Judicial principles and studies
Release/Abandonment of Obligation: Gift Rules and Relation to Unjust Enrichment
A concise summary addressing the legal nature of release as a unilateral act akin to a gift, the validity conditions, the requirement that the debt exist at the time of release, and limits on the evidentiary value of prosecutorial decisions in civil courts.
Updated: 10 September 2026
Prepared and reviewed by: Ashraf Al-Khawaja
Subject
Release (ibra’) is a unilateral act by which a creditor relinquishes a right against a debtor; because it is a gratuitous waiver it is treated under the rules applicable to gifts and unilateral dispositions. The subject of release is the obligation or the right owed by the debtor; a creditor may gift a debt and such gift is regarded as release. Practically, release may take the form of relinquishing a right or of acknowledging receipt (extinguishment by payment/acknowledgement).
Summary
- Release is a unilateral disposition governed by general rules on validity of consent and contract requirements; the creditor’s will must be free of defects. - The object of release must exist, be possible, determined or determinable, and lawful; therefore release cannot cover a future debt since release applies only to existing rights. - If there is no evidence that the creditor knew of a particular claim (for example, a retained price difference), that claim cannot be regarded as included in the release because the required existence and clarity of the object are lacking. - Binding evidentiary effect before the civil judge derives from a final criminal judgment deciding the criminal matter; prosecutorial decisions or decisions to halt prosecution are not equivalent to such a criminal judgment and do not bind the civil judge as res judicata.
Practical significance
- Ensure the release is expressed by a valid, documented will and that the debt subject to release existed at the time of the act. - To include additional amounts within a release, obtain proof that the creditor knew of them when granting the release. - Do not substitute prosecutorial decisions for a final criminal judgment when claiming res judicata effect in civil proceedings. This is a general educational summary and does not constitute judicial text or legal advice.
Sources and references
Verify the official text and latest amendments before relying on this material professionally.