§ 738. Contents of certificate of proof An officer taking proof of the execution of an instrument shall, in his certificate indorsed thereon or attached thereto, set forth: (1) all the matters required by law to be done or known by him, or proved, before him on the proceeding; and (2) the names of all the witnesses examined before him, their places of residence respectively, and the substance of their testimony. 8 739. Other powers of officers Officers authorized to take the proof of instruments may, in the proceedings: (1) administer oaths or affirmations, as prescribed by section. 2502 of Title 5; (2) employ and swear interpreters; (3) issue subpoenas, as prescribed by section 1101 of Title 2; and (4) institute proceedings in the district court to compel the attendance of witnesses or the production of papers, or to punish for contempt, or for the issuance of a warrant of arrest or commitment, in the manner provided by section 1102 of Title 2, and sections 2555 and 2556 of Title 5. § 740. Action to correct defective instrument When the acknowledgment or proof of the execution of an instrument is properly made, but defectively certified, a party interested may have an action in the district court to obtain a judgment correcting the certificate. § 741. Action for judgment proving instrument Any person interested under an instrument entitled to be proved for record may institute an action in the district court against the proper parties to obtain a judgment proving the instrument. 8742. Effect of judgment A certified copy of the judgment in a proceeding instituted pursuant to section 740 or 741 of this title, showing the proof of the instrument, and attached thereto, entitles the instrument to record, with like effect as if acknowledged. § 743. Instruments executed prior to effective date of Code The legality of the execution, acknowledgment, proof, form, or record of instruments made before January 2, 1963, executed, acknowledged, proved, or recorded is not affected by the provisions of this chapter. They depend for their validity and legality upon the laws in force when the acts were performed. 8744. Instruments affecting land in District of Columbia, territories, etc. Deeds and other instruments affecting land situate in the District of Columbia, or any territory or possession of the United States, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, may be acknowledged in the Canal Zone: (1) before a notary public or judge; or (2) by an officer in the Canal Zone who has ex officio powers of a notary public. The certificate by the notary public in the Canal Zone shall be accompanied by a certificate of the executive secretary stating that the notary taking the acknowledgment was in fact the officer he purported to be. Deeds or other instruments affecting lands so situate, so acknowledged since January 1, 1905, and accompanied by the certificate have the same effect as such deeds or other instruments so acknowledged and certified after June 28, 1906. CHAPTER 29-OBLIGATIONS IN GENERAL BUBCHAPTER I-DEFINITIONS Bec. 781. Obligation defined. 782. Creation and enforcement. SUBCHAPTER II-INTERPRETATION OF OBLIGATIONS 811. General rules of interpretation. 925. Extinction of pecuniary obligation by offer, deposit, and notice. 926. Objections to mode of offer. 927. Title to thing offered. 928. Custody of thing offered. 929. Effect of offer on interest and incidents of obligation. 930. Retention of thing offered and refused. Article C-Prevention of Performance or Offer 941. Causes excusing performance or offer. An obligation is a legal duty, by which a person is bound to do or not to do a certain thing. § 782. Creation and enforcement An obligation arises either from the: (1) contract of the parties; or (2) operation of law. An obligation arising from operation of law may be enforced in the manner provided by law, or by civil action or proceeding. Subchapter II-Interpretation of Obligations Article A-General Rules of Interpretation § 811. General rules of interpretation The rules which govern the interpretation of contracts are prescribed by chapter 35 of this title. Other obligations are interpreted by the same rules by which statutes of a similar nature are interpreted. Article B-Joint or Several Obligations § 821. Classification of obligations An obligation imposed upon several persons, or a right created in favor of several persons, may be: (1) joint; (2) several; or (3) joint and several. § 822. Presumption of joint obligation An obligation imposed upon several persons, or a right created in favor of several persons, is presumed to be joint, and not several, except in the special cases specified by chapter 35 of this title, relating to the interpretation of contracts. This presumption, in the case of a right, may be overcome only by express words to the contrary. § 823. Contribution between joint parties A party to a joint, or joint and several, obligation who satisfies more than his share of the claim against all, may require a proportionate contribution from all the parties joined with him. Article C-Conditional Obligations § 831. Conditional obligation defined An obligation is conditional, when the rights or duties of any party thereto depend upon the occurrence of an uncertain event. 8832. Kinds of conditions Conditions may be precedent, concurrent, or subsequent. 8833. Conditions precedent A condition precedent is one which is to be performed before some right dependent thereon accrues, or some act dependent thereon is performed. § 834. Conditions concurrent Conditions concurrent are those which are mutually dependent, and are to be performed at the same time. 8835. Conditions subsequent A condition subsequent is one referring to a future event, upon the happening of which the obligation becomes no longer binding upon the other party, if he chooses to avail himself of the condition. § 836. Performance of conditions necessary Before a party to an obligation can require another party to perform any act under it, he shall fulfill all conditions precedent thereto imposed upon himself and be able and offer to fulfill all conditions concurrent so imposed upon him on the like fulfillment by the other party, except as provided by section 837 of this title. § 837. Performance excused If a party to an obligation gives notice to another, before the latter is in default, that he will not perform the same upon his part, and does not retract the notice before the time when performance upon his part is due, the other party is entitled to enforce the obligation without previously performing or offering to perform any conditions upon his part in favor of the former party. § 838. Impossible or unlawful conditions A condition in a contract, the fulfillment of which is impossible or unlawful within the meaning of sections 1081-1085 of this title, or which is repugnant to the nature of the interest created by the contract, is void. § 839. Construction of conditions involving forfeiture A condition involving a forfeiture shall be strictly interpreted against the party for whose benefit it is created. Article D-Alternative Obligations § 851. Right of selection If an obligation requires the performance of one of two acts, in the alternative, the party required to perform has the right of selection, unless it is otherwise provided by the terms of the obligation. § 852. Loss of right of selection If the party having the right of selection between alternative acts does not give notice of his selection to the other party within the time, if any, fixed by the obligation for that purpose, or, if none is so fixed, before the time when the obligation ought to be performed, the right of selection passes to the other party. § 853. Indivisibility of alternatives A party having the right of selection between alternative acts shall select one of them in its entirety, and may not select part of one and part of another without the consent of the other party. § 854. Nullity of alternatives If one of the alternative acts required by an obligation is such as the law will not enforce, or becomes unlawful, or impossible of performance, the obligation is to be interpreted as though the other stood alone. Subchapter III-Transfer of Obligations § 871. Transfer of burden of obligation The burden of an obligation may be transferred with the consent of the party entitled to its benefit, but not otherwise. 8 872. Transfer of rights arising from obligation A right arising out of an obligation is the property of the person to whom it is due, and may be transferred as such. This section does not authorize the transfer of a thing in action arising out of a tort against the person. § 873. Indorsement of nonnegotiable instrument A nonnegotiable written contract for the payment of money or personal property may be transferred by indorsement, in like manner as negotiable instruments. The indorsement shall transfer all the rights of the assignor under the instrument to the assignee, subject to all equities and defenses existing in favor of the maker at the time of the indorsement. Subchapter IV-Extinction of Obligations Article A-Performance 8891. Extinction by performance Full performance of an obligation, by the party whose duty it is to perform it, or by any other person on his behalf, and with his assent, if accepted by the creditor, extinguishes it. § 892. Performance by a joint debtor Performance of an obligation by one of several persons who are jointly liable under it extinguishes the liability of all. § 893. Performance to a joint creditor An obligation in favor of joint creditors is extinguished by performance rendered to any of them, except in the case of a deposit made by joint owners, which is regulated by chapters 49 to 53 of this title on deposit. § 894. Performance as directed by creditor If a creditor, or any one of two or more joint creditors, at any time directs the debtor to perform his obligation in a particular manner, the obligation is extinguished by performance in that manner, even though the creditor does not receive the benefit of the performance. § 895. Partial performance A partial performance of an indivisible obligation extinguishes a corresponding proportion thereof only if the benefit of the performance is voluntarily retained by the creditor. If the partial performance is of such a nature that the creditor cannot avoid retaining it without injuring his own property, his retention thereof is not presumed to be voluntary. 8896. Payment defined Performance of an obligation for the delivery of money only is called payment. § 897. Performance applicable to more than one obligation If a debtor, under several obligations to another, does an act, by way of performance, in whole or in part, which is equally appli |