The proof of foreign law in the light of the new Article 33 of the Law on International Legal Cooperation

Identifier:  TFG:1058

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TFG1058

Authors:  Vallés Julián, Arantxa

Abstract:
The study object of this final degree project is to analyze the problems posed by the proof of foreign law in the Spanish legal system, which is divided into five issues: the imperative of the conflict rules; the foreign law: a question of fact or law; the burden of proof: who must prove it?; the evidence; and the consequences of lack of its proof. At present, after the Law 29/2015 on International Legal Cooperation in civil matters (July, 31st 2015), there are three articles which regulate the proof of foreign law in the Spanish courts. Specifically, the articles are: Article 12.6 of the Civil Code; Article 281.2 of the Code of Civil Procedure; and finally, Article 33 of the Law on International Legal Cooperation. The three articles offer a wide, confused, uncertain and contradictory explanation of proof of foreign law, resulting in a divergence of interpretation between the Spanish legal practice and doctrine. Therefore, the ultimate aim of this work is to study the three articles of the Spanish legislation, which respond to the five trouble spots of proof of foreign law, taking into account the heterogeneity in their interpretation, since they are characterized by an open nature; particularly the drafting of the new article 33 LILC being the most recent and still with little practical impact.