Civil law in Paraguay

Paraguay has a codified civil-law system. The Código Civil regulates legal capacity, contracts, property, family relationships, inheritance and civil liability. The Código Procesal Civil under Ley 1337/1988 governs civil and commercial proceedings, evidence, interim measures, appeals and enforcement. Ley 879/1981 regulates judicial organisation, while Ley 1/1992, Ley 2169/2003, Ley 1266/1987, Ley 1680/2001 and other specialised laws supplement the civil framework. Some published legal texts are not fully consolidated, so later amendments should be checked against current official sources before relying on a provision. A person has civil legal capacity from conception for gifts, inheritances and legacies, subject to live birth. Full capacity generally begins at 18 under Ley 2169/2003. Children aged 0 to 13 have absolute incapacity and those aged 14 to 17 have relative incapacity under the applicable rules. Parents, tutors or curators may represent a person, while a court can impose measures such as interdiction or inhabilitación. Domicile affects personal-status matters, and the law of the place where property is located generally governs rights in that property. The Registro del Estado Civil records births, filiación, marriages, deaths, adoptions, unión de hecho, divorces and court-ordered corrections. Births are generally registered within 30 days in the Capital and 60 days in the Interior; late registration remains possible under the applicable age limits and procedure. Deaths are generally reported within 24 hours. Local offices operate throughout Paraguay, and some birth certificates can be obtained electronically through Portal Paraguay. A material correction may require a court order rather than a simple administrative request. Civil matters involve several institutions with different functions. The Poder Judicial and Corte Suprema de Justicia administer the courts. Juzgados de Primera Instancia en lo Civil y Comercial hear matters not assigned elsewhere, while Juzgados de Paz handle certain civil and commercial cases within statutory limits. Juzgados de la Niñez y la Adolescencia deal with specialised child and youth matters. The Registro del Estado Civil concerns personal status; the Dirección General de los Registros Públicos, or DGRP, records property, powers of attorney, wills, personal notices and other patrimonial rights. An Escribano de Registro prepares public instruments where the law requires them. Catastro and the relevant cadastral and registry systems support property identification. Contracts may be named contracts recognised by statute or unnamed agreements created by the parties. Parties may generally arrange their relationship within mandatory law, public order and buenas costumbres. A breach can lead, depending on the case, to performance, dissolution or damages. A manifestly unfair advantage obtained through need, weakness or inexperience may constitute lesión and can support nullity or fair adjustment within the applicable two-year period. Form, evidence and legally permitted interest rates matter; statutory interest limits are set through the Banco Central del Paraguay. Employment contracts belong primarily to labour law rather than this civil-law scope. A public deed, called an escritura pública, is required for transactions for which the law prescribes that form. Rights that require registration generally become effective against third parties only after inscripción. For real-estate transactions, the parties should obtain a current domain certificate and verify the register before signing. The notary has responsibility for the content and accuracy of the instrument. Notarial fees may follow Ley 1307/1998, an agreed amount or a court-regulated amount, and additional cadastral, registry, tax and document costs may apply. Property law covers possession, ownership, co-ownership, condominium ownership, family assets, usufruct, use and habitation rights, easements, pledges, mortgages and real actions. In Paraguayan real-estate practice, the deed, cadastral and registry checks and registration with the DGRP work together. Ley 7424/2025 created the Sistema Nacional Unificado Registral y Catastral and the Registro Unificado Nacional, including a folio real and a Código Único de Identificación Catastral Registral. Its implementation and transitional rules should be checked for the transaction in question. Municipal requirements can differ; in Asunción, for example, a cadastral certificate or constancia precatastral may be required. Family civil law under Ley 1/1992 covers marriage duties, maintenance, matrimonial property and related rights. The principal property regimes are community of gains with joint administration, deferred participation and separation of property. Without valid capitulaciones, community of gains generally applies. Capitulaciones require a public deed and registration to affect third parties. A stable, public and exclusive unión de hecho between persons legally able to marry can produce community-of-gains and inheritance consequences after at least four years, subject to the statutory requirements. Marriage, unión de hecho, divorce and related status records are handled through the civil registry, courts or the applicable registration procedure. Ley 1680/2001, the Código de la Niñez y la Adolescencia, applies the best interests of the child and regulates family life, parental authority, maintenance, custody, guardianship and adoption. Specialised courts and the Defensoría protect children and adolescents. CODENI, the municipal child-rights service, can provide an access and protection point. A family or child matter may therefore involve both the Código Civil and specialised child legislation. Inheritance is governed mainly by Libro V of the Código Civil. Death transfers rights and obligations that do not end with the deceased. An estate may proceed as intestate or testamentary succession, and forced heirs receive the protected share, or legítima, established by law. The deceased's last domicile generally guides succession and heir-rights issues; property located in Paraguay also engages Paraguayan law. Proceedings take place through a juicio sucesorio. An interested person may apply, presenting a will or identifying known heirs and addresses. In an intestate case, an edict period is generally 10 days, and claims by interested parties are generally filed within 60 days after the first publication. The process can include a declaration of heirs, inventory, valuation, tax and court-fee steps and certificates for adjudication and registration with the DGRP. The law supplies individual deadlines, but no reliable single duration applies to every estate. Civil liability under the Código Civil covers unlawful acts causing material or moral damage. The assessment can involve intent, negligence, legally defined strict-liability cases, the claimant's contribution to the harm and the distinction between direct and foreseeable indirect consequences. Contractual breach and non-contractual liability require separate analysis. Special rules can apply to damage caused by animals or vehicles. Labour and consumer liability may fall primarily under their respective adjacent legal fields. The court with jurisdiction depends on the subject, amount, territory and statutory exceptions. A Juzgado de Paz may hear certain civil or commercial cases up to 300 jornales, but this limit does not cover every matter and excludes areas such as personal status, family matters, insolvency and real actions involving immovable property. Certain possession and inheritance matters may have additional rural or urban limits. The competent court should be checked for the specific claim rather than inferred only from its value. Mediation is available through the Dirección de Mediación of the Corte Suprema for civil, commercial, family and child-related matters, both through court referral and outside a pending case. The service itself is free. A settlement may acquire enforceable-title effect after homologation, although mediation does not automatically remove lawyers' fees or other expenses. The Ministerio de la Defensa Pública can provide free advice and representation in civil matters to people who demonstrate financial need, as well as to certain protected groups such as absent persons and children or adolescents. A benefit of litigating without costs can exempt eligible applicants from judicial fees, but it does not necessarily eliminate every expense, such as service, publication or expert costs. Applications commonly require identity documents and two witnesses concerning financial circumstances. A judicial decision does not automatically complete enforcement. An enforceable judgment, arbitral award, homologated settlement or other enforceable title can support an application to the process court. For a liquid monetary claim, the procedure can include a payment demand and attachment of assets. Under the Código Procesal Civil, a court officer generally gives three days for payment and can then seek sufficient attachment, followed by the applicable sale or auction procedure. A precautionary attachment may be requested before or after filing when the claim is sufficiently supported and urgency or risk is shown; contracautela is generally relevant, although a benefit of litigating without costs may provide an exemption. Ley 7561/2025 regulates arbitration. A national arbitral award can proceed to judicial enforcement under the Código Procesal Civil without a separate recognition procedure, provided a valid arbitration agreement exists and the subject may legally be arbitrated. Recognition of a foreign award requires a separate cross-border assessment. Current judicial tariffs are indexed to the minimum jornal. The cited table lists Gs 43,051 for a fixed fee at 40%, Gs 53,814 for special registration at 50%, Gs 32,288 for a certificate or report at 30%, Gs 107,627 for a contested divorce at one jornal and Gs 43,051 for a mutual-consent divorce at 40%. These amounts, as well as registry practice, RUN implementation and local court requirements, should be checked against the current official table when a case is filed.