THE AGREEMENT OF ALCAÑIZ AS AN EXAMPLE OF A LEGAL FORM FOR CONCILIATION PROCEDURE

Abstract

Abstract. The Agreement of Alcañiz represents a prominent example of creating a means for
solution of a succession dispute in the early 15th century. The means created was somehow unusual,
due to the character of the monarchy with the succession in dispute. The Crown of Aragon,
one of the states ancestors to the present Spain, was itself a union of a number of political entities,
the most important of them being Aragon itself, Cataluña and Valencia. The parliaments of
Aragon and Cataluña (mentioning also the participation of Valencia) concluded the Agreement
of Alcañiz to establish the legal form for resolving the dispute, aimed at preserving the union
from dissolution. Nine electors were nominated by the three parliaments to choose an heir to the
Crown of Aragon among a number of candidates. The article is devoted to the analysis of the
main undertakings of the parties according to the Agreement, enlightening the organization of
the body established for the dispute settlement. With the use of our modern legal language the
body may be characterized as a conciliation commission, and the whole act as a solution of an
international dispute by a domestic means, that was created on the basis of an agreement between
the members of a confederation.
Key words: the Agreement of Alcañiz, the peaceful dispute settlement, the conciliation procedure,
the Medieval Europe, confederation.