Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Law & Jurisprudence

Sources of Legal Interpretation

• Jurisprudence (e)

  Jurisprudence is the wise interpretation of the law by judges when applying legal norms to specific cases submitted to their jurisdiction. Today, jurisprudence is generally not considered a primary source of law but rather a crucial legal institution for interpreting existing legal norms.

• The Doctrine (f)

  The Doctrine refers to the legal opinions expressed by scholars and lawyers regarding legal institutions. While not typically a primary source of law, the doctrine serves as an essential means for understanding and interpreting legal institutions and norms.

Defining Acts of Commerce

Acts of Commerce are the typical expressions or manifestations of commercial activity. These acts are conducted through... Continue reading "Legal Interpretation and Classification of Commercial Acts" »

There is a clear demonstration of detachment regarding the character of laedere laws previously in force. It is for this reason that the extinction of the lease occurred, contrary to the established Civil Code of 1916, now repealed, which had a clearly individualistic orientation.

Property Rights and Civil Procedure

The subject of property rights includes possession, ownership, and rights in the real things of others. Ensuring the effectiveness of these rights is left to the rules of civil procedure, which is the object of special study in this work.

Research Objectives and Methodology

This research aims to briefly present the following subjects:

• Classification of shares
• Mandamental Action
• Declaratory and Restraining Orders
• Constituent Actions
• Theories

The Constitution as a Norm

Karl Loewenstein differentiates between three types of constitutions:

• Normative Constitutions: These function as a true constitutional regime, where the rules are effectively applied.
• Nominal Constitutions: These do not fully apply in practice but serve as educational instruments that may eventually lead to a normative regulation.
• Semantic Constitutions: These act as a disguise for a dominant group to legitimize their rule, often found in dictatorial regimes.

There is a fundamental distinction between the concept of a constitution and the concept of a regime. Historically, dominant groups have adopted constitutional frameworks to create a facade of legitimacy while using the rigidity of the law to perpetuate partisan interests.... Continue reading "Constitutional Theory: Norms, Material Reality, and Law" »

The 1812 Spanish Constitution: Principles and Structure

The Constitution of 1812, a landmark in Spanish history, aimed to establish equality for the entire population under one law, ensuring the same judges and courts for all citizens. Its preliminary speech emphasized a continuation of the Spanish legal and historical tradition, satisfying more moderate liberals and figures like Jovellanos.

Individual Rights and Freedoms

Individual rights were not systematized in a single, dogmatic body within the Constitution; there was no Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed in the style of the French Revolution of 1789. Instead, these rights were scattered throughout the articles. Fundamental human rights were enshrined, reflecting:

• Freedom in all its aspects:

Employment Contracts and Arrangements

Definition of the Employment Contract

The employment contract is an agreement between the employer and employee. The worker agrees voluntarily to provide services and submit to the organizational and management power of the employer.

Essential Elements of the Contract

The essential elements that must be defined in the employment contract include:

• The parties entering into the contract (identity of the employer and the worker).
• Working time, start date, and duration.
• Workplace.
• The category or professional group.
• Salary.
• Vacation entitlement.
• Notice periods and the applicable collective agreement.

Employer Duties Regarding Documentation

The employer has the following duties:

• Submit a copy of the contract to the worker.

Collective Agreements and Labor Negotiation

1. Collective Agreement

Collective agreement: A written agreement on working conditions, labor and economic terms between an employer and employee representatives.

2. Scope

Scope: The level at which the convention applies. We distinguish between enterprise-wide agreements and conventions at a supra-enterprise level.

3. Classification of Areas

• Geographic or territorial: Refers to the territory in which the agreement applies.
• Functional: Refers to the branch or sector of activity to which it applies.
• Personal: Refers to the workers to whom it applies.
• Temporal: Refers to the length or duration of the agreement.

4. Types of Convention Content

• Obligatory: Contains clauses that create obligations for the parties

Understanding Legal Standards

Standards, advertising standards, the non-retroactivity of punitive provisions unfavorable or restrictive of individual rights, legal certainty, accountability, and prohibition of arbitrary action by public authorities.

The EC prohibits retroactivity of punitive provisions unfavorable or restrictive of rights, so that you cannot post a rule harmful to citizens in situations that have already happened.

Article 2 CP: "1. There is no crime punished with a penalty or lack who is not prescribed by law prior to its commission. Will lack, also backdated laws to establish security measures. 2. However, those laws shall have retroactive effect to favor the criminal defendant, but upon entry into force have been decided and... Continue reading "Understanding Legal Standards: Retroactivity, Repeal, and Sources of Law" »

The Role of Government

Direction of Domestic Policy

The direction of domestic policy includes:

• Reference to the dissolution of the chambers and call for elections (Art. 115 CE).
• Advisory referendum and far-reaching political decisions (Art. 92 CE).
• The declaration of a state of alert, emergency, and siege.
• The powers of the Autonomous Regions (CCAA).

Normative Dimension of Domestic Policy

• The Government's legislative initiative.
• The reservation of government initiative in the budget.

Direction of Foreign Policy

The direction of foreign policy falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the State (Art. 149.1.3 CE).

Normative Dimension: International Treaties

State Defense and Security

State defense is intrinsically connected to the direction of domestic policy,... Continue reading "Constitutional Role and Functions of the Spanish Government" »

Contractual Principle of Relativity

Contracts only produce effects on the contracting parties. Exceptionally, this principle supports affecting heirs, unless the rights and obligations are of a personal nature.

Contracts Affecting Third Parties

Sometimes a contract may affect third parties outside the contracting parties. This situation occurs in:

Contract for the Benefit of a Third Party

An agreement establishing the contents wholly or partly for the benefit of a third person outside the contract. It results in a **right** which allows the third party to **benefit from** the content of the contract as agreed. E.g., Life insurance.

The parties involved in this type of contract are:

• Promisor: The contracting party obliged to **benefit** the third party

Context of Legal Humanism

On a philosophical level, legal humanism stems from the contrast between medieval scholasticism, subject to the authority of tradition but also attentive to existing reality, and Renaissance Neoplatonism, which believed in the free and unlimited power of reason and was attracted by pure ideal forms.

In legal terms, the humanistic orientation was facilitated by the gradual rise of national legal systems, which freed the study of Roman law from practical objectives and transformed it into a historical and literary activity, increasingly similar to the task of the antiquarian.

Socially, humanist criticism of earlier legal discourse and its proponents, traditional jurists, was fueled by widespread social antipathy towards... Continue reading "Legal Humanism: Principles and Historical Impact" »