Gypsy marriage practices and the right to the widow's contributory pension. A reinterpretation of the subject, in the light of legal history and its interdisciplinary nature

Abstract

The jurisprudential shift that took place in Spain in 2018, with regard to the right to a widow's contributory pension, forces us to reflect on the issue, also from outside the scope of Social Security Law. In this work, the legal efficacy of gypsy marriage practices is analysed not only from a historical point of view, but also from penal, civil, fiscal and, of course, social security perspectives. It concludes by focusing on the need to protect the legal efficacy of this age-old practice, which is a "praeter legem" (not regulated by law) custom, according to paragraph 3 of Article 1 of the Civil Code.