Explanation of Article 581
The article refers to one of the characteristics of the contract of guarantee, which is that it is dependent on the original obligation, revolving with it in terms of validity, invalidity, and susceptibility to annulment. Thus, the guarantee is not valid unless the original obligation is valid, whether the source of the original obligation is a contract, such as a loan, or its source is the law, such as when a guarantor guarantees a neighbor compensation for unusual damages due to proximity, or its source is enrichment without cause.
If the obligation is void, then the guarantee is void accordingly by the protection of the law. Thus, the guarantee of a gambling debt, a debt based on an unlawful cause such as usury, and anything that contravenes public order is void because the original obligation guaranteed is void. The same applies if the original obligation is susceptible to annulment, such as being tainted with duress, fraud, or lack of capacity, making the guarantee susceptible to annulment accordingly.
Since a contract susceptible to annulment is like a valid contract until it is annulled, and a void contract is absolutely void after its invalidity is declared; the contract before annulment exists and its guarantee is valid. If the debtor requests the annulment of the contract and it is granted, the obligation of the guarantor is annulled retroactively, just like the guaranteed obligation. If annulment is not requested, the guarantor, according to the principle of dependency, can argue against the original debt by requesting annulment to achieve the annulment of the guarantee.
Related To
Article 581
A suretyship shall be valid only if the obligation subject of the suretyship is valid.