The Civil Code gives a detailed definition of the concept of “obligation”. It means that the debtor is obliged to perform a specific action in favor of the creditor or to refrain from its implementation. In turn, the creditor has the right to demand performance of duties from the debtor. It is easy to conclude from this that a civil obligation is a variety of social relations that legally link its participants.
Obligations assigned to the contract
Despite the similarity of the concepts of “contract” and “obligation”, it is impossible to perceive them as equivalent. Firstly, the content of the obligation is much broader than the essence of the contract, because the former arise from both contracts and legal facts. Secondly, the types of civil obligations can be distinguished on the basis of the grounds for their occurrence. So, they are conditionally divided into two categories - contractual and non-contractual.
The first group includes obligations based on the content of a particular agreement. Its participants themselves establish the rights and obligations within the legal field. Civil obligations arising from certain facts are called non-contractual. Most often, their content is determined by law, and in some cases - by the will of the subject. In turn, non-contractual obligations come from:
- unilaterally executed transactions;
- committing unlawful acts;
- events.
Unilateral agreements and obligations arising therefrom
The main feature of the obligations arising from unilateral transactions is their determination by the will of the subject of the contract. The most obvious example is the testament. Being a unilateral transaction made by the testator, it gives the rights and obligations of the heirs from the moment of their entry into the inheritance.
In the same category should include administrative acts. However, here the enforcement of civil obligations takes place at the state level and depends on the particular authority that issues the document.
What obligations arise from illegal activities?
Other types of legal obligations arise from the unlawful actions of citizens and organizations. Violating this or that legislative norm, individuals and legal entities acquire obligations in case of harm to the life or health of a citizen, as well as as a result of illegal enrichment. In contrast to the agreements arising as a result of unilateral agreements, the content of illegal actions is strictly outlined by law, and the parties have specific roles: one of them is the creditor, the second is the debtor. The obligation resulting from the harm is the need for the guilty party to compensate it in full. In this case, the victim is considered a creditor, and the culprit is a debtor.
In some cases provided for by law, the obligation to indemnify rests with another person who is not guilty of causing harm. For example, the employer will be liable for the damage caused by the hired employee, and if the representative of the administration is the culprit, then the loss will be recovered from the budget of the corresponding region, the state treasury.
Responsibility for illicit enrichment
The concept and type of civil obligations arising from unjustified enrichment automatically implies the creation of a duty to return property to a person who has taken possession of it in an illegitimate manner. This category includes:
- unpaid taxes;
- income derived from entrepreneurial activities carried out without undergoing the appropriate registration procedure;
- lost profits;
- profits from illegal retention of property.
Thus, obligations are assigned to a person who has enriched himself illegally. It will be necessary to return the property in kind or to compensate for losses corresponding to the initial value of the property, expressed in monetary terms at the time of acquisition, as well as all income not received through the fault of the debtor.
Inherited obligations
If we consider the events as the basis for the occurrence of obligations and civil liability, it is worth noting that their occurrence is really capable of entailing legal consequences by virtue of a law or an agreement concluded between the parties. 
For example, the death of a person is the very circumstance in connection with which his property rights are transferred to the heirs in accordance with regulatory legal acts. At the same time, the heirs, entering into the inheritance, become owners of the testator's debts, which will have to be answered within the value of the transferred property. That is why creditors have the right to demand from the heirs the fulfillment of all contractual obligations belonging to the testator.
Insured event as a basis for performance of obligations
One type of civil liability arises before an insurance company as a result of a natural disaster or accident. However, an individual or legal entity has the right to submit claims to the organization only if there is a previously concluded contract of a personal or property nature. The agreement should provide for the likelihood of a specific event, which is called an insured event. The insurer becomes the debtor in such legal relations, and the insured person becomes the creditor.
Failure to fulfill obligations: what threatens the debtor?
Responsibility for violation of civil legal obligations - a measure of the impact on the debtor, refusing to fulfill his duties, and characterized by the onset of unfavorable consequences for him (in particular, reduction of property benefits) in connection with the recovery of losses, interest on borrowed money, penalty for failure to fulfill the agreed terms of agreement. 
In case of non-fulfillment or performance of obligations inappropriately, the debtor is obliged to compensate the creditor for all losses incurred, stipulated in the contract or established by law. In some cases, limited liability occurs.
If the debtor does not transfer this or that thing into ownership or economic use on time, as defined by the contract, the creditor has the right to demand the compulsory selection and transfer of this object or compensation for losses incurred.
The actual grounds for the onset of liability of the debtor
At the legislative level, conditions have been approved upon the occurrence of which property liability arises - circumstances the absence or presence of which gives rise to civil liability. Methods of fulfilling civil law obligations also depend on them. The conditions for legal liability include:
- unlawful behavior of the responsible person;
- guilt of the responsible person;
- losses incurred by the creditor;
- causal relationship between the behavior of the debtor and the consequences.
Unlawful behavior implies non-compliance with the requirements of the law issued by the responsible person of a regulatory document, an agreement and violation of its terms, leading to harm or damage to the property of another person. 
Naturally, civil-law obligations do not occur when it is impossible to fulfill them (for example, when the debtor dies), or when a certain action (inaction) is prohibited, which is included in the content of the obligations.
Wines as a condition for bringing to legal liability
If a person is aware of the unlawful consequences of his behavior, but at the same time does not fulfill the conditions of civil law obligations and contracts, he will be legally liable. In this context, the fault of the debtor is of great importance. Regardless of whether, deliberately or by negligence, a person has not fulfilled his duty, or has fulfilled, but inappropriately, a legal normative act or an agreement provides grounds for liability.
To recognize a person as not guilty, confirmation is necessary that, in order to fulfill a civil obligation with sufficient prudence and care, he has taken all measures to enable him to perform an action at the proper level. The person who violated the obligation must prove the absence of guilt and justify himself.
Guilt can also take the form of intent, which in jurisprudence refers to the intentional behavior of a person when he realizes the wrongfulness of his actions, leading to adverse consequences. In the absence of evidence of innocence, the person will be presumed guilty. If a person could not foresee the negative results of his actions, but he was obliged to know about it and even be able to prevent their onset, he would be found guilty by negligence.
When considering the guilt of legal entities, it is important to pay attention to the fact that specific employees who have committed unlawful acts in the performance of their official duties will be considered guilty. The organization is responsible to the creditor, and the guilty employee - to the employing company in the manner prescribed by the contract or legislation in the field of labor and employment.
Responsibility for breach of contract by third parties
Legal liability as a way of securing civil legal obligations may occur not only for the perpetrator. In some cases, it is necessary to account for the actions of third parties, if the execution of the contract was entrusted to them. In case of improper fulfillment of obligations, which happened due to the fault of both parties to the agreement, a mixed type of legal liability occurs. Thus, the court reduces the amount of liability of the debtor exactly as much as the creditor is guilty. With the same degree of guilt of both parties to the agreement, the amount of debt is halved.
The infringement of contractual conditions of damage to health or property may also become a condition for liability. The debtor has an obligation to compensate for the losses incurred by the creditor due to loss or damage to property, non-receipt of profit.
When is there no liability for breach of obligations?
In the context of the above conditions for the occurrence of legal liability for violation of civil law obligations, it is also worth paying attention to the fact that causation may indicate the presence of guilt. So, for example, the carrier will not be considered guilty of damage or loss of cargo that occurred due to improper packaging of the goods by the sender.
At the same time, force majeure or an accident may relieve a person from legal liability for failure to fulfill obligations.The first category includes emergency circumstances that cannot be prevented even with the use of modern technical means. These include natural disasters (floods, earthquakes, convergence of landslides, other natural disasters) and military operations. Force Majeure allows you to free from liability.
A case is considered the same innocent breach of obligation. If a person did not foresee, could not and should not have foreseen the negative consequences of his behavior, responsibility is removed from him.
Civil liability of the entrepreneur
A broader in comparison with other types of liability arising in violation of contractual obligations is the concept of entrepreneurial responsibility. If the obligations stipulated by the agreement are not fulfilled, the guilty person will fully compensate for the damage if he cannot prove that the force majeure or the accident caused the improper performance of this or that action.