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7. Obligation
 
  7.1 Obligations in general  
  Article 187-Obligations in general  
187.1 Obligations in general  
  An obligation is something (as a formal contract, a promise, or the demands of conscience or custom) that obligates one to a course of action through some agreement, instrument, product or transaction.
  
  The simplest example of an obligation of customary and historic culture importance is a promise. A promise is the action of obligating oneself to a course of action.  
  Ideally, if all citizens were able to display such self control and respect that their word was their bond, the detailed requirements concerning the rules of obligation would not be necessary.  
  However, the realities of the modern world means that few people actually display the extremely rare and time honored tradition of standing by their word. Instead, much of the social angst between parties in civil dispute revolves around a person initially making a pledge and then breaking their word.  
187.2 Variety and types of obligations  
  From the humble promise, to the more sophisticated methods, obligations have now become quite specialized and varied- from different types of contractual agreements, financial instruments revolving around contracts and a wide variety of financial products.  
  This wide variety and complexity of different types of obligations has also introduced a certain level of complication into the traditional and basic way obligations were honored in the past.  
  Now, consumers are much more likely to be asked to sign detailed contracts of obligation rather than the transaction and the verbal/handshake commitment being adequate.  
  Fair trading guidelines exist in great detail for many industries and most advanced products now come with sophisticated warranties.  
  There still remains however, those few examples where a handshake and a promise remains as solid as any solid legal contract  
187.3 The intention to honor an obligation  
  As detailed as modern rules of trading and obligation have come, they all ultimately come down to the individuals willingness to honor an intention or not. Like the ancient concept that "my word is my bond", if a person is unwilling to honor their obligations, no amount of rules and regulations will stop such behaviour.  
  In such cases, rules may assist to some extent in bringing such persons to court. However, in minor civil matters and amounts such regular breaches of fair trading are rarely resolved quickly or cheaply.  
187.4 The simplification and clarification of types of obligations, procedures and effective remedy  
  To effect a social system of fair and honest trade and obligations, the rules by which such a system operates must be clear, unmistakable and able to render an immediate and effective remedy when they are breached.  
  There is not point having long lists of consumer rights if they are too long to read and not displayed in public view by law in every retail and transaction outlet. There is no point having detailed rules regarding contracts, if contracts themselves are not collected and centrally registered and stored.  
  Therefore, this code seeks to find a balance between the mandatory requirement to define the vitally important rules of obligation and the simplification of an effective system.  
     
 
 

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