Obligation (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain what an obligation is in a moral and legal sense. In addition, the elements of a legal obligation and various examples.

What is an obligation?

An obligation It is a demand or commitment to which a person is subject for some reason and that makes him or her act in a predetermined manner either undertaking a behavior or abstaining from it. This requirement may be of a moral, legal or other nature. For example, “tax obligations” are the taxes and payments with which citizens undertake to contribute to the State and the maintenance of the public sector.

The word “obligation” comes from Latin obligatoryvoice made up of the prefix ob- (denoting opposition) and the verb I will flirt (“bind” or “bind”). So whoever is obligated to something is “tied”, figuratively, in the sense that he cannot separate himself from that demand or that command.

Societies govern themselves through rights and obligations, that is, through freedoms and mandates. Both things are established by laws and regulations, and promoted by the authority of the government and institutions. Thus, in each society a set of duties are imposed on citizens that guarantee social order and collective well-being, but at the same time, for example, each religious community imposes a set of social and spiritual obligations on its parishioners.

What is a moral obligation?

A moral obligation It is a mandate or requirement that has its roots in an ethical consideration that is, it has to do with the ideas of good and correct. Moral obligations come from moral codes, that is, from systems of evaluation of human behavior that seek to guide people towards virtue, towards the appropriate way of living life. Religions, customs and/or civic ethics are examples of this type of moral codes of conduct.

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In most modern societies, moral obligations are openly encouraged, but not necessarily sanctioned as laws. This means that, on the one hand, they are considered important and people are expected to comply with them, but, on the other hand, they are not coercive norms, that is, no one is obliged to comply with them and therefore they depend on the free will of each person. who. That does not mean that non-compliance is not subject to social disapproval and in some cases more severe punishments.

For example, the obligation to have children constitutes a moral mandate in many traditional societies, especially in the case of women. Of course, a woman can choose not to be a mother if she prefers, but that will not exempt her from pressure and often criticism from those who understand that, by making that decision, she is not fulfilling an important obligation. But, in any case, no law is being violated by not having children.

What is a legal obligation?

A legal obligation It is a legal, binding mandate, established in the norms and/or laws of a community whose compliance is ensured by the authorities and the State. In principle, legal obligations also have a moral basis: they respond to a conception of the common well-being, of what is “right” for a society, but unlike moral obligations, they are not left entirely to the conscience of the individual, but rather they are imposed and actively monitored by authority.

So, Failure to comply with laws brings with it proportional sanctions taught on behalf of the community. This is why are considered crimes or crimes that is, attacks against collective well-being and against healthy coexistence, which merit exemplary punishment. For example, a person who steals money from the public treasury is tried and sentenced to several years in prison, since by keeping money from the State he benefits only himself and harms the entire society.

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Legal obligations can be of different types, depending on the type of consequence they have. Thus, we can distinguish between:

Obligations to give. Those that involve the delivery of a good, either as fulfillment of the terms of an agreement (a contract, for example) or as reparation for damages caused (generally economic). For example, when we sign a purchase-sale contract, we are obliged to deliver the agreed money and the seller is obliged to transfer the good sold to us.
Obligations to do. Those that involve carrying out a specific action or specific behavior, even if it is against the will of the individual, entailing sanctions in case of refusal. For example, when we sign a contract with a transportation company, the organization is obliged to transport us to our destination according to what we have agreed upon.
Obligations not to do. Those that prevent an action from being carried out or from continuing to be carried out. They generally establish sanctions in case the obligation is ignored. For example, the right to life obliges people not to kill, so those who end the life of another must face sanctions.

Elements of a legal obligation

Legal obligations normally involve three elements:

The subjects of the legal relationship. These subjects are the debtor and the creditor, that is, the one who owes and is therefore obliged, and to whom they owe and therefore demands compliance with said obligation, respectively.
The object of the legal relationship. The conduct to which the debtor is obliged is called the object, whether it consists of giving, doing or not doing.
The legal relationship itself. The legal relationship is the recognized and disciplined nexus that links the creditor and the debtor, and that establishes the terms in which the legal obligation must occur and what will happen if that does not happen.