THE AUTHORITY OF THE JUDGE IN GRANTING THE JUDICIAL GRACE PERIOD TO THE DEBTOR "COMPARATIVE ANALYTICAL STUDY"
This study focused on researching, analyzing, and comparing the topic of the judge's authority in granting the debtor a judicial grace period, which is considered one of the most important legal issues. This authority, which the judge possesses, is considered a departure from one of the most important legal principles that govern contracts, namely, the principle that a contract is the law of the parties. However, the legislature has provided many exceptions to this principle, whether in the stage of forming the contract or in the stage of implementation. According to this principle, it is not permissible to annul or modify the contract or to implement it contrary to what it contains in good faith. In the execution phase of a contract, the debtor may, in certain circumstances, be unable to fulfill their obligation to the creditor on the agreed date. The creditor then files a lawsuit in court to obtain their right. The judge intervenes upon the request of the creditor to consider the lawsuit and rule on the debtor to fulfill their obligation. However, due to the debtor's difficult circumstances, the judge may grant them a period to fulfill their obligation, which is called the judicial grace period. The judicial term is defined as the specific time during which the debtor is given another opportunity to fulfill their obligation later than the due date, but under certain conditions. As the scope of the judicial term is determined by the judge's discretionary authority, meaning that the judge has absolute discretion to grant or deny it, he is also free to determine the duration of the term, if it is a reasonable duration. If the original purpose of granting a judicial term by the judge is to consider the difficult circumstances surrounding the debtor and his inability to fulfill his obligation to the creditor, then this necessarily means the emergence of several effects when granting the term, but at the same time considering that there are some reasons that will lead to its expiration if they occur.