ISSN 1993-8616
On Thursday at midday in the cathedral square in Valencia the faithful hurry to mass while tourists feed the pigeons or read restaurant menus. At the first of twelve strokes of a bell, an alguacil (constable) comes out of an adjoining building and picks up a long cane with a golden harpoon on one end.
He is followed by eight men dressed in the long black shirts traditionally worn by farmers in the region: these are the members of the Water Court, an ancient institution that meets each Thursday. In a public hearing, it settles disputes on the distribution of water in the eight channels that irrigate the 17,000 hectares of land that form the huerta, where citrus fruits, rice, grapes and peaches are grown for all of Spain and for export.
At the sound of the cane striking the granite pavement, eight men with greying hair take their seats in front of the Porch of the Apostles on chairs made of wood and tooled leather. They are not judges, but “Sindicos”, or magistrates, elected democratically for a period of two years, who represent the owners of all the eight channels. They have no legal training, farm their land for their livelihood, and have the reputation of being ‘honest men’.
Furthermore, they master the rotations and watering periods, and the duty to distribute water proportionally and see to it that the channels that cross their land are maintained so that water may flow to the other farmers’ fields.
He is followed by eight men dressed in the long black shirts traditionally worn by farmers in the region: these are the members of the Water Court, an ancient institution that meets each Thursday. In a public hearing, it settles disputes on the distribution of water in the eight channels that irrigate the 17,000 hectares of land that form the huerta, where citrus fruits, rice, grapes and peaches are grown for all of Spain and for export.
At the sound of the cane striking the granite pavement, eight men with greying hair take their seats in front of the Porch of the Apostles on chairs made of wood and tooled leather. They are not judges, but “Sindicos”, or magistrates, elected democratically for a period of two years, who represent the owners of all the eight channels. They have no legal training, farm their land for their livelihood, and have the reputation of being ‘honest men’.
Furthermore, they master the rotations and watering periods, and the duty to distribute water proportionally and see to it that the channels that cross their land are maintained so that water may flow to the other farmers’ fields.
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 © UNESCO/José Jordán Las audiencias se celebran cara al público y en lengua valenciana |
A court with Arab origins
‘I come every Thursday because it is my duty’. Vicente Baixauli Pastor, Sindico of the Favara canal, one of the largest in the area, is astounded that anyone would doubt the usefulness of the Court. ‘The Court is for people who don’t do things right, and they clearly have to respect our decisions, as our institution was founded by the Caliph of Córdoba, who was a lord of great distinction and of high rank’.
It was the Arabs, during the time of Abderraman II and Al-Hakem II who perfected the irrigation system of the huerta, designed the water distribution methods, and defined the principle according to which water distribution and the land are inseparable.
Arab origins can be found in words such as azud (sluice gate), acequia (canal) and fila (a measurement unit equivalent to a variable quantity of litres per second). The Court in its current form was founded around 960 under the reign of Abderraman III, and it is thought that its sessions were held in front of the Porch of the Great Mosque, which is now the cathedral.
The hearings of the Court take place in the open air, and only in the Valencian language. Everyone acts on their own behalf, without a lawyer, a prosecutor or any written documents. It is possible to call witnesses or order an inspection of the land if this is considered necessary.
‘I come every Thursday because it is my duty’. Vicente Baixauli Pastor, Sindico of the Favara canal, one of the largest in the area, is astounded that anyone would doubt the usefulness of the Court. ‘The Court is for people who don’t do things right, and they clearly have to respect our decisions, as our institution was founded by the Caliph of Córdoba, who was a lord of great distinction and of high rank’.
It was the Arabs, during the time of Abderraman II and Al-Hakem II who perfected the irrigation system of the huerta, designed the water distribution methods, and defined the principle according to which water distribution and the land are inseparable.
Arab origins can be found in words such as azud (sluice gate), acequia (canal) and fila (a measurement unit equivalent to a variable quantity of litres per second). The Court in its current form was founded around 960 under the reign of Abderraman III, and it is thought that its sessions were held in front of the Porch of the Great Mosque, which is now the cathedral.
The hearings of the Court take place in the open air, and only in the Valencian language. Everyone acts on their own behalf, without a lawyer, a prosecutor or any written documents. It is possible to call witnesses or order an inspection of the land if this is considered necessary.
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© UNESCO/José Jordán El sistema de acequias fue creado en tiempos de los musulmanes. |
Justice, laws and common sense
Verdicts of the court cannot be appealed: ‘We are a Supreme Court, because we use good sense’, states Baixauli. Even though he asserts that his decisions have always been fair, he regrets that once he convicted a saint. ‘What happened was that there was too much water in the main canal, which destroyed the crops of a farmer who in turn accused his neighbour of letting in more water flow than was needed. He was the one I should have punished for false accusation, but as he had already lost his harvest, it seemed too harsh. So, I punished Saint Peter for too much rain and, as I am a Catholic, I later wrote him a letter asking him to forgive me’.
According to María Jose Mascarell Navarro, professor of administrative law and civil procedure at the University of Valencia, several factors explain the fact that the Court has endured and that its decisions are systematically respected: ‘First, because it exercises its authority not over only one canal, but over all the channels. Then, because it is not a higher authority, but a court in which the Sindicos are elected democratically by the people. Above all, the traditional farmers see the fact of being judged in public as an affront. This is why they generally reach agreement beforehand’.
Meanwhile, Baixauli explains to anyone who wants to listen what he sees as the real dangers to the huerta as it is in a region where the main activity is clearly tourism: ‘You see, our children do not want to hear about rice or orange trees, because farmers do not make much from their harvests - the person who makes money today is the one who plants pillars’.
Verdicts of the court cannot be appealed: ‘We are a Supreme Court, because we use good sense’, states Baixauli. Even though he asserts that his decisions have always been fair, he regrets that once he convicted a saint. ‘What happened was that there was too much water in the main canal, which destroyed the crops of a farmer who in turn accused his neighbour of letting in more water flow than was needed. He was the one I should have punished for false accusation, but as he had already lost his harvest, it seemed too harsh. So, I punished Saint Peter for too much rain and, as I am a Catholic, I later wrote him a letter asking him to forgive me’.
According to María Jose Mascarell Navarro, professor of administrative law and civil procedure at the University of Valencia, several factors explain the fact that the Court has endured and that its decisions are systematically respected: ‘First, because it exercises its authority not over only one canal, but over all the channels. Then, because it is not a higher authority, but a court in which the Sindicos are elected democratically by the people. Above all, the traditional farmers see the fact of being judged in public as an affront. This is why they generally reach agreement beforehand’.
Meanwhile, Baixauli explains to anyone who wants to listen what he sees as the real dangers to the huerta as it is in a region where the main activity is clearly tourism: ‘You see, our children do not want to hear about rice or orange trees, because farmers do not make much from their harvests - the person who makes money today is the one who plants pillars’.