Obligation

an obligation (including every obligation of and to the United States, excepting currency) payable in money of the United States; *350 and the term ' coin or currency' means coin or currency of the United States, including Federal Reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal Reserve banks and national banking associations." 2 Mr. Justice Strong, who had written the opinion of the majority of the Court in the legal tender cases

+ 2 more definitions — see all 10 over time

An obligation is a legal duty, by which a person is bound to do or not to do a certain thing. Civ. Co.de Cal. § 1427; Civ. Co.de Dak. § 798. The binding power of a vow, promise, oath, or contract, or of law, civll, political, or moral, independent of a promise; that which constitutes legal or moral duty, and which renders a person liable to coercion and punishment for neglecting it. Webster. "Obligation" is the correlative of "right." Taking the latter word in its politico-ethical sense, as a power of free action lodged in a person, "obligation" is the corresponding duty, constraint, or binding force which should prevent all other persons from denying, abridging, or obstructing such right, or interfering with its exercise. And the same is its meaning as the correlative of a "jus in rem." Taking "right" as meaning a "jus in personam," (a power, demand, claim, or privilege inherent in one person, and incident upon another,) the "obligation" is the coercive force or control imposed upon the person of incidence by the moral law and the positive law, (or the moral law as recognized and sanctioned by the positive law,) constraining him to accede to the demand, render up the thing claimed, pay the money due, or otherwise perform what is expected of him with respect to the subject-matter of the right In a limited and arbitrary sense, it means a penal bond or "writing obligatory," that ls, a bond containing a penalty, with a condition annexed for the payment of money or performance of covenants. Co.. Litt. 172. Obligation is
(1) legal or moral duty, as opposed to physical compulsion;
(2) a duty incumbent upon an individual, or a specific and limited number of individuals, as opposed to a duty imposed upon the world at large ;
(3) the right to enforce such a duty, (jus in personam,) as opposed to such a right as that of property, (jus mi rem,) which avails against the world at large;
(4) a bond containing a penalty, with a condition annexed, for the payment of money, performance of covenants, or the like. Mozley & Whitley. In English expositions of the Roman law, and works upon general jurisprudence, "obligation" is used to translate the Latin "obligatio." In this sense its meaning is much wider than as a technical term of English law. See Obligatio. Classification. The various sorts of obligations may be classified and defined as follows: They are either perfect or imperfect. A perfect obligation is one recognized and sanctioned by positive law ; one of which the fulfillment can be enforced by the aid of the law. Aycock v. Martin. 37 Ga. 124, 92 Am. Dee, 56. But if the duty created by the obligation operates only on the moral sense, without being enforced by any positive law, it is calied an "imperfect obligation." and creates no right of action, nor has it any legal operation. The duty of exercising gratitude, charity, and the other merely moral duties is an example of this kind of obligation. Civ. Code La. art. 1757 ; Edwards v. Kearzey, 96 U. S. 600, 24 L. Ed. 793. They are either natural or civil. A natural obligation is one which cannot be enforced by action, but which is binding on the party who makes it in conscience and according to natural justice. Blair v. Williams, 4 Litt. (Ky.) 41. A civil obligation is a legal tie, which gives the party with whom it is contracted the right of enforcing its performance by law Civ. Co.de La. art. 1757; Poth. Obi. 173, 191. They are either express or implied; the former being those by which the obligor binds himself in express terms to perform his obligation; while the latter are'such as are raised by the implication or inference of the law from the nature of the transaction. They are determinate or indeterminate; the former being the case where the thing contracted to be delivered ls specified as an individual; the latter, where it may be any one of a particular class or species. They are divisible or indivisible, according as the obligation may or may not be lawfully broken into several distinct obligations without the consent of the obligor. They are joint or several; the former, where there are two or more obligors binding themselves j'ointly for the performance of the obligation ; the latter, where the obligors promise, each for himself, to fulfill the engagement. They are personal or real; the former being the case when the obligor himself is personally liable for the performance of the engagement, but does not directly bind his property; the latter, where reni estate, not the person of the obligor, is primarily liable for performance. They are heritable or personal. The former Is the case when the heirs and assigns of one party may enforce the performance against the heirs of the other; the latter, when the obligor binds himself only, not his heirs or representatives. They are either principal or accessory. A principal obligation is one which is the most important obj'ect of the engagement of the contracting parlies ; while an accessory obligation depends upon or is collateral to the principal. They may be either conjunctive or alternative. The former is one in which the several objects in it are connected by a copulative, or in any other manner which shows that ali of them are severally comprised in the contract. This contract creates as many different obligations as there are different objects; and the debtor, when he wishes to discharge himself, may force the creditor to receive them separately. But where the things which form the object of the contract are separated by a disjunctive, then the obligation is alternative. A promise to deliver a certnin thing or to pay a specified sum of money is an example of this kind of obligation. Civ. Co.de La. art 2063. They are either simple or conditional. Simple obligations are such as are not dependent for their execution on any event provided for by the parties, and which are not agreed to become void on the happening of any such event. Co.n-ditional obligations are such as are made to depend on an uncertain event If the obligation is not to take effect until the event happens, it is a suspensive condition ; if the obligation takes effect immediately, but is liable to be defeated when the event happens, it is then a resolutory condition. Civ. Code La. arts. 2020, 2021; Moss v. Smoker, 2 La. Ann. 989. They may be either single or penal; the latter, when a penal clause is attached to the undertaking, to be enforced in case the obligor fails to perform ; the former, when no such penalty is added. Other compound and descriptive terms.

— Moral obligation. A duty which is valid and binding in the forum of the conscience but is not recognized by the law as adequate to set in motion the machinery of justice; that is, one which rests upon ethical consideration's alone, and is not imposed or enforced by positive law. Taylor v. Hotchkiss, 81 App. Div. 470, 80 N. Y. Supp. 1042; Goulding v. Davidson, 25 How. Prac. (N. Y.) 483; Bailey v. Philadelphia, 167 Pa. 569, 31 Ail. 925, 46 Am. St. Rep. 691.

— Obligation of a contract. As used in Co.nst. U. S. art. 1, § 10, the term means the binding and coercive force which constrains every man to perform the agreements he has made; a force grounded in the ethical principle of fidelity to one's promises, but deriving its legal efficacy from its recognition by positive law, and sanctioned by the law's providing a remedy for the infraction of the duty or for the enforcement of the correlative right. See Story, Co.nst. § 1378; Black, Const. Pro-hit. § 139. See Ogden v. Saunders, 12 Wheat. 213, 6 In Ed. 606; Blair v. Williams, 4 Litt. (Ky.) 36; Sturges v. Crowninshield, 4 Wheat. i97, 4 In Ed. 529; Wachter v. Famachon, 62 Wis. 117, 22 N. W. 160.

— Obligation solidaire. This, in French law, corresponds to joint and several liability in English law, but is applied also to the joint and several rights of the creditors parties to the obligation.

— Primary obligation. An obligation which is the principal object of the contract. For example, the primary obligation of the seller is to deliver the thing sold, and to transfer the title to it. It is distinguished from the accessory or secondary obligation to pay damages for not doing so. 1 Bouv. Inst. no. 702. The words "primary" and "direct," contrasted with "secondary," when spoken with reference to an obligation, refer to the remedy provided by law for enforcing the obligation, rather than to the character and limits of the obligation itself. Kilton v. Providence Tool Co.., 22 R. I. 605, 48 Atl. lo39.

— Principal obligation. That obligation which arises from the principal object of the engagement which has been contracted between the parties. Poth. Obi. no. 182. One to which is appended an accessory or subsidiary obligation.

— Pure obligation. One which is not suspended by any condition, whether it has been contracted without any condition. or, when thus contracted, the condition has been accomplished. Poth. Obi. no. 176

— Real obligation. In the civil law and in Louisiana. An obligation attached to immovable property, that is, real estate. Oiv. Code La. 1900, art. 2010.

— Simple obligation. In the civil law. An obligation which does not depend for its execution upon any event provided for by the parties, or which ls not agreed to become void on the happening of any such event. Giv. Code La. art. 2015.

— Solidary obligation. In the law of Louisiana, one which binds each of the obligors for the whole debt, as distinguished from a "joint" obligation, which binds the parties each for his separate proportion of the debt. Groves v. Senteli, 153 U. S. 465, 14 Sup. Ot. 898, 38 In Ed. 785.

A tie, a thing which binds; a legal duty or liability; an undertaking under seal; the instrument by which such an undertaking is witnessed; a bond or writing in the nature of a bond; an instrument binding to the payment of money. Obligation of ai contract: the binding force of a contract

Anobligation isa legal duty, by which a person is bound to do or not to doacertain thing. Civil Code Cal. § 1427; Civil Code Dak. § 798. The binding power of a vow, promise, oath, or contract, or of law, civil, political, or moral, independent of a promise; that which constitutes legal or moral duty, and which renders a person liable to coercion and punishment for neglecting it. Webster. “Obligation” is the correlative of “right.” Taking the latter word in its politico-ethical sense, as a power of free action lodged ina person, “obligation” is the corresponding duty, constraint, or binding force which should prevent all other persons from denying, abridging, or obstructing such right, or interfering with its exercise. And the same {fs its meaning as the correlative of a “jus in rem.” Taking “right” as meaning a “jus in personam,” (a power, demand, claim, or privilege inherent in one person, and incident upon another,) the “obligation” is the coercive force or control imposed upon the person of incidence by the moral law and the positive law, (or the moral law as recognized and sanctioned by the positive law,) constraining him to accede to the demand, render up the thing claimed, pay the money due, or otherwise perform what is expected of him with respect to the subject-matter of the right.

In a limited and arbitrary sense, it means a penal bond or “writing obligatory,” that is,a bond containing a penalty, with a condition annexed for the payment of money or performance of coyenants. Co, Litt. 172. Obligation is (1) legal or moral duty, as opposed to physical compulsion; (2) a duty incumbent upon an individual, or a specific aud limited number of individuals, as opposed to a duty imposed upon the world at large; (3) the right to enforce sucha duty, (jus in personam,) as opposed to such a right as that of property, (jus i rem,) which avails against the world at large; (4) a bond contuining a penalty, with a condition annexed, for the payment of money, performance of covenants, or the like. Mozley & Whitley. In English expositions of the Roman law, and works upon general jurisprudence, “obligation” is used to translate the Latin “obligatio.” In this sense its meaning is much Classification. The various sorts of obligations may be classified aid defined as follows: They are either perfect or tmpenfect. A perfect obligation is one recognized and sanctioned by positivelaw; one of which the fulfillment can be enforced by the aid of the law. But if the duty created by the obligation operates only on the moral sense, without being enforced by any positive law, it is called an “imperfect obligation,” and creates no rigtit of action, nor has it any legal operation. The duty of exercising gratitude, charity, aud the other merely moral duties ia an exampieof this kind of obligation. Civil Code La. art. 1757. They are either natural or civil, A natural obligation is one which cannot be enforced by action, but which is binding on the party who makes it in conscience and accord: ing to natural justice. A civil obligation is a legal tie, which gives the party with whom it is contracted the right of enforcing its performance by law. Civil Code La. art. 1757. They are either express or implied; the former being those by which the obligor binds himself in express terms to perform his obligation; while the latter are such as are raised by the implication or inference of the law from the nature of the transaction. They are determinate or indeterminate; the former being the case where the thing contracted to be delivered is specified as an individual; the latter, where it may be any one of a particular class or species. They are divisible or indivisible, according as the obligation may ov may nut be lawfully broken into several distinct obligations without the consent of the obligor. They are joint or several; the former, where there are two or more obligors binding themselves jointly for the performance of the obligation; the iatter, where the obligors promise, each for himself, to fulfill the engagement. They are personal or real; the former being the case when the obligor himself is personally liable for the performance of the engagement, but does not directly bind his property; the latter, where real estate, not the person of the obligor, is primarily liable for performance. They are heritable or personal. The former is the ease when the heirs and assigns of one party may enlorce the perfurmance against the heirs of the other; the latter, They are either principal or accessory. A principal obligation is one which is the most important object of the engagement of the contracting parties; while an accessory obligation depends upon or is collateral to the principal. They may be either conjunetive or aiternafive. ‘The former is one in which the several objects in it are connected by a copulative, or in any other manner which shows that all of them are severally comprised in the contract. ‘This contract creates as many different obligations as there are different objects; und tle debtor, when hse wishes to discharge himself, may force the creditor to receive them separately, But where the things which form the object of the contract are separated by a disjunctive, then the obliga. tion is aiternative. A promise to deliver a certain thing or to pay a specified sum of money is an example of this kind of obligation. Civil Code La. art. 2063. They are either simple or conditional. Simple obligations are such as are not de pendent for their execution on any event provided for by the parties, and which are net agreed to become void on the happening of any such evant. Conditional obligations are such as are made to depend on an uncertain event. If the obligation is not to take effect until the event happens, it is a suspensive condition; if the obligation takes effect immediately, but is liable to be defeated when the event happens, it is then aresolutory condition. Civil Code La. arta. 2020, 2021, They may be either single or penal; the latter, when a penal clause is attached to the undertaking, to be enforced in case the obligor fails to perform; the former, when no such penaity is added.

A bond; a sealed bound.

in contracts. In its general and most extensive sense an obligation is synonymous with duty. Obligations are of three kinds: imperfect obligations, natural or moral obligations, and civil or perfect obligations. Those obligations are called imperfect, for which we are accountable to God only; and of which no person has a right to require the performance; such are the duties of ! charity and gratitude. Poth. Oblig. Prelim. art.; 1 Bl. Com. 124. A natural or moral obligation is one which cannot be enturced by action, but which is binding on the party who makes it, in conscience and according to natural justice. As for instance, when the action is barred by the act of limitation, a natural obligation still subsists, although the civil obligation is extinguished. 5 Bion. 573. Although natural obligations cannot be enforced by action, they have the following effect: 1. No suit will lie to recover back what has been paid, or given in compliance with a natural obligation. 1 T. R. 235; 1 Dall. 148. 2. A natural obligation is a sufiicient consideration for a new contract. 5 Binn. 33; 2 Binn. 591; Yelv. 41, a, n. 1; Cowp. 290; 2 BI. Com. 445; 3 B. & P. 249, n.; 2 East, 506; 3 Taunt. 311; 5 Taunt. 36; Yelv. 41, b. note; 3 Pick. 207; Chit. Contr. 10. Civil or perfect obligations, The term obligation, in a more proper and confmed sense, comprises only perfect obligations, which are also called personal engagements, and a which give the person with whom a they are contracted, a right to de- — mand their performance.. These obligations are divided into conven- gare tional obligations, or express contracts, and into such as are created by ern the operation of law, or implied con- ne tracts. Justinian defines an obligation to be a tie which binds us, neof the country in which we reside. Just. lib. 3, t. 14. See Contract. The term obligation also means the instrument or writing by which the contract is witnessed. And in another sense, an obligation is said to be a bond containing a penalty with a condition annexed for the pay-. ment of money, performance of covenants, or the like; it differs from a bill, which is generally without a penalty or condition, though it may be obligatory. Co. Litt. 172. It is also defined to be a deed whereby a man binds himself under a penalty to do a thing. Com. Dig. Obligation, A. See generally, 16 Vin. Ab. 50; 5 Bac. Ab. 154; Com. Dig. Obligation; Code of Louis. tit. 3, 4, 5; and this Dictionary, Bond; Coatract; Promise.: