Sources of the Spanish and Spanish colonial Ius Canonicum Particulare

Abstract

It is a well-attested fact that – as from the late Middle Ages to the late eighteenth century – the Corpus iuris civilis of Emperor Justinian (527 – 565 A. D.) was used as a ius commune civile, versus the iura propria saecularia which, in the case of Spain and Latin American countries, would be the Derecho Castellano or Castilian Law. Similarly, the Corpus iuris canonici (12th – 15th centuries) was used as a ius commune canonicum, versus the iura propria canonica which, in the case of Spain and Iberoamerica would be the ius canonicum particulare Hispaniae et Indiarum, that is, the specific Canon Law for Spain and the West and East Indies. The present paper examines briefly different editions of the sources employed for that ius canonicum particulare used in Spain and the Spanish territories in America and the Philippine Islands