Page 85 - Latent Defect or Excessive Price?Exploring Early Modern Legal Approach to Remedying Defects in Goods Exchanged for Money - Bruijn

EARLY MODERN CASTILIAN LAW
3.2 The legal context of early modern Castile.
3.2.1 Legal sources
The legal sources studied in this chapter consist of Castilian statutes, doctrinal writings and jurisprudence. Similar to many other regions of early modern Europe, Castile's legal situation can best be described in terms of legal pluralism with various tribunals and enforcing mechanisms existing side by side.17 Relatively early in history, Spain's regions had been made subject to royalist unifying tendencies. Rulers strived after a unification of the country which activity found its resonance in various lawmaking affairs. Of old, Castilian kings endeavoured to unify local law by means of granting cities – or, rather, imposing on them – statutory rights (fueros) developed by Royal scribes. King Ferdinand III (reigned: 1217-1252) at the beginning of the 13th century thus used the Fuero Juzgo (FJ) and king Alfonse X the Wise (reigned: 1252-1282) the Fuero Real (FR).18
Since 1348, a hierarchy of sources is stated in the Ordenamiento de Alcalá.19 Its compiler, king Alfonse XI (reigned: 1312-1350) proclaimed that Castilian Courts had to put aside local fueros which were contrary to the Ordenamiento. However, if the Ordenamiento did not provide pertinent provisions, cases had to be decided in accordance with local fueros. If that also appeared impossible, the judiciary should fall back on the Siete Partidas20, a statute promulgated by Alfonse X in the years 1254-1265.21 This decree thus seems to dismiss medieval ius commune as a subsidiary source of law. Yet, the mentioned statutes bear a distinct ius commune mark and were, as we will see, interpreted with the help of ius commune-literature. Castilian civil law retained a ius commune- character and the environment in which rules were discussed and cases decided remained firmly rooted in the tradition of the Bolognese glossators and commentators.
Of the Castilian statutes which in keeping with the Ordenamiento's decree were
17 The most obvious example of legal pluralism is the existence of ecclesiastical and secular courts side by side which on occasion were competent to investigate the same cases with 'forum-shopping' by plaintiffs as a result. See Decock, Theologians, p. 100. More on this in 2.3.1.
18 Masferrer, Legal traditions, chapter 8; Tomás y Valiente, Manual, p. 157, p. 164.
19 See the discurso preliminar to the Ordenamiento in: Los códigos españoles, vol. 1, p. 432.
20 See Pérez Martín, 'La obra legislativa Alfonsina', p. 48. This article provides a lucid description of the
work's character on pp. 30-50.
21 Ordenamiento 28.1, in: Los códigos españoles, vol. 1, p. 463: Por que leys se pueden librar los pleytos. Nuestra entencion, è nuestra voluntat es que los nuestros naturales, è moradores de los nuestros Regnos sean mantenidos en pas è en justicia: et como para esto sea menester dar Leys ciertas por dò se libren los pleytos, è las contiendas, que acaescieren entrellos, è maguer \[aunque\] que la nuestra Corte usan del fuero de las leys è algunas Villa de nuestro Sennorio lo han por fuero, è otras Cibdades è Villas han otros fueros departidos, por los quales se pueden librar algunos pleytos, pero porque muchas veces son las contiendas è los pleytos que entre los omes acaescen è se mueven de cada dia, que se non pueden librar por los fueros; por ende, queriendo poner remedio convenible à esto, establecemos, è mandamos que los dichos fueros sean guardados en aquellas cosas, que se usaron, salvo en aquellas que nos fallaremos que se deben mejorar, è emendar , è en las que son contra Dios, è contra racon, è contra Leys, que en este nuestro libro se contienen, por las quales Leys en este nuestro libro mandamos que se libren primeramente todos los pleytos civil è creminales; è los pleytos è contiendas que se non pudieren librar por las Leys deste nuestro libro, è por los dichos fueros, mandamos que se libren por las Leys contenidad en los Libros de las siete Partidas, que el Rey Don Alfonso nuestro Visabuelo mandó ordenar....
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