Derecho Indiano

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As Derecho Indiano ( Native American Law ) in the Spanish legal system of the American possessions referred to during the colonial period. The attribute indiano does not refer to the indigenous population , but generally to the geographical area of ​​the Indias . So these are general laws and not necessarily protective laws , even if these were the main focus of Indian law alongside public law .

The legal system in colonial Hispanic America was casuistic and was characterized by its lack of system, as well as the diversity and scattering of its sources, which in the colonial period itself often led to a lack of clarity about which norms were to be applied. Indian law is fed by jurisprudence, viceroyal ordinances , local legislation, Castilian law (in the area of private law ) and, subordinate, originally indigenous law (provided it did not conflict with Christianity or other law). Ambiguities were tried to be resolved by asking the Spanish king.

Well-known parts of Indian law are the Leyes de Burgos ( 1512 ) and the Leyes Nuevas from 1542 , both of which dealt with the protection of the indigenous population . The Recopilación de Leyes de las Indias of 1680 represented an attempt (in 4 volumes, with over 6000 individual laws) to bring a little order into the chaos of Indian law , which was only partially successful.