“Peter’s Pills” è la rubrica online di Legal English curata da Federnotizie, in collaborazione con Confprofessioni e Beprof.
In questa videolezione parliamo di “Condition Precedent vs Condition Subsequent”. Nel sistema common law, sia la condizione sospensiva (Condition Precedent) sia la condizione risolutiva (Condition Subsequent) descrivono eventi che influenzano le obbligazioni contrattuali, ma in modo opposto. Scopriamo come insieme a Peter!
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Transcript:
Hello!
In common law, both condition precedent[1] and condition subsequent[2] describe events that affect contractual obligations—but they do so in opposite ways.
A condition precedent is an event that must occur[3] before a party’s duty to perform arises. It suspends the existence of an obligation until the condition is satisfied. If the condition never occurs, the obligation never matures. For example, in a real estate contract for the sale of land “subject to planning permission“[4], if the planning permission is not granted[5], the buyer is not obliged to purchase the land, and the seller is not obliged to sell it. The obtaining of planning permission is a condition precedent to the sale. Until that permission is granted, the buyer and seller are not bound[6] to proceed.
By contrast, a condition subsequent brings an existing obligation to an end if a specified event happens. The obligation is initially effective but is extinguished[7] upon the occurrence of the condition. For instance, a loan agreement might state that the loan is repayable immediately if the borrower becomes insolvent. The insolvency is a condition subsequent that terminates the borrower’s right to continue using the funds and triggers[8] the lender’s right to demand[9] epayment. Another example could be a lease agreement that terminates automatically if the tenant[10] breaches a specific covenant, such as not paying rent for a certain period.
These concepts also operate in property and succession law. For example, a gift may be made on condition that the beneficiary marries within five years (condition precedent), or that they forfeit a gift upon insolvency[11] (condition subsequent).
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Note
[1] condition precedent – condizione sospensiva
[2] condition subsequent – condizione risolutiva
[3] occur – verificarsi
[4] subject to planning permission – subordinato al rilascio del permesso di costruire
[5] granted – concesso
[6] bound – vincolati
[7] is extinguished – si estingue
[8] triggers – fa scattare
[9] demand – esigere
[10] tenant – conduttore
[11] forfeit a gift upon insolvency – prevede la decadenza dal beneficio in caso di insolvenza
