SPAIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Daniel Jiménez García, SLJ Abogados
Privilege Tribunals apply general principles and are guided by Article 9 of the IBA Rules, taking into account the professional secrecy obligations of the jurisdictions concerned and the need to treat the parties equally where their privilege regimes differ. Under Spanish law, communications between counsel are also con - fidential and may not be produced in any proceedings, whether arbitral or judicial. Breach of this rule may result in severe disciplinary sanctions by the relevant Bar Association. 8.2 Rules of Evidence No Mandatory Code Tribunals seated in Spain are not bound by the eviden - tial rules of Law 1/2000 (the Civil Procedure Act). Arti - cle 25 leaves the admissibility, relevance and weight of evidence to the tribunal, subject only to the guar - antees of equality and the right to be heard. The Practical Position The rules that apply are therefore those the parties agree or the tribunal adopts – in practice the IBA Rules together with the tribunal’s procedural orders. Standard of Proof and Reasoning The Arbitration Act does not prescribe rules on the burden of proof. Tribunals seated in Spain generally apply the principle that each party bears the burden of proving the facts on which its claims or defences depend, consistent with both Spanish civil procedure and international arbitration practice. Constitutional Court Judgment 49/2026 of 23 June 2026 ( Tempus Holdings 76 ) confirms that a tribunal is entitled to set and apply its own standard of proof and that a supervisory court may not impose a heightened requirement that the award spell out its treatment of every expert report. The Constitutional Court held that the duty to give reasons in an award is not equivalent to that owed by a court, and that an award may only be annulled for lack of reasoning if it is arbitrary, illogi - cal, absurd or irrational. 8.3 Powers of Compulsion Parties As against the parties, the tribunal has no coercive power but has effective indirect sanctions. It may
fied lawyer who is a member of a Spanish Bar ( abog- ado colegiado ). Court Proceedings Are Different Set-aside proceedings, exequatur and enforcement before the Spanish courts require representation by a Spanish abogado and a procurador . Professional Conduct Counsel remain bound by the ethical rules of the legal profession. Where Spanish lawyers are involved, the General Statute of Spanish Legal Practice and the applicable Bar rules apply, and the CEA Code of Good Arbitration Practice is widely treated as the common standard in Spanish-seated proceedings. 8. Evidence 8.1 Collection and Submission of Evidence International Practice, Not Domestic Procedure Evidence in international arbitration seated in Spain follows international practice rather than Spanish civil procedure. Parties submit documents with their memorials, together with written witness statements and party-appointed expert reports, and the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence are commonly adopted or used as guidance. Document Production There is no US-style discovery. Document produc - tion is limited and request-based, typically by Red - fern Schedule, and tribunals require requests to be narrow, specific and relevant and material to the out - come. Blanket or category-wide requests are routinely refused. Witnesses and Experts Written statements stand as direct evidence, and wit - nesses are cross-examined at the hearing. Party offic - ers and employees may give evidence as witnesses, which is a departure from domestic Spanish proce - dure. Tribunal-appointed experts are permitted under Article 32, and witness conferencing is used where the technical issues justify it. Where expert evidence is central and the experts disagree, a confrontation is normally agreed.
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