CHAPTER III

VOID AND VOIDABLE ACTS

 

Section 172.- A void act cannot be ratified, and its nullity may be alleged at any time by any interested person.

The return of a property arising from a void act shall be governed by the provisions on Undue Enrichment of the Code.

 

Section 173.- If any part of an act is void the whole act is void, unless it may be assumed under the circumstances of the case that the parties intended the valid part of the act to be severable from the invalid part.

 

Section 174.- If a void act complies with the requirements of another act which is not void, it is valid as the other act, if it may be assumed that such validity would have been intended by the parties, had they known of the invalidity of the intended act.

 

Section 175.- A voidable act may be avoided by the following persons :

                (1)  The legal representative or the minor after becoming sui juris, but the avoidance can be made by the minor before his becoming sui juris if a consent thereto has been given by his legal representative ; or

               (2)  The person adjudged incompetent or quasi-incompetent after he has recovered his capacity, or by the guardian or curator, as the case may be, but the avoidance can be made by the quasi-incompetent before recovery of his capacity if a consent thereto has been given by his curator; or

                (3)  The person who has made the declaration of intention owing to mistake, fraud or duress; or

                (4)  The person of unsound mind who did the voidable juristic act under Section 30 after he has recovered his capacity.

If the person who did the voidable juristic act dies before making the avoidance, it may be avoided by his heir.

 

Section 176.- When an avoidable act is avoided, it is deemed to have been void from the beginning ; and the parties shall be restored to the condition in which they were previously, and if it is not possible to so restore them, they shall be indemnified with an equivalent.

If any person knew or ought to have known that an act is avoidable, he, after making the avoidance, is deemed to have known that the act is void since the avoidable act became known or ought to become known to him.

The claim resulting from restoring them to the previous condition under paragraph one cannot be exercised later than one year from the date of avoidance of the avoidable act.

 

Section 177.- If any person entitled to avoid an avoidable act under Section 175 ratifies an avoidable act, it is deemed to have been valid from the beginning ; but the right of third persons cannot be affected thereby.