Nullity

What is nullity?

Nullity is a situation of invalidity of a legal act that causes it to cease to have legal effects from its origin.

That is, the act is considered as if it had never existed and does not produce any legal effect between the parties.

The nullity is due to the fact that the contract contains a vice or defect so serious that it makes it invalid and without legal value from the beginning (lack of an essential element...).

It can be neither validated nor prescribed.

For example, a drug sale is considered an illegal act and contrary to public order. In this case, it cannot be validated or prescribed by any means.

When a legal act is declared void, the parties involved are released from complying with the obligations agreed upon in it and have the right to recover what they have delivered or paid.

Here you have the article of the Civil Code that talks about nullity.

Related concepts

• Annullability
• What is the difference between nullity and annullability?
• Vices of consent
• What are the essential aspects of the object of a legal act?