Property Sale Ratification Defective Due to Lack of Notarial Formality

A lower court had ruled that a contract for the sale of a property, concluded by a representative without proper authorization, was still valid because the true owner subsequently ratified the transaction by accepting part of the sale price. The highest court overturned this decision, reasoning that in matters of property alienation requiring a notarial deed for validity, ratification by the principal cannot retroactively cure the fundamental defect of a lack of initial formal authorization; such ratification must, therefore, itself be executed with the same solemnity required for the original authorization, meaning acceptance of only part of the price was insufficient to validate the sale.