The actions of legal entities and citizens aimed at the emergence, change or termination of civil rights and obligations are commonly called transactions. Contracts concluded, as well as transactions made unilaterally, in accordance with civil law, must comply with applicable legal norms, not contradict or violate them.
There is no formula for an ideal model for building legal relations, and transactions are made, the legality and validity of which is often outside the law. Such transactions are usually called invalid. Civilian science distinguishes two main types of invalid transactions - voidable - transactions, the invalidity of which is established by the court, and void transactions - which have no legal basis for their existence, regardless of whether they are recognized as such by the judicial authorities.
Types of void transactions
Void transactions are invalid from the moment of their conclusion. The term "invalidity of a transaction" means that it does not generate new rights or obligations, does not change or terminate existing ones due to its inconsistency with the norms of the law. Civil law classifies several types of void transactions:
- a transaction made by a person who, due to age or mental state, could not understand the nature and essence of his actions. This category of persons includes minors or children under the age of 14, completely incapacitated or partially incapacitated persons recognized as such in court: suffering from mental illness, alcohol abuse, drug addiction. On behalf of such citizens, contracts are concluded by representatives authorized by law - parents or guardians;
- the transaction does not comply with the law. Transactions that directly or indirectly violate the law and other bylaws are invalidated from the moment they are made. So, for example, transactions made with property that was previously obtained by theft;
- imaginary - a transaction made only to create a type of transaction, but in essence, not aimed at creating mutual obligations and legal consequences. A sham transaction will be deemed to be an agreement on the donation of property by a person in respect of whom a court decision has been made on confiscation or seizure of property;
- feigned - a transaction made for the sole purpose of covering up another transaction with its form. The most common example is the substitution of a contract for the sale and purchase of real estate with a donation contract for the purpose of subsequent tax evasion;
- transactions with vices of will - this is how feigned and imaginary transactions are designated in the science of civil law, due to the fact that the will of the persons concluding them and their real intentions do not coincide;
- a transaction made for purposes that contradict the foundations of morality and law and order. In fact, these are actions that violate the norms of morality and ethics of society, the economic and social foundations of the state. It is also customary to call this kind of transaction "antisocial". An example of this is a contract with a fake signature of one of the parties.
Consequences of the conclusion of a void transaction
The invalidity of the transaction obliges the parties to return the property received under such an agreement in kind. In the event that the subject of the contract was a service or other intangible obligations, the parties reimburse their cost. For those transactions that contradict the norms of law and order and morality, slightly different consequences are envisaged - everything that was received under the transaction must be turned into the income of the Russian Federation.
