On April 28 2016, The Constitutional Court, being President of teh Tribunal Incarnation Roca Trias, has ruled on the appeal of unconstitutionality number 9888-2007 promoted by the President of the Government, against the whole of the Valencian Community Law 10/2007 March 20, Valenciano Matrimonial Economic Regime.

In March 2007 Valencia legislated in matters of matrimonial property regime that Law 10/2007 dictated, under the same set as the alternative regime of separation of property in the event that spouses have not established the regime to follow their economic relations.

Faced with this Act constitutional complaint was filed, on the understanding that that law was invading the powers of the Government in civil law, as understood that legislation broke the peaceful interpretation of Article 149.1.8 of the Spanish Constitution, which communities autonomous compiled without leasehold right, only have jurisdiction to legislate customs derived from the ancient privileges they had subsisted.

The Constitutional Court upheld the State Attorney, deeming that the Valencia overstepped the powers set out in that article of the Spanish Constitution, since only conferred to Valencia conserve, develop and modify the rules legal or customary existing on the entry into force of the Constitution, can not create ex novo a civil right. And not having established the Generalitat Valenciana the validity of such legal or customary rules of economic regime marriage at the time of enactment of the Spanish Constitution, the law is void and unconstitutional, since the Fueros of the Kingdom of Valencia were not applicable to the promulgation of the Constitution.

In short, Valencia, declared unconstitutional and void after Law 10/2007, the default regime is the community of property under Article 1315 of the Civil Code; although this does not affect the consolidated legal situations, ie, the Valencians marriages who married between March 2007 and May 2016 are still subject to the matrimonial regime of separation of property, nor does it affect relations of spouses with third .

This obviously does not apply to the territories with leasehold right as Aragon, Catalonia, Balearic Islands, Basque Country, Galicia and Navarra.

Sara González Benjelali

Lawyer