Study 8 – Contract Law – Civil Code of Quebec

The rules relating to contracts are codified in the Civil Code of Quebec.

There are contract of adhesion (insurance) and contracts of mutual agreement.

The four required elements for formation of contracts are:

Consent – consists of offer and acceptance.

Capacity to contract – minors and persons of diminished capacity are restricted in their ability to contract. Legal persons (corporations) have no incapacities either by nature or express law.

Cause of Contract – is the reason the parties enter into the contract and must be lawful.

Object of contract – every contract must have a legal object.

Anulled contract – does not meet the necessary condition for formation. Contracts can be absolutely or relatively null.  A contract can be anulled on the basis of lesion, where duress was inflicted on the defendant.

Contracts must be written in easily understandable terms. The court will always interpret contracts in favour of the person who did not write it.

Contracts can be set aside by mutual consent or any of the following causes:

Payment, expiry of an extinctive term, novation, prescription, compensation, confusion, release, impossibility of performance, and discharge of a debtor.  

Sample Exam Questions – Principles & Practices

Multiple Choice

July 2001

1. Lesion is a cause of nullity in contract s
1. anywhere in Canada
2. for all persons in Quebec
3. in certain cases where a minor is involved
4. involving undue duress

April 2001

2. Under the Civil Code of Quebec, the four requirements for a valid contract are
1. acceptance, agreement, capacity and offer
2. acceptance, cause, consent and mutual agreement
3. capacity, cause consent and object of contract
4. capacity, consideration, co-operation and lesion.