TERM (TERMINE). - It is a moment in time from which (dies a quo) or at which (dies ad quem) the effects of a legal transaction (v.) begin to take effect or cease. The t. is, together with the condition (v.) and the mode (v.), one of the accidental (typical) elements of the transaction.
It is distinguished from the condition because it refers to a certain date or event, whereas uncertainty is characteristic of the condition. In this regard, one who pays before an obligation subject to a condition has come into existence may obtain restitution of what was paid, since he was not obliged to make the payment; this is not the case with one who pays before the t., since the obligation is perfect (subject to the possibility of obtaining interest from the time of payment until the expiration of the t.). Consequently, in view of the certainty of the t., in the classification made by the schools—dies certus an et quando, certus an incertus quando, incertus an certus quando, incertus an et quando—only in the first two cases is there a t., whereas in the last two there is a condition.
The t. may be attached to any transaction, except for actus legitimi and for particular cases established by law. It may be established for the benefit of both contracting parties or for one of them; however, when it does not appear to have been established for the benefit of the creditor or of both contracting parties, it is presumed to be for the benefit of the debtor (cf. art. 1184 of the Italian Civil Code).
The t. is said to be essential when the performance is due on a fixed day, so that a subsequent performance can no longer take place (cf. art. 1457 of the Italian Civil Code: failure to observe the t. produces by right the resolution of the contract).
In procedural terminology, t. indicates the period of time within which or after which a certain procedural activity must or may be performed.