Ibero-America, in general, is a term that refers to 19 independent republics(in Latin America) and Brazil which were former colonies of Spain and Portugal respectively. Due to the historical background of being colonized by the two countries of the Iberian Peninsula, Spain and Portugal, law among countries in the Ibero-America region is called the Ibero-American law. Latin-American law" and "Central and South American law" are also used as general terms to describe these countries' law.
Although there had been no common laws or unification among the countries of Ibero-America, the Ibero-American legislative system should not simply be viewed as a regional term for convenience; all countries of Ibero-America were colonized by Spain or Portugal, and through colonization they shared language, religion, value, culture, lawmaking, legal culture. They were not only influenced by suzerain countries but were also strongly influenced by French and Italian laws and legal culture, which created some commonality among these countries. To be precise, the Ibero-American law has been subjected to Continental-law(especially French-law), and thus, it is comparable to North American Common law.
This article examines the development and trends of the Ibero-American legislative system with reference to the judicial system and judicial reform. This article first describes the Ibero-American law in terms of significance, special features, and history for an accurate understanding of the Ibero-American judicial system; and the deals with the development of the judicial system and judicial reform.