Understanding Temporal Application of Laws: A Guide to Legal Transitions
Chapter 1: General Provisions
Article 1: Conflicts Arising from Laws Enacted at Different Times
Conflicts that may arise from the application of laws enacted at different periods shall be decided under this Act.
Article 2: Precedence of Laws
Laws enacted to regulate a civil status under different conditions than those demanded by a former law shall prevail over the former law from their starting date.
Article 3: Continuance of Rights Acquired Under Prior Law
The status and rights acquired by a right holder under the law in effect on the date of this constitution shall continue, even if that law loses its force afterward. The rights and obligations attached to the status shall be subordinate to the new law if it establishes new rights and obligations, either by amending or repealing the old ones.
Article 4: Parental Usufruct Rights
The legal usufruct and management rights that a parent may have over a child’s property, acquired under a previous law, shall be subject in their exercise and duration to the law passed subsequently.
Article 5: Status of Natural Children
Individuals who, under the rule of law, have acquired the status of a natural child shall enjoy all the benefits and be subject to all the obligations that a later law imposes upon them.
Article 6: Rights to Support for Illegitimate Children
An illegitimate child who acquired the right to support under an old law will continue to have those rights implemented. However, if the child was subsequently legitimized, the enjoyment and extinction of this right shall follow the rules of the later law.
Article 7: Expectations vs. Acquired Rights
Mere expectancy is not a capacity or right. Accordingly, a law conferring upon illegitimate children the possibility of being legitimized by the parent’s remarriage does not entitle them to legitimacy.
Article 8: Right to Manage Property
An individual who, under the rule of law, acquired the right to manage their property does not forfeit it under a new law, as long as the latter requires new conditions to acquire such right.
Article 9: Continuation of Guardianships
Guardianships validly established under previous legislation will continue to exercise their duties in accordance with that legislation.
Article 10: Legal Persons
The existence and rights of legal persons shall be subject to the same rules regarding the marital status of natural persons as prescribed in Article 3.
Article 11: Abolition of Privileges
Natural or legal persons who, under previous legislation, had the privilege of appointing an administrator shall have no right to restitution under subsequent legislation that has abolished such privilege.
Article 12: Real Rights
Any real right acquired under a law and in accordance with it remains valid under a subsequent law. However, its enjoyment and burdens, with respect to its extinction, shall be governed by the provisions of the new law.
Article 13: Possession
Possession acquired under a previous law is not retained or recovered if lost under the rule of a new law, but only by the means or requirements set forth in the new law.
Article 14: Rights Deferred Under a Condition
Rights deferred under a condition that was met under previous laws shall be deemed to have failed if not fulfilled within the period established by subsequent laws.
Article 15: Prohibition of Successive Usufructs
Whenever a new law prohibits the formation of several successive usufructs, it shall apply.
Article 16: Easements
Natural and voluntary easements validly constituted under an old law shall be subject to the rules that a new law establishes for their exercise and conservation.
Article 17: Natural Easements
Anyone shall be entitled to take advantage of a natural easement authorized by a new law. However, to do so, they will have to compensate the owner of the servient estate for any damages resulting from the abolition of the previous easement.
Chapter 2: Wills and Successions
Article 18: Formalities of Wills
The external formalities of wills shall be governed by the law in effect at the time of their execution. However, their provisions shall be subordinate to the law in effect at the time of the testator’s death.
Article 19: Validity of Will Provisions
If a will contains provisions that, according to the law under which it was executed, should not be given effect, they will nevertheless be valid as long as they are not in opposition to the law in effect at the time of the testator’s death.
Article 20: Intestate Succession
Intestate succession and the right of representation of those called to inherit shall be governed by the law in effect at the time the succession opened.
Article 21: Partition and Adjudication of Inheritance
The partition and adjudication of an inheritance or legacy shall observe the rules in effect at the time of the testator’s death.
Chapter 3: Procedural and Transitional Provisions
Article 22: Procedural Laws and Penalties
- Laws regarding how to claim rights in court shall apply from their effective date.
- Penalties for infringements shall be imposed under the law in effect at the time the infringement was committed.
Article 23: Proof of Acts and Contracts
Acts or contracts validly entered into under a prior law may be proven by means other than those established for their justification under that law.
Article 24: Laws of Evidence
Laws concerning the rules of evidence shall prevail over previous judgments from the time they become effective.
Article 25: Prescription
Prescription that began under a law and has not been completed at the time of enactment of a new law may be governed by either the first or the second law, at the discretion of the party claiming prescription.
Article 26: Absolute Prescription
If a subsequent statute of limitations establishes absolute prescription, a right cannot be acquired by possession under a previous law, even if the possession began under that law and it allowed for prescription.