[1] The tablet was found in the 20th century near Malaca (modern Málaga) with the lex Salpensana,[2][3] and it was dated from AD 81–84, i.e. the early reign of Domitian.

[12] The Romanization of Málaga, as in most of the southern Hispania Ulterior, was peaceful and conducted through agreements, foedus aequum, of mutual friendship and equality.

[14] The tablets were discovered in 1851 in the area of Monte de El Ejido, in the city of Málaga by local workers.

Before they could be melted down, news of the tablets' existence reached the Malaga-based couple Amalia Heredia Livermore and Jorge Loring Oyarzábal.

Subsequently, Manuel Rodríguez de Berlanga y Rosado, Jorge Loring's brother-in-law, studied, translated, and disseminated the Lex Flavia Malacitana among specialists.

However, the Loring family decided to sell their collection of legal bronzes to the state to ensure that this valuable find would not be dispersed after their death.

The Lex Flavia Malacitana consists of municipal tablets typically placed in a prominent location within the forum, which was the political and religious center of cities.

[17] The Lex Flavia Malacitana, in its current state, preserves only nineteen chapters related to the system and processes of accessing magistracies.

Contained within it are the procedures for the election and voting of magistrates by popular assemblies; the appointment of municipal patrons; and regulations for the management of public funds.

For instance, the stipulation that owners of buildings destroyed, whether with sufficient reason or not, should rebuild them within a year or face a fine.

The character of federated cities, which could use their own legal system, is evident in the fact that citizens of Malaca could present their candidates for local aediles without taking into account imperial designations.