Cultural and legal thought in the reasoning of judgements (Crown of Aragon, 14th-17th centuries)

Abstract

This paper examines certain cultural and legal thought dimensions of judicial reasoning in the Crown of Aragon, with particular emphasis on Catalonia during the late Middle Ages and the early modern period (14th-17th centuries). We begin by contextualising the provision of Catalan ius proprium that declared the obligation of royal judges to provide reasons for their decisions. We proceed with a cultural introduction to judicial reasoning in the Crown of Aragon, drawing on the scholastic thought of the Valencian poet Ausiàs March. Next, we explore judicial reasoning within the framework of the Catalan-Aragonese iuscentric legal culture. Our analysis focuses on the exegesis of a judgment issued by the Royal Audience of the Crown of Aragon (2 April 1372), as well as a conclusion produced by the early modern Royal Audience of Catalonia (6 April 1500). We then outline several implications of judicial reasoning for the officium iudicis. Finally, we propose a preliminary analysis of the «corrective» adaptation of the ius commune doctrine of expressio causae in sententia in the context of Catalan law and judicial practice.