Aplicación jurídica del Testamentum Tempore Pestis o Testamento en caso de pandemia como la generada actualmente por el coronavirus

Abstract

By this piece of work, we aim at looking into the legal implementation of wills in the event case of a pandemic as established in article 701 of Spanish Civil Code (1888-1889) since, even if it not entitled to the concept of will suitable for 21 century, after such a global pandemic like Covid-19, we have noticed that this one law is not only up-to-date but actually in force. Therefore, we will first look back at Roman Law, its source, and at how it approached the subject, mainly as part of the so-called Testamentum Tempore Pestis (C. 6.23.9.) —that is to say, the writing of a will in case of peste or pandemic (and in ancient Rome there were quite a few)—, in a similar way to the ones our time. Secondly, we will study its main requirements regarding content and shape so as to still be in force today. Last but not least, we will look into the legal nature of wills in view to the current pandemic and so we will frame it within the different categories of wills.