Senator Ángel Toledo López, at-large member and chair of the Senate Government and Judiciary committees, told Microjuris he plans another round of public hearings next month on his bill, P. del S. 1435, which would repeal Law 140 and the Code of Civil Procedure by creating a new "Código de Procedimientos Legales Especiales de Puerto Rico." He hopes to secure Senate approval either during this legislative session or the next.
Toledo López said the goal is to update special legal procedures still governed by a law older than Puerto Rico's Constitution, aligning them with the modern 2020 Civil Code rather than the outdated 1933 Code of Civil Procedure, which paired with the old 1930 Civil Code. He noted the current "Ley de Estados Provisionales de Derecho" tools will remain fast as they are now, but under a new statute with expanded authority — for example, allowing someone to demand a hospital provide access to, dispose of, or return biomedical material such as placentas, tissue, samples or other bodily material, where not legally prohibited.
The bill also addresses matters directly affecting citizens, including heir declarations and evictions, as well as tools like injunctions (interdictos) and quo warranto actions.