LA CALIFICACIÓN REGISTRAL Y SU ALCANCE.

Abstract

Ever since the first Mortgage Act was enacted in 1861, legislators have seen the scrutiny of registrable documents to confirm their legality as a vital requirement in order for the property registration system to have the effects it is supposed to have. Scrutiny is also the reason why there is a procedure for challenging registrars' findings. Because of its unique features, the kind of scrutiny a registrar subjects documents to cannot be regarded as an administrative act. The public service that registration performs as an institution and the application of rules of administrative procedure at some points of registration do not constitute enough of an argument to override the uniqueness of the system, which may be regarded as a quasi-jurisdictional activity. Anything that is going to be reported publicly is scrutinised. The new rules amending certain terms of the Mortgage Act in matters of mortgage registration are not sufficient to change the established system. The interpretation that the Directorate-General of Registries and Notarial Affairs has advocated, upholding that financial clauses and clauses on early maturity are not to be subjected to scrutiny, is mistaken.