Contract
The contract as a legal institution:
Contracts as a form of legal connection has multiplied and perfected to the extent of the progress and complexity of economic-social development. They have been the form of expression of the relations of production and of other links and of conventional legal relations of significant economic connotation. The essence of the contract as a legal institution is found in the exchange of goods, products or services.
In our socialist society, with a planned economy, the obligations arising from the economic, monetary-mercantile relations, between the legal and natural persons that participate in the execution of the single plan of economic-social development must be established and expressed by means of an economic contract that binds to the parties to the fulfillment of the same and to answer for the material responsibilities that may be demanded in the cases of breach of said obligations.
The contract, agreement of wills, by virtue of which a legal relationship is created, modified or extinguished, guarantee of the merchandise-money relationship.
In order for a legal relationship to be created, modified or terminated, it is necessary that the scope and effect of the agreement include a commitment to give, do or not do something. And therefore the contract is, together with the Law, the main source of the obligations and constitutes a specific type of legal business. This leads to consider as a bilateral legal act (legal business) that originates, modifies or extinguishes an obligation.
The legal regime of the obligations and contracts that institute the civil and commercial laws, still in force, are not in accordance with the current and new relations of production, which is why we intend to present our experiences in order to somehow contribute to these relations they are adapted to the circumstances of our particular territory and according to our own needs.
Development
Of the special sale contract for agricultural products
With respect to economic contracting and the complementary legislation that establishes and regulates this matter. The decree Law 15 of the year 78 Basic Norms for economic Contracts, in its Chapter IV Second section prescribes The types of economic contracts in this case The Contract of Special Sale of Agricultural Products, which is granted between a state producer, cooperative or farmer private and a state company, agency, body or organization.
Arguing the aforementioned in the Basic Norms of economic contracting is also found in Decree 80 of January 29, 1981. Regulation of the general conditions of the contract for the Special Sale of Agricultural products, where the subjects of a contract are established, in this case, Buyer, Seller, those mentioned in the previous paragraph.
On the other hand, in its chapter V it refers to Breaches in the contract and claims in general where in its articles it mentions the participation of third parties, in breaches of contractual obligations, empowering the buyer to demand that third party, the signature of minutes or Document containing the conditions in which the obligations are fulfilled for the purposes of the actions of the producer, if applicable, against the third party.
As a result of the current demands, in which the agricultural and peasant sector is asked to increase production, basically intended to replace imports. What is agreed in the Contract to protect the Productive Base, referring to the payment of its productions which are affected by non-payments and by the lack or delay in deliveries by the buyer, of containers and packaging, mainly in our municipality, boxes and transportation from the collection point established in the contract are affected by the absence of such points.
Another of the elements that have led to these breaches by the buyer is the non-payment of commercial margins and that of the quality of products, which is sometimes not carried out according to the current regulations and legislation of the Ministry of Finance and Prices.
Due to the aforementioned, in 2009 the Agricultural companies that serve the Productive Base that comprise them will contract, through the proforma of SINGLE CONTRACT and its annexes, the agricultural production of the Producing Entities, which includes the supplies that will be sold to these the latter and the agricultural services that the Company provides and sells directly to the productive forms.
The agricultural products objects of sale are:
- Various crops.
- Bovine milk, buffalo and goat sheep.
- Beef, buffalo, minor and swine cattle that is not of pig agreement.
- Purchase and sale of supplies.
- Agricultural services.
The following are excepted from this contract:
- The agricultural production of Coffee, tobacco, Cocoa and honey, which will continue to be contracted in accordance with the provisions of previous years.
- Livestock production of live cattle, minor cattle and pigs are also governed by the legal regulations established for each type of production.
- The sale of major cattle between the agricultural company and its production base, is governed by the provisions of resolution 462 of 10/6/208 of the MINAG.
It is the responsibility of the Collection Union and its system to define with each Agricultural Company the volumes, assortments and destinations to be contracted with its production base and the Company to disaggregate this figure among its producers according to previous commitments, potentialities and traditions of each one of them..
It is the responsibility of the livestock branch to define the agricultural people who serve milk and meat producers, define the potential (Volumes in liters and Kilograms) Destinations to hire and the Company to disaggregate them among its producers, including their own if any.
Characteristics of the single contract proforma:
Differentiating from the preforms of previous or traditional contracts; In a single proforma that contains three sections, there are:
Purchase and sale of agricultural products (various crops, bovine milk, buffalo and goat sheep and beef, buffalo, from minor cattle and pigs that are not from pig agreements).
-Selling of supplies.
-Agricultural Services.
Previously the Entities of the Productive Base signed three contracts with different Entities (Storage, Agricultural Supplies and Agricultural Company).
- The delivery of Agricultural Production is made directly by the Productive Base to the recipients, hence an annex for each recipient.
- The inputs that the production base should receive are not agreed on by quantities, but on planting rates, planned production or delivered products.
- The inputs are delivered directly to the production base through the agricultural supply network.
- The payment of agricultural products (various crops or milk and meat) is made directly by each recipient to the entities of the productive base.
- Payment of the inputs received by each member of the production base is made directly to the supply company.
- The agricultural company will provide the necessary services to each of the entities of the productive base that serve what is reflected in section III of the single service contract.
- The agricultural company exercises the role of control and representation of the productive base before the recipients of the production and with the suppliers (supply company).
Realities
The Single Contract that is implemented in this 2009, offered by the Agricultural Company, for the purchase - sale of agricultural products produced by the Productive Base that it serves, the supplies and provision of services that the Company sells to the different productive forms. Minimizes the Own Legal Personality of each Productive Form (UBPC, CPA, CCS AND CCSF), granted by the Law, its Statutes and Regulations.
The aforementioned entities (Legal Persons), have the Capacity, to be subjects of Rights and Obligations The Agricultural Company does not have a Certain Object, to establish a Contractual Legal Relationship, with the Productive Base that it serves, in relation to the Purchase-Sale of agricultural products. By virtue of what legal or administrative provision does the Agricultural Company Contract the productions that the UBPC, CPA, CCS and CCSF carry out for its commercialization and sale?
When it does not collect, transport, distribute, market, provide packaging, or pay the products to producers. The obligation to Do, established in the legal business, is not fulfilled. The Merchandise - Money relationship Guarantee is violated, all of which creates Confusion. In accordance with ARTICLE 300.1. of the Civil Code Law No.59. The obligation is extinguished since the qualities of Creditor and Principal Debtor are gathered in the same person. Quality granted by the Single Contract to the Agricultural Company. He is a Creditor before the recipients of the production and a Debtor before the Productive Base that sold the products.
One of the elements that in our consideration this Unique contract has as a vulnerable point is, it does not protect the productive base despite this being one of the reasons why it was created.
There are multiple breaches of the Recipients of production, mainly unpaid, violation of the provisions to set the corresponding commercial margin, dissatisfaction in milk tests to determine its quality for payment, collection of productions, transportation, packaging and packaging, establish collection points, etc.
All of which the Productive Base cannot directly claim those who pay the production, (The Buyer) because the contract is agreed with the Agricultural Company. This being one of the reasons used by non-compliants.
The Agricultural Company does not have a device intended to check, control and demand compliance with what is agreed in the contract by all the parts that comprise it.
Services are agreed between the Company and the production base for which the production base does not have a certain purpose, for example: The Irrigation service where the production base does not have the Irrigation equipment.
In the contract it is not mentioned, the personality of the recipients of the contracted production who are responsible for the object of the payment obligation and other obligations such as the place and conditions of collection of the productions, the conditions with respect to the delivery and return of containers and packaging, types, expenses and other transportation conditions, etc.
One of the elements that, in our consideration, is positive because it eliminates the use of an intermediary (the Agricultural Company) is in the part of supplies of inputs to ensure the productions carried out by the productive base, sending them directly to the productive base. without having to go through the Agricultural Company and its warehouses, thus avoiding the improper use of these resources as well as the use in a timely manner as long as they are agreed on the scheduled date, also taking into account that many of the units do not have the equipment and necessary means in its patrimony to assure the harvests.
Challenges
Implement a Single Multilateral Contract describing the Personality of the Recipients of Production and The Agricultural Supply Company, so that it is Recognized by the other Subjects of the Contract (Productive Base and Agricultural Company). Without the need to carry out a second contract between the Agricultural Company and the Buyer (Recipients of Production), protected by article 72 of decree 80/81, in this way the parties are obliged to fulfill the obligations arising from economic relations., monetary-mercantile. Equal rights for all subjects of the contract. On the occasion of answering for the material responsibilities required in cases of breach of said obligations.
With the consequent saving of resources destined to the preparation of the preform documents and annexes for the different contracts currently implemented.
Thus achieving that the Agricultural Company fulfills its leading role in the task of Methodological Direction, checking, control and demand on the Productive Base that forms it, in the fulfillment of the economic-social development plans.
As well as comply with the corresponding part of the Single Contract, in relation to the Provision of Services Agreed with the Productive Base.
Free the Agricultural Company from the qualities of creditor and main debtor, which it assumes with the Single contract preform implemented in 2009.
With which it would not have to create an apparatus destined to the check and control of the fulfillment of the agreed thing in the contract, demanding to the noncompliants and in the name of the productive base the demandable material responsibilities that correspond for each noncompliance of the recipients of the production.
That the Productive Base exercises the Capacity granted by the Law in its capacity as a Legal Person, as subjects of rights and obligations. With which they can ensure the preservation of the assets that comprise them, complying with everything agreed in the contract and claiming those breaches that affect them.
All of which will contribute to superior achievements in food production and, fundamentally, to achieve high productions in lines destined for import substitution.
Conclusions
With the present work we do not intend to exhaust the topic on the Economic Contract and the Legal-Contractual Relations established between the different subjects that intervene in the fulfillment of the Economic - Social Development Plan.
We have only addressed a few points, which we consider essential in the development of Economic, Monetary-Mercantile relations, which are of interest in the current process of economic transformations carried out by the Socialist State.
In the search to achieve high, varied and stable productions of food that keep state agricultural markets up-to-date with products and, basically, products destined to substitute imports. For what we have considered of vital importance that the Contract as a fundamental entity for the fulfillment of the Plan includes in its content all the aspects that in one way or another contribute to the effective achievement of the objectives of both buyers and sellers, always guaranteeing that each one of these acts are backed by legal documents and especially by the Contract.
recommendations
- Achieve a Preform of the Single Purchase-Sale Contract for agricultural products, Supplies and Services, which is agreed between all the subjects that participate in the fulfillment of the Economic-Social Development Plan, with equal Rights and Obligations, in a single document.
- The Preform that is achieved must in no way minimize the legal personality of the productive base, which limits its rights and obligations in the face of violative acts or breaches of the other subjects.
- The Contract, even when it is planned and is destined to fulfill the economic and social development plan, is an Act of Will, it should not be imposed.
- Each act or agreement that is agreed between the parties must have an objective, certain foundation and a constructive spirit, according to the Law.
- The Agricultural Company in its management must not meet the qualities of creditor and Principal debtor, this act extinguishes the obligation.
Bibliography
- Civil Code Law No. 59.
- Contract Law Manual.
- Obligations Law Manual.
- Compendium of Cuban Agrarian Legislation.
- General indications on the Single contract for the purchase - sale of agricultural products, supplies and provision of services between the Agricultural Company and the Productive Base for the year 2009.
