Court Cases in Spain – Civil proceedings

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There are 2 main types of Court cases in Spain; civil proceedings under Spanish Law. These are “Juicio Verbal” (which is a minor proceeding) and “Juicio Ordinario” (which is a major proceeding).

Both proceedings are similar, but the steps and terms of these Court cases in Spain are slightly different.

Juicio Verbal (Minor Proceedings)

Juicio Verbal applies to claims with a value lower than 6.000 euros and other minor proceedings, like eviction proceedings, divorces.

These proceedings are divided in 3 phases:

• Submission of legal action (when the barrister prepares all the evidence and history of the case in one document and submits this to the Court)
• Submission of defence (when the opposing barrister prepares their defence to the accusations and submits this to the Court)
• Trial (this is not a lengthy trial as most of the information is in the written paperwork but allows the Judge to see the parties etc.) Depending on how busy the Courts are, this proceeding could take between 6 months to 1 year. The costs will be lower than for a major proceeding, as it is less complex for both the Courts and the Barrister.

Juicio Ordinario (Major Proceedings)

Juicio Ordinario is applicable to claims with a value higher than 6.000 euros and other major proceedings, like actions against banks, professional entities, Community AGM agreements, trademark issues.

This proceeding is divided in 4 phases-

• Submission of legal action (when the barrister prepares all the evidence and history of the case in one document and submits this to the Court)
• Submission of defence (when the opposing barrister prepares their defence to the accusations and submits this to the Court)
• Pre-trial (when the main trial date is set, witnesses chosen, legal issues discussed)
• Trial (again not a lengthy trial generally, but there is generally the opportunity for witnesses and others to be questioned).

Depending how busy the Courts are, this proceeding could take between 1 year to 2 to 2 years.

The attendance of the clients is only required at the trial. The other phases are completed by the barrister.

It is possible that the Resolution of the Juicio Ordinario (Major Proceeding) could be appealed to the High Courts in Spain. Your barrister/solicitor will guide you through all the steps and advise of possible outcomes and timescales as much as is possible. Please contact us if we can help you with any Court case as soon as possible, whether minor or a larger case.