Text of the provision

Art. 1422. A contract which is the direct result of a previous illegal contract, is also void and inexistent.

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 renderings and the Official Gazette, all three of which agree word for word.

What this article means

Closes the Title on Void or Inexistent Contracts, immediately before Natural Obligations begins. A contract is void not only when it is illegal in itself, but also when it is the direct result of a previous illegal contract — for example, a second agreement executed solely to carry out or give effect to a first one that the law already condemns. Such a downstream contract is equally void and inexistent; illegality is not washed away by repackaging it in a later instrument.

Related provisions

Cases interpreting this article

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.