15 April 2024
Bilbao Campus
Professor Ricardo de Ángel Yagüez, Emeritus Professor of Civil Law at the University of Deusto, who devoted his entire life to Law, has passed away today, Monday 15 April. An illustrious jurist, brilliant professor of Civil Law since 1967, professor at Deusto since 1972 and Dean of the Faculty of Law at this University (1975-1984), he has been recognised by numerous scientific institutions, as well as being honorary professor at a large number of universities in Spain and America.
A practising lawyer and an active intellectual until the end of his days, he left a deep imprint on numerous academic disciples in many Spanish and foreign universities, as well as on jurists of all professions, due to his extraordinary scientific legacy. He was considered above all a 'Master'. The funeral mass will be held on Wednesday, 17 April, at 19:00 hours in the Gothic Chapel at the University of Deusto.
Brief biographical summary
Born in Sestao (Biscay) on 9 July 1942, married and father of three daughters. He obtained the Honours Certificate in the Higher Baccalaureate Revalidation and the Extraordinary Baccalaureate Prize of the University District of Valladolid (1960). Subsequently, he pursued a Bachelor's degree in Law with a specialisation in Legal-Economic studies at the University of Deusto (1960-65), graduating top of his class in both programmes. He earned a PhD in Law from the University of Granada (1967) with the highest distinction, Summa Cum Laude. He started at the University as an assistant lecturer in Civil Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Granada (1965-67); subsequently, he joined the Faculty of Law at the University of Deusto (1967) and attained the Chair in Civil Law at the Faculty of Law at the University of Deusto in 1972. He was a member of the Bar Associations of Biscay (since 1969) and Madrid, specialising in civil and commercial matters. He served as an arbitrator in numerous private law cases.
He stood out for his intellectual brilliance from a young age, receiving scholarships such as the 'National Social Welfare Assembly Scholarship' (1964), the 'Oriol-Urquijo Foundation Scholarship' for the doctoral thesis (1965-1967), and the 'Juan March Foundation Research Scholarship' (1968). He held numerous academic positions: He served as Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Deusto (1970-1975) and as Dean (1975-1984). He also held notable scientific positions, such as Permanent Member of the General Codification Commission by Order of the Minister of Justice on 7 March 2005, and other significant roles, including President of the Oriol-Urquijo Foundation Council (1986-1992). He held countless institutional representations, including positions on the Committee of Experts of the Council of Europe; the 'Creditor Rights' Commission (Strasbourg); Member of the Spanish Insurance Arbitration Court (1997); Member of the Institute of Consumer Law; Member of the Argentine Notarial University (1997); Member of the Jury appointed by the University of Buenos Aires for the renewal of the Chair of Civil and Commercial Obligations; and Member of the Higher Council of the University of Buenos Aires.
His academic career was distinguished with the Cross of Honour of the Order of San Raimundo de Peñafort, awarded by Order of the Ministry of Justice (1982). He was appointed Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Buenos Aires (2008) and named 'Honorary Guest of the City of Buenos Aires'. He received the Essay Award organised by the Professional Association of Magistrates in 1987. For his extensive knowledge in the field of civil liability, he was recognised as an honorary member of the Spanish Association of Lawyers specialised in civil liability and insurance (2005); a member of the Scientific Commission of the Spanish Association of Health Law (2007); a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Radiofrequencies and Health (2008); a member of the Spanish Insurance Arbitration Court (1997); an honorary member of the Spanish Association of Lawyers specialised in civil liability and insurance (2005); an honorary member of the Spanish Society for the Assessment of Bodily Injury (1998); and a founding member of the Spanish Committee of the International Association of Legal Sciences, UNESCO, in March 1994.
He served as an academic and scientific jury member on numerous calls and public evaluation panels (ANEP). He was a member of the scientific committee of numerous works and editorial boards such as "Derecho de daños. Práctica" (Civil Liability and Insurance Journal); "Iniuria" (Civil Liability and Insurance Journal); the Legal Journal of the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina; "Poder Judicial" “Revista de Derecho y Genoma Humano”; and foreign journals such as the "Revista de la Universidad Vale do Rio Verde" in Minas Gerais, Brazil; "Revista Direito Izabela Hendrix" of the Izabela Hendrix Methodist University Centre in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Distinguished as a visiting professor and guest of honour at the Pontifical Javeriana University of Bogotá; Honorary Professor at the National University of San Marcos in Lima (2005); distinguished guest at the Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia; and visiting professor at the National University of Lomas de Zamora (Argentina) in 2007. His academic activity spanned Spanish Universities: Cantabria, Valencia, Navarra, Alcalá de Henares, Autonomous University of Madrid, Granada, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Seville, Burgos, Valladolid, Jaime I of Castellón, Cádiz, Carlos III of Madrid, San Pablo-CEU, Basque Country, Public University of Navarra, Extremadura, Comillas, Barcelona, Oviedo, Salamanca, Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Zaragoza, Santiago de Compostela, Murcia, Alicante, International Menéndez Pelayo, Complutense, La Rioja, La Laguna, International University of Andalusia, León, Lleida, Balearic Islands, Castilla-La Mancha, Las Palmas, and Pompeu Fabra; nd international universities: Catholic University of Salta (Argentina), Coimbra (Portugal), Durban-Westville (Republic of South Africa), Lima (Peru), National University of Litoral (Santa Fe, Argentina), Catholic University of Argentina (Buenos Aires), National University of Buenos Aires, University of the Andes (Santiago de Chile), EAFIT (Medellín, Colombia), Latin American Autonomous University (Medellín, Colombia), Catholic University of Santiago del Estero (Argentina), Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (Lima), among others.
In terms of his scientific output, he authored over fifteen individual works, sixty chapters in collective works, and one hundred twenty-five articles in the most prestigious legal journals. He had extensive collaboration spanning decades in excerpts and jurisprudential notes in the “Anuario de Derecho civil” and the “Revista Crítica de Derecho Inmobiliario” as well as numerous opinions for public and private entities, forewords to doctrinal works, bibliographic notes, and translations. He supervised fifteen doctoral theses and participated in over seventy doctoral thesis defence panels, and taught more than forty doctoral courses. His presence in the most important national and international legal forums was constant and of outstanding relevance, as evidenced by his participation in nearly three hundred national and international congresses, symposiums, workshops, round tables, and courses on various legal matters. He delivered over eighty lectures since 1983, particularly on topics related to civil liability in its broadest sense.
From his foundational doctoral work 'Los créditos derivados del contrato de obra (su protección legal en la legislación civil)' in Madrid (1969), to manuals that served as introductions to law for thousands of university students (and beyond), such as "Introducción al estudio del Derecho", Deusto (1974, 1979, 1983, 1986, 1988); revised in "Una teoría del Derecho (Introducción al estudio del Derecho)", 6th ed., Civitas (1993); "Manual de clases prácticas de Derecho civil (contratos en particular)", Deusto (1980, 1986); “Manual de clases prácticas de Derecho civil (derechos reales)”, Deusto (1983), “Materiales para una aproximación al mundo del Derecho (I. Las fuentes del Derecho)”Deusto (1987); to monographs that have significantly impacted the study of civil law, such as “Apariencia jurídica, posesión y publicidad inmobiliaria registral”, Deusto (1975); “Lecciones sobre responsabilidad civil”, Deusto (1978).
Indeed, civil liability was his great specialty, though not his only one. Works such as “La responsabilidad civil”, Deusto (1988, 1989); “Tratado de responsabilidad civil”, Civitas-Deusto (1993), “Algunas previsiones sobre el futuro de la responsabilidad civil (con especial atención a la reparación del daño)”, Civitas (1995); “Responsabilidad civil por actos médicos. Problemas de prueba”, Civitas (1999); “A responsabilidade civil por emissões electromagnéticas: o “estado da ciência” como solução jurídica”, Brasilia (2008); “Daños punitivos”, Civitas-Thomson Reuters (2012), are essential doctrinal references. Equally notable is his well-known work “La doctrina del "levantamiento del velo" de la persona jurídica en la reciente jurisprudencia”, published by Civitas, which has seen seven editions. He has always been at the intellectual forefront of new international standards, as evidenced by his work on “Derecho de obligaciones en Europa” (Bosch, 2013).
And his erudition continued to extend beyond the realm of law, giving birth to works as unusual as they were brilliant, such as“¿Es bello el Derecho? Respuesta ilustrada con una antología", Civitas (2016) and "Conceptos y conflictos jurídicos en la prosa de Quevedo", Civitas (2018).
Finally, it is also worth noting the publication of his Memoirs in an original epistolary format, which were published by the Basque Academy of Law, of which he was an honorary member. “Haciendo memoria: (algunas cartas a antiguos alumnos de la Universidad de Deusto)” published in 2018 and "Otras cosas de ayer y de hoy: (más cartas a antiguos alumnos de la Universidad de Deusto)” in 2020. Death caught him writing the third volume of his memoirs.
