TERMINATION OF OBLIGATIONS

An obligation could come to an end in various ways.

The most obvious way in which an obligation is extinguished is by per­formance. Once a person pays a debt he owes, or performs some action that he is required to perform, he is freed from the obligation.

Sometimes a creditor will find it convenient to accept some alternative performance in place of what is actually owed. If, for example, it is im­possible for the specific goods agreed under a contract of sale to be supplied, the buyer might agree to accept equivalent goods. Alternatively, different terms for the obligation might be agreed, this being called “novation”, as it constitutes a new obligation. Thus, for instance, a creditor might accept payment in instalments rather than in the agreed lump sum if the debtor is having difficulty making payment. As we have seen, it was also possible to substitute new parties into the agreement.

Alternatively, a creditor might waive performance of the obligation al­together. This is called acceptilation. For example, as we shall see in Chapter 8, if A negligently injured B, that gave rise to an obligation on the part of A to compensate B for his loss. However, it was always open to B not to insist on this, and if he absolved A of the obligation to pay, the obligation would be extinguished. Justinian tells us that acceptilation was only available for stipulationes (see below). However, the obligation could be converted to a stipulatio, and then acceptilated.

We can see, then, that the law allowed an obliged party only two options: either he performed the obligation or he obtained his creditor’s consent to his release from the obligation. In the absence of such consent, the party under the obligation was subject to an absolute requirement to comply with it.