4 Types of Obligation

Beyond the source-based grid, obligations are classified along these axes (each pair is examinable):(a) Contractual, Delictal, Quasi-contractual, Statutory (by source)• Contractual: voluntarily assumed — born of agreement; content fixed by the parties within law's limits (Contract Act 2056).• Delictal: imposed by wrong — born of breach; content fixed by law (duty of care, duty not to defame).• Quasi-contractual: imposed by unjust enrichment — law compels restitution though no agreement and no wrong exists: the builder who improves another's land in the honest belief it is his own; the recipient of money paid in error.• Statutory/trust: imposed directly by legislation or by the position of trust — a trustee's obligations to the beneficiary (the guthiyar's obligations to the guthi being the indigenous illustration), a guardian's to the ward, statutory support obligations (maintenance duties under the Criminal Code 2074).(b) Unilateral and Bilateral (by structure of exchange)• Unilateral: only one party is bound (a gratuitous promise — a gift promise; a guarantee once matured).• Bilateral (synallagmatic): each party bound to the other — sale (goods ↔ price); in bilateral obligations, dependence and reciprocity raise the classic problems of order of performance and of excuse (the modern Civil Code's treatment of simultaneous performance and termination for fundamental breach).(c) Divisible and Indivisible (by content)• Divisible: performance can be split into parts (payment of Rs. 100,000…