The townspeople

The commoners

The figure of the community member is very significant in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula because, at the end of 2018, there were a total of 122,734 community members in Galicia, with the average number of community members higher in the montes communities of Pontevedra (especially in the south) and much lower in the provinces of Ourense and Lugo.

Requirements to be met by the community member

The community is made up of community members who, to be so, must meet the following requirements:

1. To have one's habitual residence in an open house in the parish or place that is the owner of the mountain;
2. To be the holder of economic units in the parish or place that holds the mountain;
3. Carry out some activity related to the community woodland.

However, taking into account the case law, the commoners of a given community of mountains are those residents who have an open house within the historical boundaries of the corresponding traditional parish, regardless of the current administrative delimitation and their economic activity.

Rights of community members

The regulations affecting the communities of common woodland include, among others, the following rights of the commoners:

• Defend the community's interests, including the reimbursement of expenses incurred in defending the community, provided its claims are successful or it has been approved by the general assembly.[1];
• Request certification of the contents of the register of residents, the minutes book and the community's accounts book.[2];
• Together with other community members representing at least 20.1 per cent of the community's members, request the convening of an extraordinary general meeting.[3];
• To receive written notification of the notice and agenda of the matters to be dealt with at a general meeting of the community.[4];
• To be able to delegate to another shareholder to attend a general meeting.[5].

Loss of commoner status

Different case law consistently holds that there is no justification for expelling a community member unless they cease to meet the requirements for membership (among them, and principally, having their habitual residence in the geographical area linked to the community woodland). This is endorsed by the provisions of Law 2/2006 on Galician civil law, which specifies that the status of a commoner is only lost by failing to meet the required criteria.

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[1] Article 17 of Law 13/1989 on communal village woods and Article 45 of Decree 260/1992, Regulation of the Law on communal village woods.

[2] Article 38 of Decree 260/1992, Regulations of the Law on Communal Woodland.

[3] Article 14.2 of Law 13/1989 on communal village forests and Article 40.2 of Decree 260/1992, Regulation of the Law on communal village forests.

[4] Article 14.4 of Law 13/1989 on communal woodland and Article 41.1 of Decree 260/1992, Regulation of the Law on communal woodland.

[5] Article 14.5 of Law 13/1989 on communal village forests and Article 41.2 of Decree 260/1992, Regulation of the Law on communal village forests.