Balane - The Spanish Antecedents

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.lTHE SPANISH ANTECEDENTS OF. THE PmLIPPINE CIVIL. COilE*

&Ui!EN F. BALANE**

~ : q ' \ ~_: -,-:._0 n the !llOrning of 19 ~ b e i : C 1 4 6 9 ;in a privaW-residence inJ-' Valladolid, niore than a hnndred iitiles northwest of Madrid as thecrow. m;;,., a wedding took puice. A love match, people law): wereto proclaim. In it s own way perhaps, it was-but only in it s owti

... way; for .the parties' were practically. strangers to eaeh .other, the 'groonl a ~ i n gmet his bride fo r the first ti; ,e oniy follr days. beforetheeeremony. Shemade a lovely bride, 18 years old, 'tan andJ:IIueeyed and fair, -with hair th e color Clf copper, bespeaking he r EiigliShanCestry, for he r great-grandfather was John of Gannt, DUke ofLancasrer, later immoi-tsliied by Shakespeare in the play 'R/,;Iu!,rdI I . Th e groom; at 17 a year yonnger than she, had the dark& good i .looks of his Aragonese forbears. , . ' .. - ' . .

There were some who opposed this marriage, among them tlfebride's own brother, who would' have preferred to marry her tlfl'to the King of .l'Jn:l:uiat But this b_ride ha d a mind of hei-- oW)i {1!11many 18Cyear olcf girls have a mind. of their own) and. 1111-e-kiirway, over her brother's objectives, despite even. th e ~ t obcstacle that bride. and groom W.re second cousins. -To ~ Q n tthiso b S t a c l e ~ - a . p a p l l l l i u l lof dispensation was presented but th e document~ a s a ;fqfgSey:ftOD.Coctedby-the groom, his f8.ther, and t h e < v - e n e ~ a b l ~ rArchbiShop of Toledo.

. Desplre the s ~ p l k j j ; yof 1;hec e ) : " e m o ~ y ,i t would n o ~have ~ . much prophetic VISIOn to_ realize that thiS was a marnage .of"'"-siirpassing hnportsnce-to a country, to a continent, an d to the worlil

:- ;. - . . . - . ' . . . - . ... . -For.. the . r ~ d ewho stood, flushed and . frur, -before th e altar. 'WliJF

. Isa)lella, princess' 'of Castile . an d heiress to its ,throrie; the ~was Ferdinand, King of Siciiy and heir to the throne of ragan.Castilian and Aragonese--:.but both of the Royal House of .Trasta-

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., --- ---. ' m a r a ~Trastamara wa s a-- Castilian house -which::for-more.'tfui.ir-'8 --- .. ' I , - , - -

century had occupied the throne of Castile, but since 1410 it was

also the ruling house in Ara:g6n, in the wake of civil disttU"liances-Leetu.re d ~ i v e r e da t the College of Law, University of t h ~ Ehii!p_pinea

on 6 January 1979, under- the ti.Ue "B_aekground to a C o ~ ' - . _**A ~ . s o o i c i t _ eP r o f ~ ~ o rof Law, unj.versity of e Philippines_; qolde?",

J. _B. L. R e y ~P r ~ f ~ r i a , lChair. in Civil Law.

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2 PHILIPPINE LAW JOURNAL {VoL. 54

there over the succession to the childless Martin I. The Compromiseof Caspe in'!l:p.ity b!;ll> s , d ~ f r a ! ! I l l e n , J ; ! ! dj J . l ~l a ~ _ dinto .m'!'"'';j>us., e t t y ; ~ n g d , o , l l l l \ -~ . ) \ .T i ; ~ ' f; ; ( i i m ~ e it&; W:as to ~ ta former'#eavet'ir61ii Genoai

& ~ ?1\r.;'i\i C't%tiiio&aotoifibo.;,mni i i & o n d ' t l l e : ~m'se;;pcn-or ~ ~ ~ ~ l ! t ; ,tO l ; h ~ ~ ~ 1 c \ .ttea$iires cit tiie 'i'ntti#i;;a' ! ~ ;; i i i ~ r l di ~ c } .I ~~ < i s .to d i ~ a t e hf:n:. ~ ~ 1 \ t r ~ . ~ , U ~ ' " W a t t eanQcthera/ii'eriturer,' 11 Pbrt.Igiieile seamannamed Fl!nuto"de Magal-. . , -, ., _ . . . . . . ,- . - \ ;I . . ,. , 'haes, on yet another such expedition: and thus e f l ' ~ t the :ffrst"cl't-, e - v i g a t ; i ~ l l ,of the' g)!\!!, ti,t0ngJl Magalhaes him;!elf.,:erish-vi!)len,tly q ~ , .J;l,le , , s h m f ~.


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not. d.onli,J)atioo,,.'J'jle o r i g i n a ] i n r e r e ~ t s -.of Cartilage ill; the p e n j n ~ u l awere silver and commerce, but by the m i d d l ~of );he tiJJrd centurybefore Christ, couquest of. Iberia became e&sentialto Gartl)age, fo r .a c i l i s ~ " t h E ; ' M i i a i t e i T a n e a n ,ariotl\.er dty', ca\Ie(f'Ron\e; wali aiS& expanding, alief'rival ~ a : i l s i o i i i s tambitions inevitablY bhiught these

- tWo gieftles in'\:ii-bloody iiiuicterrible c o n i ~ n t a t i o i m ,krtoi>ujiih l s l : O ~ 'as the tln'ee P1inreWm: Iii 236 i l ' . C . ~just'six yeantafter-:- - - ~ ..... ~ . . . . ... . ' .thil"'first of these wars; H11milcar Barca of' Cartliage led his armiesirit(i' Spai'n :tiid fouli.ded the city >ifhich to tliis day bears his nailie,B a f c l o ~ .Hasdruhal, his son-in-la'Y. who 'suceeeded-:him upon hisdeiith, on t ] i ~ battiefleJd, established his capital a.t Cartagena (socliile


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PHILIPPINE LAW JOURNAL [Voi:.. 54

of this paper too large. Mor.;,ver, the history of Roman law is toowell-known tO relate here.

By the foUrth ceritury i t was becoming clear that the magnificence. of Imperial Rome was .not eternal, at leailt in respect of the

-- p(!li_ticaj _!ltructure. ~ e r the causes for decline may ]lttve been--for that i$ ' l - l i i f g & ' ~ i o n c j ; h a thistotians still debat&i&


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. 1 9 ~ 9 ]. SPANISH AN1ECEDENTS 5

(2) A d u l ~was dealt .with severely- ' ' ei. [marido], despues de haberla cortado los cabellos en presencia de los parientes,Ia echa desnuda de casa y Ia va azotando. por todo el iugar". .

(3) Wills were unknown to them, and, in default of children,:the brothers succeeded, and in their_default ~ t h euncles on. both ~ ~ ~ - ~ -.

-. paterniil anamaternal i d e s .[This i!tinfrlgulng beeiiuliethe parerits -> - ~-themselves seem to. be omitted]. ( 4) Their hospitality seems to have been extraordinary: i t was /

considered - inhumazi tO- deny anyone admission into one's houSe;every guest, even a s t ~ a ~ e r ,must be served the best fo04 one'Sresources could afford and i f food runs out, the guest must be-escorted to a neighbor's house, where he should be treated with thesatlle h O S P i ~ t y .

- (5) The taking of interest on loans was completelY unknown

to theni. .

Other features of Visigothic customs may be mentioned :

(1) Members of_the family were to render mutual aid and pro..teetion, and. thus a personal offen8e was also a family o f f e ~ .

(2) _The wife had a right to.share inproperty earned aftermarriage, and to have .the use of a deceased husband's estate, aslong as she remained a widow [here we have th e beginnings ofconjugal property].

(3) :Parental authority over the children did no t include11f;heju s 'llitae ac necis. (in this respect making Visigothic custom surelymi>re humane than the Roman Law) .

But all this was c u s t o ~ r ylaw, unwritten law, and th e Visigothic ruiers, their people now securely_ settled in Hispania,growing increasingly. appreciative of the. refinements of civilization,began thinking of putting their laws into more permanent fonn.

Arid thus we reachthefirst important smgeTii th e "evolution of "theCivil Law in S p a i n ~

2 14 The huSband. having cut off his wife's. hair in the presence of relatives, drives her naked out of- th e _bouse and scourges heJ" _all- o v ~ the -place."1 SANCHEZ RoMAN, ESTUDIOS DE l>EREcHo CIVIL 148 (1899).

"It-seems, however,' that _evmi" h e r e " t h e ~ ni ~ J i e n c ewas felt early,,for other hiStorians tell Us that the V i s i ~ s ,.in S ~ n were familiar withtestam.eritary succession, men being allowed to make-"Wills, provided they re-SEirved four-fifths fo r their descendants. _

4 Vide, 1 SANCHEZ ROMAN, op. eit., pp. 141-143,6 Vide, CHAPMAN, op. cit., p. 33.


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PHJ1'PINli: 1;AW'JOORNAL

.THE"GODE OF EURIC

rvot.:54....,

' . . ,_ . . -. i; -i.::-.: '7 - -.- :. ..,' :- .. - :. . . --j -y:~ e l ) . o l a r s

ana .they .msc:oV:er.,.rJ:Iiatthe-_i>alimsest containedc ~ ' ! i P ~ X

- ehl.pters of th e visigothic(Laws,'of. Eurie. .These fragments wetepub!ishei! in .1847_ under t!J.e jaw-breaking title: R ~ c c a : r e d iVisi.lio'#wrum Reiiift antiqua legum c o t i ~ c t i i o.. Ez- ni:Mn,branis 'aeletitiiso ' ~ i l i l i e . l ; ' a : r i s i e M i sbibliotheoae :re:ititutam adiectit i n . u g l i t a z ~ r i u m''ViSi-, . -. ' . . . . . . . . . ...gotliOrum lectiime. "

- . ... . .. . ; .. - ' ' ~ - ~ - - ~ . ". ,The evidence. from these fragmel).ts indicated. t) la t th e document was divided varioUsly into el).apters an d titles_ -= the !loel>Jn,"lltwas obviously a collection of laws. In fact it was th e Code of. Tolosa,tile oidest' Written


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~ of )wman law still 0e r n a i n ~ di""'Ollg. 1 1 ~ " ' 1 1 3 : P ~ - l ; ! l d t oAlarie, who, atthat.,city; , d e e t A A ~it into Iaw,.)1\'ith:t!Jecaviiat lihat on!y such C9J)ies t l l ' " ' ! ! O f ' a s , : w ~ e . ~ J.the ~ c ; e l l o r ;Ani:jnus, were . o,be .consi!lereil; 1 1 \ l Y ' ~ l J . t i ~ ,h ~ l l " : . t l i ! >! l ~ t i v . ~ : . ; _ , . eBr\iVll;lry:,of A n i a n u < ~ d i t:i!l l ~ n < > ' l l ' n. P . i ; : ~ U ! Io.tl:!,fi!rnames: Lez Romana, Liber legum, Auctorita.s Alarici re{li8, 'L,erc. Tkl!o-dosii1. '!IJ.d Cominonit'!,ri?fm.

,.. ,. - , . ... : . ! ~ : :J.( . : - . TIU,s ,,iide-, coming as it .did about a,quarter 0f.,a, century be

fore J\lS#nian'a .Corpus, is. based on :ante-Justinian1Ri>inal\ law, eonsisting)lf.Impei"ial edicts and writings.ll$Roman jnrlseonsults. Ex-.tant editions of the'Code differ as odciSiaiiCode mi t before Justinian]; lin epitome of the Institute& "Of' G

. - . ' ., ~ - - . . . . . .-. -. . . . . .; '_ - ~~ : 439 ":t-1;>., . t ~ e 'E ~ p e r o r.-T h i o d o s i ~ s_---if- P ~ ~ ~ :, i n .1P , ~ ~ ~ ~ o p J ~ n

bffieW collection of 1mpenal ed1cts from . C ~ t a i i t f u ~ .: tor hi s own time. This.~ - " ~ ~ e ~ t i _ o n ~aptfx_ . c @ . ~ c l.. ~ ! ; l e , } J l ~ ! ~ . ! L 1 ' 1 Y J . ~ ~ 4 7 1 - U S , . J t e c a ~ ~ ~ ~ " ' : ' l ) o t-on:ly. in the'- Ea:stern: Emp1re.but a;}J;o m.the W e s ~ r n~ p t p u : e , h 8 . ~ .ben pr:o_mulg!tte(f.

t h ~ in -the" same yeat by the . E m ~ r o rValentiiiia;u m'in.'i_Ro#l,e .. Tlie C o r l ~.Theodosianus. covet:s sever.al braD.ches of .law:. p u b l i c ~ -.::erimtnal 1 _ m j l ~ t ~~

eeelesiatieal, and civil. . .9 This Code wa s compiled ca. -.-296 A.D.,. ~ n g ( ) ~ .imp;eri.al statutes.from Hadrian to }) ioe let ian . (117,-284 4,.D.)t'(lri.g4lally ;ti;:'pJiv&W u t i o f f i ~ a l '. ~ r k ,bti,t.' eventualy_ given official sa:D.ctiQJi ,by, tJ:te l : m ~ : ~ h O O d o s i u s .I t 3pd.'!-Dd.Valebtinian Ill . _ - . -: __ --'-.-. . '

- IoThis -.,..a-s cOmpiled sometime before 324-,A.D, d ~ : the- reign _ .o fConstantine_ 'the Great, COntaining C 9 n ~ p o _ r a i yImperial ; sta tutes, niost'Iyunder Dioeletian. Like the Gregorian,. thits was, originally ~ a n unofficial com_pilation, but.- subsequ'entlY officially recogliized _by TheodosiUs .,I;I and Vale_n-tiriian I I I . ..

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[YOI..54

The Code i ~ in .t:\yo .. parts : the text and the interpretationpresented separately, .""eept only in th_e part on th e Institutes ofGaius in which text.aJ interpreta:tion are integrated. A few of t h ~21tatut0ry texts, 'however, do J;lot have a eorre!lponding interpretativeexpositio_n, where the compilers prbably thought ~ a tnone Wall :ne-e ~ - . . ' - - - - - - . ;;

' ~ T h u s_-it Wall that tlie legal syst';.m. in eatly Visigothic Spainwas M t teriitcujal; but persowl - one law ,predop!inlmtly .Ger-.mailic;' fqr theeon(Iueror .Goth and another, predoirdl)antly Roniap,for,_the conquered R\lmaiw-IheriaD..' This system, r e ~ toLtheei>ilY ilaYs of Rome before the Twelve Tables, called by SP,.nish legalh i _ S ~ r i , a n s' - ' ~ e i i 8 1 a c i 6 ndoble" or 'legislaci6n de ca3bla" waa pef-baps ''anti-j!lridieal", an d it could also lead to -confJISion and injlll!tice as where the controversy Wall between a Goth snd a native {inwhich ease Visigothie law Wal l held to apply]; But i t paved the~ a yfor the consOlidation -under later monarchs. AB Sanchez' Romanhall observed:

. . . si Ia lei;slacl6n doble, 6 de eastas, es en pri:ilcipioaltamente perniciosa y antijurldica, y po r tanto digna deser p ~ t acomo sistema legislativo. t r a t i n d o ~ e-de ia .epoea y laS e ~ r c u n s t a p e i a spoi' que entonces atravesabaEspaiia, eli digna de aplauso po r favoreeer Ia conquista,facilitsndo Ia dominaci6n goda eu nuestro pals, a Ia vez

, que ofrece un testimonio de respeto a Ia lihertad ~ s o n a ld e las distintas raza8 e!'lCel'radas en un misino territorio, sinmeniua, e m ~ o .de Ia unidad po!itiea. -Fue ademas 16gicaeonsectieneia de Ia ti)Ierante conducts de gobierno; iniciadapor los primeros monarCa.. godos para con el pueblo veneido.l_t

THE CODE OF JUSTINIAN

While th e Visigoths were: consolidating their- rule, events offar-reaching siJ!rufiCance occurred in- Constantinople. In 527 AD,,; PORllant 'lad Jrow Ji-:v. .name,aseehded the imperi_al throne. :ije dreamed of recovering th e .lostWestern pr.ovin_ces an d making the- Mediterranean a Roman - or

11 " , the system of double, or cl.ass, legislation is , as a rule, highlyu n d e s i r a b l ~and anti-juridical aild, h ~ . should be rejected as a legal System.And yet, considering the clremnstaneea of Spain's historical developmentat th e time, . i t wa s a desirable thingt inast;nuch as it Stabilized th e Conquestand' facili taW the l'l,lle of the. Goths. At the same time i t w;as a manifestationOf rei:lpeet .fOr thepersonal Uberty of the members of th e different races livingin the same' territory, With no sacrllice of political un,ity. It was, furthermore,a logical-" result of th"e tolerance shown 15y the early Gothic l'tllers in governing the conquered people." i SANCHEZ RoMAN, op. cit., p. 152.


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perha,ps tll,e better term now is Byzantine .....,. lake again. N 0r didhe CQntent himself wifu mere dreams,. and so the imperial legions-were dispatched westward in a campaign. bf. rest ag8.fn. d u s i i n l ~ . : l a : i t i n g - - - '-;,.,hieveinent wwr not-in tile- Victories of his legions, .but -in th e en!"

Construction of t w ~enduring structures; o n ~ ,the ~ a g n i f i c e n tHa - gi a Sophia - originally built by Constantine and. bumed in an

. nsurrection. - even today i t stands, the' j ewe! of Istanbul; th e other, the great work o f ~codilieaiion, whicl! .exists to this day,

world..;;_de in its . nlirience, surely as dm;able aS' the Hagia Sophiaitself;

That this codification was achieved at all is , a tribute l;o. th evision of thiS- Emperor. The imperial commission for the work was,given on 15 December 530, ~ 16 December 533, the Digest wa spublished, and became law. a fortnight later, followed by the Inati-,tutes, which took effect on 31 December of the same year, and. thenthe CQdex, on 29 December of the following year. The CO'f1YUS JurisCivilis, as we know i t today; contains. a fourth part, the Novellae,or new laws enacted subsequent .to the first three parts.

Because Spain was no longer part of the Empire politicallY,Justinian's codification natUrally did not extend there, except til_wn'l'IJ!"q!ll w_ifuouj; an


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e a ~ e d ; >Letivjg-ild'S.-son, wit!li;:llli! Simple.and: Mnny;:decisi6n:i0f con ~ i t l i l g~ : ! > Gi!tliolieisnf -'-'an exantiile which was emulated'by manyllf. the visigoth&('l'hus by .the tllird. decade of tbe sevefitb century,-W:isrgothic rule ov'er the.>J?i>llittsula was secure; ,. : . t ( " -

- : : ( " : . ~ ~ : - ; ....... , . . : .-: '.:::_;,_. : .. ,.. . . . . ~ - 1 : . . _ , .:' .,._ pne ~ } ~ . J > 1 V < \ Y J I S - l e f , th i - ~ d o ~ ~ - .. )le h a r m . - < i i r l ~ t } S -i ~ o ! ~ - ,~ o n , p fthe,ll!'-wielBeuW4Ci4n doble.cTbe obvons sruU;fion was,,tJ,ie adoittlon .of a l;...vrthaf W:QU!d be CQminon i'bOth' j i ~-: V i s i g Q ~ ! \ : ' I I l dthe. H i ( l p a i , l o - ~ o m a u i~ d bideed. th e time ) V . ~ s .n p ~:for thi8;.,_,Jl!iertakirur,e ~ y : : ~ ~wintli (650-672), Etvigius ( 6 8 ~ 7 ) ,and Egica (687-701): Tlie te$ult .was -the firiit :and, m mimy respects. tire' greateSt, .miidieval

compilation of 'Jaw .:....: th(VFuero Jnzgjj; origllllj}ly knoWn undervarioliS- names: Cod..: ~ u m , 'Liber Goth0ru:n.; L e i Vi8igothoncm;Lib'e:r fwli:ciorum, Libe:r udietmli; Forwm_c Jiu!icum: This last wascorrupted in the" thirteenth c


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.1979]. ; iSI'AI!!ISH 'ANT!lCEDENTS

.. ;,' 8) The ninth 'lm0k; r_ , ,, ' ' ' 9) Th e tenth bop/!:;; l l l i \ l ~ r ,t ; b , ~title D { diyiSi'onibwi et annoruni

_ e m ~ o n ; ~ 1 f 8at_qU:e . i n ! l # ~ i y ; g . o v ~d i v i # ~ P . H - ~ ~ _ 1 3 . i l d s ~leases, and~ prescn.'ption. ~ . .... ,. ~ . _ . . ' ' ..

. - - -"'' - - ~ - " - - ' "' : ~.. i i i : ) .The' eleventh l m o k , , ~ t l e d De aegroti$. atqu., ..m o r t w e t c:

t;ansW.annis negotiatoribus,_.-curiSly :lum,ps ' t o ~ f u e rr ~ l e sg o v e : n ~ing physicians, the sick, cemetery violators (ghouls must have been;

, a problem in those dl>YS), and:.maritime collll1lerce.

11) :Finally, th e twel:ftll: bOok, ealled De removendi$ pres.Um,. 'et omniuni iiae+eticifrum omnimobilo iiecU!i eistindis, aeals with a

variety of publici riiiift!irs, iiicludulg' th e ailiriiniSti:ation of justiceand,. Slid .to s a y , ~!'!Pl\bqr.of )1;\r"l\ P,rovisions agains,t,;tl!e ,Tews.

. It is important tb Wre@tilelaw, and civil law. Hence, o ~ ybooks-g,-4, 5, and 10- c o n c e r n - - ~here. ... .: '

. .: . . . . . . . . .. ' . ' . -- . . . ._,__. .. Since the F'uero Juigois tlie first'p>ajor coinpi,Iationi!i a:lo'lljj'

_series,- i t is worthWh_ne to ~ ~ e sorrie of its pi-.ominEmt: E m t u 1 1 J ~ ~ lirouping' the r e l e v a ~ tportioru! i l n d ~ouffa ,u i a r divisioi).S pf: (1)the law of persons ....nd famiiy; (2) ' t l j ~law of propeycy; '{3) t h ~la w of descent or sueceSsion and (4) the law of obligations and

contracts. ''""' ..

A. Th e law of p!irsQns and family:

(i) A major changerefieetiDg the social forces a t work tOwardsU)lity was the provision;.,allowjng interjnarriages. between Gotbsand

. Hispano-Ronums. . ,,

(2 ) Two )rinds 'of persons' are r e c o g n i z ~ d- the natural. orphysical, and the juridical; foll9will1( h ~_ R o l l l , ~ ~ -!'!.,.. ' . i ! .t h a ~.no t all huinan begins ar e persons (for slav&y was recognized)

'and not all piirsiins are human c'eill!is. . .. .

(3) For a natural person to bec.considered legally born, hemust have lived fo r a t least 10 days an d 11een baptized:".

(4) The age of majority was 15 years.'($) The following werethe impediments to a vslld marriage:

12 Cf. PHIL. Cn'lL CoDE, art. 40.

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PHILIPPINE LAW 'JOURNAL (VOL. 64

(a) difference in status - i.e. between a freeman and a

(b)(c)(d)

(e )( f )

(g )

slave;if the woman was older than the man;holy o r d e r ~ ,from subdeacon up;re]J>tionship - to the seventh degree, computed in_the same_ > i j : " w e c f r d o d a y ~-prior existing niarriage; -crimes against chastity, specifically abduction an drape, th e effect of which (and we would find thisstrange) " was to make it legally _jmpossible for thefelon to marry the victim;th e temporal impediment; i.e. one year following thedissolution of the ~ 0 1 p a n ' sprevious marriage.

(6) There was no minimum age requirement for 'marriage -anyone could marry who hl>d reaChed _the age of puberty ( !-ptitucl

:Para- la P,.ocreaci6n).(7) ~ h e pre8cribed ceremOny for marriage is charmingly

described by Sanchez Roman: - -

. . : la esposa iba cubierta con un velo, simbolo de suyirginidad; prestandose el conSentimiento par los esposospublicamente, y siendo a eontinuaei6n bendeeidos por ei~ o t e ,y uuidos por el diaeono eon una cinta blanca y- ~ r n a d a ,en reprt$ent8ei6n del lazo _matrimonial, por Ialtgil.dura, y de Ia P.Ureza y eeundidad, por los eolo_res."

'(Sj The concept of conjugal property is clearly discernible\ in the Fuero J uzgo, which recognizes as common pr.operty of th espouses whatever is earned by th e effort of both and divides ,suchproperty in proportion to ' the contribution of each one.

(9) Pa t r i a potesttis was -acquired -solely- by reaSon of marriage,th e -Roman concept of legitimation and adoption being UnknoWn orunacceptable to the Goths. On the other hand, th e extent of th epatrif!- potestas was no t nearly as absolute or as fearsome as in

l.S Under Philippine law; marriage b e t w ~the offender and the victimis not only ~ l l o w e d ;it also extinguishes criminal liability. Art. ~ 4 4 ,par; 4

of the Revised Penal Code provides: In cases of seduction, abduction, acts oflru!civiousness and r-ape, th e marriage of the offender with the oft'ended partyshall extinguish -the.-eriminal action a:r remit. the 'penalty imposed upon him.The provisions ot this paragraph shall also be applicable to the co.-principals,accoinpliceS and a c e e s s o r i ~aftex the. fact of the above-inentioned: crimes.

u. "The bride wore a veil, symbol of her virginity. The bride and groomexpressed their consent publiclY. They Were there blessed by the priest,and were united by tlie deacon with a white-and-red-cord, ~ e cord- S Y D J . b o l i z i ~ gthe-. matrimonial tie, and the color Jrignifyfng purity and fecundity." ~ SANCliEZROMAN, op. eit., p: _186.


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1979] SPAN!llH_ ANTECEDENTS 13.

Roman law, the ius neciS being available only when either parentcaught the daughter in the act of carnal indulg_enee (in flagrantedelicto). The rights of infants, an d even of the unborn, were scrupu

lously protected (perhaps here we can learn-$0mething from these semi-civilized Gotl)s) : infanticide and abortion were punished either

_. - hy death,


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_::;- ..

14' . [Vor.; 64;

.. : (J:i) An order-of intest

And Sherman bas this to say: .The Fuero Juzio is .the nrst great inediev


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-- . .

eclip!JI', s u d < ! l e n ; , i n e x o r a b l e r l f u ~ ton th e banksmf,::the, u a d i r l e t e ~an d'thoo :ailroasiothecifear.struc,kdal)d, rode .triumphant.tQ:e, -warriors, ofT ~ ~ - t h e . : ! 4 " G o r ~ ~ ~ ,.. ' : > , . : . j : - . i i . - , ; - : - , _ ~- ~ . c = : _ ,.-.; ..: . - ~ : : - -'---.:, ; ; ' . , ' ; ~ - ~ ~ - - -

't.B\''.: - ' ~ : , ; . ) . > . ~ . ' - - : : \ ~ : , , ; ~ .- ::..-7!"-:;:; : : [ ~ ... . . . - t . _ , ; . ""> . . ,;_:::";_-_. - . .. . :.- ......... - - -"'"'""'''""'"RS -.m T = ~~ c o N Q U ' " ' T _-_, ; . , _ . . : . , - ~ ! - ~ : :.... - ~ ~ " - ' - ;:.n..L'!W-1" .liJ;.,WLL\,01!.1 - ~ . ~ . : . C : ~ h . . - ~ . : . -. ? t:- ~- T i i t t1v f e ~ i ~ M ~ ~ a 1 1 J .~ - t i l 'f .. ~~ ~ i - ~ f t 6 i r i Nottlfi!:ciel. f i r ~

with tlie' zeihi t i \ . t ' i i ~ ' i r u t i i . ! . i f n a e f ' " r a : f u : 'th ' , ded,-. 1-2 ' o ~ .. . . . , .. , _ , , ey uoll ,strong, bh' t i i ~r o g k : _ . i c r O ~ S ' r t h ~ ~ 1 t r ~ l t~ : a i i d ' - ~ t h l s . _ ' r o ~ i { f o r i r e s ~ .ii - :_

.forever borne hi s name, th e hill of Tarik: G e b e l ~ l i l : T a : r i k- - " " ' G i b r i t i ~tar. Then; at Guadelete, Roderie,' th e Yisij!'_othic king; J!1, In sevenYears it;;was. o.irer = a t Ieaiit :ror.th e moment .:- and:lslairi's 'crlti.cent wM.,supreme i l a e S : P i i i n , ~ s a v efo r scatter.ed. pocketS of' re$il!tiu)da.in the Pyrenees and the Cantabrian mountains. - ::... ,:.:.c: . _,,.

. :. F ~ ' ' ~ 'tjme i ~ l ~ K > k " ! l; > ~ ~ . i f: ~ 1-ChrW!endoni:J\Yaidil:. faitdri 7il2t l > e i w e r e : i n / F r ~ \ 1 ' , 1 > th"'!'e th!' .tide turned;:tlutte.at :Poitie>:S;wher'l' ]\!:Q.Q!'S,:WE!fem e ~b) 1mtt\


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16 PHILIPPINE LAW JOUI!N.U. [Vor. 64

yad .caliphate of Damascus. AI; a result of th e passing of powerfrom th e Omafl'ad to the Abbasid dyna.sty, which eStablished itself,in Baghdad in the year 750, a young membey of 'the deposed Omayyads, Abd-er-Balinian by name, fted to' Spirit;,;' seized eontroLnverthe peninsUla; and there -established an independent. emir>IJ;e, .settingup a m;ignifteent capital a t Cordoba, by t h ~ : _ r i v e l 'Guadalquivir. In

- ccthe . 1 1 J f h ~- c $ ~ ,


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. , SPANISH ANTEX;EDENTs . '17 .

-forces, th e line, of demarcation never really went fartqer south thanth e Guadan;-ama Mountains. Thus Aragon and. all of central- and

-southern Spain remained Moorish for a g'o\rily uni ted . under Sanchi> '

lie Great of Navarro, wh_o styled himself .the "Kirig of the Spains:I t could bave been .a . development of ma,j.or !rlJiniticat\.ee, but f.or.the fact that Bancl!.o undid i t ail by dividing,,Lear-lil


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:ll!

wm-e. unite


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1979] ,. SPANISH ANTECEDENT_S' 19

privilege,!.;; This then. is th e situation we see emerging .from 718onward-a sytem of non;system, if we may call i t that, of r a g ~mented .legal jurisdictio$.: True, the Fuero Juzgo continued ~ o beili force, but in most cases only suppletOrily _to, or, a t best, si.niUlta-.neoW.Iy with, legislation by king and parliament (the. Cortes), CllS 'tom8, .Chaiteis, and privileges,- all of. a -lOcal character. This

~ P e r i o dthen Is k:l).own as th e -lOcal period, or more precisely,- theperiod of th e fueros .

The term fuero defies aCcurate definition, for i t b.ears numerous.anal9gous meanings. I t can refer tO -the great genera l codes; one of which we have already seen-the Fuero J uzgo. Bu t i t also reoferred to "uses or customs, kiCal laws; privileges, exemptions; orfranchises authorized by public power . to .diverse classes or distl;icts."19 I t is in this sense that th e development _-of_ th e juerosproduced- so much diversitY and confusion. These- local fueros irepresent legislation caused bY an extreme and unnatural conditionof affairs, growing ou t of the unsettled times, and were a. necessity_at that period to obtain the support of different l o c a l i l ~ e s .in th egreat work of the reconquest. "2 0

MAYORAZGO

In this confusing period of legal development, one institutiontook root in Spaui, as in other parts of medieval Europe as w e l lprimogeniture (mayorazgo). This institution developed . i n Cal,"olingian France of th e 8tli. and. 9th centuries and found its wa y tOChristian Spain. Verr briefly, the historical development of primog!!lliture is as follows: the-breakdown of the Roman Empire and

. later the threat of Islam made i t neceasacy fllr m

system of feudalism or sub-infeudation became general ine

medieval Europe-as the only practical means of mutual protection .and welfare. A fief then

was land held in. return f


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20 PHILIPPINE LAW JOURNAL [VOL. 54

office. [Governmental jur isdiction because if the land W!\8tO provide the economic support fo r military service, theholder of th e fief-the vassal-had to have control over

. the p e ~ ~ S a n t sworking the land]. And this is a principalre!\Son why fiefs came tO be. handed down in_t;lct tO eldest .

- ~ - - ~--- . sons.-For'-though land eoUldlle divided,"lm. office eould""" ,_not: This custi:nil .;c_prk;i;gerufure, which w.is neither of ....Roman nor Gerinan origin, was dictated by practical necessities o f the eighth and ninth centuries. 1

Thris i t was that in the various Spanish' kingdo'n;ts--'-notably the-two main one8, LeOn-Castile_ an d Catalufia-Arag6n-the practice of .m4yorazgo frequently left the younger sons (segundones) withnothing, setting these younger siblingir. on adventures in search offan:>e,. fortune, success, an d lovely damsels an d -making them the

hetoes of miLny a picaresque tale and romantic noveL In any event,the custOm Of primogeniture outlived it s histOrical justification. I tremained long. after Europe acquired political stability, long afterthe Muslims ceased tO be a threat. The custOm became exclusivelye c o n ~ m i carid proPrietary in nature, be3.ring no c o ~ ~ t i o nat allwith military service .

l t was carried ov_er tO th e Philippines an d has arisen as snissue in litigation. In at least one Philippine cas&'-Barretto v. TuasOn 22 - its nature was discussed. Quoting from th e commentatOr Gutierrez, the Phil ippine Supreme Court defined a mayorazgothUS: "Ma/oratus est jus suCcedendi in boniS ea lege relictis ut in

. "familia ;:nteg"ra Perpetuo conse'I"Ventur, pi'oxi1noque cui'que primo-geni.t6 ordine successivo- deferantur."?.a_ A mayorazgo, continued theCourt, partakes of two natures: on the one hand_ i t is a usufruct,since' the first-bol'!.l acquires only a dominium utile. Who then is th eowner7 The descendants of the ,founder, il) al l their infinite succeSsion; in Qther words; th e family, as Jlr, is simultaneously -atrl!Stee aitd a usufructuary heir;

I twas no t until 11 OctOber 1820 that a law was passed in S p a i n - the Statute of Civil Disentailments - abolishing all m 4 -

yorazgos. An d by the Royal Decree of 31 OctObOr 1863, this statute

21 C. HAYES; M . BALDWIN & C. coLE, HISTORY OF .'EuRoPE 161 (1956).22 50 PhiL -888 (1926). - . . 28 "A mayorazgo is the right to. succeed to th e property left, upon the

cqndition that it be preserved perpetually intact, .i.n the. family and that itbe transmitted in the order of succession to each . n ~ t. ~ r . s ~ b p r n . ".


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was extended to tlieMarch 1864.

SPANISH ANTECEDENTS 21

overseas Provinces, taking . effect there on 1

TH E UNIVERSITIES

But to go back to the observation made earlier, the period of' the R e c o n q u i s ~a time o f great legal diversity; $!onsequently,

. i t is no t possibleo to talk of Spanish law as such,.Law iii Spain was1egional, provincial, municipai, sectiOnal. TrUe, tlJ._ere were. effortsat condification but sectionalism and jealously-held privileges p,revented these. codes from becoming general in the . e sense of th eword; Ne'i'erthelesl!; i t is important: to note that this period alsosa w the rise of the great Spanish Uiliversities witli faculties of lawdevoted to the study of Justiniimean Roman Law as interpreted bythe Italian Glossators and Commentstors. One after the other, theuniversities were estsblished: Palencia in 1Z09, Salamanca ;,;, 1239,Ikrida in 1300, Valladolid in 1346, Zaragoza in 1474, Toledo in 1499,

Sevillain 1504,

and Granadain 1537.

Of these, Vaiia.dolidwas

par"ticularly ill)portant for i t became th e center of Roman. law $l;udies.This great reception of the Roman la w was to assure the predominance of the Roman law tradition in the peninSula, by influencingthe codes that were to be enacted.

THE FUERO VIEJO

The first such Code was th e Fuero Viejo, originally intendedas a code of rights and privileges of th e nobility. This code waspresented to Alfonso VIII in 1212. The king -was unwilling to promulgate it, seeing i t as a means of further strengthening the po5i-

tion of :the nobles. He therefore shilly-shallied but hi s successor,Alfonso X, yielding to intense pressure, promulgated i t in 1272. as

the law of the nobility. Under Pedro I, eL Cruel, (1369-1379), amendments were introduced inserting dispositions of a more generalc h a r a c ~ ,as fo r example the setting of th e age of 16 fo r will-making,

THE FUERO. REAL

But there were other codes more importsnt than the FueroViejo, enacted in quick succession, thanks to the Vision' and Wisdoni.

of Alfonso X, el Sabio, of Castile who reigned f ~ o m1252-1284. Pre-saging the promulgation. of the Codes was th e publication of anencyclopedic treatise, called the Septenario. This work; begim byFerrumdo I II (San Fernanda) and completed by Alfonso, was not,however, intended to be a law and therefore is not a code, properlyso-called. In 1254-1255 came the first. of Alfonso's codes: the FV.ero


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[Vox.. 54

Real, variously known. as FueTo de las Leyes; FueTO de! Libro, .Fuerode la Corte, Fu...o. Castellano, Fu...o de CastUla, Libro de los Ganef.'ios de CastiUa, an d Flores de !as Leyes. The Fuero Real is dividedinto 4 books, consisting of '72 titlei! and 545 laws. Only the third bookneed d.etain 1\8 here,. siru;e the other hook$deal with such disparate

_ _ materials !" ' ~ e l i g i o . u sand political alfaira, Pl'Ol'edural law, and penal-

- _ = - - : : - ~ w - , = . S o m ! t o . f t h enoteworthy civil-law feature

A. General provii;ioi)S :

( 1 } Ignorance of th e la w is not allowed as an excuse. . - .- ~ - - - - -.. - - --- ---.-----(2) Custom is not recognized as a source of law

'B. The law o f persona and :flmrliY:. ( l ) Civil personality is acquired by . anyone -wno is baptized,

irrespeetiv.e of ' length flf l i fe--a marked departure from the lQ-dayreqQirement of the Fuero J uzgo.

' (2l .A woman over 30 did not need parental consent to get inar-r i e d - t h ; ~ tis, of course, i f 'She could stil l find a groom. .

( 3 ) Th e regime of the conjugal partnership of gains is further .regnlated by. th e enumeration of the kinds o f property iti.Cludedtherein.

( 4) Legitimation is provided for the first tim&--it takes placeeither by subsequent marriage or by grace of th e King. A requisite~ f leliitimation was that the. child Should be n.atural, although theterm fwtural was not defined. I t was generally understood, bQ'wever,

that" a natural child was one c.onceived by parents who, thoug)l .not.married. to eseh other, suffered under no impediment to do so . (Thisis identic;al to 0ur own neept.)

. ; ."

.c. Th e la w of property;(1 ) A'ccesidn natural is regnized. an d regulated-something

not provitled for either by th e Fuero J uzgo or local laws. The instances of accesi6n natural were: a) formation of islands (borrowed

from the Roman Jaw) ; b) changeof river ronnie -(giving-ownerShipo'f the abandoned bed. to . the owners of the adjacent lands propor

tionately.:_this i s the same rule in tlie SpaniSh Civil' Code an d isdifferent from ours) ; c) fruits falling on adjacent estates could berecovered by the tree owner within one day, after wliich period thefruits became the property of th e owner of th e estate on which theyfelL . .

>


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_ ._(2) _The .. elements f .prescription -are -:!enumerated; "el -rcontinuous .possession, b) lapse of the, required .period of time; lmd c}prescriptibi)ity of the thing, Neither good faith. nor just-title is required. The period for. prescriptio11--was _ o n ~ ,year and : O!\e ; di>y _:asagainst s(n:I)eone present, an d thirty years as against some


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-i979] '.SPANISH ANTECEDENTS

of 27 titles, is devoted to civil' Jaw: proper, prinCipally family law:;the last seven tit!;,., of this fourth book, how:ever, concern themselves with th e feudal relationships between lord an d vassal, inaster and slave. Th e fifth part, with 15 titles, is exclusively devotedto the la w of obligations an d contracts. The sixth, with 19 titles,governs succession, the custody of o r p h ~ ,_and min9rity. Thes ~ v e i i t l l ' : ) ) o o k ,in 24- titles, is t h e - w J D i l l l ! L W . w c ~ . - -

! :_._ - . - . - - - - - - ! ' " " - - . - . - : : : ; ; : - _ ~ ~ - ~ - ; .

----Our interest is wnfined to the 5th and 6th' books an d parts o rthe 3rd .and 4th. As in th e past codes some of the more -prominentfeatures may 'J?e mentjoned:

A. General provisions :

1) Th e principle of territoriality is preserved- al l juridicalacta done within the realm, whether by natives or by foreigners,are to be governed by th e la w of the land.

.

2) Ignorance of the law is admitted as an excuse for. peasants,solcliers, and wom.en;

B. The la w of persons an d family:

1) Th e -minimum ag e for marriage is. that of .puberty .2) Legitimation occurs in th1ee ways: a) subsequent mattiage; .

b) th e will of the king, or c) the performance of some service to 'th e king. - .

3) Adopt ion- called porfijamiento- is completely Roman inderivatio:P.,. as to kind, as to requisites, and as to effects .

4) The mother is given no share in th e patria potestas; rather(as in the Ronian law) i t is granted to the ascendant of the highestdegree.

c. The la w of property:-1) Own-ership is acQ.uired by o c c u p a t i o ~ ,accession, prescriv:-

~ i < : > , n ,~ ! ~ . ~ o n ,. ~ n dhereditary. succession.

2) Th e Roman-law rules on possession and servitudes-classi-.lied into real an d personal-are reproduced. . .

D . The la w of descent:

1) lolany features of the Roman law of succession are borrowed,like th e necessity of instituting an heir an d th e legal impossibilityof dying partly testate an!!. partly intestate. .

'

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after the decrees of the Cortes,. the Fuero :Real, aud th e local fueros.This suppletory role of th e Partidas was again prOvided iu the ~ u l > '. - - . . - - ,, . . -sequent Laws of Toro. Genturies later, the order of preference orp,relation was once .more la.id down in Book III, Title II, La w II Iof the N ovisillla :Recopilaci6n, relegating th e l 'artidas to a atilllow


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2il PlliLIPPINE LAW JOuRNAL [Voi.. 54

Fuero Real. Subsequently, some of the sections were incorporatedin th e Novisima Recopilaci6n and thereby acquired th e force of law.

'

ORDENAMIENTO DE ALCALA

We have earlier referred to the Ordenamiento de Alcilla de- - H e n a r . ~ . _ ) l ' l l i s e db y _ t b < L - C o r t e s c o n v o ~ i nthat townin 1348, which Orderiiirnieiito or d ~ r e egav" suppletory legal foree .to the Paitidas, -

This Ordenamiento, however, did more than just recognize theP!!rtidas. I t was itself a collections of laws,- some Of which hadreference .tO eivil law, forinstailee:

(1) ,It emphasized .the spiritual aspect of contracts, that is toSay the concurrence of _wills, playing doWn-more precisely, i ~ o r -ing- the element of.form; which ha d been stressed. bY the Partidas.Th e OrdenamientO in fact went so far a s to state "que s ~ avaleclerala obligaci6n,


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. i492-'-cthe year.f g1ozy . The year of:theReconquista's completion.: Theyear of Spain's rise aS a coioni:ll power; with th e discoveeyof the:New World. The overseas expansion was .of course not to beachieved in that year, but i t was the beginning. These two .Vents

- in te rna l consolid&tion .and external expansion-"-were to have iar

: reachingra

ted h i both th e Nueva and the Nov[sima Recopllaci6n. .]3ut the passage o f the Le;ii:esde Toro was a niere palllative remedy, in!ldequatesu!,'ely-for the i ~ k ! s l a t i v eChaos; More i l t a s t i ~ref()rui was required.As SiinehezJ!,oinAil.Points ()ut: " ) A reforma de la legislacichf exigiaUlgo mas oa.pital 1J deeisivo '11'6 solucitmis tra.ntitoriai . . :

. NUEVA RECOPILACION

Ferdinand of Aragon died in 15i6; Juana Ia Loca survived until 1555, the r!glitful sovereign to the end o f her d a y ~ ~ ; c .But becaq.Se .of her m a d f t e s ~ lor foisted-p(rvlter paased' to her eldest son,Charles of Ghent. A historian has deseribed him, not too sYn>pathetiealy, as ua gawky, u:nprepossessiilg' youth with an 'absurdly pronoimced jaw . . looking like an idiot . . an d suffering' from th eunforgivable defect of knowing no. Castilian,"" thiS last becausehe had been raised in the Netherlands. But whatever m8,y be saidabout his jaw, he became the most powerful nian in Europe- Dakeof Burgundy, King of Castile and LeOn, King of Arag6u; Count ofBarcelona, these were some of his titles; and most of alll)e was HolyRoman Emperor - Charles the Fi rs t of Spain and tl)e Fifth of theEmpire. He was an absentee king, st8,ying in _Spain only 16 yearsout of his 39 yesrs as king. In J ailuary 1556, he abdicated th ethrone, paesing the sceptre to his 29-yesr old !\On, J!'ei)P., IL

Philip wa s a different king altogether -= hard-working, attentive

0

(perbapa too attentive) to detail, contemptuolll! of 'the ReformatiOii., and staunchly Spanish. He found himself JIOV!ri'elgu of a realmon which the sun never set ___:_ an empire larger than Europe, won

fo r hitn by- Cortes and Pizarro and the other c o n q u i s t a d o ~ e s ,an empire that included, we may say, across t h ~ wide ocean from thevast silver mines of Potosi, a small output iii ile. !tidies fittinglynamed after him.

This king, Philip II, seeing thegrest an d urgent needfor liwreform, commissioned a minister of his Council, Juuned Bart9lome

... . ..so "Law reform required something more drastic and decisive than tem

po;mry solutions/' 1 SANCHEZ R O M A N ~op; cit..._ pp.. 388-884.31 ELLIOTT, IMPERIAL ~ P A I N :1469-1716 144 (1976).


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L6pez de ArriE!ta, and, upbs>this. man's d e a t J w . a n o t h e r : ; ~ u r i s t ,Barto)oWP h t i e l ) ~ ' ; l ' " t q , _ ~ l \ ~ ~ f et!ri,s ~ i i ) ' i c u l ttasi-;. 9"t.J4 March 1567,

r 1 ' ' .c ." ~ ' " ' ''w m:ur ated b ' Hi Ma'e8ty .under the ~ s ) j~ n ~ ., q ~ , , . . . . t i o n,, 11!\.P,J;Q.. g .. . r., ~. .... }, . .. , ,,.....the title.''Niieva"'Recoi>i'f'aei6n de las Ley.S 'de Espana.;" TliiS newcodl!le did ,not 'ealize this purpose and was deplorable . ,

'." And. because the Nueva Recopila


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'!';liE BOURBONSPl!illp II rul!'d Spail) a t }he hclgh,t o f ) l ~ rpower; bu t per a p ~

h

NOYISIMA RECOPILACION .Towards th e end of the 18th century, Cliar!es IV, wishing. some

thing to be done about the legal situation, commissione!l J\l&n de laRegtiera Valdelomar; a. jurist, to revise the N u ~ aRecopiiacl6n.The work wa s submitted to th e King in 1802, and on 15 July 1805,

35. CHAPMAN, op. cit., p ~ 429.


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36 PHILIPPINE LAW JOURNAL [VOL. M

. it was promulgat\!d under the title: "Novisima Recopilaci6n de lasL!>yes de Espana." I t was structured along the. same Jines as theNueva, coliSisting .of 12 books with 340 . titles an d 4,020 laws. Thecivil Jaw l)ortion is found in Book X, with 24 titles.. .. . . .

Wo!>l;h mentioning among the p r o v i s i o ! l S " a r e : ~-( 1 ) ~ - - - J m ) V i S i o nrenewiriS' a lease for:t.ine- year if n < ) ~notice to-. .vacate had been given prior to expiry date ;(2) th e prohibition of subleases;

. . . . .. . (3} the -adoption, as .the- Jaw. on.-marriage, of the Tridentinedecree on this subj eet;

(4l th e requirement of paternal consent: to marriages of boysbelow 25 .and girls below 23 {requisito necesario).. .

The etforl fell far short - despite . he declaration that thisnew compendium was to be applicable to al l Spain; "as far as pOsSible" (whatever that mean). Much u f i t was. a rehash of the Nueva,and i t was just one more code on top of th e rest. Sherma11. suc-cin.ctly states th e matter:

Although th e royal decree of Charles made the Novlsima Recopilaci6n superior to all earlier .Jaw, yet, ioas-much as th e Novlsima d id not definitely repeal either th eN neva Recopilaci6n or the Partidas, ita effect was to makethe Novlsima merely a supplementary code or partial ccidi-

. ' fication. For it did no t abrogate th e order of th e sourcesof Castilian-Spanish law as .fixed in t h ~Ordena,;;iento of

Alcala and the Laws of Toro: lienee, what th e NovlsimaRecopilaei6n actUally accomplished was to make SP3Jlish law more qbscUre and- confUsing than ever.u

IN THE PHILIPPINE.S

We have adverted earlier to th e vast territories acquired bySpain in the 16th centory. The famous Line of Demarcation, se tby Alexander VI in the Bull inter Caetera of 4 1\!:ay 1493, rantroinnorll i to soutii..106.1eaglies we8to:i'tite AZores. Ali lands eastof this line were assigned to Portugal; all lands west, to Spain.

The Treaty of Tordesillas, concluded in 1499, moved the line 270degrees further west. This Treaty gave Brazil to the Portuguese;it wa8 not certain whether i t also gave tli..,;: the Molucc:!s, tb e richislands of spice. Nevertheless, in 1529, Charles V, fo r a. considerationof 350,000 ducatS, renounced ail Spanisli claims to th e Moluccas -

36 Cf. PHIL. CIVIL coDE, art. 1S70. .8 7 1 S H E R M A N ~op. cit., p. 288.

~ ..;:

-


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,. of. the laww.;they have toiookc o l " " i t . < ~ I Q . . t h ehou"" of soriie .friend, or if , not that;. in ..the,c'llecretacy!o;. effice of the- 'g o v ~ r n m ~ n t ,whence very frequent!y;cit.Jta&"tlisappeaTed;or in the off!Cl! of tlie fiscal>' or' that. .ofdhe intendant; .. . ,because some orders .are communicated by: -[the rnini$try.of]_ grace. :.and .iustiee, ~ t n d !>thets bY;.J;h,e :tri!&SUI"Yor . i?Y":..naparte; Who caini! topower

m7 9 9 ~J;liat this:Work was aehleved}Meeting hi the Chat.eau

of FaUWunder, ~ h e liberal_Gonstjtl>tio]l,.of_ Cii.diz . o f , l 8 1 _ ~Recognizing.,t)ie

. grave ne


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40 PHILIPI'INE LAW JOURNAL [VoL. 64

on 5 February 1811; approved a resolution of Deputy Espiga y Gadea to effect, as soon as p o s s i b l e ~the codification of an. the majorbranches of SpaJtish law, Due to the return of Ferdinand VII in1814 and the qpheavals that followed, that proposal came to nothing.] lut the hope bebirid i t r@lahied alive - and on 19 August 1843a .royal. decree constitute


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'. -.42 PHILIPPINE"LAW JOtiRNAL [Vb!.." 54

'i'he proper authorities will issue the necessary or! l e ~ sto th e end that in lieu o f the two t i t ! ~so suspenged .

- ~ e f9rmer -law m a y ~ e o n t i : ~ m ein. f ~ r c e . ..._.-.

. This order will be i:Onnnuirlcated nd published. .. .

._,-, - .-" c = ; - - -c- . ~ E - g . E R,~ -~ - 7~ : S o m e . : q u ~ t i ~ r i s ' - w ~ e - r a i s e dabout weYief's-order. -First, was

there really a directive from Madrid to suspend these two titles?,'Tlte ,case of Benedicta 1/. de" !a Rama -tells us tht, accor.dingto 'the

_ ... . ! C ~ ~ ~ c f - e i l f ' l a t i v ! ! _ _ ! l _ e _ ! J l t . m . . . ? l ! l ! ! ' > : ! ' 9 - u 9 b . ~ dpn:b, Hshed in the Gaceta -de Madrid and- no copy of any sqch deeree.wasobtainable in any :government office. 1.'7 SAnchez Roman, however,states tht, "aecordirig to reports which merit a certain amount of,Credit," what probably happened was tht the colonial governmentJssuoo the order of susliei.sion after :i:o'niiultii!g th e co!Oiiial office. J\il

Reform of Matrimony), was passed by the Council of Trent atit s 24th session,- on u , November. 15S3. It contained the law of theChurch o li marriage.

73 PhiL 37 (1903).-1.8 Ibid.-4.93 Phil. 37 (1903),-citing 2 SANCHEZ RoMAN, op. cit., p.-64,60 In the N ovisima., law 1 ~ , title I, book I.


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Documents

Balane - The Spanish Antecedents