Senator introduces new code to transform & unify everyday legal processes

Sen. Ángel Toledo López

By THE STAR STAFF

Sen. Ángel Toledo López announced Wednesday the filing of Senate Bill 1435, a transformative legislative measure creating the “Code of Special Legal Procedures of Puerto Rico.”

The bill seeks to reorganize, codify and modernize various civil procedures that, for decades, have been fragmented, outdated and scattered throughout the Puerto Rican legal system.

The primary objective of the legislation is to consolidate -- within a single legal framework -- the procedural tools most frequently used by citizens to resolve everyday disputes before the General Court of Justice.

“This bill is, above all, a tool for access to justice,” Toledo López said. “We are unifying several laws that our citizens and the courts use daily into a single legal body. Common yet vital processes -- such as evictions, declarations of heirship, the appointment of guardians, and neighborhood disputes -- will now be organized in a logical, modern, and accessible manner.”

The new code repeals the antiquated 1933 Code of Civil Procedure of Puerto Rico and incorporates Act No. 140 of 1974 (known as the Act on Controversies and Provisional Legal Statuses), consolidating its useful elements into a procedural framework compatible with the 2020 Civil Code. In doing so, it eliminates archaic language, updates doctrines regarding “res judicata” (claim preclusion), and establishes special, expedited procedures to address various everyday disputes.

“We cannot demand procedural agility from the public and our judiciary if we force them to litigate using codes and laws created nearly a century ago that do not reflect current realities,” the senator added. “With this measure, we strip away the obsolete and preserve what is necessary. Anyone needing to halt imminent harm via an injunction, or resolve an urgent dispute under what was formerly Act 140, will now find clear rules and procedural protections in a single document.”

Among the procedures being consolidated and modernized are: special probate proceedings (authentication of wills, administration of estate assets, partition and inventories), guardianship and the appointment of a court-appointed representative, eviction proceedings (incorporating new social protections for insolvent families, veterans, and the elderly), extraordinary writs (mandamus, certiorari), and a special procedure focused on access to justice for the homeless.