The Position of the Law of Torts in the Spanish System

Authors

Clyde Alton DeWitt

Abstract

The penal and civil codes of Spain, together with its procedural codes, its commercial and notarial codes, and its mortgage law combine to form as highly developed a system of jurisprudence as that enjoyed by any of the civilized nations of today. Under it, the people of our insular possessions have carried on an extensive domestic and foreign commerce, and have developed an organized social and political life. Our government has adopted the commendable policy of interfering as little as possible with the local laws and institutions of the Philippines and Porto Rico, it being evident that any extensive attempt to impose upon these people the principles amid procedure of the common law would be attended with the most regrettable and disastrous results. While such a policy can only be commended, it places a double burden upon American 1awyers and judges who have chosen Porto Rico or the Philippine Islands for their field of operations. They are placed under the necessity of familiarizing themselves with both systems, as their work often entails the interpretation of one in terms of the other. This difficulty is strikingly illustrated in cases which have recently arisen involving the question as to the extent to which the civil courts of Spain compel the redress of private wrongs. The most divergent opinions have been expressed, varying from the extreme of holding that, properly speaking, there is no Spanish tort law, to the opposite extreme of maintaining that the civil courts of Spain have as complete jurisdiction in matters of. private wrong as have the civil courts of our own country and England.

Recommended Citation

Clyde A. DeWitt, The Position of the Law of Torts in the Spanish System, 6 Mich. L. Rev. 136 (1907).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol6/iss2/3