The ” Water Court of Valencia de la Vega ” , better known as ” Water Court ” is without any , the oldest existing justice institutions in Europe doubt. His weekly meeting every Thursday of the year, on the right side of Gothic Door of the Apostles of the Cathedral of Valencia , is a must for tourists , students, residents or neighbors who congregate around waiting for the start announced by the bells of the bell tower of the Cathedral , as always punctual, at twelve hours to watch their performance.
The Tribunal is an Irrigation Manager Jury oral and momentary resolve conflicts arising form the irrigation water to farmers in the Irrigation Communities of the canals that are part of it , a total of eight ( Quart, Benàger i Faitanar , Tormos, Mislata, Mestalla, Favara, Rascanya and Rovella ) . All these canals are called Vega de Valencia, on which the Court has jurisdiction , which together with the Royal Acequia de Moncada , with jurisdiction apart form the garden of Valencia .
We further note that since September 2009 is designated Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity proclaimed by the UNESCO.
Part of the tradition and culture of all Valencia … unique testimony to a cultural tradition alive : that of justice and democratic government and self-management of the waters by the Andalusian peasants in the area of orchards surrounding the great cities of the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula …
The Tribunal is a customary court. It consists of one representative from each of the communities that are part Irrigation , eight in all , called trustees, and one of them is elected president for an indefinite time. Traditionally, the president has been the trustee of Tormos Favara or alternatively .
Every Thursday of the week (except holidays and those ranging from Christmas to Epiphany) the Court meets with his advisers in the Costume House Plaza de la Virgen de Valencia to discuss various issues. But at 12 o’clock noon , while the bells of Miguelete , when the Court was formally constituted at the Gate of the Apostles of the Cathedral of Valencia, in the same plaza. That’s when the sheriff , with the permission of the president, the reported calls from each of the canals , with the traditional phrase : ” Drought denunciats … ! ” . The trial takes place quickly and completely in oral Valenciano . The complainant, who is usually the guardian of the ditch to which the offender belongs, discussed the case before the Court , then the accused defends himself and answered questions of the trustee of the drain to which it belongs . It is then when the Court , with the exception of the trustee of the ditch in question decides the guilt or otherwise of the accused , and if so , is the trustee of the canal who imposes the penalty to be paid by the offender , according to Ordinances of the Community Irrigation own . Even today, the death penalty is imposed on ” wages ” , as was done in medieval times, today where ” 1 shilling ,” the daily wage Guardian ditch .
They are subject to the jurisdiction of the Tribunal of the Waters : the same members of the Court , the Irrigation Communities , the atandadores , legal persons (eg Chambers of Agriculture ) , tenants , community members, dealers water irrigators , the complainants themselves and third parties . They can report the trustees before the Tribunal , the Elets as part of the board of each community , the guard (which is like a tax ) and third parties .
A little history , founded as it operates today in the Muslim era was during the reigns of the caliphs Abd al- Rahman III and al- Hakam II , specifically in 960 AD, we are aware of continuity in the feudal era XXXV Charter of King James I the Conqueror, 1239, by mandating that ditches ” that antigament segons establit és e fo e acostumat in sarrahïns temps ” are governed . Moreover , the Muslim origin has been supporting three details : that is held every Thursday ( day before Friday, which is a holiday for Muslims ) outside the cathedral ( former mosque and Agora in the city in pre-Roman times ), and the right to speak in court is granted by the President , pointing to the foot ( as in many nomadic tribes of North Africa every wise man gives the word to the rest of their own indigenous tribe).
More info and bibliography :
www.tribunaldelasaguas.com