Withdrawing a reward: if you already complied, revocation misses you

They are Articles 1532 to 1535 of the Civil Code of 2020: how long a public promise lasts, how and when it may be revoked, what a contest prize requires and to what other declarations these rules apply.

Whoever made a public promise and wants to withdraw it, and whoever complied or wants to comply with what was announced, under the Puerto Rico Civil Code.

• With no validity period, the public promise keeps its force as long as it is not revoked.Verified against the official source
• With no period, the promisor may revoke at any moment; with a period set, only for just cause and while it has not expired.Verified against the official source
• The revocation is only effective if it is made public in the same form as the promise or in an equivalent form.Verified against the official source
• The revocation is not opposable to whoever performed the act or verified the foreseen situation before its first act of publicity.Verified against the official source
• The promise of a prestation as a contest prize is only valid if the public announcement fixes a period for its performance.Verified against the official source

• The original announcement and the date of the first act of publicity of the revocation: between those two dates it is decided whom the withdrawal reaches.
• The record of when you performed the act or the foreseen situation was verified.
• The contest announcement with the period for its performance, which Article 1534 requires for validity.

1. 1

   Step 1: With no period, it holds until withdrawn

   Article 1532: a public promise with no validity period keeps its force as long as it is not revoked. It does not lapse on its own with time.

2. 2

   Step 2: The period may come from the promise itself

   The same article speaks of the period fixed by the promisor or imposed by the promise’s nature or purpose. The second source is overlooked: some promises have a purpose that marks their own end.

3. 3

   Step 3: With no period: it may be revoked whenever

   Article 1533, first sentence: if the public promise has no validity period, the promisor may revoke it at any moment.

4. 4

   Step 4: With a period: only for just cause and before it expires

   Second sentence: if a period was set, the promisor may only revoke the offer for just cause and while it has not expired. Two conditions at once. The Code does not define just cause here.

5. 5

   Step 5: Withdrawing it quietly does not withdraw it

   Second paragraph: in any case, the revocation is only effective if it is made public in the same form as the promise or in an equivalent form. It is announced as it was announced. The Code does not say what makes a form equivalent, and this guide does not define it.

6. 6

   Step 6: And if you already complied, it does not reach you

   Closing of 1533: it is not opposable to whoever has performed the act or verified the foreseen situation before the first act of publicity of the revocation. The deciding date is the first act of publicity, not the last.

7. 7

   Step 7: Contests need a period to be valid

   Article 1534: the promise of a prestation as a contest prize is only valid if the public announcement fixes a period for its performance. With no announced period, the Code denies it validity.

8. 8

   Step 8: Who decides who wins

   The same article: the promisor has the right to designate the person who is to decide to whom among the contestants the reward is awarded; failing that designation, it falls to the promisor.

9. 9

   Step 9: And that decision is binding

   Closing of 1534: in both cases, the decision is binding. It makes no difference whether the designee or the promisor decided: the Code makes it binding.

10. 10

    Step 10: These rules reach other declarations

    Article 1535: the provisions on the public promise of reward are applicable to other unilateral declarations of will, save where by their particular nature their application proves inadequate, in the judgement of the courts. The assessment is expressly left to the courts.

11. 11

    Step 11: What these articles do not carry

    They do not define just cause for revoking, do not say what makes a publicity form equivalent, do not say what happens to a contest announced with no period beyond denying it validity, and fix no fee or claiming period.

The claim runs against whoever made the promise; the Code names no agency for this chapter. It is decided by the Court of First Instance, to which Article 1535 expressly refers for assessing whether these rules prove inadequate to another unilateral declaration.

• Treating as withdrawn a reward not publicly revoked in the same or an equivalent form.
• Believing the revocation reaches whoever already complied: it is not opposable to whoever performed the act before its first act of publicity.
• Counting from the last act of publicity of the revocation instead of the first.
• Revoking a promise with a set period without just cause, or after it expired.
• Assuming a promise with no period lapses on its own: it holds as long as it is not revoked.
• Forgetting the period may also be imposed by the promise’s nature or purpose.
• Announcing a contest prize without fixing a period for its performance: Article 1534 denies it validity.
• Disputing the judge’s or promisor’s decision in a contest: the Code declares it binding.
• Not documenting when you performed the act or the foreseen situation was verified.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico

  Poder Judicial

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov