Bustamante Code

one of the most important codified regional (for the countries of America) documents in the area of international private law, adopted Feb. 20, 1928, in Havana at the Sixth International Conference of American States, organized by the Pan American Union. It was put into force Nov. 25, 1928. The Bustamante Code was named for A. Bustamante, the Cuban lawyer who drew it up. It consists of 437 articles, which constitute the introductory section, and four books—the first about international civil law (questions of the legal status of physical and legal entities, marriage and divorce, paternity and the origin of children, alimony obligations, adoption, guardianship, missing persons, property and its acquisition, indebtedness, contracts, and so forth); the second about international trade law (questions of a trade commission, trade cargo, and other trade deals; special treaties in maritime and airborne trade and so forth); the third about international criminal law (the application of criminal law to foreigners, the time elapsed since the criminal offense and the punishment, and others); and the fourth about international trials.

The Bustamante Code was ratified by Bolivia, Brazil, Venezuela, Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, El Salvador, and Ecuador; in other American states, including the USA, it is applied by the courts “by virtue of reasonableness and advisability.’’