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Water Tribunal of the plain of Valencia


The Water Tribunal of the plain of Valencia, also known as the Tribunal of Waters (Valencian: Tribunal de les Aigües de València) is an institution of Justice to settle disputes arising from the use of irrigation water by farmers in several Irrigation Communities (Valencian: Comunitats de Regants) and canals (Quart, Benàger i Faitanar, Tormos, Mislata, Mestalla, Favara, Rascanya, Rovella and Xirivella) in the Horta de València.

In 2009 it was chosen along with the Council of Wise Men of the plain of Murcia as intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.

The Tribunal is a customary court. It consists of one representative, called a trustee, from each of the Irrigation Communities, nine in total, and one among them is elected president for a period of two years. Every Thursday of the week the Tribunal meets in a public and an administrative session at the Casa Vestidor at the Plaça de la Mare de Déu of Valencia to discuss various issues, mainly the distribution of water. That is when the bailiff, with the permission of the president, the reported calls from each of the canals, with the traditional phrase "denunciants de la sèquia de...!" (Valencian: "claimants of the irrigation canal of...!"). The trial takes place quickly and completely in Valencian. The complainant puts the case before the Tribunal, then the accused defends himself and answers questions. It is then when the Tribunal, with the exception of the trustee of the canal in question, to ensure fairness, decides the guilt of the defendant, and if so, is the trustee of the canal who imposes the penalty to pay for the offender, according to the Bylaws of the Irrigation Communities (Valencian: Ordenances de la pròpia Comunitat de Regants).


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