Civil and Procedural Law Through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A Transversal View

Abstract

The commitment and responsibility to know and implement the SDGs are universal. Indeed, public authorities and civil society are called to simultaneously be active and passive subjects, protagonists to intervene and recipients of the achievements reached with all the actions that serve any of the 17 proclaimed goals. One way of countering the slow progress is through the joint and coordinated effort of researching and teaching law in universities. With this commitment, this paper aims to analyse how international and EU legislation incorporates sustainability goals related to civil and procedural law. It is based on the consideration that the contents of civil law and procedural law comprise various institutions and regulations that materialise different SDGs. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strongs Institutions have a particular impact on these areas and, more specifically, the aspects that relate to several of its targets. However, the legal implications, specifically in civil and procedural law, extend to many other objectives. This is the case of SDG 1, which aims to end poverty, SDG 5, which aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls or SDG 10, whose motto is to Reduce inequality within and among countries, which also impacts civil and procedural aspects. Among the civil and procedural institutions that develop these objectives, we can highlight the regulations that prevent inequalities arising from poverty in access to justice, the recognition of the legal capacity of persons with disabilities or the prohibition of child, early or forced marriages.