement with regard to whatever he has settled completely or
partially on his behalf, if he has proved that he has an interest in
objecting to the settlement.
Article (357)
If a person other than the debtor makes the settlement he shall subrogate for
the creditor who has received his right in the following cases:
1. If the person making the settlement was liable in the debt with the
debtor or liable to settle it on his behalf.
2. If the person making the settlement was a creditor and settles another
creditor who ranks ahead of him due to an in kind security, even if the
person making the settlement had no security.
3. If the person making the settlement has acquired the ownership of
something, and has settled the debt to a creditor for the preservation of
whose right that thing was allocated.
4. If a special provision provides for the right of subrogation for the
person who made the settlement.
Article (358)
1. A creditor who has received his right from someone other than his
debtor may agree with that other to subrogate for him even if the
debtor has not accepted. Such agreement may not take place after the
time of settlement.
2. A debtor may also, if he has borrowed money and has settled the debt
with it subrogate the lender for the creditor who has received his right
even without the consent of that creditor, provided it is mentioned in
the loan contract that the money has been allocated for this settlement,
and in the receipt that settlement has been made from that money
borrowed from the new creditor.
3. For subrogation to be effective against others, the agreement with the
creditor and the loan contract and receipt must be date certain.
Article (359)
Whoever legally or by agreement subrogates for the creditor shall have his
right, including that rights particulars, and ancillaries attached to it, and
securities securing it and objections relating to it. This subrogation shall be to
the extent of whatever is paid by whoever subrogates the creditor.

87

Article (360)
1. If someone other than the debtor settles part of the creditors right and
subrogates for him, the creditor shall not be harmed by this
subrogation, and shall rank in receiving whatever remains of his right
ahead of who has settled him, unless otherwise agreed.
2. And if someone subrogates for the creditor in the remainder of the
latters right, the person who subrogates last together with the person
who preceded him in subrogation shall, each to the extent of what is
due to him, receive on a pro rata basis.
Article (361)
If the possessor of a mortgaged real property settles all the debt and
subrogates for the creditors, he shall not, by virtue of this subrogation, be
entitled to revert to a possessor of another real property mortgaged for the
same debt except to the extent of this possessors share to the value of the
possessed real property.
Article (362)
Settlement shall be made to the creditor or his representative. The person who
supplies the debtor with a settlement receipt from the creditor shall be
deemed to have been authorized in receiving payment of the debt unless it
has been agreed that settlement should be made to the creditor personally.
Article (363)
If settlement was made to a person other than the creditor or his
representative, the debtor shall not be discharged unless the creditor has
approved this settlement or it resulted in a benefit to him to the extent of such
benefit, or settlement was made in good will to the person in whose
possession the debt was.
Article (364)
1. If the creditor shall without justification reject a settlement which is
validly offered, or shall refuse to execute the works without which
settlement will not be complete, or announce that he does not accept
the settlement, the debtor shall have the right to serve him with a
warning registering this rejection.
2. If the warning has been done, the creditor shall bear the liability of the
destruction or demolishing of the thing, and the debtor shall have the
88

right to deposit the thing, at the creditors expense, and claim

compensation if so justified.
Article (365)
The actual offer by the debtor shall be considered as equivalent to settlement
if followed by depositing in accordance with the provisions of the procedures
law, or followed by a similar measure, if accepted by the creditor or deemed
valid by a court decision.
Article (366)
Direct deposit of the debt by the debtor, or any alternative measure shall also
be deemed as equivalent to settlement in the following cases:
A. If the debtor ignores the personality of the creditor and his
domicile.
B. If the creditor is lacking capacity or was of incomplete capacity
and has no representative to accept settlement on his behalf.
C. If the debt was under dispute.
D. If serious reasons exist, which render the making of the real
offer procedures for the debt, before depositing or the
alternative measure for depositing, difficult.

Article (367)
1. If the debtor shall offer the settlement of the debt and follow the offer
with depositing or similar measure he may revoke that offer as long as
the creditor did not accept it or a court decision decreeing it validity
was not pronounced, and if he so revokes neither his co-debtors nor
the guarantors shall be discharged, and the securities securing the debt
shall remain.
2. And if the debtor shall revoke that offer after its acceptance by the
creditor or after its validity is decreed and the creditor agrees to that
revocation, the creditor shall not thereafter keep the securities for his
right, and the co-debtors and guarantors shall be discharged from the
debt.
Article (368)
If the subject matter of the settlement is something specifically designated,
and which was supposed to be delivered at the place where it is located, the
89

debtor may after warning the creditor to take delivery, obtain a permission
from the court to deposit it. If that thing was real property or something made
to remain where it is located, the debtor may request replacing it under
receivership.
Article (369)
If the subject matter of the obligation was a thing subject to quick decay or
whose depositing or receivership shall be highly costly, the debtor may, after
securing permission from the judge or without such permission in the case of
necessity, sell the thing at its market price, and if that shall be impossible then
by public auction. The depositing of the price shall be considered as
depositing the thing itself.

90

Part Two

The Subject Matter of Matter

Article (370)
Settlement shall be of the thing due, and the creditor shall not be compelled to
accept something else even if equal in value or has a higher value.
Article (371)
1. The debtor may not oblige the creditor to accept a partial settlement of
his right unless an agreement or a provision provides otherwise.
2. If the debt was disputed in part and the creditor has accepted to
settlement of the undisputed part, the debtor may not refuse to settle
that part.
Article (372)
If the debtor shall be under obligation to settle, together with the debt,
expenses and compensations for late settlement, and what he has paid was
not sufficient to settle all the debt, the settled amount shall be deducted from
the expenses then from the compensations then from the principal of the debt
unless an agreement exists otherwise.
Article (373)
If the debts due from the debtor shall be several, and owed to one creditor
and of one kind, and what the debtor has paid was not sufficient for the
settlement of all those debts, the debtor may on settlement specify the debt
which he intends to settle unless a legal or contractual preclusion prevents
that specification.
Article (374)
If the debt which has been settled in accordance with the previous article was
not specified, deduction shall be made from the debt which has matured, and
if the matured debts shall be several then from the debt which is most costly
to the debtor, and if the debts shall be equal in costs then from the debt
specified by the creditor.

91

Article (375)
1. Settlement shall be effected upon the obligation becoming finally due
from the debtor, unless an agreement or a provision provides
otherwise.
2. However, the judge may in exceptional cases, if not precluded by a
provision in the law grant the debtor a reasonable period or is allowed
to settle the debt in instalments if his circumstance so prescribe and no
serious damage is inflicted on the creditor.
Article (376)
1. If the subject matter of the obligation is a specifically designated thing
it shall then be delivered at the place where it was located at the time
when the obligation arose.
2. As for other obligations, settlement shall be in the place of the domicile
of the debtor at the time of settlement, or in the place where the centre
of the business of the debtor is located if the obligation was related to
the said business.
3. All the above unless the agreement or the law or the nature of the
obligation requires otherwise.
Article (377)
The expenses of the settlement shall be due from the debtor unless an
agreement or a provision in the law or a custom requires otherwise.
Article (378)
1. Whoever settles part of a debt shall be entitled to request a settlement
receipt for what he has settled together with making an indication on
the deed of debt of the occurrence of this settlement. If he has settled all
the debt he shall be entitled to recover the deed of debt or to request its
cancellation, and if the deed has been lost he shall be entitled to request
the creditor to admit in writing the losing of the deed of the debt.
2. If the creditor refuses to perform what the previous paragraph has
prescribed, the debtor may deposit the due thing in accordance with
the law.

92

Chapter Two

The Termination of the Obligation with the Equivalent of

Settlement

Part One

Settlement against Consideration

Article (379)
If the creditor has accepted in settlement of his right a thing other than the
thing due, it shall be deemed as settlement.
Article (380)
1. Settlement against consideration, if it relates to transfer the ownership
of a thing given in consideration of the debt, shall be subject to the
provisions relating to sale, specifically those relating to the capacity of
the contracting parties, and the warranty of maturity, and the warranty
for concealed defects.
2. And shall be subject with regard to the termination of the debt to the
provisions of settlement, specifically those relating to the
determination of the settled debt and the termination of the securities.

Part Two

Novation

Article (381)
An obligation shall be novated:
1. By changing the debt if the two parties have agreed to replace the
original obligation with a new obligation different in its subject matter
or source.

93

2. By changing the debtor if the creditor has agreed with an extraneus

person for the latter to become a debtor in place of the original debtor,
provided that the original debtor shall be discharged without the need
to his consent or if the original debtor has obtained the consent of the
creditor for an extraneus person who has accepted to become the new
debtor.
3. By changing the creditor if the creditor and the debtor and an
extraneus person have agreed that this extraneus person shall be the
new creditor.
Article (382)
1. Novation shall not be concluded unless the old and the new obligation
each of them were free from reasons of annulment.
2. However, if the old obligation resulted from a voidable contract,
novation shall not be valid unless it is intended by the new obligation
to ratify the contract, and replace it.
Article (383)
1. Novation is not presumed; it must be explicitly agreed upon or clearly
concluded from the circumstances. Novation shall not, specifically, be
concluded by writing a deed of a debt existing before that, nor from
whatever change in the obligation, which only deals with the time or
the place or the method of settlement which has occurred, nor from
whatever change which only affects the securities, has occurred to the
obligation. Unless an agreement otherwise exists.
Article (384)
1. Novation shall result in the termination of the original obligation
together with its ancillaries, and shall be replaced by a new obligation.
2. The securities that secure the original obligation shall not be
transferred to the new obligation unless by virtue of a provision in the
law, or the contracting parties intention has so directed.
Article (385)
1. If the original obligation was secured by in kind securities presented by
the debtor, the agreement to transfer it to the new obligation is
concluded in accordance with the following provisions:

94

A. If novation was by changing the debt, an agreement between the

creditor and the debtor to transfer the securities to the extent that does
not cause damage to others shall be permissible.
B. If novation was by changing the debtor, an agreement between the
creditor and the new debtor to keep the securities shall be permissible
without the need for the consent of the original debtor.
C. If novation was by changing the creditor, an agreement between three
parties to the novation to keep the securities shall be permissible.
2. In all circumstances the agreement to transfer the in kind securities
shall not be valid against others unless it has occurred at the time of the
agreement to novate taking into consideration provisions relating to
registration
Article (386)
Neither the guarantee in kind or personal, nor unity, shall pass to the new
obligation unless the same is accepted by the guarantors and the joint debtors.
Part Three
Delegation in Settlement

Article (387)
1. Delegation shall occur if the debtor obtains the consent of the
creditor for an extraneus person becoming obliged to settle the
debt in place of the debtor.
2. Delegation shall not require a previous indebtness between the
debtor and the third party.
Article (388)
1. If the contracting parties in the delegation agree that the obligation of
the delegatee shall replace the obligation of the delegator, this
delegation shall be deemed a novation of the obligation by changing
the debtor, resulting in the discharge of the delegator before the person
in whose favour the delegation was made, provided the delegatee is
not insolvent at the time of delegation.
2. However, novation shall not be presumed in the delegation, if no
agreement to novation exists, the new obligation shall rise beside the
first obligation.

95

Article (389)
The obligation of the delegatee before the person in whose favour delegation
was made shall be valid even if his obligation before the delegator was void
or was subject to a defence. The delegatee shall have the right of recourse
against the delegator only, unless an agreement exists otherwise.
Part Four

Set-off

Article (390)
1. The debtor shall have the right of set-off between what is due on him
to his creditor and what is due to him against that creditor even if the
cause of the two debt differs, if the subject of each of them was monies
or fungibles united in kind and quality, and each of them was free
from dispute, mature and may validly be claimed in court.
2. Set-off shall not be prevented if the date of settlement has been
postponed in accordance with the respite awarded by the judge or
donated by the creditor.
Article (391)
Set-off shall be permissible even if the place of settlement of the two debts
differs, in such a case whoever depends on it must compensate the other
party for whatever damage has been inflicted upon him due to not being able,
by reason of the set-off, to recover his right or to settle his debt at the
designated place.
Article (392)
Set-off shall occur in debts of whatever origin, except in the following cases:
1. If the subject matter of one of the two debts was to return something
taken without right from the hand of his owner.
2. If the subject matter of the two debts was to return something
deposited or lent.
3. If one of the two debts was a right which is not subject to attachment.
4. If one of the two debts was an alimony debt.
Article (393)

96

1. Set-off shall not occur unless depended on by whoever has an interest

therein. It shall not be permissible to wave it before the establishment
of the right therein.
2. Set-off shall result in the termination of the two debts to the extent of
the lesser amongst them as of the time on which they become suitable
for set-off.
3. If the debtors debts are several the determination of set-off therein
shall be as the determination when settling it.
Article (394)
If at the time of depending on set-off the prescription period has passed for
the debt, set-off shall not be precluded in spite of depending on prescription,
provided this period was not completed at the time set-off became possible.
Article (395)
1. It shall not be permissible for set-off to prejudice the rights of others.
2. If others effect an attachment with the debtor, and the debtor later
becomes a creditor to his creditor with a debt valid for set off, it shall
not be permissible to depend on set-off to the prejudice of the person
making the attachment.
Article (396)
1. If the creditor assigns his right to a third party and the debtor accepts
the assignment without reservation, it shall not be permissible for this
debtor to depend against the assignee on the set-off which he could
have depended on before accepting the assignment, and shall have the
right of recourse only against the assignor.
2. If however the debtor has not accepted the assignment but was served
with it, such assignment shall not prevent him from depending on setoff, unless the right which he intends to make set-off with has been
established against the assignor after the assignment has been served.
Article (397)
If the debtor has settled a debt while being entitled to request its set-off
against the right of his own, he shall not be entitled to depend on the
securities which secure his right to the prejudice of others, unless he was
unaware of the existence of that right.

97

Part Five

Consolidation of the Obligation

Article (398)
If in respect of the same debt the descriptions of creditor and debtor are
consolidated in one person that debt shall terminate to the extent to which the
obligation has become consolidated.
Article (399)
If the cause which resulted in the consolidation of the obligation has lapsed,
and its lapse had a retroactive effect, the debt shall re-exist together with its
ancillaries in relation to all parties concerned, and consolidation of the
obligation shall be deemed as never occurring.

98

Chapter Three

The Extinguishment of the Obligation without settling it

Part One

The Discharge

Article (400)
1. If the creditor has discharged his debtor the obligation shall be
extinguished. Discharge shall be concluded when it has reached the
knowledge of the debtor and shall be revoked by his revocation.
2. Revocation shall result of the return of the obligation together with its
descriptions, and the securities it secures, and the defences relating to
it.
Article (401)
Substantive provisions applicable to donation shall apply to this charge, and
no special form shall be required for it even if it applies to an obligation, for
the effectiveness of which the law or the agreement of the contracting parties
requires a form.

Part Two

Impossibility of Performance
Article (402)
The obligation shall be extinguished if the debtor proves that its performance
by him has become impossible for an extraneous cause beyond his control.

Part Three

99

Lapsing Prescription

Article (403)
The case to claim a personal right shall lapse with the passage of fifteen years,
except in the cases where the law provides for another period, and the cases
provided for in the following articles.
Article (404)
1. The case to claim any periodical renewable right such as rent of
buildings and agricultural lands and salaries and wages and
remunerations and pension salaries shall lapse with the passage of five
years.
2. The case to claim income due from a bad faith possessor or the income
due from the supervisor of endowment to those entitled to it shall
lapse with the passage of fifteen years.
Article (405)
The cases to claim the rights of physicians and pharmacists and lawyers and
engineers and experts and trustees in bankruptcy and brokers and teachers
and others who perform independent professions shall lapse with the passage
of five years, provided those rights are due to them for work pertaining to
their profession which they have performed and for any expenses they have
incurred.
Article (406)
1. The cases to claim taxes and fees due to the state shall lapse with the
passage of five years, the passage of this period for taxes and annual
fees shall commence from the end of the year for which it is due, and
for fees due on judicial papers from the date on which pleadings in the
case for which such documents have been drawn has been finished, or
from the date on which it was drawn if no pleadings have occurred.
2. The same provision shall apply if the case relate to claiming refund of
taxes and fees which were paid without justification. Passage of the
period shall commence from the day on which such taxes and fees
were paid.

100

3. The preceding provisions shall be without prejudice to the provisions

of special laws.
Article (407)
1. The case shall lapse with the passage of one year if the claim relates to
one of the following rights:
a. The rights of merchants and artisans for things they have supplied to
persons who do not trade therein. And the rights of hotel and
restaurant owners for the accommodation, price of food and all they
have incurred for the account of their customers.
b. The rights of domestic servants and those of the same virtue for their
daily and non daily wages, and the price for supplies provided by
them to their employers.
2. Whoever depends on the lapse of the case for prescription in
accordance with this article shall swear the oath that he has actually
settled the debt, if he was an heir of the debtor or a legal representative
on his behalf or on the behalf of his heirs he shall swear the oath that
he is unaware of the existence of the debt or is aware of the occurrence
of the settlement. And the court shall address this oath on its own.
Article (408)
1. The prescription period for the rights provided for in the articles (405)
and (407) shall commence from the time on which the creditors
complete what they have performed, even if they continue to provide
other work.
2. If a deed is made in respect of any of those rights, the case shall not
lapse except with the passage of fifteen years.
Article (409)
Prescription period shall be calculated in days not in hours. And the first day
shall not be counted, and shall be completed with the lapse of the final day
unless that day is an official holiday when it shall be extended to the first
working day after it.
Article (410)
1. Prescription period shall commence only from the day on which
the right becomes due for fulfilment, unless the law provides
otherwise.

101

2. The mentioned period shall not specifically apply to a debt

which is subject to a suspensive condition except from the time
on which the condition is fulfilled, and with regard to the
warranty of maturity except from the time on which maturity is
proved, and with regard to a postponed debt except from the
time on which the term has lapsed.
3. If the determination of the day of settlement is dependant on the
will of the creditor, prescription shall commence as of the date
on which the creditor is able to express his will.
Article (411)
1. Prescription period shall not apply whenever an impediment with
which the creditor is unable to claim his right exists even if the
impediment was moral, it shall not also apply between the principal
and the representative.
2. The lack of capacity of the creditor or his absence or being sentenced
with a criminal penalty shall be deemed an impediment from claiming
the right, unless he has a representative who legally represents him
Article (412)
If a cause to suspend the period determined for prescription shall exist in
relation to some of the creditors heirs, the period shall not be suspended in
relation to the remaining heirs.
Article (413)
The prescription period shall stop by the judicial claim even if the case was
raised before an incompetent court. It shall also stop with the serving of the
executive deed, and with attachment and with the request presented by the
creditor to accept his right in bankruptcy or in distribution, and with any
other act which the creditor undertakes to depend on his right during the
course of any law suit.
Article (414)
1. Prescription period shall be stopped if the debtor admits of the
creditors right whether explicitly or implicitly.
2. The debtor leaving a property belonging to him under the possession
of the creditor when the money is under a possessive mortgage as
security for the settlement of the debt, or the creditor has withheld it by

102

virtue of his right to refrain from returning it until the settlement of the
debt to which it relates, shall be deemed an implied admission.
Article (415)
1. If the prescription period has stopped, a new prescription shall
commence from the date on which the effect of the cause of the
stoppage has terminated, and its period shall be the period of the first
prescription.
2. If however the right has been adjudged and the judgment became res
judicata, or the right was one in relation to which claiming shall lapse
with the passage of five years in accordance with article (405) or one
year in accordance with article (407), and that prescription has stopped
with the debtors admission, the new prescription period shall be
fifteen years, unless the judgment includes periodical renewable
obligations which becomes due only after the delivery of the judgment.
Article (417)
1. The court may not of its own accord decide on prescription but that
shall be upon the request of the debtor, or upon the request of his
creditors or any one who has an interest therein even if not depended
on by the debtor.
2. It shall be permissible to depend on prescription under any
circumstance the case might be, even for the first time before the court
of appeal.
Article (418)
1. Prescription may not be waived before the right therein has been
established. It shall not also be permissible to agree on a prescription
period different from that prescribed by the law.
2. However any one who can dispose of his rights may, even if implicitly,
waive prescription after the right therein has been established, but
shall not be effective against the creditors if made to prejudice them.

103

Book Two

Nominated Contracts

104

Division One

Contracts Relating to Ownership

Chapter One

The Sale

Part One

The Sale in General

Article (419)
Sale is a contract whereby the seller is committed to transfer to the buyer the
ownership of something or any other financial right against a monetary
consideration.
Article (420)
Delivery shall include the accessories of the sold property and whatever has
been permanently prepared for its use in accordance with the nature of the
things, the custom and the intention of the contracting parties.
First- The bases of the Sale
Article (421)
1. The sold property must be sufficiently known to the buyer; otherwise
he shall be entitled to request the annulment of the contract.
2. The contract comprising the particulars and the main descriptions of
the sold property which enables its identification shall be deemed
sufficient knowledge of the sold property.
3. If it has been mentioned in the contract that the buyer is
knowledgeable of the sold property, he shall not have the right to
request the annulment of the contract based on the lack of his
knowledge of it, unless the sellers deception has been proved.

105

4. If the buyer receives the sold property and did not object to it within a
reasonable time, the same shall be deemed an acceptance from him.
Article (422)
1. If the sale is by sample, the sold property must conform to it.
2. If the sample has been damaged or destructed with one of the two
contracting parties, even without his mistake, the other contracting
party, whether a seller or a buyer, must prove that the sold property
conforms or does not conform to the sample.
Article (423)
1. In the sale subject to testing, the buyer may accept the sold property or
reject it. The seller must allow him to test it. If the buyer rejects the sold
property he must inform the seller of his rejection within the agreed
period, if there is no agreement to this period then within a reasonable
period specified by the seller, and if such period lapses and the buyer
remained silent while being able to test the sold property, his silence
shall be deemed an acceptance.
2. The sale subject to testing shall be deemed subject to a suspensive
condition being the acceptance of the sale, unless it is evident from the
agreement or the circumstances that the sale was subject to a
resolutive.
Article (424)
If the property was sold subject to tasting, the buyer shall be entitled to accept
the sale if he so wishes, however he must announce this acceptance within the
period specified by agreement or custom. The sale shall not be effective except
from the date on which the announcement occurs.
Article (425)
In determining the price, it is permissible to specify the bases upon which it
can be assessed.
Article (426)
1. Not mentioning the price shall not result in the annulment of the sale if
it has become evident from the agreement or the circumstances that the
contracting parties intended to deal in accordance with the price used
amongst themselves or with the price prevailing in the market.
106

2. If the contracting parties have agreed that the price shall be the price
prevailing at the market, the market price shall be the price at the time
and place where the sold property is supposed to be delivered to the
buyer. If there is no market at the place of delivery, reference must be
made to the market price at the place where custom determines that its
prices shall prevail, unless otherwise agreed.
Article (427)
If the price has been estimated upon weight, net weight shall apply unless
otherwise agreed between the two contracting parties or custom determines
otherwise.
Custom shall determine the allowed amount of deficiency in the goods due to
transportation or other reasons.
Article (428)
1. Sale may be affected by way of a fixed profit or discretion or
combination or fixed loss.
2. Fixed profit is a sale against the first price with which the buyer has
bought with an additional fixed profit. Discretion is a sale against the
first price without any increase or decrease, and combination is the
discretion of part of the sold property with part of the price, and fixed
loss is a sale against the first price with a reduction of a fixed amount
from it.
3. If it has been proved that the price with which the seller has bought
was lesser than the one he mentioned, the buyer may depend on the
real price.
4. The seller concealing the circumstances accompanying his purchase
shall be deemed deception, if it affects the buyers acceptance.
Second- Effects of Sale
Article (429)
If the sale shall be undesignated, ownership shall be transferred in the
manner in which ownership of a thing designated per se is transferred, and
the sale shall be deemed undesignated even if the fixing of the price was
dependant on the estimation of the sold property.
Article (430)

107

1. If the price in the sale has been deferred, the seller may stipulate that
the transfer of the ownership to the buyer is subject to receiving the full
price, even if the sold property has been delivered.
2. If the price was being paid in instalments, the two contracting parties
may agree that the seller may retain part of it as compensation for
dissolving the contract if all the instalments have not been paid. The
judge may however reduce the agreed compensation as per the
circumstances.
3. If the price has been settled, the transfer of ownership to the buyer
shall be deemed dependant on the time of sale.
4. The provisions of the preceding paragraphs shall apply even if the
contracting parties have named the sale a lease.
Article (431)
The buyer shall be entitled to the proceeds of the sold property and shall bear
the costs as of the time of sale, unless an agreement or custom determines
otherwise.
A. The Sellers Obligations
Article (432)
The seller shall do whatever is necessary to transfer the sold right to the
buyer, and to refrain from any act that might render the transfer of the right
impossible or difficult.
Article (433)
The seller shall delivery the sold property to the buyer in its condition at the
time of the sale.
Article (434)
1. The seller shall provide the buyer with all necessary information of the
sold property, and must deliver to him the papers and documents
relating to it.
2. If the use of the sold property specifically requires taking certain
precautions, the seller must inform the buyer with it, and to alert him
with the proper method of using it otherwise he shall be obliged to
compensate him.
Article (435)
108

If the amount of the sold property has been specified in the contract, the
buyer shall be responsible for any shortage in that amount in accordance with
custom, unless otherwise agreed. The buyer shall not however be entitled to
request the dissolution of the contract for shortage in the sold property unless
he has proved that this shortage is grave enough whereas he would not have
concluded the contract had he known of it.
Article (436)
1. If it has become evident that the amount of the sold property exceeds
that specified in the contract, and the price was estimated on the basis
of a unit, excess shall be for the buyer if the sold property was subject
to division unless the buyer decides to acquire it in consideration of its
equivalent price. If the sold property was undividable, the buyer must
pay for the price of the excess unless it was grave when he shall be
entitled to request the dissolution of the contract.
2. If the price has been estimated as a whole, excess shall be for the buyer
unless it was grave enough whereas the buyer would not have
concluded the contract had he known of it. In such a circumstance the
buyer shall have the option between increasing the price to conform to
the excess in the sold property and the dissolution of the sale.
3. All unless an agreement or a custom determines otherwise.
Article (437)
The case to request the dissolution of the contract or the decrease or
completion of the price or the returning of the excess shall lapse with the
passage of one year from the time on which the sold property has been
actually delivered.
Article (438)
Delivery shall be by placing the sold property under the disposition of the
buyer whereas he is able to possess it and benefit from it without any
obstruction; even if he has not actually received it provided the seller has
informed him of the same. That delivery shall occur in the manner that
conforms to the nature of the sold property.
Article (439)
Delivery may occur upon the agreement of the contracting parties if the sold
property was in the possession of the buyer at the time of the sale, or it has
109

been agreed that the seller shall retain it under his possession after the sale for
a reason other than ownership.
Article (440)
Delivery must occur on the time specified in the contract. If the contract did
not specify a time for that the seller shall deliver it upon concluding of the
contract taking into consideration time periods which are required by the
nature of the sold property or determined by custom.
Article (441)
1. The sold property shall be delivered at the place where it exists at the
time of the contract, unless otherwise agreed.
2. If the sold property was a movable and the place where it exists was
not determined, it shall be delivered at the sellers domicile.
Article (442)
If the seller undertook to dispatch the sold property to a specific place,
delivery shall not occur except with its arrival to that place, unless it was
otherwise agreed.
Article (443)
The buyer shall bear the expenses of delivery unless the agreement or the
custom determines otherwise.
Article (444)
If the sold property has been demolished for an extraneous cause not related
to either of the two contracting parties, the sale shall be dissolved and the
buyer shall recover whatever he has paid of the price, unless demolition was
after the buyer has been notified to receive the sold property.
Article (445)
If part of the sold property has been demolished or damaged before delivery,
or before the occurrence of the notice referred to in the preceding article and
the demolition or damage was for an extraneous cause not related to either of
the two contracting parties, the buyer may either request the dissolution of
the sale if the demolition or the damage was grave whereas he would not
have concluded the sale if it had occurred before the contract, or to request
110

the decrease of the price in proportion to the decrease of the value of the sold
property.
Article (446)
1. If the sold property has been demolished or damaged by an act by the
buyer he shall remain liable for the price.
2. If demolition or damage was for a cause attributable to the seller, the
buyer shall have the option between dissolving the sale or reducing the
price in proportion to the shortage of the value of the sold property,
without prejudice to his right in compensation if a reason exists.
Article (447)
The seller shall not challenge the buyer in all or part of the sold property,
even if agreed otherwise.
Article (448)
The seller shall guarantee the challenge to the buyer in all or part of the sold
property, which come from any person claiming at the time of the sale a right
over the sold property with which he challenges the buyer. The buyer shall be
obliged with the guarantee if the challenger claims a right has been accrued to
him from the seller after the sale.
Article (449)
1. If a case has been raised against the buyer claiming the entitlement of
all or part of the sold property, he shall inform the seller. The seller,
depending on the circumstances and in accordance with procedures
law shall intervene in the case besides the buyer and substitute for him
in it.
2. If notice has been done in a suitable time and the seller did not
intervene in the case, he shall be liable for the guarantee, unless he has
proved that the judgment delivered in the case was a result of the
buyers deception or his gross mistake.
3. If the buyer fails to notify the seller of the case in a suitable time, and a
res judicata judgment has been delivered against him, the buyer shall
lose his right to revert with the guarantee if the seller has proved that
his intervention in the case would have resulted in its dismissal.
Article (450)

111

1. If all of the sold property has been decided to belong to a third party,
the buyer shall be entitled to request compelling the seller to pay its
value at the time on which the sold property was decided to belong to
a third party, and to compensate him for the loss he has sustained and
the profit he has lost due from the same.
2. The seller however shall only be obliged to compensate the buyer for
the price he has paid, if he has proved that at the time of the sale he
had no knowledge of the third partys right.
Article (451)
1. If part of the sold property has been decided to belong to a third party,
and the buyers loss reached a limit which, if had known of it, he
would not have concluded the sale, he shall be entitled to return the
sold property together with what he has gained from it provided the
seller shall compensate him for the loss he has sustained and the profit
he has lost.
2. If the buyer chooses to retain the sold property, or the loss sustained by
him has not reached the limit provided for in the preceding article, he
shall only be entitled to claim compensation.
3. The provision of paragraph (2) of the preceding article shall be taken
into consideration.
Article (452)
The seller shall not guarantee a right which decreases the buyers enjoyment
of the sold property if he has showed it to him at the time of contracting, or if
that right was a visible accompanying right or resulting from a legal
restriction over ownership.
Article (453)
1. The contracting parties may, by special agreement, increase the
guarantee for the property being decided to belong to a third party, or
decrease it, or waive it.
2. However any stipulation to decrease or waive the guarantee shall be
deemed null if the seller has intended to deceitfully conceal the cause
of the property being decided to belong to a third party.
Article (454)
If the stipulation of not guaranteeing was valid, the seller shall nevertheless
be liable to return the price, unless he has proved that the buyer had known,
112

at the time of the sale, of the reason for the property being decided to belong
to a third party, or has bought waiving this option.
Article (455)
If the sold property, at the time of delivery, had a defect that reduces its value,
or reduces its benefit as intended by virtue of what is derived from the
contract, or what is apparent from the nature of the sold property, or the
purpose for which it was prepared, the seller shall be responsible for the
guarantee in accordance with the provisions of article (451), and shall also
guarantee the defect even if he was not aware of its existence.
Article (456)
The seller shall not guarantee a defect that is customarily allowed.
Article (457)
The seller shall not guarantee a defect that the buyer was aware of at the time
of the sale, or was able of discovering it by himself had he inspected the sold
property with a regular persons care, unless the buyer has proved that the
seller has assured him that the sold property had no such defect, or he has
intended to deceitfully conceal it from him.
Article (458)
1. If the buyer receives the sold property, he shall inspect its condition
upon being able to do so, in accordance with the usual practice. If he
discovers a defect guaranteed by the seller, he shall inform him of it
within a reasonable time, if he does not, his right in the guarantee shall
lapse.
2. However if the defect is one that can not be discovered by regular
inspection and was later discovered by the buyer, he shall inform the
seller of it upon discovering it, otherwise his right in the guarantee
shall lapse.
Article (459)
The guarantee law suit shall remain even if the sold property has been
demolished for any reason whatsoever.
Article (461)

113

1. The contracting parties may, by special agreement, increase the defect

guarantee, or decrease it, or waive it.
2. However any stipulation to decrease or waive the guarantee shall be
deemed null if the seller has intended to deceitfully conceal the defect
in the sold property.
Article (462)
1. The case for the guarantee of defect shall lapse with the passage of one
year from the time of delivery of the sold property, even if the buyer
has only discovered the defect after that time, unless the seller accepts
to remain responsible for the guarantee for a longer period.
2. It shall not be permissible for the seller to depend on prescription if it
was proved that he has intended to deceitfully conceal the defect.
Article (463)
No guarantee of defect shall exist in judicial sales or in administrative sales
which occur in public auctions.
Article (464)
If at the time of the sale the sold property did not possess the qualifications
which the seller guaranteed its existence in it, the buyer shall be entitled to
either request the return of the sold property with compensation in
accordance with paragraph (1) of article (451), or to request to retain the sold
property and to compensate him for the damage inflicted on him due to the
existence of those qualifications.
Article (465)
1. If the buyer guarantees the sold property to work for a specific period
and later a malfunction emerges in the sold property during that
period, the buyer shall notify the seller of this malfunction within one
month from its emergence.
2. If the seller has failed to correct the malfunction, the buyer shall be
entitled to either return or retain the sold property with compensation
in two situations in accordance with the provisions of the preceding
article.
3. The law suit shall be filed within six months from the date of the notice
of the existence of the malfunction; otherwise the buyers right to
request the guarantee shall lapse.
4. All unless agreed otherwise.
114

B. The Buyers Obligations

Article (466)
1. The price shall be due for settlement upon concluding the sale, unless
an agreement or a custom provides otherwise.
2. If any one challenges the buyer depending on a previous right over the
sale, or accrued to him from the seller or due to his act, or if it was
feared for serious reasons that the sold property might be decided to
belong to a third party, the buyer may, unless prevented by a
stipulation in the contract, distrain the price until the challenge ends, or
the danger of the property being decided to belong to a third party
ceases to exist. The seller may in this case however request the
payment of the price provided he provides a guarantor.
3. The provision of the preceding paragraph shall apply if a defect in the
sold property has appeared.
Article (467)
The price shall be due for payment at the place where delivery of the sold
property takes place, and if the price was not due at the time of delivering the
sold property, it shall be settled at the buyers domicile at the time when it
becomes due, unless an agreement or a custom provides otherwise.
Article (468)
If the buyer has failed to settle the price when due, or if he has defaulted in
his other obligations imposed by the sale contract, the seller shall have the
option between requesting compelling the buyer with execution or requesting
the dissolution of the contract.
Article (469)
If all or part of the price has become due immediately, the seller may distrain
the sold property until he receives whatever is due to him even if the buyer
has provided a mortgage or a guarantor, unless the seller has awarded the
buyers a term.
Article (470)

115

If the sold property has demolished while being distrained in the sellers
possession, the buyer shall bear the demolition, unless demolition was caused
by the sellers act.
Article (471)
In the sale of displays and other movables, if a time for the settlement of the
price and the delivery of the sold property has been agreed, the seller shall be
entitled to consider the sale dissolved without the need for a warning if the
buyer fails to pay the price when the term has become due, unless an
agreements exists otherwise.
Article (472)
If the agreement or the custom does not specify a place or a time for receiving
the sold property, the buyer must receive it at the place where the sold
property is located at the time of sale, and to remove it from that place
without delay, except for the time required for removing.
Article (473)
The buyer shall bear the expenses of the sale contract and registration fees, the
expenses for the settlement of the price and receiving the sold property and
any other expenses, unless an agreement or a custom provides otherwise.

Part Two

Certain Types of Sale

First: Settlement Sale

Article (474)
If at the time of sale the seller retains the right to recover the sold property,
the contract shall be void.

116

Second: Selling the Property of Others

Article (475)
1. If a person sells something specified per se which he does not own, the
buyer may request the annulment of the contract. The same shall apply
if the sale occurred over a real property, whether the contract has been
registered or not.
2. In every situation, the sale shall not be valid against the owner of the
sold property, even if ratified by the buyer.
Article (476)
1. If the owner has ratified the sale the contract shall be binding on him
and shall become valid in respect of the buyer.
2. The contract shall also become valid in respect of the buyer if the
ownership of the sold property devolves upon the seller after the
contract.
3. If the annulment of the contract has been decided in favour of the
buyer-in accordance with the previous article- and was unaware that
the sold property is not owned by the seller, he may request
compensation even if the seller was bona fidie.
Third: The Sale of Disputed Rights
Article (477)
1. If a disputed right has been sold, whoever is disputing the seller may
recover it from the buyer if he returns to him whatever price he has
paid and expenses he has incurred.
2. A right shall be deemed disputed if a case has been raised in relation to
its subject, or a serious dispute has risen in relation to it.
3. Recovery shall lapse with the passage of sixty days from the date on
which the recovering person has known of the sale.
Article (478)
The provision of the preceding article shall not apply in the following
situations:
1. If the disputed right was part of a group of properties sold offhandedly
at one price.
117

2. If the disputed right was commonly owned where one of the partners
has sold his share to another partner.
3. If the disputed right has been disposed of by his owner in settlement of
a debt due by the creditor.
4. If the disputed right was secured by a mortgage over a real property
and the right was sold to the possessor of that real property.
Article (479)
Neither judges nor members of the public prosecution nor lawyers nor court
clerks nor execution officers may buy, even under a false name, a disputed
right; otherwise the contract shall be void.
Fourth: The Sale by the Representative to Himself
Article (480)
1. It shall not be permissible for a person who represents another by
virtue of a provision of the law or an agreement or an order from the
competent authority to buy directly by himself or under a false name
even by auction what has been delegated to him to sell by virtue of this
representation unless with the courts permission and without
prejudice to whatever is provided for in other laws.
2. The contract shall be valid if ratified by the person for whose account
the sale has been concluded.
Article (481)
1. It shall not be permissible neither for brokers nor for experts to buy even
under a false name the properties whose selling or the evaluation of its
value or to conduct expertise in relation to it has been delegated to them.
2. The sale shall be valid in those situations if approved by the person for
whose account the sale has been concluded.
Fifth: The Sale of the Estate
Article (482)
Whoever sells an estate or a share therein without detailing its compositions,
shall only guarantee the establishment of his inheritance unless otherwise
approved.
Article (483)
118

If an estate or a share therein has been sold, the sale shall not be valid against
third parties unless the buyer has fulfilled the procedures required to transfer
every right contained in the estate. If the law provides for procedures to
transfer the right between the two contracting parties, such procedures shall
be fulfilled.
Article (484)
If the seller has recovered some of the estates right, or has sold something of
what was included therein or has consumed it, he shall return to the buyer
whatever he has seized and the value of what he has consumed, unless the
non return was stipulated at the time of the sale.
Article (485)
The buyer must return to the seller whatever debts of the estate he has settled,
and shall settle it with whatever rights he shall have over it unless an
agreement exists to the contrary.
Sixth: The Sale in Death Sickness
Article (486)
1. If a sick person in death sickness has sold to an heir or to a non heir
against a price less than the value of the sold property at the time of
death, the sale shall be valid against the heirs if the increase in the
value of the sold property over the price does not exceed one third of
the estate including the sold property itself.
2. However if this increase exceeds one third of the estate , the sale
exceeding one third shall not be valid against the heirs unless
approved by them or the buyer has returned to the estate what
completes the two thirds.
3. The sale of a sick person in a death sickness shall be subject to the
provisions of article (1014).
Article (487)
The provisions of the preceding article shall not prejudice the bona fidie third
party if, that third party has acquired an in kind right over the sold property
against consideration.

119

Chapter Two

Barter

Article (488)
Barter is a contract whereby each of the two contracting party shall transfer to
the other, as exchange ownership of a property other than money.
Article (489)
If the value of whatever has been exchanged differs in the estimation by the
two bartering parties, the difference in the value may be an average of money.
Article (490)
The provisions of sale shall apply to barter to the extent allowed by the nature
of the barter .Each of the two bartering parties shall be considered a seller
with regard to what he has bartered with and a buyer with regard to what he
has bartered for.
Article (491)
The expenses of barter and registration fees and other costs shall be born
equally by the two bartering parties unless otherwise agreed.

Chapter Three

The Gift

Article (492)
1. The gift is the bestowal without consideration of ownership of
property or property right upon another person during the lifetime of
the owner.

120

2. The donor without prejudice to the notion of donation stipulate that

the donee shall fulfil a certain obligation and his obligation shall be
deemed to be consideration.
First: The bases of The Gift
Article (493)
1. The gift shall be concluded by offer and acceptance and shall be
completed by taking delivery.
2. And the offer in the gift shall alone be sufficient if the donor is the
guardian or curator of the donee and the donated property is in his
possession and the same shall apply if the donee is a young person
being raised by the donor.
3. The effectiveness of the contract of gift shall be subject to the
completion of any procedures prescribed by laws for the transfer of
ownership and either party to the contract may complete the required
procedures.
Article (494)
The gift shall not be made on a future property.
Article (495)
The contract of gift shall not be effective if the donated property is not owned
by the donor unless the owner shall ratify it and the taking of delivery is
made with his consent.
Article (496)
The gift of a commonly owned property is permissible even if it is divisible.
Article (497)
A gift made in death sickness shall be subject to the provisions of the will.

Second: Effects of the Gift:

A- Obligations of the donor:

121

Article (498)

1. The donor shall deliver the donated property, if the donee has not
taken delivery of it, and the provisions of delivering the sold property
shall apply.
2. If, before delivery, the donated thing was demolished or a change of
shortage has occurred to it, the donor shall only be responsible for his
deliberate act or gross mistake.

Article (499)
The donor shall only guarantee the challenge caused by his act, and shall not
also guarantee the entitlement of the donated thing to a third party unless he
has deliberately concealed the reason of the entitlement or the gift was
connected to a request, unless the law or the agreement determines otherwise.

Article (500)
1. If the donated thing has been decided to belong to a third party and the
donor has deliberately concealed the reason of the entitlement, the
judge shall estimate a just compensation for the donee.
2. If the gift was connected to a request, the donor shall not be liable for
the guarantee of the thing belonging to a third party except within the
limits of what the donee has performed of that request. The donee shall
replace the donor in whatever rights or law suits he might have.

Article (501)

The Donor shall not guarantee the donated thing being free from defect,
unless otherwise agreed, or the donor has deliberately concealed the defect,
he shall then be only liable to compensate the donee for the damage caused
by the defect. He shall also be liable for compensation if the gift was
connected to a request, provided the compensation shall not exceed in this
case the extent of what the donee has performed of that request.

122

B- The Obligations of the Donee:

Article (502)
The donee shall perform whatever request is stipulated in the contract,
whether that request was stipulated for the benefit of the donor or for the
benefit of a third party or for the public benefit.
Article (503)
If it has become evident that the value of the donated thing at the time of the
gift was less than the value of the request connected to it, and the donee was
unaware of that, he shall not be liable to perform the request except within the
limit of the value of the donated thing.
Article (504)
1. If the gift was connected with requesting the donee to settle the debts
of the donor, he shall only be obliged to settle the debts existing at the
time of the gift, unless otherwise agreed.
2. If the donated property shall be subject to an in kind right as security
for a debt owed by the donor or by any other person, the donee shall
be bound to settle that debt unless otherwise agreed.
Third: Revocation of the Gift:
Article (505)
1. The donor may not revoke his gift, unless accepted by the donee or the
gift was donated by the parents to their child.
2. However it is permissible to revoke the gift by permission from the
court if the donor has relied on an acceptable excuse.
3. In all situations, consideration is given to the provisions of articles
(507) and (508).
Article (506)
The following shall specifically be deemed as an acceptable excuse for
revoking a gift:
1. The breach by the donee of his obligations towards the donor to an
extent which amounts to great ingratitude from his side.

123

2. The donor shall become unable to provide himself with the means of
living in accordance with his social status or to provide maintenance to
others as prescribed by the law.
3. The donor shall have a child after the gift was made and the child
remains living upto the date of revocation or that he shall have a child
who he believed was dead at the time of making the gift and it is
discovered that he is alive.
Article (507)
Revocation of the gift shall be precluded in the following situations:
1. If the gift was from the mother, and her child was an orphan at the
time of revocation.
2. If the gift was between spouses provided wedlock is existing.
3. If the donor or the donee has died.
4. If the donee shall dispose of the donated thing through a final
disposition that takes it out of his ownership. If the disposition was
limited to a part of the donated thing, the donor may revoke the
remaining part.
5. If the donated thing shall be demolished while in the possession of the
donee, whether demolition was caused by his act or by a cause beyond
his control or by the cause of usage. If only part of the thing was
demolished, the remaining part may be revoked.
6. If a change occurs to the donated thing which takes out of its nature, or
a connected increase necessitating the increase of its value has
occurred. If the impediment vanishes, the right of revocation shall
return.
7. If the gift was connected to a request which has been fulfilled.
8. If the gift was for a charitable reason.
Article (508)
In addition to the preventions of revocation provided for in the preceding
article, parents shall be precluded from revoking their gift to their child in the
following two situations:
1. If the donee has acted with third parties on the basis that the gift has
been concluded, and revoking it will result in damage to the donee or
others.
2. If the donor or the donee becomes sick and was feared of dying. If the
sickness vanishes, the right of revocation shall return.

124

Article (509)
If the donee shall kill the donor without any justification, any of his heirs
may request the dissolution of the gift.
Article (510)
1. Revocation shall result in the return of the donated thing to the
ownership of the donor from the time on which revocation has been
completed, without prejudice to the rules relating to registration.
2. The donee shall not return the fruits except from the time of the
agreement to revoke or from the time of raising a law suit. He may
revert to the donor with all the necessary expenses he has spent, as for
the beneficial expenses, he shall not exceed in reverting the degree of
the increase in the donated thing.
Article (511)
1. If the donor shall retake the donated thing without consent or court
decision, he shall be liable for its demolition whether by reason of his
act or for an extraneous reason beyond his control or for the reason of
usage.
2. If however a court decision for the revocation of the gift has been
pronounced and the donated thing has been demolished while in the
possession of the donee after being served with a warning to deliver it,
he shall be liable for the demolition, even if caused by an extraneous
reason.
Article (512)
The expenses of the contract of gift shall be borne by the donee, and the
expenses of revocation shall be borne by the donor, unless otherwise agreed.

125

Chapter Four

The Company

Article (513)

Company is a contract by virtue of which two or more persons each

undertake to contribute in a financial project by providing his share of
property or work and share the profit or loss that might result from such
project.
Article (514)
1. A company shall be considered a legal person when formed; however
this personality shall not be binding on others except after completing
the publication procedures prescribed by the law.
2. Others may however depend on this personality if the company did
not complete the required publication procedures.

First- The Bases of the Company

Article (515)
1. The company contract shall be in writing, otherwise it shall be void,
and whatever amendments that are entered into the contract without
fulfilling the form in which the contract has been concluded, shall also
be void.
2. The nullity may not be dependent on by the partners against others.
And shall have no effect amongst the partners themselves, except from
the time on which a partner requests the judgement of annulment.
Article (516)
Partners shares are deemed equal in value, and related to the ownership of
the property not to just benefiting from it, unless an agreement or a custom
provides otherwise.
Article (517)

126

It shall not be permissible to limit a partners share to whatever influence he

might have or to whatever financial trust he possesses.
Article (518)
If a partner undertakes to deliver his share in the company in a form of a sum
of money, and does not deliver this sum, the company may in addition to
requesting him to fulfil his obligation, to claim compensation from him for
whatever damage that has been inflicted on it by reason of his delay in the
fulfilment.
Article (519)
1. If a partners share was an ownership right or a usufruct right or any
other in kind right, the provisions of sale shall be applicable with
regard to guarantying the share if it has demolished or has been
decided belonging to a third party or a defect or deficiency in it has
become apparent.
2. If the share shall be limited to a usufruct in the property, the provisions
of lease shall apply thereto.
Article (520)
1. If a partner undertakes to deliver his share in the company in the form
of work, he shall perform the services which he undertook, and to
deliver an account for what he might have gained out of conducting
the work which he has delivered as his share from the time the
company was formed.
2. However he shall not be liable to deliver to the company whatever
invention right he might have obtained, unless an agreement provides
otherwise.
Article (521)
If the share delivered by the partner was debts due to him against others, his
obligation towards the company shall not diminish unless such debts have
been collected, and the partner shall additionally be liable to compensate the
damage if the debts were not settled when it became matured.
Article (522)

127

1. Profits between partners shall be distributed as provided for in the

contract. If the contract does not specify an agreement in relation to
that, profits shall be distributed according to the share of each of them
in the capital.
2. As for profits it shall be distributed according to each partners share in
the capital, and any agreement to the contrary shall be void.
3. If a partners share was limited to his work, his share in the profit shall
be estimated according to the benefit that accrues to the company from
that work. And his share in the losses shall be limited to his work. If he
provides money or any other thing in addition to his work, he shall be
entitled to a share for the work and another for what he has provided
in addition to the work.
Article (523)
If it has been agreed that one of the partners shall not share in the companys
profits or losses, the companys contract shall be void.
Second-Management of the Company
Article (524)
1. A partner who is delegated to management by virtue of a special
provision in the companys contract may, despite the objection of all
the partners, perform management activities and dispositions that are
within the companys object, when his activities and dispositions are
without deceit, and such partner may not be dismissed from the
management without cause provided the company is existing.
2. If the delegation of the partner to management was after the
companys contract, it shall be permissible to revoke it as is permissible
in regular proxy.
3. As for managers who are not partners they shall always be subject to
dismissal
Article (525)
1. If the partners delegated to management were several without
specifying the competence of each of them and without any provision
to the non-permissibility of the singleness of any of them in
management, each of them may solely perform any practice of the
management practices, provided each of the remaining delegated
partners may object to the practice before its completion, and the
majority of the delegated parties shall have the right to refuse that
128

objection, if the two sides are equal refusal shall be the right of the
majority of all the partners.
2. However if it has been agreed that the decisions of the delegated
partners shall be unanimous or by majority it shall not then be
permissible to divert from this, unless for an urgent matter if missed it
will result in a gross loss which the company can not compensate.
Article (526)
If a decision is required to be taken by majority, numerical majority must be
used, unless otherwise agreed.
Article (527)
Partners who are not managers are prohibited from management, they may
however personally examine the records and documents of the company, and
any agreement to the contrary shall be void.
Article (528)
If no provision exists in relation to the method of management, each partner
shall be deemed authorized by the others in the management of the company,
and may conduct the businesses of the company without reverting to the
other partners, provided those or any of them shall have the right to object to
any act before its completion, and the majority of the partners shall have the
right to refuse this objection.
Third-Effects of the Company
Article (529)
1. The partner shall exercise, in arranging the interests of the company,
the diligence he exercises in the management of his personal interests,
unless he is delegated to management against remuneration in which
case he shall not exercise less than the diligence of any ordinary
person.
2. He shall refrain from any activity that might inflict damage on the
company or is in conflict with the object for which it was formed.
Article (530)

129

1. A partner may not keep for himself any of the companys property,
and if he shall do so he shall be liable to compensate the company for
every damage resulting therefrom.
2. If a partner provided the company with his money, or has expended in
its interest beneficial expenses in good faith and vision, the company
shall be liable to compensate him for every damage resulting
therefrom.
3. It shall not be required for the entitlement of compensation in the two
situations that it is preceded by a warning.
Article (531)
If the companys properties did not cover its debts, the partners shall be liable
for those debts in their personal properties, each of them to the extent of his
share in the companys losses, and any agreement relieving a partner from the
liability of the companys debts shall be void.
Article (532)
1. No joint liability between the partners shall exist in relation to the
obligation of each of them in the companys debts, unless otherwise
agreed.
2. If however one of the partners becomes insolvent, his share in the debt
shall be distributed between the remaining partners each to the extent
of his share in bearing the losses.
Article (533)
If one of the partners had personal creditors, they shall not during the
existence of the company collect their rights from that partners share in the
capital, but may collect it from his share in the profit. After the liquidation of
the company, they shall be entitled to collect their rights from the share of
their debtor in the companys properties, after deducting its debts. They may
nevertheless before liquidation effect protective attachment over the share of
that debtor.
Fourth-Dissolution of the Company
Article (534)
1. The company shall be dissolved upon the expiration of its determined
term, or upon the termination of the work for which it was formed, if

130

the partners prior to that have agreed to its continuity the contract shall
be extended.
2. If the determined term has been expired or the work was terminated,
and the partners continue to perform one of the works for which the
company was formed, the contract shall be renewed year after year
upon the same terms.
3. It shall be permissible for a creditor of one of the partners to object to
the extension or the renewal, which objection shall result in the
suspension of that effect against him.
Article (535)
1. The company shall be dissolved upon the demolition of all its property
or a large part thereof whereas no benefit shall remain from its
continuity.
2. If one of the partners has undertook to deliver his share in the form of a
thing specified per se, and that thing has been demolished before it
was delivered the company shall be dissolved against all the partners.
Article (536)
1. The company shall be dissolved upon the death of one of the partners
or his interdiction or insolvency.
2. It shall however be permissible to agree that if one partner dies the
company shall continue with his heirs even if they were minors.
3. It shall also be permissible to agree to the continuity of the company
between the remaining partners if one of them dies or becomes
interdicted or insolvent or has withdrawn in accordance with the
provisions of the following article, and in such case that partner or his
heirs shall only have his share in the companys properties and such
share shall be assessed in accordance with its value on the day the
incident resulting in him exiting from the company has occurred, and
shall be paid to him in cash, and he shall not have a share in whatever
rights that might arise after that except to the extent such rights
resulted from previous operations.
Article (537)
1. The company shall be dissolved upon the withdrawal of one of the
partners if its term was not defined, provided the partner informs other
partners of his will to withdraw before its occurrence, and that his
withdrawal shall not be deceptive or at an inappropriate time.

131

2. The company shall also be dissolved upon the partners unanimous

decision to dissolve it.
Article (538)
1. The court may upon the request of one of the partners decide to
dissolve the company for the failure of one of the partners to fulfil
what he has undertaken or for any other reason not attributable to the
partners, and the judge shall determine whatever danger this reason
entails regarding the dissolution.
2. Any agreement to the contrary shall be void.
Article (539)
1. Each partner may request from the court a decision to dismiss any
partner whose existence in the company has caused an objection to the
extension of its term, or whose dispositions may be considered as
justifiable cause for the dissolution of the company, or for any other
serious reasons, provided that the company shall continue among the
remaining parties.
2. Each partner may, if the companys term is determined request the
court to dismiss him from it if he depends in that respect on reasonable
grounds, and in such case the company shall be dissolved unless the
remaining partners agree to its continuation.
3. In the two preceding situations the share of the dismissed or
withdrawing partner shall be subject to the provision of paragraph (3)
of article (536), and this share shall be estimated in accordance with its
value on the day on which the case was raised.
Fifth-Liquidation and Division of the Company
Article (540)
The properties of the company shall be dissolved and divided in the manor
specified in the contract, and if it has no special provision, the provisions
provided for in the following articles shall be followed.
Article (541)
The authority of the mangers shall terminate upon the dissolution of the
company, as for the companys personality it shall remain to the extent
necessary for liquidation and until such liquidation is over.

132

Article (542)
1. Liquidation when required shall be undertaken either by all the
partners or one or more liquidator appointed by the majority of others.
2. If the partners fail to agree upon the appointment of a liquidator the
judge shall appoint him upon the request of any one of them.
3. In the situations where the company is void, the court shall appoint a
liquidator and determine the method of determination upon the
request of any concerned person.
4. Until a liquidator is appointed the managers shall be deemed as
liquidators before other parties.
Article (543)
1. The liquidator shall subject to the restrictions provided for in his
appointment decision, perform all the liquidation transactions by
making an inventory of the companys movables and collecting its
rights and settling its debts and selling its properties by auction or by
practice until the property is made ready for the division.
2. He shall do nothing which is not required for the liquidation, more
specifically to commence new transactions for the company unless
necessary to complete previous transactions.
Article (544)
1. The properties of the company shall be divided between all the
partners after the payment of the creditors rights and after deducting
the amounts necessary for the settlement of the immature and disputed
debts, and after returning the expenses or loans which one of the
partners has performed in the interest of the company.
2. Each partner shall be allotted an amount equal to the share he has
provided in the capital, as specified in the contract, or equal to the
value of this share at the time of delivery to the company if its value
was not specified in the contract, unless the partner was limited to
delivering work, or was limited in what he has provided to the right of
usufruct therein or only benefit from it.
3. If anything shall remain after that, it shall be divided between the
partners in accordance with the share of each of them in the profits.
4. If however the net of the companys properties were not enough to
settle the shares of the partners, loss shall be divided between them in
accordance with the share of each of them in the capital.
Article (545)
133

The rules relating to the division of a commonly owned property shall apply
to the division of companies.

Some Types of Companies

First- Works Company:

Article (546)
Works Company is a contract by virtue of which two or more persons agree
to accept works from third parties and to undertake its performance against
remuneration, and to split whatever profit or loss result from that.
Article (547)
Partners are jointly liable to perform the work accepted by any of them, and
any one of them shall be entitled to receive the remuneration from the
employer.
Article (548)
The partner who has accepted the work may entrust it to another partner or
others, unless the employer has stipulated that he performs the work
personally.
Article (549)
Profit shall be divided between the partners in the manner agreed upon in the
companys contract, without consideration to the type or amount of work that
each partner performs.
Article (550)
Loss shall be divided between the partners in accordance to the share of work
undertaken by each of them.
Second- Faces (Wujuh) Company:

134

Article (551)
Faces Company is a contract by virtue of which two or more persons agree to
buy a property in consideration of a deferred payment in view of whatever
regard they have, and later sell it and split whatever profit or loss might result
therefrom.
Article (552)
Partners shall be jointly liable to settle the price of the bought property,
whether they have performed the purchase jointly or severally. Whoever has
settled the debt shall revert to the others, each to the extent of his share
therein.
Article (553)
Profit and loss shall be divided between the partners in accordance with the
share of each of them in the bought property, and any agreement to the
contrary shall be void.
Third- Speculation Company
Article (554)
Speculation Company is a contract by virtue of which the owner of property
agrees to provide the capital and the speculator to exercise effort and perform
work for the purpose of achieving profit.
Article (555)
Both the owner of property and the speculator must possess capacity to
dispose.
Article (556)
Speculation can either be absolute or limited to a time or place or type of
works or any other limiting stipulations.
Article (557)

135

If speculation was absolute, the speculator shall be entitled to perform all

dispositions or works necessitated by the nature of the investment in
accordance with the prevailing custom.
Article (558)
If speculation was limited, the speculator must adhere to the stipulations
agreed upon, otherwise he shall guarantee any damage or demotion of the
speculation property, and to compensate the owner of property for whatever
damage is inflicted on him due to that.
Article (559)
1. The speculator shall not mix the speculation property with his
property, nor shall he give it to another by way of speculation unless it
is customary to do so, or speculation matters have been delegated to
him subject to his discretion.
2. He shall not under any circumstance donate or lend the speculation
property, nor shall he borrow to an extent where the debt becomes
greater than the capital, unless by explicit permission from the owner
of the property.
Article (560)
1. Both the property owner and the speculator shall be entitled to a share
in the profits in accordance with the proportion agreed upon, if the
company contract did not specify the proportion of each of them, profit
shall be divided in accordance with custom, if there is no custom profit
shall be divided equally between them.
2. If it was permissible for the speculator to mix the speculation property
with his property, profit shall be divided in proportion to the capital,
and the speculator shall take the profit of his property, and the profit of
the speculation property shall be divided as specified in the previous
paragraph.
Article (561)
1. The property owner shall alone bear the loss, and any agreement to the
contrary shall be void.
2. If the speculation money has decreased due to losses or damage, the
decrease shall be covered from the profit, and if the decrease exceeds
the profit, then from the excess from the capital, and there shall be no
guarantee from the speculator in this regard.
136

Article (562)
1. If the speculation was absolute, each of the contracting parties may
terminate the speculation, provided the same shall not be at an
unsuitable time, otherwise he shall compensate the other contracting
party for the damage inflicted on him.
2. This termination shall not be regarded except from the time of serving
the other contracting party.
3. If speculation has terminated in the above manner, the speculator shall
refrain from disposing with the speculation property if it was cash, and
if was other than cash, he may sell it and collect its price.
Article (563)
1. Whatever the way in which the speculation was terminated, the
speculator must bring the works he commenced to a stage at which the
speculation properties shall not encounter loss or damage.
2. In the case speculation has terminated due to the death of the
speculator, his heirs or their representatives shall inform the property
owner of the death of the deceased, and to take all the measures
required in the situation to preserve the speculation properties.

137

Chapter Five

The Loan

Article (564)
Loan is a contract by virtue of which the lender transfers to the borrower the
ownership of a sum of money or any other fungible thing provided he shall
return to him its equivalent in type, description and amount.
Article (565)
1. The lender must deliver the thing agreed upon to the borrower upon
the conclusion of the contract unless it has been agreed to deliver it at
another time.
2. If the thing has been demolished before it was delivered, its demolition
shall be borne by the lender.
Article (566)
The lender shall not guarantee the loaned property from being decided to
belong to others unless an agreement exists to such guarantee, or the lender
has intentionally concealed the cause for which the loaned property has been
decided to belong to others.
Article (567)
1. If a latent defect in the loaned property shall be discovered, and the
borrower decided to keep it, he shall only be liable to return its value
as impaired.
2. If the lender has intentionally concealed the defect, he shall be liable for
whatever damage the defect might cause.
Article (568)
If a benefit in excess of securing the lenders right has been stipulated in the
loan contract, the stipulation shall be void and the contract shall be valid.
Article (569)

138

1. The borrower shall return the equivalent upon the expiry of the agreed
period or its extinguishment.
2. If no period has been agreed upon, or it has been agreed to return it
when able or solvent, the judge shall specify a suitable period to return
in accordance with the circumstances.
Article (570)
If it has not been agreed on the place for returning the equivalent, return shall
take place at the lenders domicile.
Article (571)
1. The change in the value of the equivalent at the time of return shall not
be regarded.
2. If an equivalent of the loaned property ceases to exist in the market, the
lender shall have the option: either to wait until the thing returns to the
market when the borrower shall return the equivalent, or request from
the borrower the value of the thing at the time and place where return
is due.
Article (572)
The expenses of the loan and the return shall be borne by the borrower, unless
otherwise agreed.

139

Chapter Six

The Compromise

Article (573)
Compromise is a contract by virtue of which its two contracting parties shall
settle a dispute existing between them, or avoid a possible dispute, whereby
each of them shall waive against the other part of his claim.
First- The Bases of Compromise:
Article (574)
Whoever concludes a compromise shall possess the capacity of disposition,
against consideration, of the rights included in the contract of compromise.
Article (575)
Compromise shall not be permissible in matters relating to personal status or
public policy, but shall be permissible in financial rights resulting from
personal status, or resulting from the committing of one of the crimes.
Article (576)
Compromise shall not be established unless in writing or in an official record.
Second- The Effects of Compromise:
Article (577)
1. Compromise shall resolve the disputes involving it.
2. It shall result in the lapse of the rights and claims which any of the
contracting parties shall permanently waive.
Article (578)
1. Compromise shall have a revealing effect on the disputed rights that it
deals with to the exclusion of others.

140

2. The waiver terms included in the compromise shall be strictly

interpreted. No matter what those terms are, waiver shall only apply to
the rights which alone were clearly the subject matter of the dispute
which the compromise has settled.
Article (579)
1. Compromise shall not result in benefit or damage for other than its
contracting parties, even if it relates to a subject matter that can not be
divided.
2. It shall however be permissible for those who are joint, whether
creditors or debtors, to depend on the compromise concluded by any
one of them, if they see a benefit existing in their favour.
Article (580)
Whoever comprises a right which he has or a right he has received for a
certain reason, and later receives the same right from another person for
another reason, such right which he has received later shall not be related to
the previous compromise.
Third- The Nullity of compromise:
Article (581)
1. Compromise shall not be divisible, if part of it has been void or
annulled, the whole contract shall be void or annulled.
2. This provision shall not however apply, if it has become evident from
the terms of the contract or from the circumstances that the contracting
parties have deemed the parts of the compromise separate and
independent from each other.

141

Division Two

Contracts Relating to the Benefit of Things

Chapter One

Lease
Part One

Lease in General

Article (582)
Lease is a contract by virtue of which the lessor is obliged to allow the lessee
to benefit from a specific thing for a limited time against a financial
consideration.
First- Bases of the Lease:
Article (583)
It shall not be permissible for whose right is limited to administration, to
conclude a lease contract for a duration exceeding three years unless with the
owners permission. If the lease contract has been concluded for a longer
period, it shall be reduced to three years, unless a provision which provides
otherwise exists.
Article (584)
1. A lease made by whoever has the right of usufruct shall not be valid
against the owner after the termination of this right, unless ratified by
him, provided the notice periods prescribed for vacating and the
periods needed for the ripening of the crops and transporting it, are
taken into consideration.
2. It shall not be permissible for whoever has the right of use or residing
only, to lease except with an explicit permission or for a strong reason.
Article (585)

142

Rent may be money. It may also be any other financial remuneration.

Article (586)
If the contracting parties fail to specify the rent, how to assess it, or if it was
difficult to prove its amount, the rent of a similar thing at the time of
concluding the contract shall apply.
Article (587)
If the contracting parties fail to specify the date of commencement of the
lease, it shall commence on the date of the contract.
Article (588)
1. If the lease contract was concluded without specifying a period, or was
concluded for an unspecified period, or it was difficult to prove its
period, the lease shall be deemed concluded for the period specified for
the payment of the rent.
2. Lease shall terminate upon the expiry of this period if one of the
contracting parties notifies the other with vacating before its second
half, provided the notice period shall not exceed three months.
Article (589)
It shall not permissible for the lease period to exceed twenty five years. If the
lease contract was for a longer period or was permanent its period shall be
returned to that extent, unless lease was concluded for the duration of the life
of the lessor or the lessee, the contract shall then continue for this duration
even if it exceeded twenty five years.
Second Effects of the Lease
A. Obligations of the Lessor
Article (590)
The lessor shall deliver to the lessee the leased premises together with its
accessories in a condition which permits to provide the benefit for which it
was made, in accordance with whatever has been agreed upon or the nature
of the premises.
Article (591)
143

1. If the leased premises was delivered in a condition which does not

permit collecting the intended benefit, or which condition shall result
in largely decreasing such benefit, it shall be permissible for the lessee
to request the dissolution of the contract or the decrease of the rent in
an amount equal to the decrease in the benefit together with
compensation in both situations if it was necessitated. Without
prejudice to the lessees right to compel the lessor to undertake
whatever repair is required to allow him of the intended benefit.
2. If the leased premises were in a condition that could subject the health
of the lessee or those who are residing with him or his employees or
workers to a grave danger, it shall be permissible for the lessee to
request the dissolution of the contract, even if he has previously waved
that right.
Article (592)
The obligation to deliver the leased premises shall be subject to the provisions
applicable to the obligation of the delivering the sold premises, specifically
those relating to the time and place of delivery and specifying the leased
premises and its accessories and the deficiency or excess in it unless the law
provides otherwise.
Article (593)
The lessor shall undertake the maintenance of the leased premises in order to
remain in a condition which permits the intended benefit through performing
during the leased period all the necessary repairs as determined by custom
unless otherwise agreed.
Article (594)
1. If the lessor delays, after being warned, to perform whatever repairs
are needed in accordance with the provisions of the articles (591) and
(593), it shall be permissible for the lessee to obtain a permission from
the court to undertake such repairs personally and to recover whatever
he has spent by deducting it from the rent, without prejudice to his
right in requesting the dissolution or the decrease in the rent in
accordance with the law.
2. The courts permission shall not be necessary if the repairs were urgent
or inexpensive.
Article (595)
144

1. The lessor may perform all urgent repairs which are necessary to
preserve the leased premises, even if the lessee has objected to that,
provided he notifies him within a reasonable time before commencing
it, of his intention to perform it.
2. If those repairs shall result in the occurrence of a total or partial default
in the intended benefit, it shall be permissible for the lessee to request
the dissolution of the lease or the reduction of the rent.
3. If however the lessee remains in the leased premises until renovation
has been completed, his right in the requesting dissolution shall
diminish.
Article (596)
1. If during the lease period the leased premises have been completely
demolished, the contract shall be dissolved per se.
2. If however the demolition of the premises was partial, or the premises
has become in a condition that does not permit the total intended
benefit, and the lessee had no hand in that, it shall be permissible for
him if the lessor has not within a reasonable time restored the premises
to its original condition, to request either the decrease of the rent or the
dissolution of the lease, without prejudice to his right to undertake
personally the repair of the leased premises and return it to its origin in
accordance with the provisions of article (593),if the same shall not
exhaust the lessor.
3. It shall not be permissible for the lessee in the two previous situations
to request compensation if the demolition was attributable to a reason
beyond the lessors control.
Article (597)
1. It shall not be permissible for the lessor neither to obstruct the lessee in
achieving the benefit for the total duration of the lease, nor to make in
the leased premises or its accessories alterations which precludes the
benefit therefrom or impairs that benefit.
2. Obstruction from any of his followers shall be deemed as an
obstruction from the lessor.
Article (598)
The lessor shall not guarantee to the lessee the obstruction caused by others
unless based on a legal cause.

145

Article (599)
1. If a third party claims a right which contravenes whatever rights the
lessee has by virtue of the lease contract, the lessee shall inform the
lessor of the same, and may exit from the law suit, where in this
situation procedures shall only be directed to the lessor.
2. If this claim shall result in precluding the lessee from the benefit
awarded to him by the lease contract, it shall be permissible for him to
request the dissolution or the reduction of the rent together with
compensation if it was necessitated.
Article (600)
1. The lessor shall not guarantee to the lessee the physical obstruction if
coming from an extraneous person provided the obstructer does not
claim any right; however this shall not prejudice whatever right the
lessee might have to raise in his name against the obstructer a case
requesting compensation and all possession cases.
2. If however the physical obstruction that occurred was beyond the
lessees control and beyond his capability to obviate it, and was grave
enough to prevent him from benefiting from the premises or reduce
largely his benefit from it, he may request the dissolution of the
contract or the reduction of the rent.
Article (601)
If the lessees of one leased premises were several, the one who possessed it
first in good faith shall be given preference. If no one possesses it without
deceit, preference shall be given to the one who contracted first.
Article (602)
1. If an act by the public authority within the law results in a great
reduction in the lessees benefit, he may request the dissolution of the
contract or the reduction of the rent, unless the authoritys act was
attributable to him.
2. The lessee shall not be entitled to the right of compensation against the
lessor unless the public authoritys act was due to reason for which the
lessor was responsible.
3. All unless the agreement provides otherwise.
Article (603)

146

1. The lessor shall guarantees towards the lessee to have the leased
premises free from defects which preclude benefit from it or seriously
decrease it.
2. However the lessor shall not guarantee a defect which is customarily
allowed, and shall not also guarantee a defect which the lessee was
aware of at the time of contracting, or was able to verify had he
inspected the leased premises with the required care, unless the lessee
has proved that the lessor has confirmed to him that the leased
premises was free from this defect, or has deceptively concealed it
intentionally.
3. All unless the agreement provides otherwise.
Article (604)
If a defect in the leased premises has been discovered which brings rise to the
guarantee, the lessee may request the repair of the defect, or to repair it
personally at the lessors expense, if such repair shall not exhaust the lessor,
without prejudice to the lessees right to request the dissolution of the lease or
to reduce the rent with compensation if necessitated.
Article (605)
Every stipulation to the exemption or the restriction of the guarantee of
obstruction or defect if the lessor has intentionally concealed the cause of the
guarantee shall be void.
Article (606)
If the leased premises shall not possess the qualifications which existence was
guaranteed to the lessee by the lessor, the lessee shall be entitled to request
the dissolution of the lease or the reduction of the rent, without prejudice to
his right for compensation if so necessitated.
C- Obligations of the Lessee:

Article (607)
1. The lessee shall settle the rent on the agreed dates, if no agreement
exists, it shall be settled on the dates determined by custom.
2. Settlement of the rent shall be at the lessees domicile, unless an
agreement or a custom determines otherwise.

147

Article (608)
Settlement of the rent of a specified period shall be deemed a presumption of
the settlement of the rent for the preceding period, unless the lessor proves
otherwise.
Article (609)
1. The lessor shall have, as a guarantee to every right that is established
for him by virtue of the lease contract, to distrain the attachable
movables that existing in the leased premises, provided it has the
lessors preference even if not owned by the lessee. The lesser shall be
entitled to object to it being transported, and if it was transported
despite his objection or without his knowledge, he shall be entitled to
recover it from the possessor even if a bona fidie person and without
prejudice to whatever rights the possessor might have.
2. The lessor shall not exercise his right to distrain or to recover, if the
transportation of the things was necessitated by the lessees profession
or the customary affairs of life, or if the movables which were left at the
leased premises or which were recovered shall completely satisfy the
guarantee of the rent.
Article (610)
The lessee shall use the leased premises in the agreed purpose, if no
agreement exists; he shall use it for what it was prepared for and in
accordance with custom.

Article (611)
The lessee shall not without the lessors permission make any alterations in
the leased premises which can cause damage to the lessor.
Article (612)
1. The lessee may place in the leased premises equipments and fixtures
which allow him to achieve the intended benefit, provided the method
used to place it is consistent with the proper norms, unless the placing
of these equipments and fixtures results in damage to the leased
premises or in the reduction of its value.

148

2. If the lessors intervention was necessary to perform any of that, the

lessee shall be entitled to request it provided he bears what the lessor
shall expend.
Article (613)
1. The lessee shall exert in using the leased premises and preserving it the
care exerted by a regular person.
2. He shall be liable for whatever damage or demolition to the leased
premises resulting from his use in an unfamiliar manner.
Article (614)
The lessee shall inform the lessor of every matter which requires his
intervention, such as the leased premises needing urgent repair, or a defect
has been discovered, or it being seized wrongfully, or an obstruction
occurring to him in it, or damage is caused to it.
Article (615)
Simple repairs needed for the regular use of the leased premises and
determined by custom shall be borne by the lessee unless otherwise agreed.
Article (616)
The lessee shall return the leased premises and its ancillaries upon the expiry
of the lease, and if he retains it without justification, he shall, in addition to
returning it, pay to the lessor a compensation to be estimated taking into
consideration the rental value and the damage inflicted on the lessor.
Article (617)
1. The lessee shall return the leased premises in the condition in which he
received it, except for the demolition or damage occurring to it without
a mistake to which he is responsible.
2. If remission of the leased property was without spesicying its
condition, it shall be presumed that the lessee has received it in a good
condition unless proved otherwise.
Article (618)
The expenses of returning the leased premises shall be borne by the lessee,
unless the agreement or the custom determines otherwise.
149

Article (619)
1. If the lessee has effected in the leased property construction or plant or
any other improvements which increases the value of the leased
property, the lessor shall return to the lessee upon the expiry of the
lease whatever the latter has expended over such improvements or
whatever increase in the value of the leased premises whichever is
lesser, unless an agreement provides otherwise.
2. If such improvements were made without the knowledge of the lessor
or despite his objection, he shall be entitled to request the lessee to
remove it. In addition to that, he may also request compensation for
the damage to the leased property resulting from this removal if
compensation shall be necessitated.
3. If the lessor has chosen to retain these improvements against one of the
two amounts referred to above, the court may give him time to settle it.

Third-The Relinquishment of the Lease and Subletting:

Article (620)
The lessee shall have the right to relinquish the lease or to sublet all or part of
what he has leased unless the agreement provides otherwise, or it became
evident that the personality of the lessee was the subject of consideration
when contracting.
Article (621)
1. Prohibiting the lessee from relinquishing the lease shall require that he
is prohibited from subleasing, and vice versa.
2. However if the matter involves the lease of a real property where a
factory or a store has been erected therein and necessity has required
that the lessee sells this factory or store, the court may despite the
existence of a prohibiting stipulation decide to keep the lease if the
lessee has provided adequate guarantee and no ascertained damage
has been inflicted on the lessor.
Article (622)
In the case where the lease has been relinquished, the assignee shall replace
the original lessee in all his rights and obligations resulting from the lease
150

contract, and the original lessee shall remain a guarantor of the assignee in
fulfilling his obligations.
Article (623)
1. In the case of subletting, the relationship between the original lessee
and the lessor shall remain subject to the provisions of the contract
concluded between them, as for the relationship between the original
lessee and who has leased from him it shall be subject to the provisions
of the sublease contract.
2. However the sub lessee shall be liable to settle directly to the lessor
whatever he owes to the original lessee at the time on which the lessor
warns him of the same. He may not however depend against him with
whatever rent he has paid in advance to the original lessee unless it
occurred before the warning and with a date certain deed.
Article (624)
The original lessee shall be released against the lessor whether with regard to
his guarantee to the assignee in the case of relinquishment of the lease, or
with regard to the obligations provided for in the original lease contract in the
case of subleasing, if an explicit or implied acceptance of the relinquishment
of the lease or the subleasing has been issued from the lessor, and the lessor
receiving the rent directly from the assignee or from the sub lessee without
showing any reservations regarding his rights towards the original lessee
shall be deemed an implied acceptance.
Fourth- Termination of the lease:
Article (625)
The lease shall be terminated with the lapse of the period specified in the
contract without the need for a notice to vacating, unless an agreement to
extend the lease for another specified or unspecified period when no notice
has been made exists.
Article (626)
1. If the lease contract has terminated and the lessee remains benefiting
from the leased premises with the knowledge of the lessor and without
his objection, the lease shall be deemed renewed under its original
terms but for an unspecified period. If the lease has been renewed in
the above manner, the provisions of article (588) shall apply.
151

2. The in kind securities which the original lessee has provided as

guarantee for the old lease shall be transferred to the new lease, taking
into consideration the rules of publishing the rights. As for the
securities provided by third parties, it shall not be transferred to the
new lease unless accepted by the person who provided it.
Article (627)
1. If one of the two parties shall notify the other of vacating and the lessee
continues to benefit of the leased premises after the termination of the
lease, the lease shall not be deemed to have been renewed unless
proved otherwise.
2. If the lessor shall notify the lessee of not renewing the lease except
against a specific rent or other specific stipulations, and the lessee
remains silent, his silence shall be deemed a renewal of the lease under
the stipulations which the lessor has served him with.
Article (628)
1. If the ownership of the leased premises has been transferred to a
private successor, the contract shall not be valid against him unless his
knowledge of the same was proved, or it had a date certain preceding
the cause which resulted in the transfer of the ownership.
2. It shall however be permissible for whom the ownership has been
transferred to depend on the lease contract, even if this contract was
not valid against him.
Article (629)
It shall not be permissible for whom the ownership of the leased property has
been transferred, even if the contract was not valid against him, to compel the
lessee to return the premises except after notifying him in accordance with
article (588), and after the lessee receiving compensation from the lessor
against returning the premises before the termination of the lease period, or
after obtaining a sufficient security for the settlement of the compensation.
Article (630)
1. If the lease contract shall be valid against whom the ownership has
been transferred to, he shall replace the lessor in all rights and
obligations resulting from the contract.
2. However it shall not be permissible for the lessee to depend on
whatever rent he has paid against who the ownership has been
152

transferred to, if the latter has proved that the lessee knew at the time
of payment of the transfer of ownership or was surely supposed to
have known. If in whose favour the ownership has been transferred
was unable to establish proof, he shall revert against the lessor only.
Article (631)
If it has been agreed that the lessor shall be permitted to terminate the
contract if a personal need of the premises has risen for him, he shall when
using this right, notify the lessee to vacate within the time periods specified in
article (588) unless the agreement provides otherwise.
Article (632)
1. If unexpected circumstances affecting one of the contracting parties
have risen, and which result in the continuity of the lease exhausting to
him, the judge may upon his request, and after weighing the interests
of the two parties, terminate the lease and compensate the other party
with a just compensation.
2. If it was the lessor who has requested the termination of the contract,
the lessee shall not be compelled to return the leased premises until he
receives the compensation or a sufficient security.
Article (633)
1. The lease contract shall not terminate upon the death of the lessor or
the death of the lessee.
2. However if the lessee shall die, his heirs may request the termination of
the contract if they prove that because of the death of their testator the
burdens of the contract have become too heavy to be borne by their
resources or exceed the limits of their need.
Article (634)
If the lessee shall die, and the lease would not have been concluded except for
his profession or for other regards relating to his personality, his heirs or the
lessor may request the termination of the contract.
Article (635)
If the lessees work necessitates the change of his domicile, he may request the
termination of the lease of his residence.

153

Article (636)

Whoever requests the termination of the lease under the situations provided
for in articles (632) through (635) shall follow the notice periods provided for
in article (588).
Article (637)
1. If the lessee shall not commence benefiting from the leased premises,
or shall benefit incompletely from it for a reason attributable to his
mistake or to his personality, he shall remain liable for the rent and the
obligations prescribed for in the contract, as long as the lessor has
placed the leased premises under his disposition in a condition which
enables the agreed benefit.
2. In this situation the lessor shall deduct from the rent whatever
expenses he has incurred and the value of benefit he has gained
resulting from the lessee not benefiting from the leased premises.

Part Two

Some Types of Leases

First- Lease of Agricultural Lands:

Article (638)
The provisions of lease shall apply to the lease of agricultural lands taking
into consideration the provisions of the following articles unless an agreement
or a custom provides otherwise.
Article (639)
1. The lease of agricultural lands shall not include the live stock and the
equipment existing in it, unless by virtue of a provision in the contract.
2. If the contract shall include the above mentioned things, the lessee
shall care for it and maintain it in accordance with its customary use.

154

Article (640)
If it was mentioned in the contract that the lease has been concluded for a year
or several years, it shall mean that it has been concluded for an annual
agricultural cycle or several cycles.
Article (641)
1. Exploitation of the leased land shall be in the manner agreed upon, if
no such agreement exists, the lessee shall exploit it in accordance with
its nature and agricultural custom, and shall specifically keep it worthy
of producing.
2. He shall not, without the lessors consent, introduce to the exploitation
method used any material change which result shall extend beyond the
termination of the lease.
Article (642)
1. The lessee shall undertake the repairs necessitated by the usual
exploitation of the leased land, and shall specifically be liable for the
usual maintenance works for the wells and water drains and buildings
prepared for residing or exploitation.
2. As for the maintenance on which achieving the intended benefit
depends, it shall be the lessors liability.
Article (643)
1. If it has become impossible for the lessee to prepare the land for
agriculture and seeding or if all or most of the seeds have been
demolished for an extraneous reason beyond his control, the lessee
shall be relieved from the all or part of the rent depending on the
situation.
2. If before cultivation, all the crops have been demolished for an
extraneous reason beyond the control of the lessee, he shall be entitled
to request the relief from the rent.
3. If some of crops have been demolished and its demolition shall result
in a large decrease in the proceeds of the land, the lessee shall be
entitled to request the decrease of the rent in conformity with the
decrease of the land proceeds.
Article (644)

155

The lessee shall not be entitled to be relived from the rent or decrease it in
accordance with the provision of the preceding article, if he has been
compensated for whatever damage he has suffered with the profits gained
within all the lease period or with what he has received from another source.
Article (645)
The lessee shall not be entitled to request to be relieved from the rent or to
decrease it if the crop has been demolished after cultivation, unless it has been
agreed that the lessor shall be entitled to a specific right in the crop, then the
lessor shall bear his share in whatever has been demolished, provided the
demolition has not occurred through the lessees mistake or after being
notified to deliver.
Article (646)
If the fruits of the land have not ripened on the termination of the lease, the
lessee shall remain in the leased premises against the rent of an equivalent
until the fruits have ripened and were cultivated. If the non ripening of the
fruits was attributable to the lessees mistake, he shall also be liable to
compensate the lessor.
Article (647)
The lessee shall not commit any act that will result in the decrease or delay in
benefiting by whoever succeeds him. He shall specifically before vacating the
land allow that successor to prepare the land and seeding it, if no damage
shall be inflicted on him.

Second- Crop Sharing Muzaraa:

Article (648)
It shall be permissible to lease the agricultural land and the land planted with
trees by sharing the crop whereas the lessor shall take a specific part of the
crop.
Article (649)
The provisions of lease shall apply to crop sharing taking into consideration
the provisions of the following provisions, unless an agreement or a custom
provides otherwise.
156

Article (650)
If no duration has been specified for crop sharing, its duration shall be the
duration required for collecting the crop agreed upon. If no crop has been
agreed upon the duration shall be an annual agricultural cycle.
Article (651)
Live stock and agricultural equipments existing in the land at the time of
contracting shall be included in crop sharing if it was owned by the lessor.
Article (652)
The lessee shall exercise in farming and preserving the plants the care he
exercises in his own affairs, and shall exercise in preserving the land and its
ancillaries the care of an ordinary person.
Article (653)
It shall not be permissible for the lessee to have someone replace him or
partner with him in crop sharing, unless with the lessors consent.
Article (654)
1. The lessee shall bear the expenses of cultivating and preserving the
plants until the fruits have ripened, and shall maintain the equipment
and make simple maintenance for the buildings.
2. The lessor shall bear the expenses of other repairs, and shall also bear
the improvements necessary for the land.
3. The two parties shall, each to the extent of his share, bear the expenses
of seeds, fertilizers and the cost of insecticides and cultivation expenses
and what follows until the division.
Article (655)
1. The fruits shall be distributed between the two parties in accordance
with the agreed percentage, and if no percentage has been agreed
upon, the customary percentage shall be followed. If no agreement or
custom exists, each of them shall have half of the fruits.
2. It shall not be permissible to agree that one partys share shall be a
specific amount of the crop, or the crop of a specific part of the land.

157

Article (656)
If all or part of the fruits has been demolished for an extraneous reason
beyond the control of any one of the two parties, it shall be deemed
demolished on them together.
Article (657)
The provisions of article (646) shall apply if the fruits of the land have not
ripened on the termination of the crop sharing, but the lessee shall only bear
the rent of an equivalent to the extent of his share in the crop.
Article (658)
If the lessee has become unable to farm the land for sickness or any other
reason, and it was not possible for a member of his family to replace him, each
of the two contracting parties shall be entitled to request the dissolution of the
contract.
Article (659)
Crop sharing shall not terminate upon the death of the lessor, but shall
terminate upon the death of the lessee.
Article (660)
1. If crop sharing has terminated before the expiry of its term, the lessor
shall return to the lessee, or to his heirs, whatever the lessee has
expended on the plants which have not yet ripened, together with
compensation equivalent to the quantum meruit of his work, provided
all shall not exceed the value of the lessees share in the crop.
2. If however crop sharing has terminated upon the death of the lessee,
his heirs shall have the option of either receiving whatever has been
mentioned above, or to replace him in the work until the fruits have
ripened, provided they are able to perform the same in an acceptable
manner.
Third- Lease of Endowment Waqf:
Article (661)
1. The overseer of the endowment shall have the power to lease it.

158

2. The person in whose favour endowment was established shall not be

so empowered even if he is the sole beneficiary, unless he was
authorized by the person who created the endowment or licensed by
the person authorized to grant the lease be an overseer or a judge.
Article (662)
The power to receive the rent shall be for the overseer and not for the person
in whose favour endowment was established, unless the overseer has
permitted him to receive it.
Article (663)
The overseer of endowment shall not be entitled to rent the endowment
property, or to lease it to his spouse or any of his ascendants or descendants.
Article (664)
1. The lease of endowment with grave unfairness shall not be valid,
unless the lessor was the only person in whose favor endowment was
established and who has the authority to dispose of the endowment,
then, it shall be permissible to lease it with grave unfairness against
him but not against the succeeding beneficiaries.
2. If the overseer shall lease the endowment with grave unfairness, the
lessee shall be liable to complete the rent to the rent of the equivalent;
otherwise the contract shall be dissolved.
Article (665)
1. If the person who created the endowment shall specify the term of the
lease, this stipulation shall be followed, and the overseer shall not be
entitled to contravene it unless authorized to lease for whatever is
more beneficial to the endowment.
2. If no one wishing to rent the endowment for the specified term shall
exist, or if the lease for a longer term is more beneficial to the
endowment, the overseer shall be entitled, after requesting permission
from the judge, to lease it for a longer period.
Article (666)
Except for endowments covered by public overseeing by the legally
competent authority, it shall not be permissible for the overseer, if the person
who has established the endowment has not specified a term for the lease, to
159

lease a the house and the store and similar for a term exceeding one year, or to
lease the land for a term less than three years, unless the interest requires the
increase in the lease of the house or the store, or the decrease in the lease of
the land.
Article (667)
1. Except for endowments covered by public overseeing by the legally
competent authority, it shall not be permissible for the overseer
without the permission of the judge, to lease the endowment for a term
exceeding three years, even through consecutive contracts, and if the
lease contract was made for a longer term, the term shall be reduced to
three years.
2. However if the overseer is the person who created the endowment or
the only beneficiary, it shall be permissible for him without the
judges permission to lease the endowment for a term exceeding
three years, without prejudice to the overseers right who succeeds him
to request the decrease of the term to three years.
Article (668)
The lease of endowment shall neither terminate upon the death of the
overseer nor upon his dismissal.
Article (669)
The provisions of the lease contract shall apply to the lease of endowment in
every matter not contrary to the previous articles.

160

Chapter Two

Lending

Article (670)
Lending is a contract by virtue of which the lender shall deliver to the
borrower a non consumable thing, to use it without consideration for a
specific period or for a specific purpose, provided he returns it after use.
First- The Effects of lending:
A- The Obligations of the Lender:
Article (671)
The lender shall deliver to the borrower the loaned thing in the condition at
which it were at the time of concluding the lending.
Article (672)
1. If it was necessary for the borrower to expend in order to preserve the
loaned thing, the lender shall repay him whatever expenses he has
incurred.
2. As for beneficial expenses, it shall be subject to the provisions of
expenses incurred by whoever possesses a thing in bad faith.
Article (673)
1. The lender shall not guarantee the loaned thing belonging to a third
party, unless he has intentionally concealed the reason for the
belonging to a third party, or an agreement to the guarantee exists.
2. Nor shall he guarantee the thing being free from defect, unless he has
intentionally concealed the defect, or has guaranteed its non existence
in it. He shall then compensate the borrower for whatever damage is
caused by the defect.
B- The Obligations of the Borrower:
Article (674)

161

1. If lending has been restricted to a time or a place or a type of usage, the

borrower shall not use the loaned thing other than in the specified time
and place, or to contravene the permitted use by exceeding it.
2. If lending was not restricted to any restriction, the borrower may use
the loaned thing at any time and place and for whatever use he wishes,
provided he shall not exceed the customary use.
3. In both situations, the borrower shall not be liable for whatever change
or damage or decrease that result to the thing by reason of the use
permitted by the lending.
Article (675)
The borrower shall not be permitted to lease the borrowed thing or to lend it
except by permission from the lender.
Article (676)
The expenses of using the borrowed thing and its usual maintenance, in
addition to the expenses of delivering and returning it shall be borne by the
borrower.
Article (677)
1. The borrower shall exercise in preserving the loaned thing the care he
exercises in preserving his own property, provided it shall not be less
than the care of an ordinary person.
2. In every situation the borrower shall guarantee the demolition of the
thing if demolition has resulted from a sudden incident or force majeur
and was able to avoid the same by using something of his personal
property, or was between saving something belonging to him or the
loaned thing and has chosen to save whatever he owns.
Article (678)
1. Upon the termination of lending the borrower shall return the thing at
its then condition, without prejudice to his liability for demolition or
damage.
2. Returning the thing shall occur in the place in which the borrower has
received it, unless an agreement provides otherwise.
Second: Termination of Lending

162

Article (679)
1. Lending shall terminate upon the lapse of the agreed term, if no term
has been specified it shall terminate with the use of the loaned thing for
the purpose it was loaned for.
2. If it was not possible to determine the term of lending, it shall be
permissible for the lender to request its termination at any time.
3. In every situation it shall be permissible for the borrower to return the
loaned thing before the termination of the lending, however if this
return shall damage the lender he shall not be compelled to accept it.
Article (680)
It shall be permissible for the lender to request, at any time, the termination of
lending in the following situations:
1. If an urgent unexpected need for the loaned thing has risen for him.
2. If the borrower has misused the thing or has failed in the required
precaution for preserving it.
3. If the borrower has become insolvent after concluding the lending, or
was insolvent prior to that without the lenders knowledge.
Article (681)
Lending shall terminate upon the death of the borrower, unless otherwise
agreed.

163

Division Three

Contracts Relating to Work

Chapter One

Independent Work

Part One

General Rules of Independent Work

Article (682)
Independent work is a contract by virtue of which one of the contracting
parties undertakes to manufacture something or to perform work for the
other party against consideration, without being appendant to that person or
a representative of him.
First- Provision of Work Materials:
Article (683)
1. It shall be permissible to limit the contractors obligation to
undertaking the agreed work, provided the employer shall provide the
necessary work materials.
2. It shall also be permissible for the contractor to be obliged to provide
all or part of the materials in addition to his obligation of work.
Article (684)
1. If the contractor has undertaken to provide all or part of the work
materials, such materials shall be in conformity with the specifications
agreed upon. If no specifications have been agreed upon, such
materials shall fulfill the intended purpose.
2. The contractor shall guarantee the defects in such materials in
accordance with the provisions of the guarantee of defect in the sold
thing.

164

Article (685)
1. If the work materials have been provided by the employer, the
contractor shall exert in preserving it the care of an ordinary person,
and shall comply with the technical principals in using it, and to
provide an account of it to the employer and to return to him the
residue.
2. If the materials or some of it has become unusable due to the
contractors negligence or his deficient technical capability, he shall be
liable to return its value to the employer with compensation if so
necessitated.
Article (686)
1. If during the performance of the work defects have occurred or were
discovered in the materials provided by the employer, or other factors
have risen which could impede the performance of the work in suitable
situations, the contractor shall immediately inform the employer of the
same.
2. If the contractor was negligent in informing, he shall be liable for the
results of his negligence.
Second- Obligations of the Contractor
Article (687)
1. The contractor shall complete the work in accordance with the
stipulations provided for in the contract of independent work and
within the period agreed upon, if there where no stipulations or a
period has not been agreed upon, he shall complete it in accordance
with customary principals and within the reasonable period required
by the nature of the work taking into consideration the custom of the
profession.
2. And he shall provide at his expense whatever man power and tools
and tasks he shall need in completing the work, unless the agreement
or the custom provides otherwise.
Article (688)
1. If during the course of work it has been discovered that the contractor
is performing it in a defective manor or contrary to the contract, the
employer shall be entitled to warn him to correct the method of
performance within a reasonable period specified to him, if such
165

period has lapsed without the contractor returning to the correct or the
agreed upon method, the employer shall be entitled to request the
dissolution of the contract or to obtain a permission from the court to
perform the obligation at the contractors expense if the nature of the
work so permits.
2. It shall be permissible to request the dissolution of the contract without
the need of a warning or specifying a period, if the correction of the
defect or discrepancy shall be impossible.
3. In all situations the judge shall be entitled to refuse the dissolution
request if the defect in the method of performance shall not decrease to
a great degree the value of the work or its worthiness for the intended
use, without prejudice to the right for compensation if so necessitated.
Article (689)
If the contractor is delayed in commencing the performance of the work or in
completing it, which delay shall under no circumstances allow him to
perform it as required within the period agreed upon, or if he has taken an
attitude indicating his intention not to perform his obligation, or if he has
committed an act which shall render the performance of the obligation
impossible , the employer shall be entitled to request the dissolution of the
contract without the need to wait for the occurrence of the time of delivery.
Article (690)
If the thing has been demolished due to a sudden incident or force majeur
before delivering it to the employer, the contractor shall not be entitled to
claim neither the agreed upon remuneration nor the value of the materials he
has provided, unless the employer at the time of demolition or damage was in
default of his obligation to receive the work.
Article (691)
1. If the materials were provided by the employer and the thing has been
demolished or damaged before delivering it to him due to a sudden
incident or a force majeur, he shall not be entitled to claim its value
from the contractor unless at the time of demolition or damage the
contractor was in default in his obligation to deliver the work, and the
contractor has not proved that the thing would have been demolished
or damaged with the employer had it been delivered to him.
2. Work materials shall be deemed to have been provided by the
employer if he has paid its value to the contractor or has advanced to
him a sum as down payment covering such amount.
166

Third- Obligations of the Employer

Article (692)
1. If the performance of the work shall require the employer to perform a
specific matter which he has not in the suitable time, the contractor
shall be entitled to instruct him to perform it within a reasonable
period specified by him.
2. If the period has lapsed without the employer performing his
obligation, the contractor shall be entitled to request the dissolution of
the contract without prejudice to his right for compensation if so
necessitated.
Article (693)
Whenever the contractor has completed his work and has placed it under the
disposal of the employer and has informed him of the same, the employer
shall take the initiative in receiving it in accordance with customary dealing, if
he has refrained from receiving without a justifiable reason despite requesting
him to do so through an official warning, the work shall be deemed to have
been delivered to him.
Article (694)
1. The employer shall be entitled to refrain from receiving if the defect or
discrepancy in the work to the agreed upon terms has reached a level
which renders it not fulfilling the intended purpose.
2. If the defect or the discrepancy has not reached this level of graveness,
the employer shall only be entitled to request the decrease of the
contractors entitlements to the extent that corresponds to the
importance of the defect or the discrepancy, or to compel the contractor
with the repair within a reasonable period specified to him, if the
repair was possible and does not entail expensive expenses.
3. And in all situations the contractor shall be entitled to perform the
repair within a reasonable period, if the repair was possible and does
not cause valuable damages to the employer.
Article (695)
The employer shall not be entitled to depend on the rights provided fro in the
preceding article if he has caused the occurrence of the defect whether

167

through issuing orders contrary to the opinion of the contractor or through

any other method.
Article (696)
1. Whenever the work has been actually received or deemed to have been
received, the contractors liability for whatever visible defect in it or
discrepancy to the stipulations of the contract shall be diminished.
2. If the defects or the discrepancy were hidden, and the employer has
discovered it after receiving he shall take the initiative to inform the
contractor of it taking into consideration the custom of the profession
otherwise he shall be deemed to have accepted the work.
Article (697)
The employer shall pay the contractors entitlements upon receiving the work,
unless the agreement or the custom provides otherwise.
Article (698)
1. If the work is composed of distinctive parts, or the price has been
determined upon the price of the unit, each of the contracting parties
may request the performance of inspection upon completing each part
or division which has a sufficient importance in relation to the work in
general, and the contractor shall be entitled in this situation to receive,
from his entitlements, the extent of the work he has completed, unless
the agreement provides otherwise.
2. It shall be presumed, against what the contractors entitlements has
been paid that it has been inspected and accepted , unless it was
proved that payment was made as down payment.
Article (699)
If the contractors entitlements have not been agreed upon, reference in
determining them shall be made to the equivalent value of the work at the
time of the contract, and the value of the materials provided by the contractor
and required by the work.

Article (700)

168

Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph (2) of article (171), the

increase in the prices of raw materials, labor, and other costs shall have no
effect on the extent of the obligations imposed by the contract.
Fourth- Subcontracting
Article (701)
1. The contractor shall be entitled to delegate the performance of the
work, in total or in part to a subcontractor, if not prevented from doing
so by a stipulation in the contract or the nature of the work does not
require the personality of the contractor to be of regard.
2. Nevertheless the obligations of the original contractor towards the
employer shall remain existing, and he shall be liable towards him for
the works of the subcontractor.
Article (702)
1. The subcontractor and the workers working for the original contractor
in performing the work shall be entitled to claim directly from the
employer whatever does not exceed the amount with which he is
indebted to the original contractor from the time of raising the law suit,
and the workers of the subcontractor shall be entitled to such right
against both the original contractor and the employer.
2. The subcontractor and the workers mentioned above shall have, when
effecting an attachment with the employer or the original contractor,
preference over the amounts due to the original contractor or the
subcontractor at the time on which the attachment has been effected,
and preference for each of them shall be in proportion to his right and
such amounts may be settled to them directly.
3. The rights of the subcontractor and the workers prescribed for by
virtue of this article shall rank ahead of the rights of whoever the
contractor has assigned his right to against the employer.
Fifth- Termination of the Contract for Independent Work
Article (703)

If by virtue of the contract for independent work the contractor shall within a
specific period undertake to maintain something or another renewable work,
the contract for independent work shall terminate upon the lapse of that
period.
169

Article (704)
The contract for independent work shall terminate when the performance of
the work agreed upon shall become impossible for a reason beyond the
control of any of the contracting parties. The contractor shall then have the
right to claim from the employer whatever he has expended and the wages he
is entitled to, within the limits of the benefit gained by the employer.
Article (705)
The contract for independent work shall terminate upon the death of the
contractor, if his personal qualifications or his capabilities where a subject of
regard in contracting, if it was not a subject of regard the contract shall not
terminate per se, but the employer shall be entitled to request its dissolution if
the sufficient guarantees to properly perform the work where not present in
the contractors heirs.
Article (706)
1. If the contract for independent work was terminated upon the death of
the contractor his heirs shall be entitled to the value of the completed
works and whatever has been expended to perform what was not
completed, within the limits of the benefit gained by the employer
from such works and expenses.
2. The employer shall be entitled to claim the delivery of the other
materials which have been prepared and the drawings the
performance of which has been commenced, provided he shall pay a
just consideration for it.
3. These provisions shall also apply if the contractor has commenced the
performance of the work and then becomes unable to complete it for a
reason beyond his will.
Article (707)
1. The employer shall be entitled to be relieved from the contract and to
stop the performance of the work at any time before its completion,
provided he shall compensate for all the expenses he has expended,
and the works he has performed, and what he could have gained had
he completed the work.
2. The court may however decrease the due compensation for the profit
which the contractor has lost if the circumstances make this decrease
just, and it shall specifically deduct from it whatever the contractor has
170

saved as a result of the employer relieving himself from the contract,

and what he has gained by utilizing his time in an other work.

Part Two

Special Provisions for Buildings and Constructions

Article (708)
1. If the contract has been concluded on the basis of an estimate
measurement, and it has been discovered during the work that it is
necessary for executing the agreed upon design to exceed the estimated
measurement by a noticeable excess, the contractor must take the
initiative of informing the employer of the same defining the extent in
the increase in the expenses which he expects, otherwise his right in
requesting such increase shall lapse.
2. If the excess needed for executing the design is grave, the employer
shall be entitled to be relieved from the contract and to stop the
performance provided the same shall be without delay, together with
paying the contractor the value of the works he has completed,
estimated in accordance with the terms of the contract, without
compensating him for what he could have gained had he completed
the work.
Article (709)
If the contract has been concluded for a lump sum remuneration on the basis
of a design agreed upon with the employer the contractor shall not be entitled
to claim any increase in his entitlements for the reason of an amendment or an
addition made to the design, unless the same was attributable to an act by the
employer or was permitted by him and has agreed with the contractor to his
entitlements for that reason.
Article (710)
If a building or a construction has been erected on a land owned by the
employer and suffered grave defects reaching the limit provided for in
paragraph (1) of article (694), and its removal shall result in substantial
damages, the employer shall only be entitled to request the decrease of the
contractors entitlements or to compel him to the repair in accordance with
171

paragraph (2) of the above referred to article, without prejudice to the

employers right in compensation if so necessitated.
Article (711)
1. The contractor and the engineer shall jointly guarantee for a period of ten
years the total or partial collapse or fault in the buildings they have erected
or fixed constructions they have constructed, even if the collapse or the fault
has resulted from a defect in the land itself, or the employer has approved the
defective buildings or constructions, and this guarantee shall cover whatever
defects shall appear in the buildings or constructions which threaten its
sturdiness and safety.
2. If the two contracting parties have intended for the buildings or
constructions to remain for a period less than ten years, the guarantee shall
apply for the lesser period, and the period shall commence in all situations
from the date on which the work has been received.
3. The provisions of this article shall not apply to the right of recourse which
the contractor shall have against the subcontractors.
Article (712)
1. If the engineers work was limited to the making of the design of the
building or the construction or part of it, he shall be liable for the
defects attributable to the design which he has made and not the
defects attributable to the method of execution.
2. If the employer has entrusted the engineer with the supervision of the
execution or any part of it, he shall also be liable for the defects
attributable to the method of execution for which he was entrusted to
supervise.
Article (713)
1. The contractor shall only be responsible for the defects which occur in
the execution and not the defects resulting from a mistake in making
the design unless such defects should have been known to him in
accordance with the principals of the profession.
2. The contractor shall however be liable for the defects attributable to the
design if the engineer who has made the design was his appendant.
Article (714)

172

The guarantee case referred to above shall lapse with the passage of three
years from the time of the occurrence of the collapse or the discovery of the
defect.
Article (715)
Any condition intended to exempt the engineer or the contractor from the
guarantee or to limit it shall be void.

Chapter Two

Agency

Article (716)
Agency is a contract by virtue of which the agent shall perform a legal act for
the principal.
First- Bases of Agency:
Article (717)
It shall be necessary for the validity of the agency that the agent is capable of
performing the work the subject matter of the agency.
Article (718)
The form required in the legal act the subject matter of the agency must be
present in the agency.
Article (719)
If the agency is in general terms without specification even for the type of
legal act the subject matter of the agency it shall only authorize the agent with
administration acts. The lease if its period shall not exceed three years, and
the acts of preservation and maintenance, and collecting the rights, and

173

settling the debts shall be deemed of administration acts, and shall also
include every act of disposition required for the administration.
Article (720)
Agency shall only confer upon the agent the authority to deal with the maters
specified in it and the necessary accessories required by the nature of each
matter and by the prevailing custom.
Article (721)
1. Every act which is not considered an administration shall required a
special agency, specifically in donations and sale and reconcilement
and mortgage and admission and arbitration and directing oath and
pleading before the courts.
2. Special agency in a specific type of legal acts shall be valid, even if the
subject matter of this act has not been specifically defined unless the act
was of donations.
Second Effects of Agency
A. Obligations of the Agent
Article (722)
1. The agent shall execute the agency without exceeding the limits drawn
for it.
2. However it shall be permissible for him to exceed the limits of the
agency when it was impossible for him to inform the principal in
advance and the circumstances make the belief that the principal
would have only accepted this disposition, and the agent in this
situation must take the initiative to inform the principal of exceeding
the limits of the agency.
Article (723)
1. If the agency is without remuneration, the agent shall exercise
the care he exercises for his own work, without exercising more
than the care of the ordinary person.
2. If it was for remuneration the agent shall always exercise in
executing it the care of an ordinary person.
Article (724)
174

The agent shall provide his principal with the necessary information in
respect of the extent of his execution of the agency and provide him with an
account thereof supported by documents, unless the agreement or the nature
of the dealing requires otherwise.
Article (725)
The agent shall not use the property of his principal for his own benefit
without permission; otherwise the principal shall be entitled to claim from
him compensation to be determined by the judge in accordance with the
necessities of justice and the circumstances of the situation.
Article (726)
1. If the agents shall be several and each one of them shall have an
independent contract each one may act individually unless the
principal has stipulated for him to act with the others.
2. And if they shall be appointed by one contract, without the principal
authorizing them to act individually, they shall act jointly, unless the
work is one that does not require the exchange of opinion.
Article (727)
1. The several agents shall be jointly responsible whenever the agency
was indivisible, or the damage which has been inflicted on the
principal was the result of their joint mistake.
2. However, the agents shall not be responsible, even if were joint, for the
act committed by one of them exceeding the limits of the agency or has
acted arbitrary in executing it.
Article (728)
1. If the agent shall delegate another in executing the agency without
being authorized to do so, he shall be liable for the act of the delegate
as if the act has been done by him personally, and the agent and the
delegate shall be jointly responsible in this situation.
2. If however the agent was authorized to appoint a delegate on his
behalf without specifying the person of the delegate, the agent shall not
be responsible except for his mistake in choosing his delegate, or for his
mistake in the directions given by him to the delegate.
3. It shall be permissible in the two previous situations for the principal
and the agents delegate to revert to each other directly.
175

B. Obligations of the Principal

Article (729)
1. Agency shall be without remuneration, unless otherwise agreed
or impliedly derived from the situation of the agent.
2. If remuneration for the agency had been agreed, such
remuneration shall be subject to the discretion of the judge,
unless it has been willingly paid after the execution of the
agency.
Article (730)
1. The principal shall reimburse the agent with the expenses he had
incurred in executing the agency as usually executed, regardless of the
agents fortune of success in executing it.
2. If executing the agency shall require the principal to provide the agent
with sums to spend from it in the affairs of the agency, the principal
shall provide such sums if so demanded by the agent.
Article (731)
The principal shall be liable for the damage inflicted on the agent for the
reason of the ordinary execution of the agency, unless it has resulted from the
agents mistake.
Article (732)
If several persons have appointed one agent for a joint work, all the principals
shall be jointly liable towards the agent in the execution of the agency unless
otherwise agreed.
Article (733)
Articles (83) through (87) relating to representation in contracting shall apply
to the relationship of the principal and the agent with the third party who
deals with the agent.
Third- Termination of Agency
Article (734)

176

Agency shall terminate upon the completion of the delegated work, or upon
the expiry of the term fixed for the agency, and shall also terminate upon the
death of the agent, and shall terminate upon the death of the principal unless
the agency has been made for the benefit of the agent or the benefit of a third
party or it was desired to complete it after the death of the principal.
Article (735)
1. The principal may at any time terminate the agency or restrict it even if
an agreement to the contrary exists.
2. However if the agency was made for the benefit of the agent or for the
benefit of a third party, the principal shall not be entitled to terminate it
or restrict it without the consent of the person whose benefit the
agency was made.
3. In every situation, the principal shall compensate the agent for the
damage inflicted on him which resulted from his dismissal at an
improper time or for no acceptable justification.
Article (736)
1. The agent may at any time step aside from the agency even if an
agreement to the contrary exists, and stepping aside shall be made by
informing it to the principal, and the agent shall be liable to
compensate the principal for the damage inflicted on him which
resulted from the stepping aside at an improper time or for no
acceptable justification.
2. However, the agent shall not be entitled to step aside from the agency
whenever a third party shall have a benefit therein unless serious
reasons justifying this exist, provided he shall inform the third party of
this stepping aside, and to give him sufficient time to take whatever he
deems suitable to maintain his benefits.
Article (737)
1. In any form the termination of agency was made, the agent shall bring
the works he has commenced to a stage at which no damage for the
principal shall be feared.
2. In the situation were agency has terminated upon the death of the
agent, his heirs shall, if they possess the capacity, and were aware of
the agency, to take the initiative to inform the principal of the death of
their deceased, and to take the measures required by the situation for
the benefit of the principal.

177

Chapter Three

The Deposit

Article (738)
Deposit is a contract by virtue of which a person shall receive something from
another person provided he shall preserve that thing and to return it in kind.
First- Effects of the Deposit
Obligations of the Depository
Article (739)
The depository shall receive the deposit, and shall not be entitled to use it
without the permission of the depositor.
Article (740)
1. If the deposit was without remuneration the depository shall
exercise in preserving the deposit the care he exercises in
preserving his property, without being asked to exercise more than
the care of an ordinary person.
2. However if the deposit was for remuneration, the depository shall
exercise in preserving the deposit the care of an ordinary person.
Article (741)
The depository shall not, without an explicit permission from the depositor,
deputize another in preserving the deposit, unless it was for a pressing and
urgent need.
Obligations of the Depositor
Article (742)

178

Deposit shall originally be without remuneration, and if remuneration has

been agreed upon, the depositor shall settle it at the time on which the
preservation of the deposit has terminated, unless an agreement or a custom
provides otherwise.
Article (743)
The depositor shall return to the depository what he has expended in
preserving the deposit, and to compensate him for the damage inflicted on
him due to it.
Second- Termination of the Deposit
Article (744)
The deposit contract shall terminate upon the lapse of the term agreed upon.
If no term has been explicitly or impliedly agreed upon, each of the
contracting parties shall be entitled to terminate the deposit after notifying the
other party at a suitable time.
Article (745)
The depositor shall, at any time be entitled to request the return of the deposit,
and if the term of the deposit was specified for the benefit of the depository,
or was authorized to use the deposit, the depositor shall compensate him for
the benefit he would have gained in the remaining term.
Article (746)
If the term of the deposit has been specified for the benefit of the depositor,
and the depository was unable to continue to preserve the deposit for urgent
reasons, he shall be entitled to request the termination of the deposit before
the agreed term, provided he shall inform the depositor to receive the deposit
in a suitable time.
Article (747)
The deposit shall terminate upon the death of the depository, unless
otherwise agreed.
Article (748)

179

1. Whenever the deposit has terminated, the depository shall return the
deposit to the depositor together with whatever fruits he has gained.
And the depositor shall compensate the depository for every loss he
sustained from the deposit.
2. The deposit shall be returned at the place where it was supposed to be
preserved, and the expenses of return shall be borne by the depositor.
3. All unless otherwise agreed.
Article (749)
1. If the heir of the depository shall sell the deposit, in good faith, and the
depositor was unable to recover it from the buyer, the heir shall only
be liable to return to the depositor whatever he has received, or to
assign to him whatever rights he might have against the buyer.
2. If the disposition was a donation, the heir shall only be liable to return
the value of the deposit at the time of the donation.

Third- Certain Types of Deposit:

Article (750)
If the deposit was a sum of money, or any thing that shall be wasted with use,
and the depository was authorized to use it, the contract shall be deemed a
loan.
Article (751)
1. The owners of hotels and the like shall be liable in the care of
preserving the things brought in by their guests, even for the act of
those who regularly visit their premises.
2. However they shall not be liable in relation to the monies and financial
papers and valuable things for compensation exceeding ten thousand
Riyals, unless, knowing the value of such things, they had undertaken
to preserve it, or have refused without a reasonable cause to receive it
as deposit with them.
Article (752)
1. The guest shall inform the hotel owner and the like of the steeling or
loss or damage of the thing upon knowing so, if he delays in informing
without a reasonable reason, he shall lose his right to revert to the hotel
owner and the like.
180

2. The case by the guest against the hotel owner and the like shall lapse
with the passage of six months from the time he departs the hotel.
Article (753)
Any condition to exempt the hotel owner and the like from liability or to
decrease it shall be void.

Chapter Four

Custody

Article (754)
Custody is a contract by virtue of which the parties concerned shall entrust
another person with a movable or a real property or a group of properties in
relation to which a dispute exists or in which the right has not been
established, whereas this person shall undertake to preserve it and manage it
and return it together with its received fruits to the person in whose favor the
has been established.
Article (755)
The court may order custody:
1. In the situations referred to in the preceding article, if the concerned
parties had not agreed to custody.
2. If the person who has interest in a movable or real property had
reasonable reasons with which he fears an urgent danger by leaving
the property under the possessor.
Article (756)
The appointment of the custodian, whether the custody is by agreement or by
court, shall be by the agreement of all the concerned parties, if they fail to
agree, the judge shall appoint him.
Article (757)

181

The agreement or the judges decision imposing the custody shall define the
rights and obligations and powers of the custodian, otherwise the provisions
relating to deposit and agency shall apply to the extent they are not
repugnant to the provisions of the following articles.
Article (758)
1. The custodian shall preserve the property custody of which is
entrusted to him and to manage it, and he shall in that exercise the care
of an ordinary person.
2. He shall not be entitled to delegate in the exercise of all or part of his
duty any one of the concerned parties without the consent of the others
or the judges permission.
Article (759)
The custodian shall not, except for matters necessitated by the management,
make any disposition unless with the consent of all the concerned parties or
the courts permission.
Article (760)
1. The custodian shall maintain proper accounting books.
2. He shall also provide the concerned parties, at least once a year, an
account of what he had received and what he has expended supported
by documents, and shall, if appointed by the court, deposit a copy of
this account with the courts clerks department.
Article (761)
1. The custodian may receive remuneration, unless he has accepted
custody without remuneration.
2. He shall also be entitled to recover whatever expenses he had
expended for the preservation of the deposit and the management of
the property the custody of which he has been entrusted with.
Article (762)
1. Custody shall terminate with the agreement of all the concerned
parties or by a decision from the court, and shall also terminate upon
the expiry of its term if it had a fixed term.

182

2. The custodian shall then take the initiative of returning the property
the custody of which he has been entrusted with to whoever the
concerned parties shall choose or appointed by the judge.

183

Division Four

Aleatory Contracts

Chapter One

Gambling and Betting

Article (763)
1. Every agreement to gambling or betting shall be void.
2. Whoever has lost in a gambling or betting shall be entitled, within
three years from the date on which he has paid what he had lost, to
recover whatever he has paid, and may prove what he had paid with
all the means.
Article (764)
1. Contests made for remuneration for whoever wins in achieving a
certain goal of sport or to complete reasons of power shall be excluded
from the provision of the preceding article.
2. It shall be permissible for the remuneration to be presented by one of
the contesters, and if it was presented by more than one contester, at
least one contester who had not shared in the remuneration shall
participate with them in the contest, provided he his qualified for what
they are contesting in.
3. It shall be valid for the remuneration to be presented by other than the
contesters, provided it shall not be a bet amongst them over who shall
win of the contesters.
4. It shall not be permissible for two contesters to stipulate a
remuneration to be paid by the loser to the winner.

Chapter Two

Salary for Life

184

Article (765)
1. It shall be permissible for a person to undertake to pay a periodical
salary for life without consideration.
2. The obligation to pay the salary shall either be immediate or contingent
on the obligors death.
Article (766)
The salary for life determined by the insurance and pensions regulations in
consideration for the premiums paid by the entitled persons shall be excluded
from the provision of the preceding paragraph.
Article (767)
1. It shall be permissible for the salary to be for the life of the obligee, or
for the life of the obligor, or for the life of another person.
2. The salary shall be deemed to be for the life of the obligee if no
agreement to the contrary exists.
Article (768)
The disposition creating the obligation to pay the salary shall not be valid
unless it is in writing, without prejudice to whatever the law shall require for
a specific form for the donation contracts.
Article (769)
It shall be permissible to stipulate that the salary shall not be subject to
attachment.
Article (770)
1. The entitled person shall not have a right in the salary except for the
days lived by the person for whose life the salary was made.
2. If however it was stipulated that payment shall be in advance, the
entitled person shall have the right in the installment which has
become due.

185

Chapter Three

The Contract of Insurance

Article (771)
The insurance is a contract by virtue of which the insurer undertakes to pay to
the insured or to the beneficiary in whose interest the insurance was
stipulated a sum of money, or a regular income, or any other financial
remuneration in the case of the occurrence of the accident or the risk stated in
the contract, in consideration of a premium or any other financial payment by
the insured to the insurer.

First- Concluding the Contract of Insurance:

Article (772)
Insurance against damages shall be void if not dependant on a legitimate
interest.
Article (773)
If the risk insured against has vanished, or has occurred before the conclusion
of the contract, the insurance shall be void.
Article (774)
1. The contract shall not be concluded unless the insurer has signed the
insurance policy and this policy has been delivered to the insured. If
the contract has been concluded, the insurance application and the
information and the disclosures contained therein shall be deemed
complementary to the contract.
2. The contract shall be concluded, even before delivering the policy, if
the insurer in attending to the request of insurance, has delivered to the
insured a temporary coverage note containing the fundamental
provisions on which the contract is based and the obligations of each
party towards the other.
3. If however the insured has presented a part of the insurance
consideration, he shall be entitled to prove with all means that the

186

contract has been concluded, even if had not received a temporary

coverage note.
Article (775)
It shall not be permissible to challenge the insured neither with the conditions
relating to nullity or loss of right unless it was clearly presented, nor the
arbitration clause unless it was made in a special agreement independent of
the general conditions.
Article (776)
The condition which prescribes for the loss of the right of the insured because
of his delay in the notification of the accident insured against to the
authorities or the parties whose notification is requested, or in submitting
documents, shall not be acknowledged if it was revealed from the
circumstances that the delay was for an acceptable excuse.
Article (777)
The following in an insurance policy shall be void:
1. The condition which excludes from the scope of insurance the acts
contravening laws and regulations, unless the exclusion was specific.
2. Every arbitrary condition where it has been revealed that its breach
had no effect in the occurrence of the danger insured against.
Article (778)
Except for insurance contracts that are dealt with in a special provision in the
law, it shall be permissible for each the insurer and the insured, if the
insurance period shall exceed five years, to request the termination of the
contract at the end of each five years of the insurance period, by notifying the
other party with a registered letter with an acknowledgment receipt at least
six months before the lapse of this period. This provision must be mentioned
in the insurance policy.
Article (779)
Except for insurance contracts that are dealt with in a special provision in the
law, it shall be permissible through a stipulation visibly written in the policy,
to agree for the contract to be extended per se, if the insured does, not at least
thirty days before the termination of its period, notify the insurer of his
187

intention not to extend the contract. This extension shall only apply year by
year, and any agreement whereby the extension shall be for a longer period
shall be void.
Article (780)
1. The request sent by the insured to the insurer through a registered
letter with an acknowledgment receipt, comprising the extension of the
contract or its amendment or continuity after it was stopped shall be
deemed accepted unless the insurer shall reject this request within
twenty days from the date on which this letter reaches him.
2. However, if the insurers acceptance is dependant on a medical test, or
if the request involves the increase of the insurance amount, only the
insurers explicit acceptance shall be acknowledged.
Second- Obligations of the Insured:
Article (781)
The insured shall be obliged to the following:
1. Declare at the time of concluding the contract all the circumstances
known to him and which are important for the insurer in order to
estimate the risk he shall undertake. The issues that the insurer had
made the subject matter of specific and written questions shall
specifically be deemed important.
2. Notify the insurer of whatever circumstances occur during the contract
which results in the increase of the risks upon his knowledge of it.
Unless the law provides for other matters in relation another type of
insurance.
3. To pay the insurance consideration at its maturity date.
4. To inform the insurer of every incident that renders him responsible.
Article (782)
1. The insurance contract shall be voidable to the interest of the insurer, if
the insured had been silent in relation to a matter, or had provided an
incorrect statement in a manner which results in the change of the
object of the risk, or the decrease of its seriousness, or the probabilities
of its occurrence from the insurers point of view.
2. If the truth had been revealed before the occurrence of the risk, the
insurer shall be entitled to determine the contract void after ten days
from the date on which the insured shall notify him of the same
through a registered letter with an acknowledgment receipt, unless the
188

insured had accepted to increase the premium that corresponds with

the increase in the risk. Declaring the contract void in this situation
shall result in the insurer returning the insurance consideration, or
returning the part to which he had not undertaken any risk.
3. If however the truth had been revealed after the occurrence of the risk,
the insurer shall be entitled to reduce the insurance amount in
proportion between the average of the premiums already paid and the
average of the premiums which should have been paid had the risks
been correctly notified to the insurer.
Article (783)
1. Except for insurance contracts that are dealt with in a special provision
in the law, if the risks insured against have increased, the insurer shall
be entitled to notify the insured, in the manner determined in the
preceding article, that the contract is deemed void, unless the insured
had accepted, within the period determined by the insured, the
increase of the insurance consideration that corresponds with the
sudden increase of in the risk.
2. However, the insurer shall not be entitled to argue on the increase of
the risks, if after he became aware of it in any manner, had indicated
his desire to keep the contract, or specifically if he had continued to
receive the premiums, or if he had paid the compensation after the
occurrence of the risk insured against.
Article (784)
The insurance contract shall remain operative without an increase in the
consideration, if the risk had occurred or the probability of its occurrence had
increased:
1. As a result of an act with which the protection of the interest of the
insured was intended.
2. Or, as a result of acts done in respect of a humanitarian obligation, or
to achieve public benefit.
Article (785)
If considerations which could increase the risk insured against were
noticeable in determining the insurance consideration, and later such
consideration have vanished or its importance became less during the
operation of the contract, the insured, despite any agreement to the contrary,
shall be entitled to request the dissolution of the contract without requesting
any compensation, or to request the decrease of the insurance consideration
189

for the following period to correspond with the vanishing of those

considerations, in accordance with the insurance tariff applicable at the day
on which the contract was concluded.
Article (786)
1. Each premium of the insurance premiums shall be due on the
beginning of each of its periods, unless otherwise agreed. An insurance
period shall mean the period for which the premium is calculated, and
in the case of doubt an insurance period shall be deemed one year.
2. The insurer who had delivered the insurance policy before the
payment of the first premium shall not be entitled to depend on
whatever this policy shall provide for in relation to postponing the
operation of the contract until after payment of that premium.
Article (787)
1. Premiums except for the first premium shall be paid at the
insureds domicile. However, the premium shall be payable at the
insurers domicile, if the insured has delayed its payment after being
notified. All unless otherwise agreed.
2. Every stipulation requiring the payment of the premiums at the main
office of the insurer shall be deemed void if it has been proved that the
insurer has been used to collect the premiums at the insureds domicile.
Article (788)
1. If one of the premiums has not been paid on its due date, the insurer
shall be entitled to notify the insured with a registered letter with an
acknowledgment receipt, with the necessity to pay the premium and
with the results of the delay in payment.
2. The notification shall result in the stoppage of the period prescribed for
the prescription of the case requesting the premium.
Article (789)
1. Except for insurance contracts that are dealt with in a special provision
in the law, if the insured has not paid the premium despite being
notified, the operation of the insurance contract shall stop with the
lapse of thirty days from the date of dispatching the notice.
2. The insurer shall be entitled after the lapse of thirty days from the
stoppage date, to request the execution of the contract through the

190

court, or to inform the insured in the method described in the

preceding paragraph for deeming the contract dissolved.
3. The stoppage shall terminate if the insured, until the date on which the
new premium has become due, has not decided to dissolve the contract.
4. If the late premiums and whatever expenses which were due have
been paid before the dissolution, the contract shall recommence from
the day following the payment.
5. Any agreement exempting the insurer from notifying the insured, or
reducing periods provided for in paragraphs (1), (2) shall be void.
Third- Obligations of the Insurer:
Article (790)
The insurer shall, upon the occurrence of the risk insured against or the term
specified in the contract, pay the due insurance amount within thirty days
from the day on which the entitled person shall submit the information and
documents necessary to ascertain his right.
Article (791)
In insurance against damages, the insurer shall compensate the insured for
the damage resulting from the occurrence of the insured risk, provided it shall
not exceed the amount of insurance.
Article (792)
1. If insurance contracts over the same thing or the same interest were
several and were for amounts which total exceeds the value the thing
or interest insured, each insurer shall be liable to pay a part of the
compensation equal to the ratio of the amount insured for and the
value of the insurances combined, provided the total of whatever the
insured shall recover, shall not exceed the value of the damage inflicted
on him.
2. If one of the insurers shall become insolvent, the others shall bear his
share each to the ratio of the insurance amount he has undertaken,
provided the amount payable by each of them shall not exceed the
amount he had insured.
3. It shall be permissible to distribute the liability between the insurers on
another basis.
Article (793)

191

1. In insurance against damages, the insurer shall, for whatever

compensation he has paid, subrogate in the in the cases which the
insured is entitled for against the person responsible for the damage
insured against. The above unless the person responsible for the
damage is related to the insured or is an in law to the insured and lives
together or for whose acts the insured is responsible.
2. The insurer shall be relieved against the insured for all or part of the
insurance amount, if subrogating him shall become not possible for a
reason attributable to the insured.
Article (794)
In all the situations in which the insurer reinsures, with a third party,
whatever risks are insured with him, the insurer shall remain liable, alone,
against the insured or the beneficiary.
Fourth- The Transfer of Rights and Obligations Resulting from Insurance
and its Termination:
Article (795)
1. Rights and obligations resulting from the insurance contract shall be
transferred to whoever the ownership of the thing insured when
disposing of it provided the approval of the insurer is obtained. In the
case of the death of the insured, such rights and obligations shall be
transferred to his heirs taking into consideration the provisions of
inheritance.
2. It shall however be permissible to both the insurer and to whomever
the claim has been transferred by inheritance, to dissolve the contract
by his unilateral will through a registered letter with an
acknowledgment receipt to be sent to the other party.
3. The use by the insurer of his right to dissolve the contract shall be
within thirty days from the date on which the person to whom the
ownership has been transferred through inheritance shall request the
transfer of the insurance policy to himself.
Article (796)
If the ownership of the thing insured has been transferred, the person to
whom ownership has been transferred shall remain liable to pay the
premiums, and shall be relieved from future premiums as from the date on
which he notifies the insurer with a registered letter with an acknowledgment
receipt of the occurrence of the disposition transferring the ownership.
192

Article (797)
If the persons for whom the disposition was made or the heirs were several,
and the insurance contract has been operative in relation to them, they shall
be jointly liable for the payment of the premiums.
Article (798)
1. If the insured thing shall be subject to a possessive mortgage or a
security mortgage or any other kind of in kind securities, such rights
shall be transferred to the compensation due to the debtor by virtue of
the insurance contract.
2. If those rights have been publicised or notified to the insurer, even if
with a registered letter with an acknowledgment receipt, he shall not
be entitled to pay whatever is due by him to the insured except with
the creditors consent.
3. If the thing insured had been attached, or was placed under
receivership, the insurer shall not be entitled, if notified in the manner
provided for in the preceding paragraph, to pay the insured anything
of what is due by him.
Article (799)
1. If, before the lapse of the contract period, the insured has become
bankrupt, the insurance shall remain for the interest of the group of
creditors, which shall become indebted towards the insurer with all the
premiums that shall become due from the date on which the judgment
of bankruptcy has been delivered, and each of the two parties shall be
entitled to terminate the contract, within three months commencing on
that date, through a registered letter with an acknowledgment receipt,
and the insurer shall, in the case of termination, return to the group pf
creditors the part of the premium to which he has not undertaken any
risk.
2. If the insurer has become bankrupt, the operation of the contract shall
stop from the day on which the judgment of bankruptcy has been
delivered,, and the insured shall be entitled to recover the part of the
premium which he has paid for the period during which the contract
has stopped.
Article (800)

193

1. The cases resulting from the insurance contract shall lapse with the
passage of three years from the time on which the incident that gave
rise to those cases had occurred.
2. However this period shall not apply:
a. In the case where information relating to the risk insured have
been concealed or inaccurate information about this risk have
been provided, except from the day on which the insurer had
known of it.
b. In the case of the occurrence of accident insured against, except
from the day on which the parties concerned have known of its
occurrence.
c. Where the reason of the insured case against the insurer has
resulted from the third partys recourse against the insured,
except from the day on which the case by the third party was
raised against the insured, or from the day on which the third
party recovers the compensation from the insured, as the case
may be.
Article (801)
1. It shall not be permissible to agree to whatever contravenes the
provisions provided for in this chapter or to amend it, unless it is in the
interest of the insured or the beneficiary.
2. However it shall not be permissible to agree neither to extend the
period provided for the prescription of the cases referred to in the
preceding article nor to reduce it, even if is in the interest of the insured
or the beneficiary.
Article (802)
The provisions provided for in this chapter shall apply to all types of
insurance, taking into consideration the provisions of the special laws in
relation to any type thereto.
Fifth- Insurance against Fire:
Article (803)
1. The insurer shall be liable for all the damages resulting from the fire, or
for the commencement of the fire which could become a complete fire,
or for the danger of a fire that could occur.
2. His obligation shall not be limited to the damages resulting directly
from the fire but shall also cover the damages that are eminent results
194

from the same, specifically whatever damage that has been inflicted on
it resulting from the use of rescue measures or the expansion of the fire.
3. And shall be responsible for the loss of the things insured or its
disappearance during the fire, unless he had proved it was the result of
theft.
Article (804)
The insurer shall be liable for compensating the damages resulting from the
fire even if that fire has resulted by a fault in the thing insured.
Article (805)
1. The insurer shall be liable for the damages resulting from the insureds
unintentional mistake, and shall also be liable for the damages
resulting from a sudden incident or a force majeur.
2. As for the losses and damages which are caused intentionally or
deceitfully by the insured, the insurer shall not be liable for it, even if
otherwise.
Article (806)
The insurer shall be liable for the damages caused by the persons for whom
the insured is responsible, whatever the nature or the extent of their mistake.
Article (807)
If the insurance against fire has been made for the whole movables of the
insured, its effect shall extend to the things owned by his family members and
the persons in his service if they have been living jointly with him.

Division Five

The Guarantee

Chapter One

Bases of the Guarantee

195

Article (808)
The guarantee is a contract by virtue of which a person guarantees the
execution of an obligation, by undertaking to the creditor to fulfill this
obligation if the debtor has not personally fulfilled it.
Article (809)
The guarantee shall not be established unless in writing, even if it was
permissible to establish the original obligation by evidence.
Article (810)
1. If the debtor has undertaken to provide a guarantor, he shall provide a
solvent person, and resident in Qatar, and may provide instead of the
guarantor a sufficient in kind security.
2. If after the guarantee, the guarantor has become insolvent, or no longer
has a domicile in Qatar, another guarantor or a sufficient in kind
security shall be provided.
Article (811)
It shall be permissible to guarantee the debtor without his knowledge, and
shall also be permissible despite his objection.
Article (812)
1. The guarantee of a future obligation shall be permissible if the extent of
the guarantors obligation has been specified in advance. Guarantee
shall also be permissible in the conditional obligation.
2. If in the future obligation the guarantor had not specified a time period
for his guarantee, he shall be entitled at any time to withdraw it, as
long as the guaranteed obligation has not risen, provided he shall
inform the creditor of his withdrawal in a suitable time.
Article (813)
1. The guarantee shall not be valid unless the original obligation is valid.
2. If the guarantee was by reason of the debtors incapacity and his
obligation annulled, the guarantor shall be liable towards the creditor
for settling the guaranteed debt as being an original debtor.
Article (814)
196

1. Guarantee shall neither be permissible for a sum greater than whatever

is due by the debtor, nor for terms more serious than the terms of the
guaranteed debt.
2. Guarantee shall however be permissible for a lesser sum and for easier
terms.
Article (815)
The guarantee shall include the ancillaries of the guaranteed obligation, and
shall include the expenses of the first claim and whatever expenses arising
after notifying the guarantor. All unless otherwise agreed.
Article (816)
1. The guarantee of a commercial debt shall be deemed a civil act even if
the guarantor was a merchant.
2. However if the guarantee has resulted from the alternative guarantee
of commercial papers, or from the endorsement of those papers, it shall
always be deemed a commercial act.

Chapter Two

Effects of the Guarantee

A- The Relationship between the Guarantor and the Creditor

Article (817)
The guarantor shall be exonerated with the exoneration of the debtor.
Article (818)
1. The guarantor shall be entitled to depend on all the grounds which the
debtor is entitled to.
2. The guarantor shall not however be entitled to depend on the debtors
incapacity, if the guarantor was aware of it at the time of contracting.
Article (819)

197

If the creditor had accepted to recover from other than the guarantor
something in consideration of the debt, the guarantor shall be exonerated,
even if that thing shall be decreed to belong to a third party, unless the
creditor has retained the right of recourse against the guarantor.
Article (820)
1. The guarantor shall be exonerated to the extent of the securities which
has been lost by the creditors mistake.
2. Securities in this article shall mean every security allocated to secure
the debt even if after the guarantee, and every security established by
virtue of the law.
Article (821)
1. The guarantor shall not be exonerated merely for the creditor failing to
take procedures against the debtor on the maturity of the debt, or
merely for the delay in taking them.
2. However the guarantor shall not be exonerated if the creditor shall not
take the procedures within six months form the date of warning him
by the guarantor, unless the debtor has provided a sufficient guarantee
to the guarantor.
3. The creditor awarding the debtor a term without the guarantors
approval shall not preclude the guarantors right in depending on his
exoneration.
Article (822)
If the debtor has become bankrupt, and the creditor did not bring the debt
into the bankruptcy, his right of recourse against the guarantor shall be
forfeited, to the extent of what he could have recovered had he brought his
debt therein.
Article (823)
1. If the guarantors in one contract were several and have guaranteed the
same debt and the same debtor, and were not under joint liability
amongst them, the debt shall be divided equally amongst them, unless
it was not clear in the contract the amount that each of them shall
guarantee.
2. If the guarantors were liable by consecutive contracts, each of them
shall be liable for the whole debt, unless he has reserved to himself the
right of division.
198

Article (824)
1. The creditor shall not be entitled for recourse against the guarantor
alone unless after his recourse against the debtor, and shall not also be
entitled to execute over the guarantors properties except after
despoiling the debtor from his properties. All unless the guarantor was
under joint liability with the debtor.
2. The guarantor shall, in both situations maintain his right in the same.
Article (825)
1. If the guarantor has requested the despoilment of the debtor, he shall
at his expense guide the creditor to properties of the debtor which shall
fulfill the whole debt.
2. No consideration shall be given to the properties to which the
guarantor has guided, if it were the subject of a dispute, or if were
located outside the state of Qatar.
Article (826)
In all the situations where the guarantor has guided to the debtors properties,
the guarantor shall be exonerated to the extent of what the creditor has
recovered from such properties, and also to the extent of whatever the
creditor was unable to recover therefrom by reason of him not taking the
necessary procedures in the suitable time.
Article (827)
If an in kind security securing the debt was established over the debtors
property, and a guarantee has been provided after or with that security, the
guarantor shall be entitled, if not under joint liability with the debtor, to
request the execution over the property charged with the in kind security
before the execution over his properties.
Article (828)
1. The creditor shall deliver to the guarantor at the time he settles the
debt, all the documents required for the exercise of his right of recourse.
2. If the guaranteed debt has been secured with a mortgaged or withheld
movable, the creditor shall release it to the guarantor.
3. If the debt has been secured with an immovable security, the creditor
shall perform the procedures required to transfer that security to the
199

guarantor. And the guarantor shall bear the expenses of these

procedures and shall have recourse for it against the debtor.
Article (829)
The guarantee of the guarantor shall be permissible, and in this situation the
guarantors guarantor shall be entitled to maintain against the creditor with
recourse against the guarantor before the recourse against him, unless the
guarantors guarantor was under joint liability with the guarantor.
Article (830)
In legal or judicial or commercial guarantee the guarantors shall always be
under joint liability.
Article (831)
A guarantor who is under joint liability shall be entitled to maintain whatever
defenses a guarantor who is not under joint liability maintains in relation to
the debt.
Article (832)
If the guarantors were under joint liability amongst them, or their guarantee
was through consecutive contracts, and one of them has settled the debt when
due, he shall be entitled to recourse against every one of the others for the
latters share in the debt and the latters share of the share of the insolvent
amongst them.
B- The Relationship between the Guarantor and the Debtor
Article (833)
1. The guarantor shall inform the debtor before he shall settle the debt,
otherwise his right of recourse against the debtor shall be forfeited if
the debtor has settled the debt or had, at the time on which the thing
was decreed to belong to a third party, reasons leading to the nullity or
extinguishment of the debt.
2. If the debtor did not object to the settlement, the guarantor shall retain
his right of recourse against him, even if the debtor has settled the debt
or had leading to the nullity or extinguishment of the debt.
Article (834)
200

1. The guarantor who had settled the debt shall be entitled to recourse
against the debtor if the guarantee was made for that debtors interest,
and it shall be equal if the guarantee was made with the knowledge of
the debtor and without his objection or without his knowledge.
2. The guarantors recourse shall be for the principal debt and its
ancillaries and the expenses of the first claim, and for whatever
expenses he had expended from the time he had notified the debtor of
the procedures taken against him.
Article (835)
If the guarantor has settled the debt, he shall be entitled to subrogate for the
creditor in all right he has against the debtor, if however he has settled part of
the debt, he shall not recourse with what he has settled except after the
creditor shall recover the remaining of his right from the debtor.
Article (836)
If the debtors in one debt were several, and were jointly liable amongst them,
the guarantor who had guaranteed them all shall be entitled to recourse
against any of them with what he had settled of the debt.

201

Section Two

In Kind Rights

Book One

Original In Kind rights

202

Division One

Right of Ownership

Chapter One

General Provisions

Part One

The Extent of the Right of Ownership

Article (837)
The owner of the thing alone shall have, within the limit of the law, the right
to use it and exploit it and dispose of it.
Article (838)
The ownership of the thing shall include its parts and fruits and products and
ancillaries, unless a provision or an agreement provides otherwise.
Article (839)
1. The ownership of the land shall include the surface of the land and
whatever is above it and under it to the extent it can be enjoyed
upwards and downwards in accordance with what is common.
2. It shall be permissible by virtue of the law or the agreement for the
ownership of the surface of the land to be separate from the ownership
of whatever is above it or underneath it.
Article (840)
No one shall be deprived from his ownership, except in the situations
determined by the law, and according to the method prescribed by it, and
shall be against a fair compensation.

203

Part Two

Restrictions Applicable to the Right of Ownership

Article (841)
1. The owner shall not exaggerate in the exercise of his right to the extent
of causing damage to the neighbors property.
2. And the neighbor shall not have recourse against his neighbor for the
ordinary neighborly damages which can not be avoided, he shall
however be entitled to request the removal of the damages if it shall
exceed the customary limit, provided he shall take into consideration
the custom and the nature of the real properties and the location of
each of them in relation to each other and the purpose for which it was
allotted. The license from the competent authorities shall not preclude
the exercise of this right.
Article (842)
1. The owner of the land which has no access to the public road, or no
sufficient passage to that road exists, if it was not possible for him to
reach that road unless with immense expense or great effort, shall have
the right of passage through the neighboring lands to the extent
necessary to exploit his land and use it in an ordinary manner,
provided this land has no access to public road. It shall be against a fair
compensation. This right shall only be used in a real property through
which passage is less damaging, and in a location which realizes the
same.
2. If preclusion from the public road is caused by a division of the real
property by lawful disposition, and it was possible to find a sufficient
passage in parts of that real property, it shall not be permissible to
claim the right of passage except in respect of those parts.
Article (843)
Every owner shall be entitled to compel his neighbor to place borders for their
adjoining properties, and the bordering expenses shall be equally divided
amongst them.
Article (844)

204

1. The owner of a common wall shall be entitled to use it for the purpose
for which it was allotted, and may lean the ceiling on it, provided he
shall not burden the wall with more than its capability, or preclude the
other co-owner from using it.
2. If the common wall shall no longer be good for the purpose for which
it was usually allotted, its repair or renewal expenses shall be borne by
the co-owners, each in accordance with his share.
Article (845)
1. The co-owner shall be entitled to heighten the common wall if he shall
have a real interest in the same, provided he does not cause serious
damage to his co-owner and shall alone expend on the heightening and
the maintenance of the heightened part, and do whatever is necessary
to make the wall carry the increase in the burden resulting from
increasing its height without affecting its sturdiness.
2. If the common wall shall not be good to bear the heightening, whoever
wishes so from the co-owners shall reconstruct all the wall at his
expense whereas the increase of its thickness shall be on his side as
much as possible, and the renewed wall in the part which was not
heightened shall remain common and the neighbor who made the
heightening shall have no right of compensation.
Article (846)
The neighbor who has not participated in the heightening expenses shall be
entitled to become a co-owner in the heightened part if he pays half of what
has been expended on it, and half of the value of the land on which the
increase in the thickness is located if there was any increase thereto.
Article (847)
If a wall when constructed constitutes a partition between two buildings, it
shall be considered as common up to the point of separation between them
unless proved otherwise.
Article (848)
1. The neighbor shall not be entitled, neither to compel his neighbor to
construct a wall around his property, nor to disclaim a part of a wall or
of the land on which the wall is constructed unless in the situations
supported by the law.

205

2. However, the owner of the wall shall not be entitled to willingly

demolish it without a strong justification if it shall cause damage to the
neighbor whose property is screened by the wall.
Article (849)
No owner shall be entitled to have openings on the property of his neighbor
except in the limits decided by the law.
Article (850)
1. If the contract or the will shall include a stipulation precluding the
disposition in a property, such stipulation shall not be valid unless
based on a legitimate motive, and limited to a reasonable period.
2. And the motive shall be deemed legitimate when the preclusion from
the disposition was meant to protect a legitimate interest of the
disposer or the disposee or a third party.
3. And the reasonable period may take as long as the life of the disposer
or the disposee or the third party.
Article (851)
1. If the stipulation precluding the disposition was valid and the person
upon whom the stipulation was made has made the disposition
contravening the stipulation, each the stipulator and the person in
whose interest the stipulation was made shall be entitled to request the
nullity of the contravening disposition.
2. The contravening disposition shall become valid if ratified by the
stipulator. And the person in whose interest the stipulation was made
shall be entitled to ratify that disposition also, provided it is not in
conflict with the motive on which the stipulation was based.

Part Three

Common Ownership
A- Provisions of Common Ownership
Article (852)

206

If the owners of an in kind right over a thing were several, and the share of
each of them was not apportioned they shall be common owners. And the
shares shall be equal unless proved otherwise.
Article (853)
1. Each co-owner shall completely own his share and shall have the right
to dispose of it and use it provided he shall not inflict damage on the
rights of the other co-owners.
2. And if the disposition shall relate to an apportioned part of the
common property and that part did not fall on division within the
share of the disposer, the disposees right shall as of the time of
disposal be transferred to the part on division falls within the
disposers share. And if the disposee shall have no knowledge that the
disposer does not own the property disposed of as apportioned
property, he shall be entitled to annul the disposition.
Article (854)
The administration of the common property shall be the joint right of the coowners unless agreed otherwise.
Article (855)
1. The majority of the co-owners, on the basis of the value of the shares
shall be entitled to perform the usual administration acts. And may
appoint from the co-owners or from others a manager to perform such
acts. And may place a system for the administration.
2. Whatever the majority decides shall apply on all the co-owners and
their successors whether the successor is general or private.
Article (856)
If the majority referred to in the preceding paragraph has not been achieved,
the court, upon the request of any co-owner, shall be entitled to take whatever
measures are necessitated. And it may appoint, when needed, someone to
manage the common property.
Article (857)
If one of the co-owners shall undertake an act of the usual administration acts
without objection from the majority of the co-owners, in a suitable time, he
shall be deemed as representative for all in relation to what he had performed.
207

Article (855)
1. The co-owners who own at least three quarters of the common
property shall be entitled in order to improve the exploitation of that
property, to decide on basic alterations and modification in the
purpose for which it was prepared beyond the limits of normal
administration. Provided they shall communicate this decision to the
other co-owners in writing before effecting the modification or the
amendment, and any dissident co-owner shall have the right to present
his objection to the court within thirty days from the date of
notification.
2. And the court, if it has agreed to the decision of the majority, shall be
entitled to decide on the measurers it deems proper and may
particularly decide to grant the dissident co-owner a guarantee to
secure the payment of whatever compensation might become due.
Article (859)
Every co-owner shall be entitled to take measures for the protection of the
common property, even if without the consent of the remaining co-owners.
Article (860)
The preservation expenses of the common property and its administration
and all other costs resulting from the common ownership or prescribed
thereon, shall be borne by all the co-owners, each according to his share,
unless all the co-owners agree , or the law provides otherwise.
Article (861)
The co-owners who own at least three quarters of the common ownership
shall be entitled to decide to dispose of it if they have relied in this on strong
reasons, and the division was damaging to the interests of the co-owners,
provided they shall notify the remaining co-owners with their decision in
writing. And any dissident co-owner shall be entitled to present his objection
to the court within sixty days from the date of the notice, and the court shall,
in accordance with the circumstances authorize or reject the disposition.
Article (862)
1. The co-owner in a movable or in a group of properties, shall be entitled
to recover, before the division, the common share that the co-owner of
208

another has sold to extraneus person through a mean other than public
auction that occurs in accordance with procedures determined by the
law, within thirty days from the date of his knowledge of the sale or
from the date on which he was notified of it, and recovery shall be
through a notice to be sent to both the seller and the buyer, and the
recoverer shall replace the buyer in all his rights and obligations if he
had compensated him for all what he had expended.
2. If the recoverers were several, each of them shall be entitled to recover
according to his share.
B- Termination of Common Ownership by Division:
Article (863)
1. Each co-owner shall be entitled to request the division of the common
property unless compelled to remain in the common ownership by
virtue of the law or the agreement. And it shall not be permissible to
remain in the common ownership by virtue of the agreement for a term
exceeding five years. If the term shall not exceed this period the
agreement shall be effective against the co-owner and whoever
succeeds him.
2. The court however shall be entitled, upon the request of any of the coowners to order to remain in the common ownership for a period to be
decided by it, even if it shall exceed the agreed term or if no agreement
has existed to remain in common ownership whenever the urgent
division shall cause damages to the interests of the co-owners, and
shall be entitled to order the division before the lapse of the agreed
term if a strong reason justifying the same shall exist.
Article (864)
1. It shall be permissible for all the co-owners to agree to the division of
the common property in the manner they choose, unless the law
provides otherwise.
2. Division by agreement shall not be permissible if one of the co-owners
was of incomplete capacity, unless he has a guardian. And also If one
of the co-owners was absent or lost and his absence or loss was
established.
Article (865)
1. The partner in the division shall be entitled to request the nullity of the
division which was consensually concluded if he had suffered
209

unfairness therefrom exceeding the fifth. Estimation shall be based on

the value of the things at the time of the division.
2. The case for the nullity shall lapse with the passage of one year from
the date of the division.
3. The defendant shall be entitled to avoid the decision of annulment if he
had completed to the plaintiff in cash or in kind whatever decrease has
occurred to his share.
Article (866)
1. If the co-owners shall disagree in the division of the common property,
the one wishing to exit from the common ownership shall raise the
case for the request of the division before the preliminary court.
2. And the court if it sees a reason shall be entitled to delegate one or
more experts to evaluate the common property and to apportion the
portions if the property shall accept the in kind division without
inflicting great decrease to its value.
Article (867)
1. Portions shall be on the basis of the smallest share, even if the division
was partial.
2. The portion of each co-owner shall be kept aside, if the co-owners have
so agreed, or if it was difficult to divide on the basis of the smallest
share.
3. If it was difficult for a co-owner to be allotted his complete share in
kind, he shall be compensated with an average of the decrease in that
portion.
Article (868)
1. Whenever the disputes relating to the formation of the portions and other
disputes have been settled, and the portions were specified through
keeping aside, the court shall decide by giving each co-owner his
apportioned portion which has devolved to him.
2. If the portions were formed on the basis of the smallest share, the court
shall make the division by lot, and shall establish the same in its minutes,
and shall decide by giving each co-owner his apportioned portion.
Article (869)

210

1. If the in kind division was impossible or could result in great decrease

in the value of the property to be divided, the court shall decide to sell
this property in the method provided for in the law of procedures.
2. And the court shall order limiting the auction to the co-owners if they
unanimously request so, unless someone with incomplete capacity
without a guardian or a person whose absence or loss has been
established exists amongst them.
Article (870)
1. The creditors of each co-owner, whether the division was consensual
or judicial, to object to the in kind division or to sell the property by
auction without their interference. Objection shall be directed to every
co-owner through a registered letter with acknowledgement receipt,
and the objection shall result in compelling the co-owners to join
whoever has objected from the creditors in all the stages and
procedures of the division.
2. In all situations, the creditors whose rights were registered before
concluding the division or raising the case shall be joined.
3. The division shall become invalid against the creditors who objected or
whose rights were registered, who were not joined in the stages and
procedures of the division.
4. If the division has been concluded, the creditors who did not object or
whose rights were not registered, shall not be entitled to challenge it
except for the case of deception.
Article (871)
The partner in the division shall be deemed the owner of the share which has
devolved to him as of the date on which he became owner in the common
ownership, and he has not owned anything else in the remaining shares.
Article (872)
1. The partners in the division shall guarantee each other for whatever
occurs to the portion which has devolved to one of them of obstruction
or being decreed to belong to a third party for a reason prior to the
division.
2. If the portion of the partner in the division has been decreed to belong,
totally or partially, to a third party, he shall be entitled to request the
dissolution of the division and to conclude a new division if the same
shall be possible and dose not inflict damage on any of the partners in
the division or on third parties. If he has not requested the dissolution
211

or it was difficult to conclude a new division, each of the partners in

the division, to the extent of his share shall be liable to compensate
whoever shall be entitled to the guarantee on the basis of the value of
the divided property at the time of the division. If one of the partners
to the division shall be insolvent the amount for which he is liable for
shall be divided between whoever is entitled to the guarantee and all
the solvent partners in the division.
3. However, there shall be no guarantee if an explicit agreement for the
exemption of it in the special situation from which it resulted shall
exist. The guarantee shall not also exist if the reason for which it has
been decreed should to belong to a third party was the mistake of the
partner in the division himself.
C- Division of Usufruct AL- Muhayaa:
Article (873)
1. All the co-owners shall be entitled to agree that each of them
shall be allotted the benefit of an apportioned part equal to his
share in the common property, and shall in consideration of the
same relinquish to his partners the usufruct of the remaining
parts. This agreement shall not be valid for a period exceeding
five years.
2. If no period had been stipulated, or the agreed period has
terminated without a new agreement and the partners shall
continue, each of them benefiting from the part which was
allotted to him without any objection from any of them, the
period shall be one year renewable for a similar period if none
of the partners shall notify the remaining partners three months
prior to the termination of the current year of his intention not
to renew the division of usufruct.
Article (874)
If the division of usufruct referred to in the preceding article shall last for
fifteen years, it shall become a final division, unless the partners agree
otherwise. And if the co-owner shall possess an apportioned part of the
common property for a period of fifteen years, his possession of that part shall
be deemed to rely on the division of usufruct.
Article (875)

212

It shall be permissible for all the partners to agree that the division of usufruct
of all the common property shall be in rotation, each of them for a period
proportional to his share.
Article (876)
1. The co-owners may during the procedures of the final division agree
that their common property be divided between them by way of
division of usufruct, and this division shall remain enforceable until
the final division has been completed.
2. And if the agreement among the co-owners on the division of usufruct
shall not be possible, the court may upon the request of one of the coowners, order the division after obtaining the assistance of an expert if
so required.
Article (877)
The division of usufruct in respect of the capacity of the partners in the
division and their rights and obligations and in respect of it being binding
against third parties shall be subject to the provisions relating to the lease
contract if they are not repugnant to the nature of the division.
D- Compulsory Common Ownership
Article (878)
If it was discovered from the purpose for which the common property was
allotted that it should remain common, the co-owners shall not be entitled to
request its division. Neither of them shall be entitled to dispose of his share in
the disposition repugnant to that purpose.
E- Family Ownership
Article (879)
The members of the same family who have common work or interest may
agree in writing to create a family ownership, and this ownership shall consist
either of an estate to which they have inherited and agreed to subject it, in all
or in part, to a family ownership, or of any other property owned by them or
they agreed to include it in the said ownership.
Article (880)

213

1. It shall be permissible to create a family ownership for a period not

exceeding fifteen years, however it shall be permissible to every coowner to request from the court the permission to take his share out of
ownership before the expiry of the agreed period if a strong
justification therefore shall exist.
2. And if the said ownership shall not be subject to a specified period,
each co-owner shall be entitled to take his share out of it after the
expiry of six months from the date on which he had notified his coowners of his intention to take his share out.
Article (881)
1. The co-owners shall not be entitled to request the division as long as
the family ownership is subsisting, and no co-owner shall be entitled to
dispose of his share to an extraneus to the family except with the
approval of all the co-owners.
2. And if an extraneus to the family shall acquire a share of one of the coowners either consensually or obligatorily, he shall not become a coowner in the family ownership except with his consent and the consent
of the remaining co-owners.
Article (882)
1. The co-owners owning the larger part of the value of the shares shall
be entitled to appoint one or more of them for management, and the
manager shall be entitled to effect to the family ownership any change
in the purpose for which the common property was allotted, which
ameliorates the methods of exploitation of that property unless
otherwise agreed.
2. And it shall be permissible to dismiss the manager in the manner in
which he was appointed, even if otherwise agreed, and it shall be
permissible for the court to dismiss him, upon the request of any of the
co-owners, for a strong reason justifying the dismissal.
Article (883)
Except for the preceding provisions, the provisions relating to the common
property and the provisions of agency shall be applicable to the family
ownership.
F- Ownership of Floors and Apartments
Article (884)
214

1. If the owners of the various floors and apartments of a building shall be

several, they shall be considered partners in the ownership of the parts
allotted for common use, and specifically the following:
A. The land on which the building is constructed, open areas,
external pathways, gardens and car parks.
B. The foundations of the building, the ceilings and the walls for its
support and main walls.
C. Entrances, internal pathways, stairs and lifts.
D. Places allotted for services, guards and others working in the
service of the building.
E. All types of pipes and equipments except for which are located
inside the floor or apartment and which benefit is limited to the
owner of that part.

2. All the above unless the deeds of ownership provide otherwise.

Article (885)
1. The common parts which benefit is limited to some owners only, shall
be considered a common property of those owners.
2. Partitions separating two parts of the floor shall specifically be
considered a common property of its two owners.
Article (886)
The share of each owner in the common parts shall be proportionate to the
value of the apportioned part which he owns. The value of that part shall be
assessed on the basis of its area and location at the time on which the building
was constructed.
Article (887)
Common parts shall not be divisible, and the owner shall not be entitled to
dispose of it independently of the apportioned part he owns. The disposition
of this apportioned part shall include the disposers share in the common
owned parts.
Article (888)

215

Each owner, for the purpose of benefiting of the apportioned part which he
owns, shall be entitled to use the common parts for the purpose for which it
was allotted, without prejudice to the rights of other co-owners.
Article (889)
1. No alteration in the common parts shall be permissible without the
approval of all the owners, even when renovating the building.
2. Each owner shall however be entitled, after obtaining the acceptance of
owners owning the majority of the shares, to effect at his expense, a
modification to the common parts, if such modification shall improve
the benefit of those parts without changing the purpose for which it
was allotted or inflicting damage on the other owners. He shall be
entitled, in case of the refusal of the owners owning the majority of the
shares, to request from the court the permission to effect the
modification, unless the law provides otherwise.
Article (890)
No owner shall be entitled to do any act which threatens the safety of the
building or changes its look or its external appearance.
Article (891)
1. The expenses of preserving, maintenance, management and renovation
of the common things shall be borne by all the owners, each
proportionately to his share in those parts.
2. However the expenses of the common services allotted to certain
owners, or benefiting therefrom is apparently diversifying, shall be
distributed in proportion to whatever benefit it shall confer on each
floor or apartment.
3. All unless otherwise agreed.
Article (892)
No owner shall be entitled to disown his share in the common parts in order
to escape from participating in the expenses referred to in the preceding
article.
G- Owners Union:
Article (893)

216

1. If a common ownership of a building divided into floors or

apartments exists, the owners shall be entitled, with the majority
of the shares, to form a union amongst them.
2. It shall be permissible for the objects of the union to include the
construction or purchase of real properties and distribute their
parts among its members.
3. The union shall have a juristic personality.
Article (894)
The union may place a regulation to secure the proper benefit of the common
real property and its proper management, and all the owners shall be invited
to attend the meeting by a registered letter with acknowledgment receipt, and
the decisions shall be passed with the majority of three quarters of the owners
of the shares.
Article (895)
If no regulation for the management shall exist, or if the regulation shall lack
the provision for certain matters, the management of the common parts shall
be entitled to the union, and its decisions thereto shall be binding, provided
all the owners are invited to attend the meeting in the manner provided for in
the preceding article, and the decisions were passed with the majority of the
owners of the shares.
Article (896)
The union, with the majority of the owners of the shares, shall be entitled to
impose any joint insurance against the risks which endanger the real property
or the entire partners. And shall be entitled to allow the execution of any
works or installations which result in the increase of the value of the real
property totally or partly, at the expense of owner who shall request it, and in
accordance with whatever stipulations the union shall place, and whatever
compensations and obligations it shall impose for the interest of the partners.
Article (897)
1. Every loan provided by the union to any of the partners to enable him
to perform his obligations shall be secured with a preference over the
apportioned part that he owns and his common share in the common
parts of the real property.
2. The rank of this preference shall be as of the date of its registration.

217

Article (898)
1. The union shall have a functionary who shall undertake the execution
of its decisions, and shall be appointed by the majority of the owners of
the shares. If majority was not achieved, he shall be appointed by a
decision from the president of the preliminary court upon the request
of one of the partners after summoning the other partners to hear their
statements. The functionary shall, if the situation requires, undertake
by himself whatever is necessary to preserve all the common parts,
guard it and maintain it. He shall be entitled claim every concerned
party to execute those obligations. All unless a provision in the unions
regulation provides otherwise.
2. The functionary shall represent the union before the court even in
litigating the owners if necessary.
Article (899)
1. The remuneration of the functionary shall be determined by the
decision or the order appointing him.
2. It shall be permissible to dismiss the functionary by a decision of the
majority of the owners of the shares or by an order issued by the
president of the preliminary court after summoning the partners to
hear their statements in relation to this dismissal.
Article (900)
1. If the building has been demolished by fire or by any other cause, the
partners shall be obliged with regard to its renovation, with whatever
the union shall decide with the majority of the owners of the shares.
2. If the union shall decide to renovate the building, whatever
compensation is due by reason of the demolition of the real property
shall be allocated to renovation works, without prejudice to the rights
of the owners of the registered debts.
H- Lower and Higher parts
Article (901)
1. The owner of the lower part shall execute works and repairs
required to preclude the falling down of the higher part.
2. If he shall refuse to execute those works, the judge shall be
entitled to order the sale of the lower part. He shall also be

218

entitled to permit the owner of the higher part to execute it at

the expense of the owner of the lower part.
Article (902)
1. If the building shall fall down, the owner of the lower part shall rebuild
his lower part. If he shall refrain, the judge shall be entitled to order the
sale of the lower part, unless the owner of the higher part shall request
that he rebuilds the lower part at the expense of its owner.
2. If the owner of the higher part shall rebuild the lower part, he shall be
entitled to prevent the owner of the lower part from residing and
benefiting until he has settled whatever is due by him, and shall also be
entitled to obtain a permission from the judge in leasing the lower part
or residing in it as a recovery of his right.
Article (903)
The owner of the higher part shall not be entitled to increase the height of the
building and thereby cause damage to the lower part.

219

Chapter Two
Causes of Acquisition of Ownership
Part One
Acquisition of Ownership Initially (Appropriation)
Article (904)
Whoever possesses a permissive movable property with the intention of
owning it, shall own it.
Article (905)
1. A movable property shall become permissive if its owner shall desert it
with the intention of forfeiting his ownership.
2. Non domestic animals shall be deemed permissive as long as they are
free. If an animal amongst them has been captured and then released, it
shall return permissive if it was not immediately followed by its owner,
or has stopped tracing it.
3. And animals which were domesticated and were used to return to
their allotted places, and then lost this habit shall return permissive.
Article (906)
A buried or hidden treasure which no one can establish its ownership, its fifth
shall be for whoever shall find it and the remaining shall be for the owner of
the thing in which the treasure was found or the owner of the real property or
the creator of endowment or his heirs.
Article (907)
Rights in land and sea prey and foundling and antiquities and whatever
metals are inside the land shall be regulated by special legislations.
Article (908)
Each real property which has no owner shall belong to the state.
Part Two
Acquisition of Ownership among Living Persons
220

Joinder

Article (909)

Whatever building or other constructions or plants are on or beneath the land

shall be deemed an act by the owner of the land made at his expense and shall
be owned by him, unless proved otherwise.
Article (910)
1. Whatever building or plants or other constructions made by the land
owner with materials belonging to another shall be deemed his
exclusive property if it was not possible to remove such materials
without inflicting great damage to the land or the mentioned
constructions, or it was possible to remove it but the case requesting its
recovery was not raised within a year from the day on which the
owner of the materials knew that it had been blended in the land or
those constructions.
2. If the owner of the land shall own the materials, he shall pay its value
at the time on which it was joined to the land. If however the materials
were recovered by its owner, its removal shall be at the expense of the
land owner. And the owner of the materials in the two situations shall
have the right of compensation if justified.
Article (911)
1. If a person shall set up constructions with materials from him on a land
which he knows belongs to another without the consent of the land
owner, the latter shall be entitled to request the removal of the
constructions at the expense of the whoever has set it up with
compensation if justified, within a year from the day on which he knew
of the setting up of the constructions, or to request to keep the
constructions against the payment of its value as due for removal, or to
pay a sum equal to the increase in the value of the land by reason of
such constructions.
2. Whoever has set up the constructions shall be entitled to request its
removal if the same shall not inflict any damage on the land, unless the
land owner has opted to keep the constructions in accordance with the
provisions of the preceding paragraph.
Article (912)
221

1. If whoever has set up the constructions referred to in the previous

article has believed in good faith that he had the right to set it up, the
land owner shall not be entitled to request the removal but shall be
entitled to choose the payment of the value of the materials and labor
or the payment of a sum equal to the increase in the value of the land
by reason of such constructions, unless the owner of the constructions
has requested its removal.
2. However if the construction has reached a great extent which shall
burden the land owner in settling what is due for it, he shall be entitled
to request to award ownership of the land to whoever has set up the
constructions in consideration of a just compensation.
Article (913)
The provisions of the preceding article shall apply if an extraneus person has
set up constructions with materials from him after obtaining permission from
the land owner, unless otherwise agreed.
Article (914)
1. If a partner shall set up constructions for himself on an apportioned
part of the common land without the approval of the remaining
partners, the ownership of such constructions shall revert to him if that
part shall fall within his share upon the division.
2. However, if the part on which the constructions have been set up shall
fall within the share of another partner, this partner shall not be
entitled to request the removal of such constructions. And shall, if the
owner of the constructions has not requested its removal, pay each of
the values referred to in paragraph (1) of article (912).
Article (915)
The court shall be entitled, upon the request of whoever is obliged to pay the
consideration or the compensation in accordance with the four preceding
articles, to decide whatever it deems appropriate for the settlement of what it
has ordered, and shall specifically be entitled to order that settlement be in
periodical installments, provided sufficient securities are presented.
Article (916)
If the land owner while setting up a building on it has, in good faith
encroached on a small part of the adjacent land, the court shall be entitled to
222

order his ownership of the part occupied by the building against a just
consideration.
Article (917)
1. If a person has set up constructions on a land of another with materials
belonging to a third person, the owner of the materials shall be entitled
to revert with compensation against who has taken it, and shall also be
entitled to revert against the land owner with an amount not exceeding
what is remaining of the amount due by him of the value of what has
been set up on his land.
2. If who has set up the constructions was of good will, the owner of the
materials shall be entitled to request its removal if the same shall not
inflict damage on the land.
Article (918)
If movables of different owners are joined in a way that does not permit their
separation without damage and there was no agreement between the owners,
the court shall determine the dispute taking into consideration the damage
that has occurred and the state of the parties to the dispute and the good or
bad intention of each of them.
Legal Disposition
Article (919)
Ownership shall be transferred as in the transfer or creation of other in kind
rights in movable and real properties with legal disposition, if the disposer
was the owner of the right disposed of, taking into considerations the
provisions of articles (246), (247).
Preemption
Article (920)
Preemption is a right which permits in the sale of real property the
subrogation of the purchaser in the situations and under the terms provided
for in the following articles.
Article (921)
The right in preemption shall be established:
223

1. . To the owner of the property, if its right of usufruct or part of it has

been sold.
2. To the partner in the common property if a common share in the real
property has been sold to an extraneus person.
3. To the owner of the right of usufruct. If all or part of the property to
which it relates has been sold.
4. . To the owner of the property in Al-Hikr, if all or part of the Al-Hikr
right to which it relates has been sold.
5. To the owner neighbor in the following situations:
A. If the real properties were of buildings or lands allocated for building.
B. If the sold land had a right of easement over the neighbors land, or the
right of easement was for the neighbors land over the sold land.
C. If the neighbors land was joined to the sold land from two sides and is
equal in value to at least half of the value of the sold land.
Article (922)
1. If the preemptors shall compete, the use of the right of reception shall
be on the basis of the order provided for in the preceding article.
2. If preemptors of the same class shall compete, the entitlement of each
of them for the preemption shall be in proportion to his share.
However, as between neighbors, whoevers property shall benefit
more from the preemption, shall rank ahead the others.
3. If the purchaser shall possess the stipulations which deem him a
preemptor, in accordance with the provision of the preceding article,
he shall rank ahead of the preemptors who are of his class or of a lower
class, but whoever are of a higher class shall rank ahead of him.
Article (923)
1. Preemption shall not be permissible in the following situations:
A. If the sale has been completed by public auction in accordance
with the procedures prescribed by the law.
B. If the sale has occurred between ascendants and descendants, or
between the spouses, or between relatives upto the fourth
degree, or between in laws upto the second degree.
C. If the sale has been completed for the sold thing to be a place of
worship or to be annexed to a place of worship.
2. Neither the overseer of endowment nor the person in whose favour
endowment was established shall be entitled to take by preemption
unless if the person who created the endowment has permitted him to
adjoin the preempted real property to the endowment.
224

Article (924)
If a person shall purchase an immovable property in which pre-emption is
permissible, and then shall sell it before the preemptor shall register his wish
to take by pre-emption, it shall not then be permissible to take by pre-emption
unless by the second purchaser, and under the terms with which he had
purchased.
Article (925)
If the real property was sold to several people in common ownership, preemption shall not be permissible except in it all. If however the share of each
of them was apportionatly specified in the contract, the preemptor shall be
entitled to request to take it all, or to take the share of one or more of them,
taking into consideration the rules prescribed for the request for taking by
preemption.
Article (926)
1. Either the seller or the purchaser shall be entitled to issue a
formal warning to the preemptor informing him of the sale.
2. The warning shall include the following information, otherwise
it shall be void:
A. The name, surname and domicile of both the seller and the
purchaser.
B. Sufficient description of the sold property.
C. Description of the price, official expenses and the terms of sale.
Article (927)
1. Whoever wishes to take by preemption shall
communicate his wish therein to both the seller and the
purchaser within fifteen days from the date on which he
had known of the sale, otherwise his right shall fall. A
period of the distance shall be added to that period if so
necessitated.
2. The notice of the wish to take by preemption shall be
official, otherwise it shall be void. This notice shall not be
deemed evidence against a third party unless registered.
Article (928)

225

The preemptor shall raise the preemption case against both the seller and the
purchaser within fifteen days from the date on which his wish was notified,
and after depositing with the treasury of the court in which circuit the real
property is located. The whole real price with which the sale has occurred,
otherwise his right shall fall.
Article (929)
The decision which is finally issued for the establishment of the preemption
shall be deemed the preemptors deed of ownership, without prejudice to the
rules relating to registration.
Article (930)
1. The preemptor shall subrogate the purchaser against the seller in all his
rights and obligations.
2. However the preemptor shall not be entitled to benefit from the term
awarded to the purchaser for the payment of the price unless with the
sellers consent.
3. If the sold property has been decreed to belong to a third party after it
was taken by preemption, the preemptor shall be entitled to revert
against the seller only.
Article (931)
1. If the purchaser has made a building or plant or any other construction
in the preempted property before the preemptor has served him with
his wish to take by preemption, the preemptor shall be liable in
accordance with the choice of the purchaser to pay him either the
amount he had spent or the amount of the increase in the value of the
real property by reason of what he had made.
2. If the purchaser had made the constructions after the preemptor had
served him with his wish to take by preemption, the preemptor shall
be entitled to request the removal of the constructions, if however he
had chosen to keep them, he shall only be obliged to pay whatever the
purchaser had expended or the increase of the value of the real
property by reason of the constructions.
Article (932)
Any official mortgage or right of lien taken against the purchaser shall not be
valid against the preemptor, nor any in kind right he had established or was
established against him, if it had been made after the date on which the notice
226

of the wish to take by preemption has been registered. However the

registered creditors shall remain entitled to the priority rights in the price of
the real property which has reverted to the purchaser.
Article (933)
The right to take by preemption shall fall in the following situations:
1. If the preemptor shall relinquish his right in taking by preemption
expressly or impliedly even before the sale.
2. If the preemptor shall fail to notify his wish to take by preemption
within six months from the day on which the sale was registered.
3. In the other situations provided for by the law.
Article (934)
The right to take by preemption shall not fall with the death of the preemptor,
but shall be transferred to his heirs.
Possession:
A. Definition and bases of possession
Article (935)
Possession is a material state by virtue of which a person shall control a right
dealing in which is permissible, by performing acts which are usually
performed by the owner of the right.
Article (936)
Third partys possession of the properties of the state or other public juristic
person or the possession of charitable endowment properties and the
possession of any in kind right thereto shall not be recognised unless in the
situations and upon the terms determined by the law.
Article (937)
Possession shall not be established upon an act performed by a person for
merely being a permissible license or an act suffered by another by way of
indulgence.
Article (938)

227

Possession shall be valid if by an intermediary when such an intermediary

shall conduct it in the name of the possessor and was connected to him in a
way which compels him to obey his orders in relation to this possession.
Article (939)
A person who lacks capacity or with incomplete capacity shall be entitled to
acquire possession through whomever legally represents him.
Article (940)
It shall not be permissible for whoever possesses in the name of another to
claim possession contrary to its deed, where he shall not be able to change by
himself for himself the description of his possession, but the description of
possession shall change with the act of a third party or by the act of the
possessor which is considered an objection to the right of who was possessing
in his name. The possession in its new description shall commence only from
the time of the act that made the change.
Article (941)
Possession shall not be established on interruptive acts. And if the possession
shall be accompanied by duress or is effected clandestinely or it is subject to
ambiguity, it shall have no effect on the person subjected to duress or from
whom possession was concealed or with which he was confused except from
the time these defects are abated.
B. Proving the Possession:
Article (942)
If the existence of possession was established at a specific previous time, and
presently exists, it shall be deemed to have existed in the period between the
two times, unless the contrary is proved.
Article (943)
Whoever shall possess a right shall be deemed its owner, unless the contrary
is proved.
Article (944)

228

If several people dispute over the possession, it shall be presumed that

whoever performs material control shall be the possessor, unless the contrary
is proved. If this control shall pass from a previous possessor, it shall be
presumed that it is for the account of whom it was passed from.
C. Good and Bad Faith of the Possessor:
Article (945)
1. The possessor shall be deemed with good faith if he is ignorant of his
trespass on the right of another, unless this ignorance resulted from a
gross mistake.
2. If the possessor is a juristic person, relevance shall be for the intention
of whoever represents it.
3. Good faith shall always be presumed unless the contrary is proved.
Unless the law provides otherwise.
Article (946)
1. The possessor shall become of bad faith from the time of his
knowledge that his possession constitutes trespass on the right of
another, or from the time he was notified of the defects of his
possession through the case pleading.
2. And whoever usurps possession from another by duress shall be
considered of bad faith.
Article (947)
Possession shall continue to keep the description with which it started at the
time of its acquisition unless the contrary is proved.
D. Transfer of Possession:
Article (948)
Possession shall be transferred to the general successor together with its
descriptions. However if the predecessor was with bad faith, and the
successor had proved that in his possession he was in good faith, he shall be
entitled to depend on his good faith.
Article (949)

229

Possession shall pass from the possessor to another if they agree thereon and
that another has become able to control the right the subject matter of the
possession, even if no material receipt of the thing the subject matter of the
right has occurred.
Article (950)
It shall be permissible to pass possession without material delivery if the
possessor has continued to have seizin for the account of the person who
succeeds him, or if the successor shall continue to have seizin for his own
account.
Article (951)
The delivery of documents given for goods with which the trustee transport
was entrusted with, or which are deposited at the warehouses shall be
deemed in place of delivering the goods themselves, however if a person shall
receive these documents and another shall receive the goods, and both were
of good faith, preference shall be given to whoever had received the goods.
Article (952)
The private successor shall be entitled to join to his possession the possession
of his predecessor in all the effects that shall result by law in relation to the
possession.
E. Loss of Possession:
Article (953)
Possession shall be lost if the possessor relinquishes his actual control over the
right, or loses it in any other manner.
Article (954)
1. Possession shall not be lost if a temporary obstacle shall preclude the
exercise of the actual control.
2. If possession relates to a real property and its owner was deprived
from it and later recovered it or raised the case requesting its recovery
within the year following its loss, it shall be deemed as never lost.
3. However possession shall be lost if the obstacle continues for one
complete year, and has resulted from a new possession that occurred in
spite of the will of the possessor or without his knowledge. The year
230

shall be calculated commencing from the time on which possession has

publicly started, or from the time on which the first possessor became
aware that it had secretly started.
F. Protection of Possession (The Three Possession Cases)
Article (955)
1. If the possessor of a real property losses possession, he shall within the
year following its loss request its return to him, if however he had
secretly lost possession, the year shall commence from the time the
same was discovered.
2. Whoever was representing another in the possession shall also be
entitled to recover the possession.
Article (956)
1. If at the time possession was lost, one year has not passed with him
having possession, recovery of possession shall only be permissible for
the person who does not have a preferential right in possession. The
preferential right in possession is the possession that exists on a legal
base. If none of the possessors shall have a base, or if their bases were
equal, the preferential right in possession shall be for the earlier in
date.
2. However if loss of possession was by force, the possessor shall, in all
situations, be entitled to recover the possession from the aggressor
within the following year.
Article (957)
The possessor shall be entitled to raise, within the time prescribed by law, the
case to recover the possession against whom possession have been passed
even if of good faith.
Article (958)
The possessor if his possession has continued for a complete year and later he
has encountered molestation to his possession, he shall be entitled, within the
following year, to raise the case to prevent this molestation.
Article (959)

231

1. The possessor of a real property, if his possession has continued for

one complete year, and has feared for reasonable reasons, molestation
to him by reason of new acts which threaten his possession, shall be
entitled, within the year following the commencement of such acts, to
raise the case to stop them provided they were not completed.
2. The court shall be entitled to decide to prevent the continuation of the
acts or to allow its continuation, and shall be entitled in both situations
to order the provision of a sufficient security to guarantee whatever
damage that could result from the execution of the decision.
G. Acquisition of Produce by Possession:
Article (560)
1. The possessor with good faith shall be entitled to whatever produce he
receives and whatever benefit he obtains, provided he is of good faith.
2. The natural or improved produce shall be deemed received from the
day on which it was separated. As for civil produce and the benefit, it
shall be deemed received day by day.
Article (561)
The possessor shall be deemed liable from the date he became of bad faith, for
the benefit he had obtained and the produce he had received, and shall be
entitled to recover whatever he had expended in producing the produce.
H. the Possessors Recovery of Expenses:
Article (962)
1. The owner to whom ownership has been returned shall pay the
possessor all the necessary expenses he had expended.
2. Useful expenses shall be subject to the provisions of articles (912),
(913).
3. If the expenses were luxury expenses, the possessor shall not be
entitled to request any of them, but he shall be entitled to remove the
constructions he had made provided he restores the thing to its
original condition unless the owner had chosen to keep them against
paying its value as due for removal.
Article (963)

232

The owner to whom ownership has been returned shall pay the possessor
who received the possession from another, whatever expenses this possessor
had paid to his predecessor, within the limits of the owners obligations in
accordance with the preceding article.
Article (964)
The court shall be entitled, upon the request of the owner, to decide whatever
it deems reasonable for the settlement of the expenses referred to in the two
preceding articles. And shall be entitled to decide that settlement be in
periodical instalments, provided sufficient securities are given.
I. Liability for Demolition:
Article (965)
1. The good faith possessor shall not be liable towards whoever shall be
entitled to the thing for the demolition or damage of that thing except
to the extent of the benefit which has resulted from this demolition or
damage.
2. The bad faith possessor shall be liable for the demolition or damage of
the thing even if it had resulted from a force majeur or a sudden
incident, unless he had proved that the thing would have been
demolished or damaged had it been in the hands of the person entitled
to it.
J. Considering the Possession a Proof of Ownership:
Article (966)
Whoever shall possess a real or immovable property, where it appears that he
is the owner or the owner of another in kind right, and his possession shall
continue for a period of fifteen years, his possession shall be deemed an
evidence of that right, and it shall be decided for him if he had repudiated the
right of others therein, and had claimed it for himself even if he did not
determine the reason of acquiring it.
Article (967)
The provisions of the preceding article shall apply to properties of family
endowment if its possession has continued for thirty three years.
Article (968)
233

The case to claim inheritance right shall lapse, on repudiation, with the
passage of thirty three years.
Article (969)
The rules for prescriptive limitation shall apply to the period required to
consider the possession a proof of the right in respect to the calculation of the
period, its suspension, its interruption and the agreement to amend it, to the
extent these rules are not in contravention of the nature of possession.
K. Possession of Movable Property:
Article (970)
1. Whoever shall possess for a valid cause an immovable property or an
in kind right over an immovable property or a bearer bond, he shall
become its owner if, at the time of possession he was of good faith.
2. If the good faith and the valid cause shall be present with the possessor
in considering the thing free from costs and in kind restrictions, he
shall acquire ownership free from the same.
Article (971)
Possession itself is a presumption of the existence of the valid cause and the
good faith unless the contrary is proved.
Article (972)
1. The owner of the immovable property or the bearer bond or the owner
of an in kind right thereto, if he had lost it or it was stolen from him,
shall be entitled to recover it from whoever shall possess it in good
faith and for a valid cause, within three years from the time of its loss
or theft.
2. If the possessor had bought the thing in a market or public auction or
from who trades in its like, he shall be entitled to request whoever
recovers it to pay the price he had paid.

234

Part Three

Acquisition of Ownership by Reason of Death

A. Inheritance and the Liquidation of the Estate:

Article (973)

The designation of heirs, the determination of their shares in the estate and
the transfer of the properties of the estate to them shall be subject to the
provisions of the Islamic Sharia and the laws issued in relation thereto.
Article (974)
1. If the testator had not appointed a custodian for his estate, and one of
those concerned had requested the appointment of a liquidator for it,
the court shall appoint, if it deems necessary, whoever the heirs shall
unanimously choose. If the heirs do not unanimously choose anyone,
the court shall select the liquidator provided he is from amongst the
heirs whenever possible, and after hearing their statements.
2. The application of the provisions of special laws shall be taken into
consideration if a dormant gestation or a person lacking capacity or
with incomplete capacity or an absent person exists amongst the heirs.
Article (975)
1. Whoever is appointed as a liquidator may refuse to assume this task, or
to resign therefrom after assuming it in accordance of the provisions
related to agency.
2. And the court, on the request of any of those concerned or without a
request, shall be entitled to dismiss the liquidator and replace him with
another, whenever reasons justifying the same exist.
Article (976)
1. If the testator had appointed a custodian for his estate, the court shall
confirm this appointment.
2. The custodian of the estate shall be subject to the provisions applicable
to the liquidator.

235

Article (977)
1. The court clerk shall record, day by day the orders issued for the
appointment of liquidators and the confirmation of the custodians of
the estate in a general register in which the names of the testators are
registered in accordance with the situations determined for
alphabetical indexes. Every order issued for dismissal and every
resignation occurring shall be noted in the registers margin.
2. The registration of the order issued for the appointment of the
liquidator shall have the same effect, against third parties dealing with
the heirs in relation to the real properties of the estate, of the notation
provided for in article (1012).
Article (978)
1. The liquidator shall, upon his appointment, receive the properties of
the estate, and shall assume its liquidation under the supervision of the
court. He shall be entitled to request from it a just remuneration for
performing his task.
2. Liquidation expenses shall be borne by the estate. These expenses shall
have a preferential right in the same rank of the privilege of judicial
expenses.
Article (979)
The court shall when necessary take all urgent precautions for the
preservation of the estate, upon the request of anyone of those concerned or
without a request, and shall specifically be entitled to order the affixing of
seals and the depositing of money and financial instruments and valuable
things.
Article (980)
The liquidator shall instantly dispose of the estates property to settle the
expenses of readying the deceased and the expenses of his condolences
ceremony in conformity with his position, and shall secure an order from the
provisional matters judge for the disbursement of sufficient maintenance to
an acceptable extent of that property to those who the testator maintained of
his heirs until liquidation has terminated, provided maintenance obtained by
each heir shall be deducted from his share in the estate.
B. Inventory of the Estate

236

Article (981)
1. The creditors shall not, as of the date of the appointment of the
liquidator take any measure against the estate or continue any measure
they have taken except against the liquidator.
2. Each distribution opened against the testator and which its final list
has not been closed shall be stopped until the settlement of all the
debts of the estate has been completed whenever any one concerned
has requested the same.
Article (982)
No heir shall, before he receives the inheritance certificate referred to in article
(999), dispose of the estates property, and shall not be entitled also to collect
the debts due to the estate or to off- set a debt due from him against a debt
due from the estate.
Article (983)
1. The liquidator shall, during liquidation take all preservation methods
that the properties of the estate shall request and shall perform
whatever management acts are needed. And shall also deputize for the
estate in the law suits and recover whatever debts are due for it.
2. The liquidator, even if not remunerated shall have the same liability as
that of a remunerated agent. And the court may request him to provide
an account of his management on specified dates.
Article (984)
1. The liquidator shall address a public request to the creditors and the
debtors of the estate inviting them to submit a statement of their rights
and debts, within two months from the date of the last publication of
this request.
2. And the invitation shall be posted on the announcement board of the
court within whose circuit the last domicile of the testator lies and that
of the court within whose circuit all or part of the estates immovable
properties are located, and the request shall be published in one of the
daily newspapers.
Article (985)

237

The liquidator shall, within three months of his appointment deposit with the
courts clerks department a list of the assets and debts of the estate and an
estimation of the value of those properties. And shall also notify through a
registered letter with acknowledgement receipt within the above referred to
period, every person concerned of the occurrence of that deposit, and he shall
be entitled to request the court to extend the period if the circumstances
justify the same.
Article (986)
1. The liquidator shall be entitled in inventory, and in estimating the
value of the estates properties, draw on the assistance of an expert or
whoever shall have a special knowledge of the same.
2. The liquidator shall prove what the testators documents reveal and
whatever rights and debts are established in public records and
whatever reaches his knowledge about it by any means whatsoever.
And the heirs shall inform the liquidator of their knowledge of any
debts and rights of the estate.
Article (987)
Whoever misappropriates any of the estate properties even if he is an heir
shall be punished with the punishment of mistrust.
Article (988)
Every dispute relating to the correctness of the inventory, specifically that
related to the oversight of immovables or rights for the estate or against it or
related to proving it shall be referred to the court upon the request of every
concerned person within the thirty days following the notice of depositing the
list of inventory.
C. Settlement of the Debts of the Estate:
Article (989)
After the expiry of the period for disputing the inventory, the liquidator shall
after securing the courts permission settle the undisputed debts of the estate,
as for the disputed debts they shall be settled after the final settlement of the
dispute.
Article (990)

238

The liquidator shall in the case of the insolvency or probable insolvency of

the estate , suspend the settlement of any debts even if undisputed until all
the disputes relating to the debts of the estate are finally settled.

Article (991)
1. The liquidator shall settle its debts out of the rights he exacts for it, the
monies it contains and the price of its movable property and financial
papers. If those are not sufficient then out of the price of its immovable
property.
2. And the movable and real properties of the estate shall be sold by
auction in accordance with the procedures and dates relating to
obligatory sales in the procedures law, unless all the heirs agree that
the sale shall be performed in a different method or to be performed by
practice, and if the estate shall be insolvent, the approval of all the
creditors shall be necessary. The heirs in all situations shall be entitled
to participate in the auction.
Article (992)
The court, upon the request of all the heirs shall be entitled to decree the
acceleration of a postponed debt and the determination the sum to which the
creditor shall be entitled to.
Article (993)
1. If all the creditors shall not agree to request the acceleration of the
postponed debt, the court shall distribute the postponed debts and
distribute the properties of the estate, whereas each heir shall be
allocated, of the total debts of the estate and its total properties, in
result, a share equal to his net share in the inheritance.
2. The court shall establish, for each creditor of the estates creditors, a
sufficient security over a real or movable property, provided it shall
maintain, for whoever had a special security, this same security, if this
shall be impossible, even by adding a supplemental security presented
by the heirs from their own property, or by agreeing to another
settlement, the court shall establish the security over the entire
properties of the estate.
3. In all situations, if the security shall be in relation to a real property
which has been previously registered, this security shall be registered
in accordance with the provisions relating to registering the right of
lien.
239

Article (994)
Each heir, after the distribution of the postponed debts, shall be entitled to
pay his share before the due date.
Article (995)
The creditors who have not received their rights for lack of confirmation in
the inventory list and who had no securities over the estates properties, shall
not be entitled for recourse against any person who earned in good faith an in
kind right on those properties, but shall have recourse against the heirs by
reason of their enrichment.
Article (996)
The liquidator, after the settlement of the estates debts, shall implement the
wills of the testator and any other expenses.
D. Delivery of the Estates Properties and its Division:
Article (997)
After the fulfillment of the obligations of the estate, the balance of its
properties shall devolve upon the heirs each according to his Sharia share.
Article (998)
The heirs shall be entitled, upon the lapse of the period determined for
disputes relating to the inventory, to request the temporary receipt of the
things and monies which are not required for the liquidation of the estate or
to receive part of it against providing a guarantee therefore or without it.
Article (999)
The court shall deliver to each heir who presents a Sharia notification of
inheritance or any other similar notification, a certificate establishing his right
in the inheritance and specifying the amount of his share therein and
determining what has devolved to him from the estates properties.
Article (1000)

240

Every heir shall be entitled to request the liquidator to deliver to him his
divided share in the estate, unless the said heir is obliged to remain as coowner by virtue of an agreement or a provision of the law.
Article (1001)
1. If the request for the division shall be acceptable, the liquidator shall
make the division in an amicable manner provided this division shall
not become final except after the unanimous approval of the heirs.
2. If they shall not approve to the same, the liquidator shall raise, at the
expense of the estate, the division case in accordance with the
provisions of the law. The expenses of the case shall be deducted from
the shares of the parties in the division.
Article (1002)
Division of the estate shall be subject to the rules prescribed for division, and
specifically those relating to the guarantee of obstruction and being decreed to
belong to a third party and unfairness and the privilege of the party to the
division.
Article (1003)
If the heirs do not agree to divide the family documents or the things that
relate to the heirs feelings towards the testator, the court shall order either to
sell those things or to give them to any one of the heirs by deducting its value
from his share in the inheritance or without deduction. Custom and the
personal circumstances of the heirs shall be taken into consideration.
Article (1004)
If any part of the estates properties is being invested in agriculture, industry
or trade and is considered an independent economic part, and the heirs have
not all agreed on its continuation as a common owned property amongst
them, it shall be permissible in accordance with the circumstances to allot it
totally to any of the heirs who shall request it if he is the most able to
undertake it. The price of the investment shall be assessed in accordance with
its value and shall be deducted from the share of this heir in the estate, and if
the ability of the heirs to undertake it shall be equal, it shall be allotted to the
heir who offers the highest price provided it shall not be less than the value of
an equivalent.
Article (1005)
241

If on the division one of the heirs has been allotted a debt for the estate, the
remaining heirs shall not guarantee to him the debtor if he becomes insolvent
after the division, unless otherwise agreed.
Article (1006)
A will dividing the estate among the testators heirs by allotting the share of
every heir or of some heirs shall be valid, and if any share allotted to any of
them shall exceed his due share in the estate, the excess shall be considered a
will.
Article (1007)
Division contingent on death may always be revoked, and shall become
obligatory after the death of the testator.
Article (1008)
If the division shall not include all the properties of the testator at the time of
his death, the properties not included in the division shall devolve on the
heirs as common property in accordance with the rules of succession.
Article (1009)
If before the testators death one or more of the probable heirs who were
entered in the division shall die, the divided share which was included in the
share of the deceased shall devolve on the heirs as common property in
accordance with the rules of succession.
Article (1010)
Division contingent on death shall generally be subject to the provisions
relating to division, except for those relating to unfairness.
Article (1011)
If the division shall not include the debts of the estate or it includes them but
the creditors did not agree on that division, each heir shall be entitled, when
the debts were not settled by agreement with the creditors, to request the
division of the estate in accordance with article (993), provided, to the extent
possible, the division the testator devised and the considerations on which it
was based are complied with.
242

E. Provisions relating to Un-liquidated Estates:

Article (1012)
If the estate was not liquidated in accordance with the provisions of the
preceding articles, the estates regular creditors shall be entitled to execute for
their rights or what was devised to them against the estates real properties
disposed of or on which in kind rights were established for the benefit of
others, if they have noted their debts in accordance with the provisions of the
law.
Article (1013)
The will shall be subject to the provisions of Islamic Sharia and the law issued
in relation to it.
Article (1014)
1. Every legal act by a person in dying sickness by which voluntary
contribution is intended shall be considered a disposition contingent
on the death, and shall be subject to the provisions relating to the will
whatever title is given to it.
2. And the disposers heirs shall prove that the disposition has emanated
from their testator in dying sickness. They shall be entitled to prove the
same by all means.
3. And if the heirs shall prove that the disposition had emanated from
their testator in dying sickness, the disposition shall be considered as a
voluntary contribution, unless the disposee shall prove the contrary.
All unless special provisions to the contrary exist.

243

Division Two
Rights Emanating from the Right of Ownership
Chapter One
The Right of Usufruct and the Right of Use and the Right of Residence
The Right of Usufruct:
Article (1015)
1. The right of usufruct shall be acquired by a legal disposition or by
preemption, and its possession shall be deemed a proof of the right in
accordance with article (966).
2. It shall be permissible to devise the right of usufruct to successive
persons if they were alive at the time of the will, and it shall also be
permissible for a dormant gestation.
Article (1016)
The rights and obligations of the usufructuary shall depend on the deed
which created the right of usufruct, and the provisions prescribed in the
following articles.
Article (1017)
The produce of the thing the subject matter of usufruct shall belong to the
usufructuary during the period of his usufruct, taking into consideration the
provision of paragraph (2) of article (1023).
Article (1018)
1. The usufructuary shall use the thing in the same condition in which he
had received it and for the purpose it was prepared for, and shall
manage it properly.
2. The owner shall be entitled to object to any illegal use or inconsistent
with the nature of the thing, and if he shall prove that his rights are in
danger he shall be entitled to request the provision of securities, and if
the usufructuary did not provide it or continued, in spite of the
objection of the owner, to use the immovable property illegally or in a
manner inconsistent with its nature, the judge shall be entitled to take
away this immovable property from his possession and deliver it to
244

another to undertake its management, and shall be entitled depending

on the seriousness of the situation to order the termination of the right
of usufruct without prejudice to the rights of others.
Article (1019)
1. The usufructuary shall, during his use, be obliged with the usual
expenses which are required by the immovable property the subject
matter of usufruct, and all the expenses required for maintenance.
2. As for the unusual expenses and major repairs which have not resulted
from the mistake of the usufructuary, the owner shall not be compelled
to pay it or perform it, and if the usufructuary has performed any of
that, he shall be entitled to recover whatever he has expended upon the
termination of the right of usufruct.
Article (1020)
1. The usufructuary shall exercise the care of the ordinary person in
preserving the thing.
2. And shall be liable for the demolition of the thing, even for an
extraneous cause, if he is late in returning it to its owner upon the
termination of the right of usufruct.
Article (1021)
If the thing has been demolished or damaged, or needed major repairs or
some measure to abate a danger which was not visible, the usufructuary shall
take the initiative to inform the owner. He shall also inform him if an
extraneus person shall claim the entitlement of the same thing.
Article (1022)
1. If the property on which the right of usufruct has been established was
a movable property it shall be subjected to inventory, and the
usufructuary shall be obliged to provide a guarantee thereto, if he did
not provide it, the judge shall be entitled to deliver the property to a
trustee to manage it for the account of usufructuary, or to order its sale
and invest its price in buying public bonds the profits of which shall be
for the usufructuary.
2. And the usufructuary who has provided the guarantee shall be entitled
to use the consumable things and shall return a replacement upon
termination of the right of usufruct. And he shall be entitled for the

245

produce of the cattle after being compensated from the original cattle,
for the ones expired by reason of a sudden incident or a force majeur.
Article (1023)
1. The right of usufruct shall terminate upon the expiry of its fixed
period, if no period was fixed for it, it shall be considered established
for the life of usufructuary, and shall in any situation terminate upon
the death of usufructuary even before the expiry of the fixed period.
2. If the land used was occupied upon the expiry of the period or the
death of usufructuary, with plants, the land shall be left to the
usufructuary or to his heirs until the plants ripen, provided they shall
pay the rent of the land for this period of time.
Article (1024)
The right of usufruct shall terminate upon the demolition of the thing,
however it shall be transferred from that thing to whatever compensation
might replace it.
Article (1025)
1. The case to claim the right of usufruct shall lapse, on repudiation, if
such right was not used, with the passage of fifteen years.
2. If the right of usufruct was for several co-owners, the use of the right
by one of them shall suspend the prescription period for the interest for
the remaining. The stoppage of the period for the interest of one of the
partners shall also stop it for the interest of others.
The Right of Use and the Right of Residence
Article (1026)
The extent of the right of use and the right of residence shall be limited to the
need of the right owner and his family for themselves, without prejudice to
the provisions prescribed by the deed establishing the right.
Article (1027)
It shall not be permissible to relinquish the right of use or the right of
residence except for an explicit stipulation or a strong justification.
Article (1028)
246

Except for the preceding provisions, the provisions relating to usufruct shall
apply to the right of use and the right of residence to the extent not contrary
to the nature of these two rights.

Chapter Two
The Right of Al-Hikr

Article (1029)
Al-Hikr is a right by virtue of which Al-Muhtakir1 acquires a real right over a
land the subject matter of endowment enabling him to benefit from it by
constructing a building on it or plants or for any other purpose in
consideration of a fixed rent.
Article (1030)
Al-Hikr shall not be permissible unless for a necessity or an interest and with
a permission of the competent court in which district all the land or the most
valuable of it is located. A contract through the president of the court or
through one of the judges or the notaries he shall refer to shall be issued. And
it shall be registered in accordance with the provisions of land registry.
Article (1031)
1. It shall not be permissible to establish a right of Al-Hikr over a land
which is not the subject matter of endowment, without prejudice to the
provision of paragraph (3) of article (1039).
2. The provisions of the following articles, including determining a
maximum period for Al-Hikr, shall apply to all Al-Hikrs including the
ones existing at the time on which this law shall come into effect.
Article (1032)
Al-Hikr shall not be permissible for a period exceeding sixty years, if a longer
period shall be specified, or no period was specified, Al-Hikr shall be deemed
to have been concluded for a period of sixty years.

The second party to Al-Hikr contract.

247

Article (1033)
1. Al-Hikr shall not be permissible for a rent less than the rent of an
equivalent.
2. This rent shall be increased or decreased whenever the change in the
rent of an equivalent shall exceed the fifth in increase or decrease,
provided eight years have lapsed since the last assessment.
Article (1034)
1. The assessment of the increase or the decrease in the rent of an
equivalent shall depend on the lands rental value at the time of the
assessment, taking into consideration its location and the peoples
demand to it, regardless of whatever buildings or plants exist therein,
and without consideration to whatever improvement or damage AlMuhtakir had caused in the land itself or in the location of the area,
and without any effect on Al-Muhtakirs right of Al-Qarrar over the
land.
2. The new assessment shall be applicable only from the time agreed
upon by the two parties, otherwise from the date on which the case
was raised.
Article (1035)
Al-Muhtakir shall be entitled to dispose of his right which shall devolve by
inheritance.
Article (1036)
Al-Muhtakir shall completely own whatever building or plants or others he
had caused, and may dispose of it alone or together with the right of Al-Hikr.
Article (1037)
1. Al-Muhtakir shall pay the rent agreed upon to Al-Muhkir2.
2. The rent shall be due for payment at the end of each year, unless AlHikr contact provides otherwise.
Article (1038)

The first party to Al-Hikr contract.

248

Al-Muhtakir shall take the measures necessary for rendering the land capable
of exploitation while abiding by the agreed terms, the nature of the land, the
purpose for which it was readied and the custom of the area.
Article (1039)
1. The right of Al-Hikr shall terminate with the lapse of its period.
2. This right shall however terminate before the lapse of its period if AlMuhtakir dies before he constructs or plants unless all the heirs have
requested the subsistence of Al-Hikr.
3. Al-Hikr right shall also terminate before the lapse of its period if the
endowment description shall cease to exist on the land the subject
matter of Al-Hikr, unless the description ceased to exist due to the
withdrawal of the endowment by the person who made it or his
decrease of its period, in which case Al-Hikr shall remain until the
lapse of its period.
Article (1040)
Al- Muhkir shall be entitled to request the dissolution of the contract if the
rent was not paid to him for three consecutive years.
Article (1041)
1. Upon the termination or dissolution of the contract, Al-Muhkir shall be
entitled to request either the removal of the construction or the plants,
or to keep them against paying the lesser of their two values as due for
removal or keeping, unless otherwise agreed.
2. The court shall be entitled to award Al-Muhkir a term for payment if
exceptional circumstances justifying the awarding shall exist, and in
this situation Al-Muhkir shall provide a guarantee to secure the
payment of whatever shall become due by him.
Article (1042)
The case to claim Al-Hikr right shall lapse, on repudiation, if this right was
not used for a period of fifteen years. This period shall be thirty three years if
Al-Hikr right was the subject of endowment.

Chapter Three
The Right of easement
249

Article (1043)
Easement is a right which limits the benefit of an immovable property for the
benefit of another immovable property owned by another person.
Article (1044)
1. The right of easement shall be acquired by a legal disposition or by
preemption or by inheritance.
2. Possession shall not be deemed a proof of ownership in accordance
with article (966) except in relation to visible easements, including the
right of passage.
Article (1045)
1. It shall be permissible for visible easements to be established through
allotment by the original owner.
2. If it has become evident, through any means of evidence, that the
owner of two separate properties has made a visible mark between
them, and therefore creating an appurtenance relationship between
them indicating the existence of an easement had the two properties
been owned by two separate owners, and the two real properties have
later became owned by two different owners without a change in their
condition, the easement shall be established between the two real
properties unless an explicit stipulation which provides otherwise
shall exist.
Article (1046)
1. If a specific restrictions have been imposed which restrict the right of
the owner of the real property to build on it as he wishes, such as being
prevented from exceeding a specific limit in the height of the building,
or being prevented from constructing the building on the total area of
his owned property, such restrictions shall be deemed as rights of
easement over this property for the benefit of the real properties for
which interest these restrictions were imposed, unless an agreement
exists to the contrary.
2. It shall be permissible to request the specific repair of every breach to
these restrictions, however it shall be permissible to limit to the
ordering of compensation if the court sees a justification to the same.
Article (1047)
250

The rights of easement shall be subject to whatever it is prescribed for in the

deed establishing it, and to the custom of the area and the provisions
provided for in the following articles.
Article (1048)
1. The owner of the dominant real property shall be entitled to whatever
works are necessary to use his right in the easement, and whatever is
needed for preserving it. And he shall use this right in a manner which
shall only result in the minimum damage possible.
2. It shall not be permissible for the needs arising for the dominant real
property to result in any increase to burden of easement.
Article (1049)
The owner of the servient real property shall not be obliged to undergo any
act for the benefit of the dominant real property, unless it is an additional
work necessitated by the use of easement in accordance with the usual
manner.
Article (1050)
1. The expenses of the works necessary for the use of the right of
easement and preserving it shall be borne by the owner of the
dominant real property, unless otherwise stipulated.
2. If the owner of the servient real property was the person entrusted
with the performance of those works at his expense, he shall always be
entitled to avail himself of those expenses by relinquishing all or part
of the servient real property to the owner of the dominant real
property.
3. If the acts were also beneficial to the owner of the servient real
property, the expenses of maintenance shall be borne by the two
parties in proportion to the interest reverting to each of them.
Article (1051)
1. The owner of the servient real property shall not be entitled to perform
any act that would disparage the use of the right of easement or render
it more difficult.
2. If the location which was originally specified for the use of the right of
easement has become an increasing burden to the easement, or the
easement shall become an impediment to effecting improvement to the
251

servient real property, the owner of that real property shall be entitled
to request the transfer of the easement to another location of the real
property, or to another real property owned by him or by another if
that other shall accept. All the above shall be if the use of easement in
its new manner is as easy for the owner of the dominant real property
as was in its previous manner.
Article (1052)
1. If the dominant real property was partitioned, the easement shall
remain for every part of it, provided the same shall not increase the
burden over the servient real property.
2. If however the right of easement does not actually benefit except a part
of those parts, the owner of the servient real property shall be entitled
to request the termination of this right over the other parts.
Article (1053)
1. If the servient real property has been partitioned, the right of easement
shall remain over every part of it.
2. If however the right of easement was not actually used on some of
those parts, and it is not possible to use it on them, the owner of every
part shall be entitled to request the termination of this right in respect
of the part he owns.
Article (1054)
The rights of easement shall terminate with the lapse of specified period, and
with the total demolition of the dominant real property or the servient real
property, and with the vesting of the ownership of the two real properties in
one owner, however if the condition of the vesting of ownership in one owner
shall be retrospectively abated, the right of easement shall return.
Article (1055)
1. The case to claim the right of easement shall lapse, on repudiation, if
not used for fifteen years. If the right of easement was established for
the benefit of an immovable property the subject matter of endowment,
the period shall be thirty three years. It shall be permissible with the
lapse of the same period to amend the manner with which the right of
easement is used.
2. If the dominant real property was owned by several co owners, the
benefiting of the right of easement by any of them shall suspend the
252

prescription period for the interest for the remaining. The stoppage of
the period for the interest of one of the partners shall also stop it for the
interest of others.
Article (1056)
The right of easement shall terminate if the condition of the things has
changed whereas it has become unusable, and shall return if the things have
returned to a usable condition, unless this right has terminated for non use.
Article (1057)
The owner of the servient real property shall be entitled to release it from the
easement, totally or partially. Or if only a limited benefit which is not
consistent with the burdens over the servient real property remains.

253

Book Two

In Kind Consequential Rights

In Kind Securities

254

Division One

The Official Mortgage

Chapter One

Creation of the Official Mortgage

Article (1058)
The official mortgage is a contract by virtue of which the creditor gains an in
kind right, on a real property specified for the satisfaction of his debt by
virtue of which he shall have priority over ordinary creditors and creditors
who follow him in rank for the satisfaction of his right from the price of that
real property irrespective of who owns it.
Article (1059)
1. The official mortgage shall not be concluded unless it is in an official
document legalized in accordance with the law.
2. The contract expenses shall be on the mortgagor, unless otherwise
agreed.
Article (1060)
1. It shall be permissible for the mortgagor to be the same debtor or an in
kind guarantor for the benefit of the debtor.
2. In both situations, the guarantor should be the owner of the mortgaged
real property, and capable of disposing of it.
Article (1061)
1. If the mortgagor was not the owner of the mortgaged real property, the
mortgaged contract shall become valid if acknowledged by the real
owner in an official document legalized in accordance with the law. If
this acknowledgment was not issued, the right of mortgage shall not be
established on the real property except from the time on which this real
property becomes owned by the mortgagor.
2. The mortgage of future property shall be void.

255

Article (1062)
The mortgage made by the owner whose deed of ownership has been
annulled or dissolved or cancelled or seizes to exist for any other reason, shall
remain existing for the benefit of the mortgagee creditor, if this creditor was
of good faith at the time on which the mortgage was entered into.
Article (1063)
1. The official mortgage shall only apply to a real property, unless a
provision provides otherwise.
2. The real property should be capable of being independently sold by
auction, and should, with regard to its nature and location, be
accurately defined per se, and this definition should be included in the
mortgage itself or in a preceding official contract otherwise the
mortgage shall be void.
Article (1064)
1. The official mortgage shall include the ancillaries of the real mortgaged
property which are deemed real property.
2. And shall specifically include the buildings, the trees, the rights of
easement, the real properties specifically attached to the mortgaged
real property, and the improvements and constructions beneficial to
the owner, whether such ancillaries existed at the time of the mortgage
or made afterwards, unless otherwise agreed and without prejudice to
preferential sums due to the contractors or engineers.
Article (1065)
Registration of the attachment shall result in attaching, to the real property,
the produce and income of the real property which is produced during the
period following the registration, and the distribution of the price of the real
property shall apply to the distribution of this produce.
Article (1066)
The owner of the buildings existing on the land of another shall be entitled to
officially mortgage it, and in this situation the mortgagee creditor shall have
the right to rank ahead in the recovery of the debt from the price of the
wreckage if the buildings were demolished, and from the compensation paid
by the owner of the land if he keeps the buildings.

256

Article (1067)
1. The mortgage made by all the owners of a common property shall
remain effective, regardless of the result of the division of the real
property or its sale for the inability to divide it.
2. If one of the partners shall mortgage all or part of his share in the
common real property or an apportioned part of the real property, and
upon the division his share was allocated to real properties other than
the one he had mortgaged, the mortgage shall be transferred together
with its rank to part of those real properties equal to the value of the
real property which was originally mortgaged, and this part shall be
determined through an order to an application, and the mortgagee
creditor shall within sixty days from the time on which any concerned
party shall inform him of the result of the division, make a new record
determining the part to which the mortgage has been transferred. The
transfer of the mortgage in this manner shall not result in any damage
neither to a mortgage made by all the partners, or to the preference of
the dividers.
Article (1068)
It shall be permissible for the mortgage to be made as security for a debt
suspended on a stipulation, or an independent debt, or a contingent debt, and
it shall also be permissible for the same to be made as security for an opened
credit or to open a current account, provided the amount of the debt secured
or the maximum extent which the debt could end up with is determined in
the mortgage contract.
Article (1069)
Every part of the mortgaged real property or properties shall secure all the
debt. And every part of the debt shall be secured by all the mortgaged real
property or properties, unless the law provides, or the agreement prescribes
otherwise.
Article (1070)
1. The mortgage shall be dependant on the secured debt in its validity
and termination, unless the law provides otherwise.
2. If the mortgagor shall not be the debtor, he shall be entitled in addition
to depending on the defenses relating to him, to depend on the
defenses of the debtor in relation to the debt, and this right shall
remain even if the debtor had relinquished it.
257

Chapter Two

Effects of the Official Mortgage

Part One

The Effects of the Mortgage as between its Two Contracting

Parties

Article (1071)
The mortgagor may dispose of the mortgaged real property. Any disposition
by him shall not affect the right of the mortgagee creditor.
Article (1072)
The mortgagor shall have the right to manage the mortgaged real property,
and shall be entitled to receive its produce and income until it is added to the
real property.
Article (1073)
1. The lease made by the mortgagor shall not be effective against the
mortgagee creditor unless it was of a fixed date before registering the
attachment, if however the lease was not of a fixed date as per this
manner, or if it had been concluded after registering the attachment
and the rent was not paid, it shall not then be effective unless it was
within proper management affairs.
2. If the period of the lease which was made before registering the
attachment shall exceed ten years, it shall not be effective against the
mortgagee creditor except for a period of ten years, unless it was
registered before recording the mortgage.
Article (1074)
1. Neither the acquittance of the rent in advance for a period exceeding
three years, nor its assignment shall be valid against the mortgagee
creditor unless it was of a fixed date before the registration of the
attachment.

258

2. If however the acquittance or the assignment was for a period

exceeding three years, it shall not be valid against the mortgagee
creditor unless it was registered before the mortgage, otherwise its
period shall be reduced to three years, taking into consideration the
provision of the preceding paragraph.
Article (1075)
The mortgagor shall be responsible to secure the safety of the mortgage, and
the mortgagee creditor shall be entitled to object to every act or shortcoming
which might largely decrease his security, and shall be entitled in an expedite
case to take whatever preservative measures are necessary, and to revert
against the mortgagor with what he had expended.
Article (1076)
1. If the mortgagor had caused, by his mistake, the demolition or damage
of the mortgaged real property, the mortgagee creditor shall be entitled
to choose between obtaining a sufficient security or to receive his right
immediately.
2. If the demolition or damage was caused by an extraneous cause, and
the creditor did not accept for the debt to remain without security, the
debtor shall be entitled to choose between providing a sufficient
security or settling the debt immediately before its due date.
3. In all situations, if any acts were committed which may expose the
mortgaged real property to demolition or damage or to render it
insufficient as security, the creditor shall be entitled to request from the
judge the suspension of those acts and the taking of measures which
prevent the occurrence of the damage.
Article (1077)
If the mortgaged real property was demolished or damaged for any reason
whatsoever, the mortgage shall be transferred to the right resulting therefrom
such as compensation, the insurance money and the consideration for the
expropriation of ownership for public benefit.
Article (1078)
1. The mortgagee creditor shall be entitled to collect his right from the
mortgaged real property in accordance with the procedures prescribed
for the same.

259

2. If the real property shall not be sufficient for his debt, he shall be
entitled to revert with the remainder of his debt against the debtors
properties as an ordinary creditor.
Article (1079)
1. If the mortgagor was a person other than the debtor, it shall not be
permissible to execute against his properties except the one mortgaged.
And he shall not be entitled to the right of despoiling the debtor from
his properties, unless an agreement exists to the contrary.
2. This mortgagor shall be entitled to avoid any procedure against him if
he had relinquished the mortgaged real property in accordance with
the situations and the provisions which the possessor follows in
relinquishing the real property.
Article (1080)
Every stipulation which gives the mortgagee creditor the right, when the debt
was not settled on its due date, to own the mortgaged real property in
consideration of the debt, or any other price, or to sell it without following the
procedures prescribed by the law, even if this stipulation has been concluded
after the mortgage, shall be void.

Part Two
The Effect of the Mortgage in Respect of others

Article (1081)
1. The mortgage shall not be effective against others unless recorded
before others have acquired an in kind right over the real property,
without prejudice to the provisions prescribed for bankruptcy.
2. It shall not be valid neither to depend against others on the assignment
of a right secured by a recorded mortgage, nor to depend upon the
right resulting from subrogating the creditor by a person in relation to
this right by virtue of the law or the agreement, nor to depend on
relinquishing the rank of the mortgage in favor of another creditor,
unless the same was noted in the margin of the original record.
Article (1082)

260

The effect of recording shall be limited to the amount specified in the list of
information attached to it, or the due amount whichever is less.
Article (1083)
Recording shall lapse if not renewed within ten years from the date on which
it was made; the creditor shall however be entitled to make a new record, if it
was legally impossible which rank shall be as of the date on which it was
made. Every renewal shall have no effect except for a period of ten years from
the date on which it was made.
Article (1084)
The renewal of the record is obligatory even during the execution procedures
over the mortgaged real property, however it shall not be obligatory if the
right has terminated or the real property has been released, and specifically if
the real property has been sold through the court and the period for
increasing a tenth has lapsed.
Article (1085)
The deletion of the record shall not be permitted unless by a final judgment,
or with the consent of the creditor through an official declaration by him.
Article (1086)
If the deletion has been cancelled the original rank shall be returned to the
record, however its cancellation shall have no retroactive effect in relation to
the records and registrations made during the period between the deletion
and the cancellation.
Article (1087)
The expenses of the record, its renewal and deletion shall be borne by the
mortgager, unless otherwise agreed.
First: The Right of Priority:
Article (1088)
The mortgagee creditors shall recover their debts before the ordinary
creditors from the price of the mortgaged real property or the property which

261

replaced this real property, in accordance with the rank of each of them, even
if they had made the record in the same day.
Article (1089)
The rank of the mortgage shall be determined from the time on which it was
recorded even if the debt secured by the mortgage was suspended on a
stipulation or was a future or a contingent debt.
Article (1090)
Recording the debt shall result in adding the expenses of the contract and the
record and the renewal to the distribution and to the rank of the mortgage
itself.
Article (1091)
The mortgagee creditor shall be entitled to relinquish the rank of his mortgage
to the extent of the debt secured by that mortgage for the benefit of another
creditor with a mortgage recorded over the same real property. It shall be
permissible to depend against this other creditor with all the defenses which
are permissible against the first creditor, except the ones relating to the
termination of the right of that first creditor if this termination was
subsequent to the relinquishment of the rank.
Second: The Right of Pursuit:
Article (1092)
1. The mortgagee creditor shall be entitled, when the debt becomes due,
to execute over the mortgaged real property in the possession of the
possessor of that real property, unless the possessor has chosen to
settle the debt, or to release the real property from the mortgage, or to
relinquish it.
2. Whoever, for any reason, acquires the ownership of a real property or
any in kind right thereto which can be mortgaged, without being
personally responsible for the debt secured by the mortgage, shall be
deemed a possessor of the mortgaged real property.
Article (1093)

262

The possessor shall be entitled, when the debt secured with the mortgage has
become due, to settle it together with its ancillaries including what has been
expended in the procedures from the time he was warned to pay the debt. His
referred to right shall remain existing until the day on which the sale occurs.
And he shall be entitled in this situation to revert with whatever he pays
against the debtor and the previous owner of the mortgaged real property,
and shall also be entitled to subrogate for the creditor who has recovered his
debt in all his rights, except the ones related to securities given by a person
other than the debtor.
Article (1094)
The possessor shall maintain the mortgage record, in which he has
subrogated for the creditor, and renew it when necessary, until the records
which existed over the real property at the time on which the deed of this
possessor has been registered have been deleted.
Article (1095)
1. If an amount was immediately due by the possessor by reason of him
owning the mortgaged real property, which is sufficient for settling all
the creditors whose rights are recorded over the real property, each of
those creditors shall be entitled to compel him to settle his right
provided his deed of ownership has been registered.
2. If the debt due by the possessor was not immediately due, or was less
than the debts due to the creditors or was different from them, the
creditors shall be entitled if they all agree to request the possessor to
pay what is due by him to the extent due to them, and payment shall
be in accordance with the stipulations to which the possessor was
committed in his original undertaking to pay in accordance with it, and
on the date agreed for payment.
3. In both situations the possessor shall not be entitled to relieve himself
from his obligation to relinquish the real property, but if he has settled
them, the real property shall be deemed relieved from every mortgage,
and the possessor shall have the right to request the deletion of
whatever records are over the real property
Article (1096)
1. The possessor shall be entitled, if he has registered his deed of
ownership to release the real property from every mortgage that has
been recorded before registering this deed.

263

2. The possessor shall be entitled to use this right even before the
creditors submit the execution request over the real property or
addressing a warning to the possessor. This right shall remain in
existence until the day on which the list of the sale terms has been
issued.
Article (1097)
If the possessor wishes to release the real property, he shall address each of
the creditors whose rights are recorded, with a notice comprising the
following information:
1. A summary of his deed of ownership which is limited to defining the
type of the disposition and its date and specifying the real property in
details and identifying its previous owner. And if the disposition was a
sale the price and its ancillaries shall be mentioned.
2. The date of registration of the ownership of the possessor, and the
number of this registration.
3. The rights which have been recorded over the real property before the
registration of his deed and the date of recording it and the value of
those rights and the names of the creditors.
4. The amount which the possessor estimates as the value for the real
property and such amount shall not be less than the price which is
used as a bases for evaluating the price in case of expropriating the
ownership for the public benefit. And shall not be less in any situation
than the remainder of what is due by the possessor of the value of the
real property if the disposition was a sale. And if parts of the real
property were charged with different mortgages, each part shall be
assessed separately.
Article (1098)
The possessor shall mention in the notice provided for in the preceding article
that he is prepared to settle the recorded debts to the extent of the assessment
of the real property, and he does not have to accompany the notice with the
amount in cash, but the notice shall be limited to showing his readiness for
the settlement with a sum immediately due for payment, regardless of the
due date of the recorded debts.
Article (1099)
1. It shall be permissible for each creditor whose right has been recorded,
and for each guarantor of a recorded right, to request the sale of the

264

real property which release is requested and the same shall be within
thirty days from the last official notice.
2. Request shall be in the form of a notice addressed to the possessor and
the previous owner, and the requester must deposit with the courts
treasury an amount sufficient for the expenses of the sale by auction,
and shall not be entitled to recover the expenses incurred if the auction
has not been adjudicated for a price higher than the amount offered by
the possessor. The request shall be void if these terms were not met.
3. The requester shall not be entitled to relinquish his request except with
the approval of all the recorded creditors and the guarantors.
Article (1100)
If the sale of the real property has been requested, the procedures prescribed
for compulsory sales must be followed. And the sale shall be concluded upon
the request of the person with an interest in the acceleration, whether be a
requester or a possessor. And whoever undertakes the procedures shall
mention in the sale notices the amount at which the real property has been
valued.
Article (1101)
If the sale of the real property has not been requested on the specified date
and under the prescribed situations, or if the sale has been requested but a
price higher than the price offered by the possessor was not offered, the
ownership of the real property shall finally settle with the possessor free from
any recorded right if he has paid, to the creditors whose rank allows the
recovery of their rights therefrom, the amount at which the real property was
valued, or if deposits this sum with the courts treasury.
Article (1102)
1. Vacating the mortgaged real property shall be in a report presented by
the possessor to the courts competent clerkships department, and he
shall request the making of an indication of the same on the attachment
registration margin, and to summon the creditor exercising the
procedures with this vacating within five days from the date of
reporting it.
2. Whoever shall have an interest in the acceleration shall be entitled to
request the judge of expeditious matters to appoint a receiver against
whom execution procedures are taken, and the possessor shall appoint
a receiver if he shall request so.

265

Article (1103)
If the possessor shall choose not to settle the recorded debts, or to release the
real property from the mortgage, or to relinquish the real property, the
mortgagee creditor shall not be entitled to take execution procedures against
him except after warning him to pay the due debt or vacate the real property,
and the warning shall be registering the attachment or at the same time of this
registration.
Article (1104)
1. It shall be permissible for the possessor who has registered his deed of
ownership, and was not a party to the law suit in which the debtor was
judged, to depend on the defense grounds which the debtor could have
depended on, if the judgment of the debt was after the registration of
the possessors deed.
2. The possessor shall, in all situations, be entitled to depend on the
defense grounds to which the debtor, after the judgment, still has the
right to depend on.
Article (1105)
The possessor shall be entitled to join the auction, provided he shall not offer
a price less than what is still due by him from the value of the real property
being sold.
Article (1106)
If the mortgaged real property has been compulsorily sold, even if after
taking the release or vacating procedures, and the auction has been
adjudicated in favor of the possessor, he shall be deemed the owner of the real
property by virtue of his original deed of ownership, and the real property
shall be released from every recorded right if the possessor shall pay the price
upon which the auction had been adjudicated or had deposited it with the
courts treasury.
Article (1107)
If, under the situations provided for in the preceding article, the auction had
been adjudicated in favor of a person other than the possessor; such person
shall receive his right in place of the possessor by virtue of the award of sale
judgment.

266

Article (1108)
If the price upon which the auction had been adjudicated was more than what
is due to the creditors whose rights are recorded, this excess shall be for the
possessor, and the mortgagee creditors shall e entitled to request the
possessor to settle their rights from such excess.
Article (1109)
The possessor shall regain whatever easement and other right he had before
the transfer of the ownership of the real property to him.
Article (1110)
The possessor shall return the produce of the real property from the time he
was warned to pay or to vacate. If the procedures have been left for three
years, he shall not return the produce except from the time on which he was
served with a new warning.
Article (1111)
1. The possessor shall have the right to revert against the previous owner
with the case for damages within the limits of recourse which the
successor shall have against the person from whom he acquired
ownership for consideration or by way of donation.
2. And the possessor shall also have the right to revert against the debtor
for whatever he had paid in excess of whatever is due by him by virtue
of his right deed whatever is the reason for the payment of that excess,
and he shall subrogate for the creditors whom he settled their rights,
and shall specifically subrogate them in the securities provided by the
debtor but not the securities provided by another person.
Article (1112)
The possessor shall be personally liable before the creditors for whatever
damage is inflicted on the real property by his mistake.

Chapter Three
Termination of the Official Mortgage
Article (1113)
267

The official mortgage shall terminate with the lapse of the secured debt, and it
shall revive with it if the cause of termination of the debt was abated, without
prejudice to the rights of bona fidie others which they have acquired during
the period from the lapse of the debt to its revival.
Article (1114)
If the release procedures have been completed, the right of official mortgage
shall finally terminate, even if, for any cause, the ownership of the possessor
who released the real property has abated.
Article (1115)
If the mortgaged real property has been compulsorily sold by auction,
whether the same was against the owner of the real property or the possessor
or the receiver to whom the real property was handed over upon vacating,
the rights of mortgage over this real property shall terminate with the deposit
of the price with which the auction has been adjudicated, or with its payment
to the recorded creditors whose rank allows the recovery of their rights from
this price.

Division Two
The Right of lien

Article (1116)
1. Each creditor possessing an enforceable judgment delivered in relation
to the subject matter of the law suit obliging the debtor to a specific
thing shall be entitled, when in good faith, to obtain a right of lien over
the real properties of his debtor as security for the principal of the debt
and the expenses.
2. The creditor shall not be entitled, after the death of the debtor, to
obtain a lien over a movable property in the estate.
Article (1117)
It shall not be permissible to obtain a right of lien upon a judgment issued by
a foreign court, or upon an award issued by arbitrators, unless the judgment
or the award has become enforceable.
268

Article (1118)
It shall be permissible to obtain a right of lien upon a judgment establishing a
compromise or an agreement between the litigants, but it shall not be
permissible to obtain a right of lien upon a judgment issued for the
correctness of the signature.
Article (1119)
It shall not be permissible to take a right of lien except over one or more
specific real properties, owned by the debtor at the time on which the order of
lien has been obtained and at the time on which it was recorded, and which
could be sold by auction.
Article (1120)
1. The creditor who wishes to take a lien over the real properties of his
debtor, shall, for this purpose, submit a petition to the president of the
preliminary court in which district the real properties he wishes to
have a lien over it are located.
2. The petition must be accompanied by an official copy of the judgment
or by a certificate from the clerkships department in which the
pronouncement of the judgment is entered, and should include the
following information:
A. The name of the creditor, his surname, his profession and his original
domicile or the chosen domicile which he specifies within the district
of the referred to court if his original domicile was not in it.
B. The name of the debtor, his surname, his profession and his domicile.
C. The date of the judgment and the court which delivered it.
D. The amount of the debt, and if the debt mentioned in the judgment was
of an unspecified amount, the president of the court shall estimate it,
and shall determine the amount to be taken by the right of lien.
E. Defining accurately the real properties and describing its location and
providing the documents indicating its value.
Article (1121)
1.The president of the court shall enter his order to the lien at the bottom
of the petition.
2. When ordering the lien, the amount of the debt and the value of the
real properties identified in the petition shall be, approximately, taken
269

into consideration. The president of the court shall, when necessary,

make the lien limited to some of those properties or to only one of
them or to a part of one of them, if he envisages that the same is
sufficient to secure the payment of the principal debt and the expenses
due to the creditors.
Article (1122)
The clerkships department shall inform the debtor of the order issued in
relation to the lien on the same day on which this order is issued, and shall
also enter this order on the copy of the judgment, or on the certificate attached
to the request submitted to take the lien, and to inform the clerkship
department of the court that issued the judgment, to enter the same on every
other copy or certificate delivered to the creditor.
Article (1123)
1. The debtor shall be entitled to complain before the issuing judge,
against the order issued in relation to the lien. He shall also be entitled
to bring this complaint to the preliminary court.
2. Every order or judgment deciding the cancellation of the order issued
in relation to the lien must be entered into the margin of the record.
Article (1124)
If the president of the court has rejected the lien request submitted by the
creditor, whether the rejection was at the outset or after the debtors
complaint, the creditor shall be entitled to complain before the preliminary
court against the rejection order.
Article (1125)
If the debtor was insolvent at the time the lien was recorded, the creditor who
has obtained this right shall not be entitled to depend on it, even if he was of
good faith, against any other creditor whose right was of a fixed date and
earlier to the recording of the lien.
Article (1126)
1. Every interested party shall be entitled to request the decrease of the
lien to the appropriate limit, if the value of the real properties over
which the right of lien has been established exceeds what is sufficient
to secure the debt.
270

2. The decrease of the lien shall be either through limiting it to a part of

the real property or properties over which it was established, or to
transfer it to another real property which value shall be sufficient to
secure the debt.
Article (1127)
The creditor who has obtained the right of lien shall be entitled to the same
rights which the creditor who has an official mortgage shall have, and the lien
shall be subject to the provisions applicable to the official mortgage,
specifically those relating to the record and its renewal and deletion, and the
non division of the right and its effect and its termination, all without
prejudice to whatever is provided for in special provisions.

Division Three
Possessive Mortgage

Chapter One
Creation of Possessive Mortgage

Article (1128)
The possessive mortgage is a contract by virtue of which a person shall be
obliged, to secure a debt due by him or by another, to deliver to the creditor
or to a trustee appointed by the two contracting parties, something over
which an in kind right shall be established in favor of the creditor, which
entitles him to withhold the thing until the recovery of the debt, and to rank
ahead of ordinary creditors and the creditors who follow him in rank in the
recovery of his right from the price of the thing, in whoevers possession it
shall be.
Article (1129)
Only movable and real properties which could be independently sold by
auction shall be the subject matter of a possessive mortgage.
Article (1130)

271

The provisions of articles (1061), (1062), (1066), (1068), (1069) and (1070)
applicable to the official mortgage shall apply to the possessive mortgage.
Article (1131)
Possessive mortgage of a common property shall be permissible, and this
mortgage shall be subject to the provisions of article (1067).
Article (1132)
The possessive mortgage shall include the ancillaries of the mortgaged thing,
unless otherwise agreed.
Article (1133)
It shall be permissible for the mortgaged thing to secure several debts, if the
person who received it has accepted to possess it for the account of the
owners of those debts.

Chapter Two
Effects of the Possessive Mortgage

Article (1134)
1. The mortgagor shall deliver the mortgaged thing to the creditor, or to
the trustee who was appointed by the two contracting parties to
receive it.
2. The obligation of delivering the mortgaged thing shall be subject to the
provisions of the obligation of delivering the sold thing.
Article (1135)
If the mortgaged thing has returned to the possession of the mortgagor, the
mortgage shall terminate, unless the mortgagee creditor has proved that the
return was for a reason with which the termination of the mortgage was not
intended. All shall be without prejudice to the rights of others with good faith.
Article (1136)

272

The mortgagor shall guarantee the safety and enforceability of the mortgage,
and shall not commit any act which decreases the value of the mortgaged
thing or precludes the creditor from using his rights derived from the contract,
and the mortgagee creditor shall, in an expedite situation, be entitled to take,
at the mortgagors expense, all the measures necessary to preserve the
mortgaged thing.
Article (1137)
The provisions of articles (1076) and (1077) relating to the demolition of the
thing officially mortgaged or its damage, and the transfer of the creditors
right from the mortgaged thing to the rights replacing it, shall apply to the
possessive mortgage.
Article (1138)
If the creditor has received the mortgaged thing he shall exercise in its
preservation and maintenance the care exercised by an ordinary person. And
he shall be liable for the demolition and damage of the thing, unless he had
proved that the same was attributable to an extraneous reason beyond his
control.
Article (1139)
1. The creditor shall not be entitled to benefit from the mortgaged thing
without consideration.
2. And he shall invest it completely in accordance with its nature, unless
otherwise agreed.
3. The net produce obtained by the creditor, and the benefit he had
received from using the thing, shall be deducted from the amount
secured by the mortgage, even if has not become due, provided
deduction is first made from the value of what he has expended in
preserving the thing and the repairs and the costs he has paid, and
then the compensations due to him, then from the expenses, then from
the principal debt.
Article (1140)
1. The mortgagee creditor shall undertake the management of the
mortgaged thing, and shall exercise in this the care exercised by an
ordinary person. And he shall not be entitled to method of exploiting
the mortgaged thing unless with the consent of the mortgagor. And

273

shall inform the mortgagor of every matter that requires his

intervention.
2. If he had misused this right, or had managed the thing badly, or had
committed in that a gross negligence, the mortgagor shall be entitled to
request placing the thing under guardianship or to recover it against
paying what is due by him.
Article (1141)
The mortgagee shall be obliged to return the mortgaged thing to the
mortgagor after receiving his full right, and whatever ancillaries, expenses
and compensations relating thereto.
Article (1142)
The provisions of paragraph (1) of article (1079) relating to the liability of non
debtor mortgagor, and the provisions of article (1080) relating to the
stipulation of ownership upon the non settlement and the terms of sale
without procedures shall apply to the possessive mortgage.
Article (1143)
For the mortgage to be effective against third others, the mortgaged thing
must be in the possession of the mortgagor of the trustee agreed to by the two
contracting parties.
Article (1144)
1. The mortgage shall entitle the mortgagee the right to withhold the
mortgaged thing, without prejudice to whatever rights the law shall
preserve for others.
2. If the thing has left the possession of the creditor without his will or
without his knowledge, he shall be entitled to the right of recovering it
in accordance with the provisions of possession.
Article (1145)
Mortgage shall not be limited to securing the principal right, but shall secure
and under the same rank:
1. The necessary expenses expended in the preservation of the thing.
2. The compensations for the damages resulting from the defects of the
thing.

274

3. The expenses of the contract which established the debt, and the
expenses of the mortgage contract and recording it when necessary,
and the expenses of executing the mortgage.

Chapter Three
Termination of the Possessive Mortgage

Article (1146)
The right of possessive mortgage shall terminate with the lapse of the secured
debt, and it shall revive with it if the cause of termination of the debt is abated,
without prejudice to the rights others with good faith have acquired during
the period from the lapse of the right and its revival.
Article (1147)
The right of possessive mortgage shall also terminate for any of the following
reasons:
1. If the mortgagee creditor has relinquished this right and has possessed
capacity to release the debtor from the debt. Relinquishment could be
concluded implicitly by the creditor willingly relinquishing the
mortgaged thing or by his approval to the disposition of the thing
without reservation. However if the debt secured by the mortgage was
charged with a right for another, the relinquishment by the creditor
shall not be effective against this other, unless he has approved it.
2. If the thing has demolished or the mortgaged right has terminated.
3. If the right of possessive mortgage is consolidated with the right of
ownership in the hands of one person.
4. If the mortgaged real property was compulsorily sold by auction.

Chapter Four
Certain Types of Possessive Mortgage

Part One
Mortgage of Real Property

275

Article (1148)
It is conditional for the mortgage of a real property to be effective against
others, in addition to the transfer of possession, that the mortgage be recorded.
The provisions relating to the official mortgage shall apply to this record.
Article (1149)
1. The mortgagee creditor of a real property shall be entitled to lease it to
the mortgagor without the same preventing from the mortgage being
effective against others.
2. If the lease has been agreed to in the mortgage contract, the same must
be mentioned in the record. If has been agreed to after the mortgage, an
indication must be made in the margin of the record, however this
indication shall not be necessary if the lease has been impliedly
renewed.
Article (1150)
1. The mortgagee creditor of a real property shall undertake its
maintenance, and to make the expenses necessary for its preservation,
and to pay whatever taxes and costs are annually due over the real
property, provided he shall deduct from the produce which he collects
the value of what he has expended or to receive this value from the
price of the real property under the rank which the law shall entitle
him to.
2. The creditor shall be entitled to be relieved from those obligations if he
shall relinquish the mortgage right.
Article (1151)
It is conditional for the mortgage of a movable property to be effective against
others, in addition to the transfer of possession that the contract is written in a
document of a fixed date which clearly shows the amount secured by the
mortgage and mortgaged property. And this fixed date shall determine the
rank of the mortgage.
Article (1152)
1. The provisions relating to the effects resulting from the possession of
material movables and bearer bonds shall apply to the mortgage of a
movable.

276

2. The mortgagee shall be specifically entitled, if he was of good faith, to

depend on his right in the mortgage even if the mortgagor does not
have the right to dispose of the mortgaged thing, and on another front,
each possessor of good faith shall be entitled to depend on the right he
has gained over the mortgaged thing, even if the same was after the
date of the mortgage.
Article (1153)
1. If the mortgaged thing was threatened with demolition or damage or
decrease in value where it is feared that it shall not be sufficient to
secure the right of the creditor, the mortgagee or the mortgagor shall
be entitled to request from the judge to permit him to sell it by auction
or at its market value.
2. The judge shall decide in relation to the depositing of the price when
permitting the sale. The rights of the creditors shall, in this situation, be
transferred from the thing to its price.
Article (1154)
The mortgagor shall be entitled, if a chance has been offered to sell the
mortgaged thing, and the sale was a profitable deal, to request the judge the
permission to sell this thing, even if it was before the date on which the debt
shall become due, and the judge shall, upon the permission, determine the
terms of the sale, and shall decide upon the deposit of the price.
Article (1155)
The mortgagee creditor shall be entitled, if he has not received his right, to
request the judge to permit him to sell the mortgaged thing by auction or at
its market value.
Article (1156)
The preceding provisions shall be applicable to the extent they are not
contrary to the provisions of the commercial laws, and the laws prescribing
for special provisions to the mortgage of a movable.

Part Three
Mortgage of Debt

277

Article (1157)
1. The mortgage of a debt shall not be effective against the debtor unless
by notifying the mortgage to him, or by his acceptance of it.
2. And this mortgage shall not be effective against others except from the
possession of the deed of the mortgaged debt by the mortgagee or the
trustee. And the rank of the mortgage shall be calculated from the
proved date for the notification the debtor or for his acceptance.
Article (1158)
The mortgage of nominal bonds and promissory bonds is concluded in the
special manner prescribed by law for the transfer of those bonds provided it
shall be stated that the transfer is made by way of a mortgage, and the
mortgage shall be concluded without notice.
Article (1159)
The mortgage of the debt shall not be permissible if it was non assignable or
non attachable.
Article (1160)
The settlement of the mortgaged debt, or its renewal, or the set off thereof, or
the joint liability therein, or the release therefrom, shall not apply against the
mortgagee creditor except with his approval, and any amendment in the debt
which damages him shall also not apply against him except with his approval.
Article (1161)
1. The mortgagee shall be entitled to the periodic entitlements of the
mortgaged debt, provided he shall deduct the expenses he receives
from the principal of the debt secured with mortgage, unless otherwise
agreed.
2. The mortgagee creditor shall preserve the mortgaged debt, and if he
was entitled to receive something from this debt without the
intervention of the mortgagor, he shall receive it at the time and place
determined for the recovery and shall inform the mortgagor of the
same.
Article (1162)

278

The debtor in the mortgaged debt shall be entitled to depend against the
mortgagee on the defense grounds relating to the validity of the right secured
by mortgage, and also the defense grounds which he shall have against his
original creditor, all to the extent in which it is permissible for the debtor, in
the situation of assignment, to depend on those defenses against the assignee.
Article (1163)
1. If the mortgaged debt becomes due before the debt secured with
mortgage shall become due, the debtor shall not be entitled to settle the
debt except to the mortgagee and the mortgagor together, and each of
the two shall be entitled to request the debtor to deposit what he pays,
and the right of mortgage shall be transferred to whatever has been
deposited.
2. The mortgagee and the mortgagor shall cooperate in exploiting what
the debtor had paid, and it shall be in the most beneficial manner for
the mortgagor without causing damage to the mortgagee creditor, and
to establish a new mortgage in favour of the this creditor.
Article (1164)
If both the mortgaged debt and the debt secured by mortgage shall become
due, the mortgagee creditor shall be entitled, if he has not received his right,
to receive from the mortgaged debt whatever shall be due for him, or to
request the sale of this debt in accordance with article (1155).

279

Division Four

Preferential Rights

Chapter One

General Provisions

Article 1165
1. Preference is a priority determined by law over a certain right in
consideration by the law to its nature.
2. A right shall not have a preference except by virtue of a provision in
the law.

Article 1166
1. The preference rank shall be determined by law. If no provision clearly
refers to the preference rank of a preferred right, it shall come after
every preferred right which rank has been determined.
2. If preferred rights are of the same rank, they shall be collected in
proportion to the value of each of them, unless a provision determines
otherwise.

Article 1167
General preferential rights shall apply to all the properties of the debtor
whether movable or real estate. As for special preferential rights, it shall be
limited to a specific movable or real property.

Article 1168
1. In general preferential rights, registration is not required even if it
relates to a real property. Registration shall also not be required in real
preferential rights which secure amounts due to public treasury.
2. Such preferential rights shall rank ahead of any other real preferential
right, or any official mortgage right regardless of the date of its

280

registration. As amongst such rights, preferential rights securing

amounts due to public treasury shall rank ahead of general preferential
rights.
Article 1169
The right of pursuit shall not apply to general preferential rights, without
prejudice to what the law provides for in relation to amounts due to public
treasury.
Article 1170
The provisions of the official mortgage shall apply to special preferential
rights over a real property to the extent not contrary to the nature of such
rights. The provisions of release, recording, results of recording, renewal and
deletion shall specifically apply.
Article 1171
1. Preferential right shall not be depended on against a bona fidie
possessor of a movable property.
2. Under the provision of this article, a lesser with regard to movables
within the leased property, and a hotel owner with regard to the effects
of the hotel guests kept at his hotel, shall be deemed a possessor.
3. If for reasonable reasons, the creditor fears that a movable property
over which a preferential right exists in his favor may be wasted, he
shall be entitled to request putting such property under receivership.

Article 1172
The provisions relating to the demolition and damage applicable to the
official mortgage shall apply to preference.

Article 1173
A preferential right shall expire in the same way an official mortgage and a
possessive mortgage shall expire, all to the extent that such provisions are not
contrary to the nature of the preferential right, unless a special provision to
the contrary exists.

281

Chapter Two

Types of Preferential Rights

Article 1174
The rights referred to in the following articles are preferential rights together
with preferential rights determined in special provisions.

Part One

General Preferential Rights and Special Preferential Rights over

Movable Properties

Article 1175
1. Judicial expenses spent in the interest of all the creditors to preserve
the properties of the debtor, selling it and distributing it shall have a
preference over the price of such properties.
2. Such expenses shall be recovered ahead of any other right, even if such
right is a preferential right or secured by mortgage.
3. Expenses spent in the preservation and selling of the properties shall
have preference over the expenses spent in the distribution procedures.
Article 1176
1. Amounts due to public treasury such as taxes, fees and other rights of
any kind shall have preference under the terms provided for in the
laws issued in that regard.
2. Such amounts shall be recovered from the price of the properties
charged with such preference, in whoevers possession, ahead of any
other right even if preferential or secured with mortgage, with the
exception of judicial expenses.
Article 1177
1. Amounts spent in the preservation of a movable property and its
repair shall have preference over it all.

282

2. Such amounts shall be recovered from the price of the movable

property after judicial expenses and amounts due to public treasury.
As amongst each other, it shall rank in accordance with the date on
which it was spent in reverse order.

Article 1178
1. The following rights, to the extent due in the last six months, shall have
a preferential right over all the debtors properties, whether movable or
real property:
A. Amounts due to servants, workers and every other wage earner
for their wages and salaries of any kind.
B. Amounts due from food, clothing and cover furnished to the
debtor and those supported by him.
C. Amounts due by the debtor to those whom he is compelled to
support.
2. Such amounts shall be recovered after judicial expenses and amounts
due to public treasury and the expenses of preservation and repair. As
amongst each other, they shall be collected proportionately.

Article 1179
1. Amounts spent for seeds, fertilizers and other fertilizing materials and
insecticides, and the amounts spent in agricultural and harvesting
operations shall have preference over the crop for the production of
which it was spent, and shall all have one rank.
2. Such amounts shall be recovered from the price of the crop after the
rights referred to in the preceding articles.
3. Additionally, amounts due in consideration of agricultural equipment
shall have a preferential right of the same rank over such equipment.

Article 1180
1. Rent of buildings and lands for two years, or for the duration of the
rent period if less than two years, and every other right of the lesser by
virtue of the lease contract, all shall have preference over every
movable property which can be subject to attachment existing in the
leased premises and owned by the tenant, and the land crop.

283

2. Properties existing in the leased premises shall be deemed the property

of the tenant unless others prove their ownership of the same.
3. Preference shall also apply to movables and crops which are owned by
the sub tenant if the lesser has explicitly stipulated for the tenant not to
sublet. If the lesser did not stipulate the same, preference shall only
apply to amounts due to the original tenant from the sub tenant at the
time on which the lesser notifies him not to pay such amounts to the
original tenant.
4. If the properties charged with preference have been moved from the
leased premises despite the lessers objection, or without his
knowledge, whereas the properties remaining in the leased premises
were not sufficient to secure the preferential rights, preference shall
remain over the properties which were removed, provided it does not
infringe the right acquired over these properties by a bona fidie third
party. Preference shall remain, even if it infringes the right of a third
party, for a period of three years from the day on which it was
removed, if the lesser has affected an attachment for entitlement within
the legal time period. However if these properties were sold to a bona
fidie buyer in a public market, or auction or by whoever trades in
similar ones, the lesser must return the value to the buyer.
5. Such preferred amounts are recovered from the price of the properties
charged with preference after the rights referred to in the preceding
articles, with the exception of those rights that are not valid against the
lesser being a bona fidie possessor.

Article 1181
1. Amounts due to the owner of a hotel from a guest for the stay fare,
provision and whatever was spent for his account, shall have
preference over the effects brought by the guest into the hotel or its
appurtenants.
2. The effects at the hotel shall be deemed owned by the guest unless a
third party proves his ownership of it. The hotel owner may reject the
moving of the effects from his hotel if he has not received his full right.
If it has been removed despite his rejection, or without his knowledge,
the right of preference shall remain over it without prejudice to the
rights acquired by bona fidie others.
3. The preference of the hotel owner ranks the same as the preference of
the lesser. If the two rights lap, the prior in date shall be given
precedence unless not valid against the latter.

284

Article 1182
1. Whatever price or its ancillaries due to the seller of a movable shall
have preference over the thing sold. The preference shall remain as
long as the thing sold retains its self. All without prejudice to rights
acquired by bona fidie others, taking into consideration the provisions
of commercial rules.
2. Such preference shall rank after the rights referred to in the preceding
articles. However it shall take precedence over the lessers preference
and the hotel owners preference if it was proven that they knew of it
at the time the thing sold was placed into the leased premises or the
hotel.

Article 1183
1. Partners who have divided a movable shall have a preferential right
over that movable as security for the right of each of them to revert
against the others as a result of the division, and to collect the average
of what has been allocated to them.
2. Preference of the divider shall rank equal to the rank of the seller. If the
two rights lap, the prior in date shall be given precedence.

Part Two

Special Preferential Rights over Real Property

Article 1184
1. Whatever price or its ancillaries is due to the seller of a real property
shall have preference over the sold real property.
2. Preference must be recorded even if the sale was registered, and shall
acquire its rank as of the date of recording.

Article 1185
1. Amounts due to contractors and engineers who have been entrusted to
construct buildings or other constructions, or to rebuild it or renovate it

285

or repair it, shall have preference over such constructions to the extent
of the increase in the value of the real property as a result of such
works, when sold.
2. Such preference must be recorded and shall acquire its rank as of the
date of recording, taking into consideration the provisions of article
(1064).
Article 1186
1. If the partners divide a common owned real property, the right of each
other to revert against the others as a result of the, division and to
collect the average of what has been allocated to them, shall be secured
by a preferential right over all the divided shares allocated to the other
partners.
2. Such right must be recorded and shall acquire its rank as of the date of
recording.

286

Table of Contents
Page

Law No. (22) For the Year 2004 Issuing the Civil Law

THE CIVIL LAW

Introductory Division
General Provisions
Chapter One- Temporal and Situ Application of the Law
Part One- The Application of the Law
Part Two-Temporal Application of the Law
Part Three-Situ Application of the Law

Chapter Two- Persons

Part One-Natural persons
Part Two-Juristic Persons

Chapter Three- Things and Properties

Chapter Four-The use of the right

287

Section One

Personal Rights Or Obligations

Book One
Obligations in General
Division One

Sources of Obligations
Chapter One-The Contract
Part One-Basis of Contract
First: Consent
A. Expression of the Will
Offer
Acceptance
-Joining of Offer and Acceptance
-Representation in Contracting
-Form of Contract
-Some Special Forms in Contracting
-The promise to contract
-Contracting through Ernest Money
-Contracting in Auctions
-Contracting in Adhesion
B. Soundness of Consent
-Capacity
C. Defects of Consent
-Mistake
-Deception
-Duress
-Taking advantage
-Unfairness
Second: The Subject Matter
Third: The Cause
Part Two-Nullification

288

First: The Voidable Contract

Second: The Void Contract
Third: The Effect of Nullity
Part Three-The Effects of the Contract
First: The Interpretation of the Contract and Determining its Contents
Second: The binding force of the contract
Third: The Relativity of the Effects of the Contract
Part Four-The dissolution of contract

Chapter Two-Unilateral Will

Chapter Three-Responsibility for the Unjust Act
A. Responsibility for Personal Acts
B. Responsibility for others act
C. Responsibility for Damage Caused by Things
D. Compensation for Damage Caused by Unjust Act

Chapter Four- Enrichment without Cause on the Account of

Others
A. Receiving What is not due
B. Officiousness

Chapter Five-The Law

Division Two

The Effects of the Obligation

Chapter One-The Execution of the Obligation
A. Compulsory Execution
B. Specific Execution
C. Execution through Compensation

Chapter Two-The Creditors General Security and the Means to

Preserve it
289

A. The Creditors General Security

B. The use by the Creditor of his debtors Rights (the indirect law suit)
C. The law suit for the ineffectiveness of the debtors disposition
D. The Right of Withholding

Division Three

Descriptions Amending the Effects of Obligations

Chapter One-The Condition and the Term
A. The Condition
B. The Term

Chapter Two-Plurality of the Subject Matter of the Obligation

A. The Optional Obligation
B. Substitutional Obligation

Chapter Three-Plurality of the Parties to the Obligation

2. Unity
A. Unity between Creditors
B. Unity between Debtors
2. The Indivisibility

Division Four

Transfer of Obligation
Chapter One-Assignment of Right
Chapter Two-Assignment of Debt

Division Five

Termination of the Obligation

Chapter One-Settlement
290

Part One-The Two Parties to the Settlement

Part Two-The Subject Matter of Matter

Chapter Two-The Termination of the Obligation with the

Equivalent of Settlement
Part One-Settlement against Consideration
Part Two-Novation
Part Three- Delegation in Settlement
Part Four-Set-off
Part Five-Consolidation of the Obligation

Chapter Three-The Extinguishment of the Obligation without

Settling it
Part One-The Discharge
Part Two-Impossibility of Performance
Part Three-Lapsing Prescription

Book Two
Nominated Contracts
Division One

Contracts Relating to Ownership

Chapter One-The Sale

Part One-The Sale in General
First- The bases of the Sale
Second- Effects of Sale
B. The Sellers Obligations
B. The Buyers Obligations
Part Two-Certain Types of Sale

First: Settlement Sale

Second: Selling the Property of Others
Third: The Sale of Disputed Rights

291

Fourth: The Sale by the Representative to Himself

Fifth: The Sale of the Estate
Sixth: The Sale in Death Sickness

Chapter Two-Barter
Chapter Three-The Gift
First: The bases of The Gift
Second: Effects of the Gift
D- Obligations of the donor
E- The Obligations of the Donee
Third: Revocation of the Gift

Chapter Four-The Company

First- The Bases of the Company
Second-Management of the Company
Third-Effects of the Company
Fourth-Dissolution of the Company
Fifth-Liquidation and Division of the Company

Some Types of Companies

First- Works Company
Second- Faces (Wujuh) Company
Third- Speculation Company

Chapter Five-The Loan

Chapter Six-The Compromise
First- The Bases of Compromise
Second- The Effects of Compromise
Third- The Nullity of compromise

Division Two

Contracts Relating to the Benefit of Things

Chapter One-Lease

292

Part One-Lease in General

First- Bases of the Lease
Second Effects of the Lease
A. Obligations of the Lessor
B. Obligations of the Lessee
Third-The Relinquishment of the Lease and Subletting
Fourth- Termination of the lease
Part Two-Some Types of Leases
First- Lease of Agricultural Lands
Second- Crop Sharing Muzaraa
Third- Lease of Endowment Waqf

Chapter Two-Lending
First- The Effects of lending
A- The Obligations of the Lender
B- The Obligations of the Borrower
Second: Termination of Lending

Division Three

Contracts Relating to Work

Chapter One-Independent Work
Part One-General Rules of Independent Work
First- Provision of Work Materials
Second- Obligations of the Contractor
Third- Obligations of the Employer
Fourth- Subcontracting
Fifth- Termination of the Contract for Independent Work
Part Two-Special Provisions for Buildings and Constructions

Chapter Two-Agency
First- Bases of Agency

293

Second Effects of Agency

C. Obligations of the Agent
D. Obligations of the Principal
Third- Termination of Agency

Chapter Three-The Deposit

First- Effects of the Deposit
A. Obligations of the Depository
B. Obligations of the Depositor
Second- Termination of the Deposit
Third- Certain Types of Deposit

Chapter Four-Custody

Division Four

Aleatory Contracts
Chapter One-Gambling and Betting

Division Four

Aleatory Contracts
Chapter One-Gambling and Betting
Chapter Three-The Contract of Insurance
First- Concluding the Contract of Insurance
Second- Obligations of the Insured
Third- Obligations of the Insurer
Fourth- The Transfer of Rights and Obligations Resulting from
Insurance and
Its Termination
Fifth- Insurance against Fire

Division Five

294

The Guarantee
Chapter One-Bases of the Guarantee
Chapter Two-Effects of the Guarantee
A. The Relationship between the Guarantor and the Creditor
B. The Relationship between the Guarantor and the Debtor

Section Two

In Kind Rights

Book One

Original In Kind rights

Division One

Right of Ownership
Chapter One-General Provisions
Part One-The Extent of the Right of Ownership
Part Two-Restrictions Applicable to the Right of Ownership
Part Three-Common Ownership
B- Provisions of Common Ownership
B- Termination of Common Ownership by Division
C- Division of Usufruct AL- Muhayaa
D- Compulsory Common Ownership
E- Family Ownership
F- Ownership of Floors and Apartments
G- Owners Union
H- Lower and Higher Parts

Chapter Two-Causes of Acquisition of Ownership

Part One-Acquisition of Ownership Initially (Appropriation)
Part Two- Acquisition of Ownership among Living Persons
a. Joinder
b. Legal Disposition
295

c. Preemption
d. Possession
Part Three- Acquisition of Ownership by Reason of Death

Division Two

Rights Emanating From the Right of Ownership

Chapter One- The Right of Usufruct and the Right of Use and the
Right of
Residence
e. The Right of Usufruct
f. The Right of residence

Chapter Two- The Right of Al-Hikr

Chapter Two- The Right of Easement

Book Two

In Kind Consequential Rights

In Kind Securities
Division One

The Official Mortgage

Chapter One- Creation of the Official Mortgage
Chapter Two- Effects of the Official Mortgage
Part One- Effect of the Mortgage as Between the Contracting Parties
Part Two- Effect of the Mortgage in Respect of Third Parties

Chapter Three- Termination of the Official Mortgage

Division Two

The Right of Lien

Division Three

Possessive Mortgage
296

Chapter One- Creation of Possessive Mortgage

Chapter Two- Effects of Possessive Mortgage
Chapter Three- Termination of Possessive Mortgage
Chapter Four- Certain Types of Possessive Mortgage
Part One- Mortgage of Real Property
Part Two- Mortgage of Immovable Property
Part Three- Mortgage of Debt
Division Four

Preferential Rights
Chapter One-General Provisions
Chapter Two-Types of Preferential Rights
Part One-General Preferential Rights and Special Preferential Rights
over Movable Properties
Part Two-Special Preferential Rights over Real Property

297