Text of the provision

Art. 1402. As long as one of the contracting parties does not restore what in virtue of the decree of annulment he is bound to return, the other cannot be compelled to comply with what is incumbent upon him.

(1308)

Civil Code of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 386, approved June 18, 1949, effective August 30, 1950. Reproduced in full; verified verbatim against the LawPhil and ChanRobles official-text renderings.

What this article means

Until one party restores what the annulment decree requires him to return, the other cannot be compelled to comply — restitution is mutual and simultaneous.

This article applies the broader principle that annulment restores the parties to their original positions on both sides at once, rather than one at a time. Because the obligation to return what was received is reciprocal, neither party can demand performance from the other while withholding his own restitution. The rule protects a party from being made to hand back what he received under an annulled contract only to find the other side never returns the corresponding thing, mirroring the logic of reciprocal obligations found elsewhere in contract law.

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Note. The text of the provision above is reproduced in full from the official enactment (Republic Act No. 386), verified against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings. The annotation and commentary around it are the work of Vivas & Nobles Law Office and are general legal information, not legal advice. How a provision applies to a particular situation depends on facts that only a lawyer reviewing your case can assess.