Royal Decree Law 16/2020, of April 28, of procedural and organizational measures to deal with COVID-19 in the area of the Administration of Justice contains, although without specifying deadlines, the measures that it considers essential for an adequate and progressive return to judicial activity in the Courts and Tribunals after the generalized suspension (with the exceptions, relative to urgent procedural actions, which were foreseen in the Royal Decree Law 463/2020 of March 14).
The priority of the rule is the health of all legal operators who carry out their activity in the area of the Administration of Justice, while trying to cope with the foreseeable increase in judicial matters and the bottleneck that this will entail.
Obviously, these are the first measures that will require many others and further development as the fearsome reality that the reactivation of procedural activity faces us approaches.
Some of the main subjects addressed by this royal decree are:
1. In the first place, an attempt is made to clarify the calculation of terms after its suspension. The procedural deadlines suspended with the declaration of the state of alarm they will start their computation from scratch. If they are deadlines for filing appeals, they are extended for a period equal to that provided by law, starting from the next business day in which the state of alarm ceases.
2. A special and summary procedure in family matters.
3. It especially regulates the challenge of ERTEs referred to in article 23 of Royal Decree-Law 8/2020, of March 17.
4. It will be given preference to four types of procedures:
- In the civil jurisdictional order, the processes derived from the lack of recognition by the creditor entity of the legal moratorium on mortgages of habitual residence and real estate affected by economic activity, as well as the processes derived from claims of tenants for lack of application of the legally established moratorium or the mandatory extension of the contract, as well as the bankruptcy procedures of debtors who are natural persons and who do not have the status of entrepreneurs.
- In family matters, those that have to do with the protection of minors.
- Appeals against administrations for the denial of aid to alleviate the economic effects of COVID-19.
- Labor matters related to layoffs or termination of employment contracts and those derived from the recovery of hours of work not provided during the paid leave established during the crisis.
5. As for the safety measures at workThis is a series of limitations that must be contemplated in the Courts and Tribunals while the situation of state of alarm lasts and in the three months after it is lifted and the exceptional measures that it entails. They are as follows:
- The possibility of establishing two morning and afternoon work shifts is regulated, in order to guarantee the safety distance and avoid concentrations of personnel.
- Customer service will be by phone or email and only if necessary, in person, but always by appointment.
- The procedural acts and the deliberations will be preferably with telematic presence, (except in the penal field).
- The judicial body is allowed to order public access to the courtrooms according to their characteristics and size.
- Attorneys are exempt from wearing robes.
- Forensic examinations, whenever possible, shall be made in full view of medical documentation.
6. As regards the boosting the recovery of judicial activity, the measures envisaged:
- Enabling the days between August 11 and 31.
- Possibility of converting judicial bodies in whole or in part into bodies temporarily associated with matters derived from the Covid-19 crisis.
- Allow the Territorial Assignment Judges (reinforcement judges) to be assigned preferably to matters arising from this exceptional situation.
- Enable the lawyers of the Justice administration in practice, those who have approved the opposition, but have not yet joined the courts as holders, to carry out replacement and reinforcement tasks.
- Possibility that the officials of each court, tribunal or prosecutor's office carry out their functions in another unit of the same locality and the same jurisdictional order.
7. Measures in relation to digital transformation. Two concrete reforms:
- Enable and improve the use of digital signature and identification systems in the Administration of Justice.
- Establish a general obligation both for the Ministry of Justice and for the Autonomous Communities with competences in the matter, to guarantee that the procedural management systems of the Courts and Tribunals of all the Autonomous Communities allow teleworking.
8. Measures to face the predictable increase in insolvency proceedings in the Commercial Courts which, due to their specialty and importance, are the subject of an individualized Information Note.
Obviously these rules and how many others are dictated in procedural matters, will have a very important impact both on the procedures that are being processed, as well as those that are presented, and on the procedural strategies that are to be adopted in the coming months.
We remain at your disposal to assess how these measures could affect your specific case.
