Definition of Agrarian Law

The legal system of most countries includes the right agrarian, which is the legal regulation system by which the different agrarian subjects are related. It must be taken into account that an agricultural subject is any individual who carries out an activity related to the agricultural sector. Thus, there are individual agrarian subjects, such as ejidatarios, comuneros, avecindados, possessors, colonists, and small landowners. On the other hand, there are so-called collective agrarian subjects, such as ejidos, agrarian communities or rural production units, among other collective figures.

From the point of view of classification legal, agrarian law is a branch of the social law, since agrarian issues are subject to specific legal protection (in this sense, agrarian law specifically protects the farmer). The social dimension of this branch of law is evident, since agricultural activities are directly related to the subsistence of a nation.

General principles

The legislation that regulates agriculture is related to the agrarian subjects, to the assets and to the legal relationships that are established.

The purpose of agrarian law is to promote the Balance factors that are part of the agrarian world: the interests of the peasantry, the productivity and social justice.

The exploitation of the land has a series of aspects with legal implications, such as rural transit, the regime of associations, rural property or agricultural credit.

In Roman law

The roman law it is the legal precedent for most current legal issues. In the legal system of Roman civilization, norms were already established on boundaries, rural properties or on the use of water for land.

In Roman civilization, land ownership was in the hands of a minority of small owners but normally the lands belonged to large owners, also known as landowners. In any case, the lands conquered by the Romans were useful if they were fertile, with grassy areas and accompanied by forests.

It should be borne in mind that in Ancient Rome the occupied lands that formed the rural territory were known as Ager Romanus, which we could translate as Roman countryside. In relation to the rural world, Roman law incorporates a series of ideas and concepts that we continue to use in our days: such as land in usufruct, agrarian subsidies or nature of the land depending on who has the property.

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