Portal de Murcia
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The Plenary Hall today hosted the session that the Council of Good Men, in which were settled three oral trials for irrigation conflicts in the orchard of Murcia, a session presided by Diego Frutos and whose start was attended by the mayor of Murcia, Jose Ballesta, and members of the Municipal Corporation.
"Honor and respect are the two principles that define this institution that represents our tradition and roots, and that has been solving the disputes that may exist between the men of La Huerta for 750 years," explained the mayor, who added that "These are customary agreements that are also recognized in the Organic Law of the Judiciary."
The Council of Good Men thus resumed its regular public sessions in the Plenary Hall, where it has been meeting since the nineteenth century, in compliance with a motion approved by the Plenum of the City Council last November.
Declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, the jurisdiction of the Council includes all Vega Media del Segura (Murcia, Alcantarilla, Beniel and Santomera) and about 22,000 irrigators who pay their annual dues to the Junta de Hacendados.
The Council responds to the demands that are considered aggrieved by conflicts related to irrigation channels (major ditches, minor ditches, bracers and showers) and drainage channels (azarbes mayor, azarbes landronas, azarbetas and escorredores).
The court is made up of four members (two from Alquibla and two from Aljufía - the two major irrigation ditches for the Huerta de Murcia), a secretary, sheriff and a president.
The Council acts on a regular basis every Thursday of the year, holding conciliation sessions in which 95% of the cases are satisfactory, and the three cases brought to trial today represent satisfactory agreements for both parties. A small minority of all resolved conflicts.
The litigation, step by step
The three judgments today have been oral, as is customary, and have been chaired by the president of the Board of Ranchers, Diego Frutos.
At each session, the same order is followed: first, the complaint filed in the presence of the two parties: plaintiff and defendant, and the actions and inspections carried out by the Council are reported, in order to verify the facts.
The plaintiff takes the floor and, after ratifying himself in the facts, argues his claim.
Then the other party takes the turn, who has the opportunity to defend his position before the court.
It will value the documentary or expert evidence that both parties want to present.
If the vowels consider it appropriate, it opens a question time.
Once exposed the conflict and with the testimonies and evidence collected, the deliberation of the court, which is secret, arrives.
The sentence that is issued is firm, since the decisions of the Council are final.
Source: Ayuntamiento de Murcia
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