Art. 1159.

Obligations arising from contracts have the force of law between the
contracting parties and should be complied with in good faith.

Comment:

(1) Obligations ex-contractu

While obligations arising from a contract have the force of law between the parties,
this does not mean that the law is inferior to contracts. This is because before a
contract can be enforced, it must first be valid, and it cannot be valid if it is against
the law.

(2) Meaning of Article

The article means that neither party may unilaterally and upon his own exclusive
volition, escape his obligations under the contract, unless the other party assented
thereto, or unless for causes sufficient in law and pronounced adequate by a
competent tribunal.

(3) Differences Between an Obligation and a Contracts

An obligation is the result of a contract. Hence, while a contract, if valid, always
results in obligations, not all obligations come from contracts. A contract always

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 presupposes a meeting of the minds; this is not necessarily true for all kinds of
obligations.

(4) The so-called Innominate Contracts

For want of an express name, the following are termed contratos innominados:
(a) Do ut des I give that you may give.
(b) Do ut facias I give that you may do.
(c) Facio ut des I do that you may give.
(d) Facio ut facias I do that you may do.

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