Restitutio in integrum / Restitutio in integrum (DCH)
 

No. 2024-10

English Abstract: This article offers basic information on the restitutio in integrum (restoration to original condition) as a characteristic institution of canon law and on its field of application in the Indies. After a brief introduction, the analysis covers the following points: background, nature and function of the restitutio in integrum, concept and elements of the legal figure, subjects, object and procedure and its application in early modern Spanish America. The convenience of studying the use of restitutio in specific cases, thus going beyond what the norms and treaties say about it, is not an obstacle to affirming that in the Indies the homonymous institution of the European ius commune or utrumque ius was applied with hardly any adaptation. Its main beneficiaries were the Indians, who resorted to it protected by the statute of miserability that was applied to them globally. The work concludes with a brief historiographical balance and with the obligatory list of sources and bibliography.