A juicio de residencia (literally, judgment of residence) was a judicial procedure of Castilian law and the Laws of the Indies. The Crown of Castile, as a historic entity is usually considered to have begun in 1230 with the third and definitive union of the two kingdoms of León and Castile The Laws of the Indies ( Leyes de Indias in Spanish are the entire body of laws issued by the Spanish Crown for its American and Philippine possessions It consisted in this: at the termination of a public functionary's term, his performance in office was subject to review, and those with grievances against him were entitled to a hearing. This was a largely automatic procedure, and did not imply prior suspicion of misconduct.
The official was not allowed to leave the place where he exercised his authority, nor to assume another office, until the conclusion of this judicial inquiry. Generally, the person charged with directing the inquiry, called the juez de residencia, was that individual already named to succeed to the position. The penalties, if the outgoing official was convicted, varied, but generally consisted of fines.
The juicio de residencia took on great importance in the administration of the Indies, perhaps because of the great distances involved and the difficulty of direct supervision by the Crown. It extended from the viceroys and the presidents of the Audiencia to the alcaldes and the alguaciles (judicial officials, sometimes translated as sheriffs). A viceroy is a royal official who governs a country or province in the name of and as representative of the Monarch. For the modern court see Audiencia Nacional of Spain. The Royal Audiencia and Chancellery ( Spanish: Real audiencia y chancillería Alcalde () or Alcalde ordinario, is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate who had both Judicial and administrative functions With the entrance into force of the Spanish Constitution of 1812, the procedure no longer applied. The Spanish Constitution of 1812 was promulgated by the Cádiz Cortes, the national legislative assembly ( Cortes Generales "General Courts"
Originally, every viceroy had to pass his juicio de residencia before his successor could take office. But in the eighteenth century viceregal juicios were conducted after the outgoing viceroy had returned to Spain. During the lengthy process (up to six months), the degree of the viceroy's compliance with his instructions was analyzed, his job performance was reviewed, and much testimony was collected from different parties.
Another formula the Crown used to control its officials, including the viceroy in his capacity as president of the Audiencia, was the visitador. The visitador was an inspector named at the pleasure of the king to investigate a particular administration. Like the juicio, this institution had the aim of discovering abuses committed by the authorities, and proposing necessary reforms.
This article is a free translation of the article "Juicio de residencia" in the Spanish Wikipedia.
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