Spain: Recent Developments in Spanish Procedural Law

 

The Official State Gazette of January 3 published Organic Law 1/2025, of January 2, on measures regarding the efficiency of the Public Justice Service.

It is an ambitious law that seeks to respond to the collapsed courts and, above all, to modernize a 19th century organizational model that has become obsolete.

The law is ambitious, as it aims to bring the digital transformation of our society to the administration of justice. However, its effectiveness is questioned due to the lack of adequate budget allocation. There are still up to 11 separate IT systems in operation, which hinder the integration of different courts, while paper continues to dominate within the courts.

An example: For years it has been mandatory to submit claims and attached documents electronically. However, once a new claim has been filed, the court requires you to also submit a printed copy on paper within three days. Unbelievable!

Most of the law will come into force on April 3rd, and it has two main blocks.

The first one aims at the organizational reform of the courts based on the principles of specialization by subject matter (civil, commercial, family, criminal, labour etc.), homogeneity in the workload, and better organization. There are two major measures in improving the organization: the conversion of single-member courts into multi-member courts and the strengthening of Justice offices in all municipalities.

The second block seeks procedural efficiency by introducing a series of reforms aimed at speeding up procedures and shortening deadlines, ultimately ensuring a more efficient and timely resolution of cases.

The key measure that is presented as a solution to reduce litigation is the new requirement for a civil or commercial lawsuit to be admitted for processing: the need to resort to a certain type of “adequate means” to settle the dispute; even in the case of a cross-border dispute.

These means include mediation, conciliation, negotiation, collaborative law, confidential binding offers and the opinion of an independent expert.

Most of these methods already existed, and today, only few lawsuits are filed without at least minimum prior negotiation. In addition, it must now be proven that one of these methods has been used and that the opposing party has rejected it; otherwise, the claim will not be admitted.

As a novelty, the “confidential binding offer” stands out; an offer that, if the opposing party accepts, is binding.

In the event of non-fulfilment, make how can one pursue a claim before the courts if the information is considered “confidential”? How can one prove its content to the court?

It will not be necessary to resort to these “appropriate means” in some procedures such as enforcement claims, bankruptcy proceedings, bills of exchange or parentage cases.

While the legislation of some EU Member States offers tax incentives or other benefits to parties who opt for mediation and imposes penalties for unjustified refusal, the Spanish legislator has decided to consider such refusals when determining the allocation of costs or when setting their amount. It may also impose fines or penalties.

We all are optimistic that the reform will be a success, but we also have serious doubts about its effectiveness without and adequate budget.

 

For further information, please contact:

Gloria Vinyals, Lawyer

Bufete Maná-Krier-Elvira, Barcelona

e: gv@bmk.es

t: +34 93 4878030

 

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