Chapter II: Payment of undue payments

Any payment presupposes a debt; what has been received without being due is subject to restitution. Restitution is not admitted in respect of natural obligations which have been voluntarily discharged.

Any person who mistakenly or knowingly receives something that is not due to him must return it to the person from whom he received it unduly.

A person who by mistake or under duress has paid the debt of another may bring an action for restitution against the creditor. Nevertheless this right ceases in the case where the creditor, as a result of the payment, has destroyed his title or abandoned the securities which guaranteed his claim. Restitution may also be claimed from one whose debt has been paid by mistake.

Restitution is subject to the rules laid down in articles 1352 to 1352-9. It may be reduced if the payment is the result of fault.