00:00Legal constraint is an essential characteristic of civil obligation.
00:03If the debtor fails to fulfill their obligation, the creditor may, when the conditions
00:08If legal conditions are met, request enforcement or another sanction.
00:12Article 1221 of the Civil Code generally allows the creditor to pursue enforcement
00:17in kind after formal notice, unless in particular such performance is impossible or if it
00:21There is a clear disproportion between its cost to the debtor acting in good faith and
00:25its interest for the creditor.
00:26Natural obligation is different.
00:28It is based on a duty of conscience towards others, but cannot, originally,
00:33to be imposed judicially as an ordinary civil obligation.
00:36Article 1100, paragraph 2, of the Civil Code recognizes that obligations can arise from performance
00:41voluntary or the promise to perform a duty of conscience towards others.
00:45Article 1302 stipulates that payment presupposes a debt and that what has been received
00:49something that is not owed must, in principle, be returned.
00:53However, a natural obligation voluntarily fulfilled does not give rise to restitution.
00:57for the sole reason that it was not legally enforceable.
01:00It is important to remember that a natural obligation can produce legal effects when it is voluntarily
01:04executed or when a valid commitment to execute it is made.
