SPAIN Trends and Developments Contributed by: Amparo Arbáizar, Arbáizar Abogados
Pets and Children’s Shared Custody in Spain Law number 17/2021, of 15 December 2021, updates the regulations regarding animals in Spanish Law. In accordance with Article 3 of the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals of 1987 and Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the new Law 17/2021 considers that animals are sentient beings and have a special relationship with man. Law 17/2021 of 15 December amended sev - eral articles of the Spanish Civil Code and Law of Civil Procedure to consider animal welfare requirements. This reform was necessary not only to adapt the Civil Code to the real nature of animals but also to the nature of the coexistence relationships established between animals and human beings. For this reason, agreements on domestic ani - mals and the criteria that the courts must follow to decide who will be made responsible for the animal’s care, always considering the animal’s well-being, have been introduced into the rules relating to family crises. Article 333 bis of the Civil Code says that animals are sentient beings. The legal rules for movables and goods would only apply to animals as far as they are compatible with their nature and protec - tion regulations. If an injury to a pet has caused death or damage to its physical or mental health, the pet’s proprietor has a right to compensation. Article 605 of the Law of Civil Procedure (Ley 1/2000, de Enjuiciamiento Civil) has been amended to state that pets cannot be seized in enforcement proceedings since they are not considered goods. Conversely, the proceeds that pets might produce can be seized.
Animals no longer fit the legal concept of mova - bles, goods or mere things. The new Law 17/2021, of 15 December 2021, affects the Spanish Family Law as well as the Law of Successions of the Civil Code and the Law of Civil Procedure on family proceedings at court. Article 774, 4 of the Law of Civil Procedure (Ley 1/2000, de Enjuiciamiento Civil) has been amended to stipulate that on divorce or legal separation or children’s arrangements, the court must rule the custody of pet animals consider - ing the family members’ best interest and the welfare requirements of animals. The court must also rule on the right of access to pets and the payments of their maintenance costs. The same applies to Article 771, 2 of the Law of Civil Proce - dure regarding provisional measures on divorce or legal separation or children’s arrangements. (This rule does not apply to civil partnerships without common minor children.) Article 94 bis was included in the Civil Code to regulate the care of pets in divorce: “The judicial authority will entrust the care of the pets to one or both spouses and will determine, where appropriate, how the spouse to whom they have not been entrusted may have them in their company, as well as the distribution of the burdens associated with the care of the ani- mal, taking into account the interest of the fam- ily members and the well-being of the animal, regardless of the ownership of the animal and who has been entrusted with its care. This order will be recorded in the corresponding animal identification record.” It is now possible to arrange for shared time with a pet between both spouses, making it feasible
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