Author: dc

A feminine noun, from the Latin persōna, this one from the Etruscan phersu which was borrowed from the ancient Greek prósopon, the mask worn by an actor to play their character (personaje in Spanish) and expand their voice: pros (in front of) opon (face) in the theatre. We can see that from its very origin the term persona expresses a fiction.
In Legal Spanish, a persona is an individual to whom the law grants the capacity to obtain rights and to be subjects of legal obligations. My Private Law teacher used to say that a persona is an imputation centre of rights and obligations. This means that we can have two types of personas: a persona física : Juan, Pedro, Mario, etc.; and a persona moral or jurídica: a school, a corporation, or any kind of organisation with personalidad jurídica, which is the ability to obtain rights and to be subject of legal obligations. As we can see, we are again in front of a (legal) fiction (ficción jurídica). A curiosity, the new Codígo Civil y Comercial in Argentina, in its article 19, renamed personas físicas as personas humanas; a bit more explicit. dc

A feminine noun, from the Latin caducus, that falls, is a legal institution by which a right is extinguished or, if you wish, dies as a result of the expiration of the period legally established for its exercise without it having been exercised. The verb is caducar and the adjective caduco/a/s.
The main difference with the prescripción extintiva we saw yesterday resides in that the prescripción extintiva can just be brought as a defence by the interested party during their first presentation while the caducidad can be brought at any time and it can be even applied ex officio by the judge, because we are speaking about a right that, according to some authors, actually never existed. If the term of the prescripción is interrupted by any means (e.g. a demanda, see post), the term starts again from the beginning; but, if the term of caducidad is interrupted, it resumes from the same point.
An example of caducidad is the extinction of the right to appeal after the term to do it has expired. dc

In Legal Spanish, the feminine noun prescripción means nothing close to the English word prescription. From the Latin praescriptio, form by the prefix prae, previous, scriptus, written, and tio, effect.
Prescripción is a legal concept by virtue of which the passage of time consolidates factual situations. It allows the extinction of rights (extinctiva) or acquisition of things of others (adquisitiva or usucapión). For example, in Spain, according to article 1964 CC, creditors can claim their credit within 15 years from the moment they are entitled to; after that time, they can no longer make their claim (prescripción extintiva); in Argentina, according to article 2524 inc. 7 CC, you can acquire a property by its uninterrupted possession without either title or bona fide. The verb is prescribir.
By the way, a doctor prescription in Spanish is a receta (feminine noun), and what the doctor does when their prescribe it is called recetar. dc

If you check in your dictionary, you will see that the word mueble, a masculine noun, is translated into English as ‘piece of furniture’, and muebles as ‘furniture’.
In Legal Spanish it is a little bit more complicated. An adjective, from the Latin mobĭlis, movable, transportable, that can be moved.
From mueble we can be infer inmueble, immovable, that cannot be moved. We use them in expressions like bienes muebles and bienes inmuebles: movable and immovable goods. Inmueble as a noun is also used to express the concept of estate or/and property.
The branch of law that studies the legal power that a person exercises over a thing is called Derechos Reales, in Latin Ius in Re, as re in Latin means ‘thing’. From re we can trace república, the public thing, and, in English: Real Estate. dc

An adjective, fiscal/es, from the Latin fiscālis, related or belonging to the treasury (fiscus in Latin, el fisco in Spanish).
As and adjective, this word can be found in expressions such as Derecho Fiscal, Tax Law; Tribunal Fiscal, tax court; and Agente Fiscal, prosecutor.
Fiscal is also a noun (el/lafiscal los/las fiscales) and it refers to the public official, belonging to the prosecution, that leads the judicial investigation. In criminal proceedings, it is the person who accuses on behalf of the State. It is also used the expression el/la agente fiscal, but it is uncommon.
From fiscal it comes fiscalización, a noun that means audit, inspection; and fiscalizar, a verb that can be translated into to revise, to control or to supervise. Curiously, fiscalización and fiscalizar are not used to refer to the acts of a prosecutor in criminal proceedings; we use indagación and indagar or instrucción and instruir instead. dc