In short
The third section of the juridical-act chapter deals with the causa, and it is worth saying up front that the Code requires it in every article and defines it in none. Article 270 asks the act to have a licit end, and adds a detail people skip: that end is judged in view of the circumstances existing at the time of its celebration and at that of its execution, two moments and not one. Not licit is an end contrary to law, morals or public order, or harmful to third parties’ rights. Article 271 reassures whoever signed a spare document: a licit causa is presumed even if it is not expressed. Article 272 orders acts expressing a false causa to be judged by the rules of simulation, and clarifies that expressing a false causa in a will does not invalidate the institution of heir or legatee based on it. Article 273 cuts off a frequent argument: personal motives are relevant only if they form part of the declaration of will; what you had in mind and did not write down does not count. Article 274 reserves to the law the creation of abstract acts, those to which the law attributes effects in abstraction from their causa. Article 275 requires the licit causa to exist at celebration and to be conserved until the act’s exercise. And Article 276 draws the two consequences: the lack of a licit causa contemporaneous with the celebration vitiates the act with nullity; and if at the moment of its performance the causa is frustrated for reasons not imputable to the parties, the act may be resolved by decision of the injured party, or the performances may be adjusted.
What is it?
They are Articles 270 to 276 of the Civil Code of 2020: what the Code demands of an act’s reason for being and what happens if it is missing or frustrated.
Who can do it?
Anyone whose contract lost its point through something nobody caused, and anyone unsure why theirs was signed.
Requirements
- The juridical act must have a licit end, judged by the circumstances at its celebration and at its execution.Verified against the official source
- An end contrary to law, morals or public order, or harmful to third parties’ rights, is not licit.Verified against the official source
- A licit causa is presumed for the juridical act even if it is not expressed.Verified against the official source
- Personal motives are relevant only if they form part of the declaration of will.Verified against the official source
- The licit causa must exist when the act is celebrated and be conserved until its exercise.Verified against the official source
- The lack of a licit causa contemporaneous with celebration vitiates the act with nullity.Verified against the official source
- If at performance the causa is frustrated for reasons not imputable to the parties, the injured party may resolve it or performances may be adjusted.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: Look at the two moments
Article 270: the licit end is judged by the circumstances at celebration and at execution.
Step 2: Do not panic if it is unstated
Article 271: a licit causa is presumed even if it is not expressed.
Step 3: Check the causa was still alive
Article 275: it must exist at celebration and be conserved until the act’s exercise.
Step 4: If missing from the start, it is nullity
Article 276: the lack of a licit causa at celebration vitiates the act with nullity.
Step 5: If frustrated later, there are two exits
The same article: the injured party may resolve the act, or performances may be adjusted.
Step 6: Write your motives down
Article 273: personal motives are relevant only if they form part of the declaration of will.
Where to do it
These seven articles describe no procedure before any agency. The Code requires the causa in each one and defines it in none. It does not say what a causa must undergo to count as frustrated, who chooses between resolving the act and adjusting the performances, or how either is done. It does not explain what the act’s exercise in Article 275 means. It does not list the acts the law makes abstract. And when Article 272 finds a false causa, it sends you to the rules of simulation, which are Articles 301 and 302 and were not read for this batch: the referral is named here and its content is not told. None of those gaps is filled here.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
The most useful article of this group is 276, and above all its second paragraph, because it describes a situation people live and cannot name: the contract is still possible, nobody has breached it, but it no longer makes sense. The premises you rented for a business the law stopped allowing, the service you booked for an event cancelled by something outside both of you. The Code says that if at the moment of performance the causa is frustrated for reasons not imputable to the parties, the act may be resolved by decision of the injured party, or the performances may be adjusted. Two exits, and the article does not say who chooses between them or how, so that is not asserted here. It is worth separating that case from the other, which has a different consequence: if the licit causa was already missing when it was signed, the same article speaks not of resolving but of nullity. One looks at the beginning and the other at the moment of performance. Two more things that change expectations. The first: the contract need not explain why it was signed, because Article 271 presumes a licit causa even unexpressed; whoever claims there is none must show it. The second, in the opposite direction: Article 273 says personal motives are relevant only if they form part of the declaration of will. If you bought the land because you were counting on a permit being approved, and that was written nowhere, the article does not count it. Writing down why you are signing costs one line and settles lawsuits. MiPRFácil does not represent anyone in court and gives no legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Giving up on a contract that lost its point: Article 276 allows resolving it or adjusting performances.
- Confusing a causa missing from the start with one frustrated later: one is nullity, the other resolution.
- Believing the contract is defective because it does not say what it is for: Article 271 presumes a licit causa.
- Counting on a personal motive never written down: Article 273 counts only those in the declaration.
- Looking only at the signing day: Article 270 judges the end at the time of execution too.
- Forgetting the causa must be conserved until the act’s exercise, per Article 275.
- Looking in the section for a definition of causa: the Code requires it and defines it nowhere.
- Expecting Article 272 to settle a false causa: it refers you to the rules of simulation.
Frequently asked questions
The contract no longer makes sense. May I get out?
Article 276 lets the injured party resolve it if the causa is frustrated for reasons not imputable to the parties, or adjust performances.
My contract does not say what it is for. Is it valid?
Article 271 presumes the juridical act has a licit causa even if it is not expressed.
I signed for a reason of my own. Does it count?
Only if it ended up inside the declaration of will. That is what Article 273 requires.
What if there never was a licit causa?
Article 276 says the lack of a licit causa at celebration vitiates the act with nullity.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico
Poder Judicial
bvirtualogp.pr.gov
Last verified
September 12, 2026
MiPRFácil is an independent informational website and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the Government of Puerto Rico or any government agency.
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Not answering is not accepting, except in the three cases the Code lists
Article 267 of the Civil Code of 2020 says silence or inaction do not declare will, save by law, agreement, or prior dealings.
Performing the contract after the cause ends costs you the right to void it
Article 350 of the Civil Code of 2020 turns full or partial performance into tacit confirmation, and 351 extinguishes the action with it.
When the deal ended up lopsided: annulling it or readjusting it
If the advantage exceeds half the promised value, taking advantage is presumed. And if an unforeseeable event made it excessive, there are six months.
Ending the contract without suing: the six rules
The power to rescind out of court is implicit, but needs delay, a requirement with warning, and it operates when that requirement expires.
What you sign has the force of law: the limits of freedom to contract
You may contract or not, and with whom you like, but not abusively. And what the contract omits is filled by law, usage and good faith.
An ambiguous clause is read against its drafter and for the weaker party
Article 358 of the Civil Code of 2020 reads an ambiguous clause of a bilateral act against its drafter and for whoever had less bargaining power.