SPAIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Xavier Moliner and Juan Martínez, Faus Moliner
Disclosure of Evidence by the Parties A claimant who presents sufficient facts and evi - dence to support the plausibility of its claim may request that the courts order the defendant to disclose relevant evidence in their possession that the claimant considers necessary to support their claim. The defendant may also make this request in relation to evidence in the claimant’s possession, where the defendant presents suf - ficient facts and evidence of the need to access this evidence in order to defend the claim. The courts shall ensure that this disclosure of evidence between the parties is limited to what is necessary and proportionate, taking into account the legitimate interests of all persons concerned and, in particular, the protection of confidential information and trade secrets. This measure represents a significant innova - tion in the Spanish procedural system, which is based on the principle that each party must provide the evidence at its disposal, and only in very exceptional cases is one party allowed to request that the other produces documents in its possession. Presumptions of Evidence The product shall be presumed to be defective if the defendant refuses to disclose or produce the evidence requested by the court. A defect shall also be presumed when the claim - ant proves that: • the product does not meet the mandatory safety requirements laid down in the applica - ble regulations; and • the damage was caused by an obvious mal - function of the product during normal use.
sequent to the product being placed on the market, no claims for damages can be brought. However, this period is extended to 25 years for claims for damages that become apparent after these ten years have elapsed due to the latency of the injury caused. • Another important novelty is that the new Directive removes the possibility for mem - ber states to set an overall monetary limit of liability per product of the same kind with the same type of defect. Member states will also have to ensure that the liability of economic operators under the new Directive cannot be excluded or limited, vis-à-vis the injured party, by a contractual provision or by national law. 3.2 Future Policy in Product Liability and Product Safety The system of disclosure of evidence and pre - sumptions provided by the New UE Product Liability Directive will lead to a major modifica - tion to the existing procedural rules in Spain on this matter. As pointed out in 2.7 Rules for Disclosure of Documents in Product Liability Cases , Spanish civil law is based on the principle of the parties’ own production of evidence (ie, each litigant par - ty must obtain and present its own evidence to support its claims in court proceedings), and no general discovery obligation exists between the litigant parties – neither before court proceed - ings start nor as part of the pre-trial procedures. However, to facilitate the claimant’s burden of proof in a complex product liability case, the New UE Product Liability Directive establishes the following measures on disclosure and pre - sumptions.
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