Las Tres Fases De La Ausencia De Las Personas En España Desde La Ley 15/2015

Abstract

By virtue of the degree of disconnection that exists between the person and the place of his habitual residence we find ourselves in a situation of mere disappearance – life is presumed – or with the declaration of legal absence – doubt about life-, or with the declaration of death – the death is presumed-. Both lack of communication and uncertainty are present in the three phases of absence.

In Spain, the Law 15/2015, of July 2, on Voluntary Jurisdiction, introduces important changes in the regulation of this subject, which basically consist in attributing more functions to the lawyer of the administration of justice, to the detriment of the judge; these include the appointment of both the judicial defender of the disappeared person and the representative of the declared absent person; declare not only the end of the situation of legal absence but also the death of the person, indicating the date from which it is understood that death occurs; and considerably shorten the deadlines for making the declaration of death, if the disappearance occurs in circumstances of risk.