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United States — Puerto Rico

Constitution  Bills & Session Laws   Codified Laws  Court Rules  Administrative Law   Local Laws  Law Reviews  Other Commentary   Topical Web Sites   Court Information   Legal Forms  Other Resources 1st Cir. Decisions ————— MaineMassachusettsNew HampshireqRhode Island ————— Puerto Rico   U.S. Law U.S. Commentary U.S. Practice ————— Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire  New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming ————— American Samoa District of Columbia Guam N. Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands

Reviewed 15 September 2013  E-mail: Administrator@LawSource.com

Puerto Rico Court Decisions

1. Supreme Court (P.R.) • Tribunal Supremo

2. U.S. District Court (D.P.R.)

Puerto Rico Constitution and Legislation

1. Constitution • Constitución (P.R. Const.)
   The constitution in English translation is freely available at a Lexis Nexis web site, as part of the Puerto Rico Code.
   Additional Resources
   ¶ Constitution … [Magaly Rivera (Ill.)] — English translation.
   ¶ Note—See also the following sources for descriptions of the government of Puerto Rico and the status of Puerto Rico and its citizens, in relation to the United States:
   ¶ Welcome to Puerto Rico [Magaly Rivera (Ill.)]
   ¶ Puerto Rico USA Citizenship Foundation [John A. Regis, Jr.]

2. Bills
   Bills in Spanish can be viewed at the web site for the lower house of the legislature: Cámara de Represententes.

3. Acts of Congress
   Organic Act of Puerto Rico
   Title 48, United States Code, ch. 4

4. Acts of the Puerto Rico Legislature
   Judiciary Law • Ley de Judicatura
   Law on Customs Duties • Ley de Aranceles

5. Codified Laws
   Both the Spanish version of the Puerto Rico Code (Leyes de Puerto Rico) and a version in English translation are available for free access at the Lexis Nexis web site. Cookies must be enabled in order to use the web site.

Puerto Rico Rules of Procedure and Practice

Rules of Procedure
Rules of civil procedure and rules of evidence in English translation are freely available at a Lexis Nexis web site, as part of the Puerto Rico Code (appended to the Code of Civil Procedure), and rules of criminal procedure and rules of juvenile procedure are also on that web site (appended to the Code of Criminal Procedure).
Reglas del Tribunal Supremo Reglas del Tribunal de Apelaciones Reglas del Tribunal de Primera Instancia ————— U.S. District Court Rules (D.P.R. R.) U.S. Bankruptcy Court Rules (D.P.R. Bankr. R.)
Rules of the commonwealth courts are in Spanish.

Puerto Rico Administrative Law Sources

1. Ordenes Ejecutivas

Puerto Rico Ordinances and Home-Rule Charters

Charters
Note that a charter could be included in a collection of ordinances (see below) instead of being separately accessible.
County Ordinances
 
Click on the button keyed to the name of the county. NOTE: On some web sites, selecting the state is necessary for access to the ordinances link.
Municipal Ordinances
 
Click on the button keyed to the name of the municipality. NOTE: On some web sites, selecting the state is necessary for access to the ordinances link.

Puerto Rico Law-Related Periodicals

Other Puerto Rico Commentary

1. A Guide to Doing Business in Puerto Rico. McConnell Valdés. … [Lex Mundi]

Puerto Rico Law-Related Topical Web Sites

Puerto Rico Court Information

Web Sites
Tribunal Supremo Tribunal de Apelaciones Tribunal de Primera Instancia ————— U.S. District Court U.S. Bankruptcy Court
For additional links to web sites (in Spanish) related to the Puerto Rico judicial system, see Sistema de Tribunales.

Puerto Rico Forms

Other Puerto Rico Resources

Government-Related Web Sites
See also the Piper Resources list of sites.
Cámara de Representantes Senado ————— Department de Estado
Additional Resources
¶ Vital Records — Contact Information … [Elizabeth Orsay (Ind.)]
¶ Workers’ Compensation — Agency Contact Information … [Robert W. McDowell / N.C. Indus. Comm’n]
1. Association of Puerto Rico Attorneys • Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico

2. Law Schools
   Interamerican University of Puerto Rico Faculty of Law • Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico Facultad de Derecho
   Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law • Pontificia Universidad Catòlica de Puerto Rico Escuela de Derecho

Legal Research and Assistance

Law Libraries
Pontificia Universidad Catòlica de Puerto Rico: Centro de Información de Derecho Mons. Fremiot Torres Oliver Universidad de Puerto Rico: Biblioteca de Derecho Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico Facultad de Derecho: Centro de Acceso a la Información
See also links to web sites of public law libraries and catalogs of academic law libraries, maintained by the library at Washburn University School of Law; and the LibrarySites.Info database of library web sites (“Libcat”).
Information About Judicial Proceedings • Orientación
Anulación del Matrimonio Divorcio Custodia Pensión Alimentaria Derechos de Abuelos Órdenes de Protección ————— Emancipación Tutela Herencia ————— Derechos de Personas de Edad Avanzada Discriminación ————— Fianza Indigentes (In Forma Pauperis) Tribunal de Menores ————— Su Día en Corte Quejas Derecho Propio Comparecencia por Derecho Propio Testigos Derechos de Víctimas y Testigos Jurado Examen de Expedientes Judiciales
These links all point to information in Spanish.
1. Low-Cost Legal Aid … See also the web site for LawHelp.org and the web site for SelfHelpSupport.org.
   1. Servicios Legales de Puerto Rico … “Servicios Legales de Puerto Rico, Inc. (‘SLPR’) es una corporación privada sin fines de lucro que provee representación y orientación legal gratuita a los pobres del país que cualifiquen en casos de índole civil.”
   2. Puerto Rico Legal Help for the Poor … [Am. Bar Ass’n] — Contact information for legal-aid programs, from the ABA’s Directory of Pro Bono Programs. The ABA also provides a page of links to pro bono programs’ web sites.