Maura Law may refer to two different decrees named after Don Antonio Maura, the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Minister of Colonies at the time. The first decree, The Royal Decree of May 19, 1893, was a law that laid the basic foundations for

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

government in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It was put into effect starting in 1895. The Maura Law established ''tribunales'', ''municipales'' and ''juntas provinciales''. These foundations laid by the Maura Law were later adopted, revised, and strengthened by the American and Filipino governments that succeeded Spanish rule in the country. The second decree, The Royal Decree of February 13, 1894, was known as the ''Maura Act'' and grew out of a proposal made in the 1820s by Manuel Bernaldez, a long serving colonial official. In order to reduce controversy and litigation over land ownership, Bernaldez had called for Spain to require landowners to acquire official documentation of their land ownership. The Maura Act laid the basic foundations for

government in the

, and was put into effect starting in 1895. The preamble of the Maura Act declared that it would "insure to the natives, in the future, whenever it may be possible, the necessary land for cultivation, in accordance with traditional usages." However, it declared any titles issued after April 17, 1895, to have "no force and effect", established a one-year period for documentation of land title applications, with no extensions allowed, and with undocumented lands reverting to the state. Any claim to such lands by those who might have applied for adjustment of the same but have not done so at the above-mentioned date, will not avail themselves in any way nor at any time." Those who had pending applications for titles were given one year upon its publication in the Gaceta de Manila (e.g. Volume No. 106 on April 17, 1894) to secure their documentation. No extensions were made, and any paper titles issued after April 17, 1895, were deemed to have no force and effect.

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* {{Cite web , url=http://www.ngkhai.com/pointcebu/facts/maura.htm , title=Maura law , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312105853/http://www.ngkhai.com/pointcebu/facts/maura.htm , archivedate=2007-03-12 , accessdate=2008-01-16
Real decreto relativo al régimen municipal para los pueblos de las provincias de Luzón y de Visayas (Filipinas)

Gaceta de Madrid La Gaceta may refer to * ''La Gaceta'' (Honduras), the official journal of the Republic of Honduras. * ''La Gaceta'' (Tampa), a trilingual newspaper in Tampa, Florida, United States * ''La Gaceta'' (Tucumán), a newspaper in San Miguel de Tucum ...

. no. 142, 22/05/1893, pg. 832–835. (BOE-A-1893-3797) - Royal Decree of May 19, 1893
Real decreto dictando disposiciones relativas á la apropiación de bienes realengos en las islas Filipinas

. no. 45, 14/02/1894, pg. 606–608. (BOE-A-1894-980) - Royal Decree of February 13, 1894 Legal history of the Philippines 1893 in law

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