Russia

Article 154. Contracts and Unilateral Transactions (SEE ALSO FORMATION)

1. Transactions may be bilateral or multilateral (contracts), or unilateral.

Article 308. Parties to Obligation

1. One or simultaneously several persons may participate in an obligation as each of its parties, i.e. creditor or debtor.

The invalidity of the creditor's claims with regard to one of the persons participating in an obligation as a debtor, and likewise the expiry of the limitation period with regard to the claim against such person, shall not in and of itself affect his claims against the other such persons.

2. If each of the parties to a contract bears a duty in favor of the other party, it shall be considered the debtor of the other party in what it is obliged to do to the its benefit and, simultaneously, the creditor thereof in what it has the right to demand from it.

3. An obligation shall not create duties for persons who are not participating therein as parties (for third persons).

In the instances provided for by a law, other legal acts, or by agreement of the parties, an obligation may create rights for third persons with respect to one or both parties to the obligation.

Article 321. Discharge of the Obligation, in Which Several Creditors or Several Debtors Participate see also Termination

If several creditors or several debtors take part in the obligation, each of the creditors shall have the right to claim the discharge, and each of the debtors shall be obliged to discharge the obligation in an equal share with the others, unless otherwise following from the law, from the other legal acts, or from the terms of the obligation.

Article 322. Joint Obligations

1. The joint duty (the liability), or the joint claim shall arise, if the joint nature of the duty or of the claim has been stipulated by the contract or has been established by the law, in particular, in the case of the indivisibility of the object of the obligation.

2. The duties of several debtors by the obligation, involved in the business activity, the same as the claims of several creditors in such an obligation, shall be joint ones, unless otherwise stipulated by the law, by the other legal acts, or by the terms of the obligation.

Article 323. The Creditor's Rights in the Joint Duty

1. In case of the debtors' joint duty, the creditor shall have the right to claim the discharge both from all the debtors jointly, and also from any one of them taken apart, and both in full and in the part of the debt.

2. The creditor, who has not been fully satisfied by one of the joint debtors, shall have the right to claim the rest from the joint debtors. The joint debtors shall stay obligated until the moment, when the obligation has been discharged in full.

Article 324. Objections to the Creditor's Claims in the Joint Duty

In the case of the joint duty, the debtor shall not have the right to put forward against the creditor's claims the objections, which are based on such relations of the other debtors with the creditor, in which the said debtor does not participate.

Article 325. Discharge of the Joint Duty by One of the Debtors

1. The discharge of the joint duty in full by one of the debtors shall absolve the rest of the debtors from the discharge toward the creditor.

2. Unless otherwise following from the relations between the joint debtors:

• the debtor, who has discharged the joint duty, shall have the right of the claim of regress to the rest of the debtors in equal shares, less his own share;
• that which has not been paid by one of the joint debtors to the debtor, who has discharged the joint duty, shall fall in equal shares on this debtor and on the rest of the debtors.
• The rules of the present Article shall be applied correspondingly to the termination of the joint obligation by offsetting the claim of regress, filed by one of the debtors.

Article 326. The Joint Claims

1. In the case of the joint claims, any of the joint creditors shall have the right to present to the debtor the claim in the full volume. Before the claim has been presented by one of the joint creditors, the debtor shall have the right to discharge the obligation toward any one of them at his own discretion.

2. The debtor shall not have the right to put forward the objections against the claim of one of the creditors, that are based on such relations of the debtor with the other joint creditor, in which the given creditor does not take part.

3. The discharge of the obligations in full toward one of the creditors shall absolve the debtor from the discharge toward the other creditors.

4. The joint creditor, who has accepted the discharge from the debtor, shall be obliged to recompense what is due to the other creditors in equal shares, unless otherwise following from the relationships between them.