What does it mean that a contract does not produce any legal effect?
What does it mean that a contract does not produce any legal effect?
When it is said that a contract does not produce any legal effect, it refers to the fact that said contract lacks legal validity and does not have the necessary force to be executed or to assert rights before a court.
Imagine that Ana, an emerging artist, and David, an art collector, decide to enter into a contract in which Ana agrees to create a series of exclusive paintings for David’s private collection. However, during the signing of the contract, it is discovered that Ana has used a pseudonym and provided false information about her identity and artistic experience. David, confident in the authenticity of the artist, did not suspect any wrongdoing at the time.
Later, it is revealed that Ana does not have the artistic ability that she had initially claimed and that her pen name was an attempt to hide her lack of experience. Given that of the fundamental requirements for a contract to be valid is the veracity and authenticity of the parties involved, the contract between Ana and David would be considered invalid.
The contract would be null because an essential defect has been incurred: the lack of veracity in Ana’s information. As a result, the contract for the creation of exclusive paintings would be without legal effect from the beginning.
The usual contractual invalidity situations are nullity and annullability. Remember that nullity represents the sanction applied to contracts that present some vice or defect that makes them irremediably invalid. This means that they lack legal effects from the start. By contrast, annullability (or voidability) constitutes the sanction that is directed at contracts that exhibit a repairable vice or defect, which allows them to have legal effects until they are annulled.
Related concepts
- Contract
- Who can enter into a contract?
-
What does the expression «not be contrary to the law, morality or public order» mean?
- How do I know if a jurisdiction and applicable law clause is valid?
- What happens if a jurisdiction and applicable law clause is not included in a contract?
- Nullity
- Annullability
-
Contracts
-
- Commercial partner agreement
- Convertible participatory loan
- Receipt of delivery of goods and/or services
- Annexation contract of co-founder or employee with equity
- Statutes of a Limited Liability Company without a Defined Administrative Body
- Statutes of a Limited Liability Company with Joint Administrators or co-Administrators
- Statutes of a Limited Liability Company with a Sole Administrator
- Statutes of a Limited Liability Company with a Board of Directors
- Business plan
- Customer Reference Agreement
- Investment agreement
- Distribution contract
- Computer systems maintenance contract
- Trademark use license agreement
- Agency Contract
- Corporate administration contract
- Contract of carriage of goods
- Commercial commission contract
- Contract for the assignment of patents, utility models and industrial designs
- Leasing contract
- Software Assignment Agreement
- Minutes
- Contract for the provision of business management and management services
- Contract for the trade of stakes
- Commercial order letter
- Joint Venture Agreement
- Mutual NDA or Non-Disclosure Agreement
- Unilateral NDA or Non-Disclosure Agreement
- Show Remaining Articles ( 13 ) Collapse Articles
-
Dudas legales
- What is the difference between a typical contract and an atypical one?
- What is the difference between fortuitous event and force majeure?
- How do ADRM differentiate?
- How is the value of a company usually determined?
- What does it mean to be a «partner» in a company?
- What does it mean for a company to have limited liability?
- What happens if the protection of an industrial property right is not renewed?
- Who can enter into a contract?
- Who can enter into a contract?
- When is a jurisdiction and applicable law clause valid?
- What are the differences between a relationship being labor or commercial?
- How can a contract be enforced against a third party?
- Differences between social statutes and shareholders' agreement
- What does it mean that a contract does not produce any legal effect?
- What happens if an essential clause is missing from a contract?
- What are the particularities of public-private contracting?
- Differences between an agency contract and a commission contract
- What are the differences between lease and sale?
- In the field of commercial law, what is the general interest?
- What could I do if I see that one of the parties has breached the provisions of the contract?
- What are the differences between a Limited Company and a Limited Company?
- Joint and joint and several liability, in what do they differ?
- What is the governing body in a company?
- What is the basis of collective agreements at the labor level?
- When is a dismissal considered void?
- When is a dismissal considered unfair?
- When is a dismissal considered fair?
- What limitations does the principal have on the agent?
- What is a right to repurchase shares or stakes?
- What type of purpose do trademark license assignments usually have?
- What are the modalities of a distribution contract?
- Why is competition important in commercial law?
- What is the difference between a deposit and a guarantee?
- What are the essential aspects of the object of a legal act?
- What is the difference between nullity and annullability?
- What does the expression «not be contrary to the law, morality or public order» mean?
- What are the differences between a real action and a personal action?
- What are the differences between the force majeure clause, rebus sic stantibus and excessive onerousness?
- What differences are there between the concept of force majeure and that of excessive burden?
- Consequences of not including a jurisdiction and applicable law clause in a contract
- Is copyright and intellectual property the same?
- What is the maximum duration of an exclusivity clause in Spain?
- Are exclusivity clause and full dedication clause the same?
- What is financial compensation in an exclusivity clause?
- What is the difference between a termination clause and an early termination clause?
- What is the difference between a public contract and a private one?
- What does it mean to notarize into public deed?
- Is it mandatory to have a shareholders agreement?
- What are the differences between a share and a stake?
- Show Remaining Articles ( 34 ) Collapse Articles
-
Glossary
- Abuse of power
- Donation
- Company
- Abuse of rights
- Trade union
- Retroactivity
- Usufruct
- Typical contract
- Arrears
- Trade
- Obligations to do and not to do
- Procedural law
- Payment-in-Kind
- «Streamer»
- Nominal value
- Pre- and post-money stake
- Sentence
- MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
- Startup
- Co-founder
- Employee with equity
- Capitalization table («Cap Table»)
- Venture capital
- Pitch
- Equity
- Opinio iuris
- Ombudsman
- Public deed
- Deposit
- Collective bargaining agreement
- Social capital
- Erga omnes efficacy
- Inter partes efficacy
- Negotiation
- General principles of law
- Sources of law
- Legal doctrine
- Custom
- Law (Generic concept)
- Legal relationship
- Good faith
- Protective principle in labor law
- Residual price
- Joint ownership
- SWOT analysis
- Businessperson
- Management board
- Preferential acquisition right
- Guarantee
- Commission
- Sublease
- Property
- Down payment
- Legal good
- Work trial period
- Annullability
- Error
- Intimidation
- Violence
- Vices of consent
- Dispositive norm
- Imperative norm
- Labor law
- Commercial law
- Civil law
- Principle of legality
- Private Law
- Public Law
- Nullity
- Atypical contract
- Legal act
- Personal rights
- Debtor
- Creditor
- Real action
- Personal action
- Fortuitous event
- Excessive hardship
- Fruit
- Force majeure
- Related rights
- Employment notice period
- Bad faith
- Mens rea
- Fault
- Right of first refusal and withdrawal
- Notary
- Arbitration award
- Arbitrator
- Mediator
- Invoice
- Limited Company
- Public Limited Company
- Dividends
- Ordinary shares
- Preferred shares
- Nominees shares
- Bearer shares
- Jurisprudence
- Assignment of rights
- Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
- Show Remaining Articles ( 86 ) Collapse Articles
-
Clauses