Personal status and the approach to digital capacity in the electronic environment

Abstract

The personal status has traditionally relied on the criterion of nationality, as enshrined in Article 9.1 of the Spanish Civil Code. However, the increasing digitalisation of legal life requires a reinterpretation of this connecting factor in light of new realities. This paper argues that digital capacity should be regarded as an evolutionary manifestation of the personal status, essential to ensuring the effectiveness of rights in a global technological environment. It also proposes the usefulness of electronic residence as an emerging connecting factor, complementary to nationality and habitual residence, insofar as it reflects the individual’s technological integration within a verifiable digital ecosystem. The analysis covers Spanish law (Articles 9 and 12 CC), European Regulations (Rome I, Rome II and eIDAS 2014 and 2024), as well as case law from the CJEU and the Spanish Supreme Court, with the aim