Civil Code of San Andreas

Purpose

The purpose of the Civil Code of the State of San Andreas (hereinafter the Civil Code, or simply, the Code) is to provide a legal framework, as derived by the State’s codes and laws, for all civil matters within this state.

This Civil Code and the Law Courts of San Andreas shall be guided and inspired by our motto, justitas et libertas: justice and liberty. 

Guidelines

For the purposes of consistency, the Civil Code is to be referenced in all official documents in the following way: “CCSA 1.2.5”. CCSA refers to the Civil Code of San Andreas. The 1 refers to the corresponding Title in the Code. The 2 refers to the section of the Title from the Code. The 5 refers to the entry of the Code. In this example, CCSA 1.2.5 refers to the entry that reads: “Property, according to its relation to other property, may be divided into capital, and fruits and revenues.”

Note that this is different from referencing the Criminal Code of San Andreas, which also bears the “CCSA” prefix. For the Criminal Code, entries are referenced by Title, severity, and entry, e.g. CCSA 1.203 Battery. 

1.1 KINDS OF PROPERTY

1. Property is divided into immovables and movables.

2. Land, and any constructions and works of a permanent nature located thereon and anything forming an integral part thereof, are immovables.

3. Things which can be moved are movables.

4. All other property, if not qualified by law, is movable.

1.2 PROPERTY IN RELATION TO THAT WHICH IT PRODUCES

5. Property, according to its relation to other property, may be divided into capital, and fruits and revenues.

6. Property that produces fruits and revenues, property appropriated for the service or operation of an enterprise, shares of a legal person or partnership, the reinvestment of the fruits and revenues, the price for any disposal of capital or its reinvestment, and expropriation or insurance indemnities in replacement of capital, are capital. Capital also includes rights of intellectual or industrial property.

7. Fruits and revenues are that which is produced by property without any alteration to its substance or that which is derived from the use of capital. 

1.3 PROPERTY IN RELATION TO PERSONS HAVING RIGHTS IN IT OR POSSESSION OF IT

8. A person, alone or with others, may hold a right of ownership or other real right in property, or have possession of the property. A person also may hold or administer the property of others or be trustee of property appropriated to a particular purpose.

9. The holder of a right of ownership or other real right has the right to take part in judicial proceedings to have their right acknowledged.

10. Property belongs to persons or to the State.

11. Property is acquired by contract, succession, occupation, prescription, accession or any other mode provided by law.

12. Property confiscated under the law is, upon being confiscated, property of the State or, in certain cases, of the legal person established in the public interest authorized by law to confiscate it.

1.4 ACQUISITION OF VACANT PROPERTY

§ 1. -- Things without an owner

13. Things without an owner are things that belong to no one or that have been abandoned. Movables of slight value or in a very deteriorated condition that are left in a public place are deemed abandoned things.

14. A movable without an owner belongs to the person who appropriates it for themself by occupation. An abandoned movable, if no one appropriates it for themself, belongs to the State.

15. An immovable without an owner belongs to the State. Any person may nevertheless acquire it by natural accession or prescription unless the State has possession of it.

16. Things without an owner which the State appropriates for itself are administered by the State Senate of San Andreas.

§ 2. -- Lost or forgotten movables

17. A movable that is lost or that is forgotten in the hands of a third person or in a public place continues to belong to its owner.

18. The finder of a thing shall attempt to find its owner; if they find them, they shall return it to them.

19. The holder of a found thing, including the State, may sell it if it is not claimed within 7 days. The sale of the thing is held by auction. The holder may dispose of the thing immediately if it is perishable. Also, if there is no bidder at the auction, they may sell the thing by agreement, give it to a charitable institution or, if it is impossible to dispose of it in this way, destroy it. 

2.1 DEFINITION OF OBLIGATIONS

1. An obligation is a legal duty, by which a person is bound to do or not to do a certain thing.

2. An obligation arises either from:

   1. The contract of the parties; or,

   2. The operation of law. An obligation arising from operation of law may be enforced in the manner provided by law, or by civil action or proceeding.
      
      

2.2 CONDITIONAL OBLIGATIONS

3. An obligation is conditional when the rights or duties of any party thereto depend upon the occurrence of an uncertain event.

4. Conditions may be precedent, concurrent, or subsequent.

5. A condition precedent is one which is to be performed before some right dependent thereon accrues, or some act dependent thereon is performed.

6. A condition concurrent is one which is mutually dependent and is to be performed at the same time.

7. A condition subsequent is one referring to a future event, upon the happening of which the obligation becomes no longer binding upon the other party.

8. Before any party to an obligation can require another party to perform any act under it, they must fulfill all conditions precedent thereto imposed upon themself; and must be able and offer to fulfill all conditions concurrent so imposed upon them on the like fulfillment by the other party, except as provided by the next section.

9. If a party to an obligation gives notice to another, before the latter is in default, that they will not perform the same on their part, and does not retract such notice before the time at which performance upon their part is due, such other party is entitled to enforce the obligation without previously performing or offering to perform any conditions upon their part in favour of the former party.

10. A condition in a contract, the fulfillment of which is impossible or unlawful, or which is repugnant to the nature of the interest created by the contract, is void.

11. A condition involving a forfeiture must be strictly interpreted against the party for whose benefit it is created.
    
    

2.3 TRANSFERRING OBLIGATIONS

12. The burden of an obligation may be transferred with the consent of the party entitled to its benefit.

13. A right arising out of an obligation is the property of the person to whom it is due, and may be transferred as such.

14. A plaintiff who prevails on a cause of action against a defendant may claim attorney’s fees, costs and expenses from that defendant to the fullest extent permissible for that cause of action.

2.4 EXTINCTION OF OBLIGATIONS

15. Full performance of an obligation, by the party whose duty it is to perform it, or by any other person on their behalf, and with their assent, if accepted by the creditor, extinguishes it.

16. Performance of an obligation, by one of several persons who are jointly liable under it, extinguishes the liability of all.

17. Performance of an obligation for the delivery of money only, is called payment.

18. Novation is the substitution of a new obligation for an existing one.

19. Novation is made:

    1. By the substitution of a new obligation between the same parties, with intent to extinguish the old obligation;

    2. By the substitution of a new debtor in place of the old one, with intent to release the latter; or, 

    3. By the substitution of a new creditor in the place of the old one, with the intent to transfer the rights of the latter to the former.

20. Novation is made by contract, and is subject to all the rules concerning contracts in general.

21. An obligation is extinguished by a release therefrom given to the debtor or the released party by the creditor or releasing party, upon a new consideration, or in writing, with or without new consideration.

22. A release of one of two or more joint debtors does not extinguish the obligation of any of the others, unless they are mere guarantors.

3.1 DEFINITION OF CONTRACTS

1. A contract is an agreement to do or not to do a certain thing.

2. A contract is either express or implied.

3. An express contract is one the terms of which are stated in words.

4. An implied contract is one the existence and terms of which are manifested by conduct.

5. The execution of a contract in writing, whether the law requires it to be written or not, supersedes all the negotiations or stipulations concerning its matter which preceded the execution of the instrument.

6. A contract in writing takes effect upon its delivery to the relevant parties.
   
   

3.2 CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

7. It is essential to the existence of a contract that there should be:

   1. Parties capable of contracting;

   2. Their consent;

   3. A lawful object; and,

   4. A sufficient cause or consideration from all parties to the contract.

8. All persons are capable of contracting, except minors, persons of unsound mind, and persons deprived of civil rights.

9. The consent of the parties to a contract must be:

   1. Free;

   2. Mutual; and,

   3. Communicated by each to the other.

10. An apparent consent is not real or free when obtained through:

    1. Duress;

    2. Menace;

    3. Fraud;

    4. Undue influence; or,

    5. Mistake of fact or law.

11. Consent is not mutual, unless the parties all agree upon the same thing in the same sense.

12. Consent is deemed to be fully communicated between the parties as soon as the party accepting a proposal has put their acceptance in the course of transmission to the proposer.

13. Performance of the conditions of a proposal, or the acceptance of the consideration offered with a proposal, is an acceptance of the proposal.

14. A proposal may be revoked at any time before its acceptance is communicated to the proposer, but not afterwards.

15. A proposal is revoked by any of the following:

    1. By the communication of notice of revocation by the proposer to the other party before their acceptance has been communicated to the former.

    2. By the lapse of the time prescribed in the proposal for its acceptance or, if no time is prescribed, the lapse of a reasonable time without communication of the acceptance.

    3. By the failure of the acceptor to fulfill a condition precedent to acceptance.

    4. By the death or legal incapacity to make decisions of the proposer.

16. A contract which is voidable solely for want of due consent, may be ratified by a subsequent consent.
    
    

3.3 CONTRACT INTERPRETATION

17. All contracts, whether public or private, are to be interpreted by the same rules.

18. A contract must be so interpreted as to give effect to the mutual intention of the parties as it existed at the time of contracting, so far as the same is ascertainable and lawful.

19. The language of a contract is to govern its interpretation, if the language is clear and explicit, and does not involve an absurdity.

20. When a contract is reduced to writing, the intention of the parties is to be ascertained from the writing alone, if possible.

21. The words of a contract are to be understood in their ordinary and popular sense; unless used by the parties in a technical sense, in which case the words of a contract are to be understood by their strict legal meaning.

22. Technical words are to be interpreted as usually understood by persons in the profession or business to which they relate, unless clearly used in a different sense.
    
    

3.4 EXTINCTION OF CONTRACTS

23. A contract may be extinguished in like manner with any other obligation.

24. A contract may be extinguished by rescission if all the parties thereto consent.

4.1 MARRIAGE AND SOLEMNIZATION OF MARRIAGE

1. Marriage shall be contracted openly, in the presence of at least one witness, before a competent officiant.

2. Every clerk of the Law Courts of San Andreas, every notary authorized by law to execute notarial acts, and any other person designated by the State or recognized religious institution is competent to solemnize marriage.

3. Publication shall be effected by means of a notice delivered to the Clerk of the Law Courts of San Andreas within three days of the solemnization of the marriage.

4. The publication sets forth the name of each spouse, the names of the witness and officiant, and the solemnization date.

5. Publication to the State marriage registry serves as legal recognition and proof of the solemnization.
   
   

4.2 DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE

6. Marriage is dissolved by the death of either spouse or by divorce.

7. The court may grant a divorce on the grounds that there has been a breakdown of marriage.

8. A breakdown of marriage is established only if

   1. the spouses have lived separate and apart for at least one month immediately preceding the determination of the divorce proceeding and were living separate and apart at the commencement of the proceeding, or

   2. the spouse against whom the divorce proceeding is brought has, since the celebration of marriage,

      1. committed adultery, or

      2. treated the other spouse with physical or mental cruelty of such a kind as to render intolerable the continued cohabitation of the spouses.

9. The court that rendered the judgment granting the divorce shall issue to any person a certificate that a divorce under this Code dissolved the marriage of the specified persons effective as of a specified date.

10. The court that rendered judgment granting the divorce shall strike the publication from the State marriage registry. 

5.1 DEFINITIONS OF TORT

1. A tort is an act or omission that gives rise to injury or harm to another and amounts to a civil wrong for which courts impose liability. 

2. Torts provide grounds for relief to injured parties for harms caused by others, impose liability for those responsible for the harm, and aim to deter others from committing harmful acts. Typically, a party seeking to redress through tort law will ask for damages in the form of monetary compensation. Less common remedies may include injunction and restitution.

3. Torts are bound by common law and state statutory law. The Court, in interpreting the language of statutes, has wide latitude in determining which actions qualify as legally cognizable wrongs, which defenses may override any given claim, and the appropriate measure of damages.

4. Torts are distinguishable from crimes, which are wrongs against the State. Tort law addresses private wrongs and has the central purpose of compensating the victim rather than punishing the wrongdoer. Any crime committed by one person against another may form the basis for a tort, though not all torts have criminal penalties.
   
   

5.2 KINDS OF TORTS

§ 1. -- Criminal Liability

5. A person guilty or found to be liable by a preponderance of the evidence for any criminal offense may also be held liable for damages caused to another as a direct result of the offense. In such a case, a plaintiff may seek compensatory damages in addition to state-imposed penalties.

§ 2. -- Defamation

6. Defamation can be established when the following is true:

1. A defendant makes a false statement purporting to be fact about a person or entity, and

2. The statement in question was published or communicated to a third party, and

3. The defendant made the statement knowing the statement was false or with reckless disregard for whether the statement was true.

4. The statement directly caused some harm, such as reputational damage, to the plaintiff.

§ 3. -- Emotional Distress

7. Emotional distress can be established where one person acts in a manner that is outrageous and causes a victim emotional distress so severe it could be expected to adversely affect mental health.

8. Outrageous behavior is defined as any conduct that is unlawful, dangerous, or malicious, and that a reasonable person in a similar circumstance would object to.

§ 4. -- Invasion of Privacy

9. Invasion of privacy is established when an individual does one or more of the following:

1. Enters into a private residence, structure, or area where they have no legal right to be and without the consent of the owner.

2. Appropriates the name, likeness or identity of another, without consent, in an attempt to publicize a person in a false light, or exploit the likeness of another individual for personal gain.

3. Disrupts another’s interest in solitude or seclusion within a private area using means that are offensive to a reasonable person.

§ 5. -- Negligence

10. A failure to behave with the level of care that someone of ordinary prudence would have exercised under the same circumstances. The behavior usually consists of actions, but can also consist of omissions when there is some duty to act.

§ 6. -- Nuisance

11. Nuisance is established when one person’s conduct interferes with another’s right to the common public or interferes with a person’s right to enjoy their private land or property. In cases of private nuisance, a person’s conduct must be recurring in nature to qualify as a nuisance.

§ 7. -- Product Liability

12. Product liability is established when a person sells a product that another individual uses which, at the time of sale, has a defect which causes an injury to a claimant due to the normal use of the product. 

13. The defect must be shown to be an actual and proximate cause of the injury to the claimant. Types of defects include:

1. Manufacturing defects are such where in the product’s manufacturing process a danger is created in using the product which has not been disclosed.

2. Design defects are such which make the product inherently flawed or dangerous when used in a reasonable manner.

3. Marketing defects are such where improper instructions or marketing create misleading and/or unsafe expectations in product use which may result in injury.
   
   

5.3 TORT RELIEF

14. When the Court has an interest in deterring future misconduct, the Court may award punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages.

15. In some cases, injured parties may bring suit to obtain an injunction rather than monetary relief. A plaintiff seeking an injunction typically must prove that they would suffer considerable or irreparable harm without the court's intervention.

• At the pleasure of the State Senate or the Supreme Court, amendments, additions and revisions to this Civil Code may be made at any time with respect to the legislative process of such authorities.

• The Chief Justice may also review the Civil Code and make proposed changes to ensure its effectiveness and to maintain appropriate language for legal interpretation. Major changes should be consulted upon with the State Senate.

• All changes shall be made within relevant Titles.

• Any and all changes to this Code shall be dated and acknowledged in Title 6: Amendments.

6.1.1 STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

1. An action to any section described in this Civil Code must be commenced within seven (7) days of the discovery of the incident unless otherwise stated by this Code. 

2. An action includes, but is not limited to: a letter to cease and desist, entering into a renegotiation of contract, or filing a civil action with the Court.