The Civil Code is the most important legal text in Spanish private law. The Code basically deals with subject matters pertaining to civil law, namely those related to persons, assets, ownership and their modifications, modes of acquiring ownership, obligations and contracts. Its Preliminary Title regulates the sources of the Law, the application and general effectiveness of legal provisions, the rules of Private International Law and the territorial application of the provisions of the Civil Code, in view of the existence of special or local civil laws in several Autonomous Communities in Spain. In addition to a fully updated and complete version of the Civil Code, carefully compared with the official texts, with table of contents, footnotes, and a list of the amendments introduced since 1889, we are offering its translation into English. The presentation has been written by Antonio Garrigues Walker.

Jose Luis de San Pio was born in Saragossa (Spain) in 1939. He studied Law at the Universities of Madrid and Saragossa. In 1961, he became a member of the Bar Association of Madrid. From 1961 until today, he has been a practising lawyer mainly in civil, corporate and international areas. In 1970 he moved to New York, where he stayed for 16 years. Initially, Mr. San Pio was responsible for Spanish legal matters at two New York law firms. He joined the Spanish law firm of Garrigues in 1975 as head of its New York office. From 2005 he runs his own office.