Domestic Animals In The Civil Code

Domestic animals in the Civil Code

Traditionally, pets have been treated as things in Spanish laws. Although progressing significantly in prevention and penalty to animal abuse has been progressing, the Spanish Civil Code remained by giving pets the legal status of ‘movable property’, which you could be distributed, seized and even mortgaged.

Animal co -ownership contracts are one of the most obvious examples of this legal treatment similar to goods. Animals are allowed objects of a shared ownership among several people;the owners would become holders of a certain amount of quotas in their property.

However, since 2017 a reform is approved in the Civil Code with the objective of ‘correct’ this legal status, and recognize domestic animals as beings endowed with sensitivity.

Next, we will talk precisely about these necessary changes in Spanish legislation to do justice to the nature of pets, which are possessing a complex nervous and cognitive system.

Companies as ‘movable property’: considerations and limitations of this legal status. For many years, there are several organizations that fight for animal welfare, such as the AFFINITY Foundation and the Animal Justice and Defense Observatory.

These entities are organized to claim more effective public policies in combating animal abuse and street overpopulation. And also to demand an update regarding the legal treatment granted to animals.

This change of legal status is not just about becoming more empathic regarding emotions and suffering experienced by pets.

Its main importance is that it is legally advanced in the recognition that animals can be possessors of certain own rights.

While it had been understanding that pets are ‘movable property’, legally comparable to vehicles, would deprive them of any cognitive or emotional faculty, such as the ability to feel. After all, things or objects do not experience pain, much less their own emotions.

In this panorama, sensitivity and good being of an animal would hardly be considered when issuing a judicial sentence;especially if this involves violating each person’s freedom to use or use their assets.

As we see, the right to the recognized property of the human being would always prevail, and not an unrecognized right of animals to their physical and emotional integrity.

Only by changing the legal status given to companion animals would be possible.

The reform of the Civil Code and the new legal status of pets

In 2017, the Popular Parliamentary Group presented the proposal of the Law on the Modification of the Civil Code, the Mortgage Law and the Civil Procedure Law, on the Legal Regime of Animals. The central objective was to create a special judicial status for pets;recognizing that they are endowed with sensitivity and cannot be equated with goods.

Regarding specifically to the Civil Code, the proposal proposes to significantly change the text of article 333.1;It is currently determined that all things that can be owned by a human, are considered as movable or immovable property. Apparently, the new text would determine the following:

"Animals are living beings endowed with sensitivity. Only the legal regime of goods will be applicable to the extent that it is compatible with its nature and with the provisions for their protection."

Referring to custody

The articles that talk about pet custody in cases of separation or marriage divorces would also be modified. For example, it is proposed that article 90 of the Civil Code incorporate a letter C to the current text, which would determine the following:

“C) The fate of pets, in case they exist, taking into account the interest of family members and the welfare of the animal, being able to provide the distribution of the times of enjoyment if necessary."

Additionally, a new article 94 bis would be added, which provides that the judicial authorities will be able to trust the legal possession of a pet to one or both spouses, considering their interests and also the integrity of the animal. All this evolution would establish a legal framework and basis for judges in these sentences, which did not exist so far.

Likewise, it should be noted that, at least in the provisional text, specific parameters are detailed for animal welfare;what could continue to leave margins for subjective interpretation when determining custody of pets.