SPAIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Daniel Jiménez García, SLJ Abogados
13.4 Consolidation No Statutory Power
Arbitrators Arbitrators are bound by the statutory duties in Arti - cles 17 and 21 of the Arbitration Act. Beyond the stat - ute, the CEA Code of Good Arbitration Practice is the reference text in the Spanish market and addresses independence, disclosure, the conduct of proceed - ings, fees and confidentiality. The IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration, as revised in 2024, and the IBA Guidelines on Party Rep - resentation are applied as a matter of routine. 13.3 Third-Party Funding Permitted and Growing Third-party funding is lawful in Spain and is now an established feature of the market, with both interna- tional funders and Madrid-based funds active in arbi - tration and complex litigation. There is no doctrine of champerty or maintenance and no statutory prohibi - tion. Adverse costs insurance is commonly arranged alongside the funding package, and specialist advice on funding structures has become a distinct work - stream for Spanish disputes practices. No Dedicated Statute Spain has no bespoke funding legislation. Funding agreements are governed by general contract law, and the EU-level debate on regulating litigation funding has not yet produced binding Spanish rules. Disclosure Through Institutional Rules Regulation is coming instead from the institutions, and the past year has seen the trend consolidate. The CEA Arbitration Rules and the CIIAM Rules require a funded party to disclose the existence of the fund - ing arrangement and the identity of the funder to the tribunal and the other parties, and the CEA Code of Good Arbitration Practice says the same. Practical Guidance Disclose early should be the goal. Disclosure at the outset avoids a challenge to the tribunal later in the proceedings, and a funder that has assumed adverse costs liability is in a materially better position if secu - rity for costs is sought.
The Arbitration Act does not provide for consolidation, and the Spanish courts have no power to consolidate arbitrations. Consolidation therefore depends on party agreement or on the applicable institutional rules. Institutional Rules CIIAM, CAM, CEA, CIMA and Barcelona Arbitration Tribunal ( Tribunal Arbitral de Barcelona – TAB) rules all allow consolidation, typically where the parties agree, where: • all the claims are made under the same arbitration agreement; or • the claims arise under compatible arbitration agreements between the same parties in connec - tion with the same legal relationship or a series of related contracts. The institution decides, taking account of the stage reached in each case, whether arbitrators have been confirmed and whether consolidation would prejudice any party. Where It Matters Consolidation is most useful in construction and infrastructure chains, and in M&A disputes spanning a share purchase agreement and its ancillary docu - ments. The practical lesson is at the drafting stage: consistent arbitration clauses across a suite of related contracts, referring to the same institution, rules, seat and language, are what make consolidation and join - The circumstances in which a non-signatory may be joined to the arbitration mirror those set out in 5.6 Jurisdiction Over Third Parties : assignment, sub - rogation and succession, agency, third-party benefi - ciary situations, active participation in the contract by a group company and, exceptionally, the piercing of the corporate veil. Spanish tribunals require clear evi - dence of consent or of a legal basis for the extension. der available when they are needed. 13.5 Binding of Third Parties Binding a Non-Signatory
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