SPAIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Alfonso López-Ibor, Pablo Henriquez de Luna, Virginia Jover and Pedro Echeguren, Lopez-Ibor DPM
The trial begins by hearing the parties and con- tinues with the taking of evidence admitted, chiefly the examination of witnesses. During the taking of evidence, the parties as well as the experts of the reports will be questioned and will also be allowed to produce any images or videos approved beforehand. Lastly, the parties present their conclusions orally. The judgment is subsequently issued in writing. 7.2 Case Management Hearings Spanish law contains no provisions for case management hearings. 7.3 Jury Trials in Civil Cases Jury trials are not available in civil cases con- ducted before Spanish courts. 7.4 Rules That Govern Admission of Evidence Evidence must be relevant and related to the dispute subject to litigation and must have been obtained respecting the counterparty’s funda- mental rights. In addition, evidence must be pre- sented at the appropriate procedural moments. 7.5 Expert Testimony Expert testimony is permitted in civil trials. As a general rule and subject to exceptions, a written expert report must be produced beforehand and included with the claim or the opposition. At the trial, the author of the report can and will usually appear before the court in order to explain its contents and offer clarifications. Any of the parties may ask the court if they can appoint an independent expert. The request will be accepted if the court considers the testimony to be useful and pertinent to the matter under
decision. If this is the case, the petitioner will bear the cost of the expert testimony, unless the court dismisses the other party’s claims and orders it to pay all costs. Moreover, the court may seek expert testimony or guidance ex officio in certain proceedings, such as, filiation, maternity, paternity, legal capacity or in matrimony proceedings. 7.6 Extent to Which Hearings Are Open to the Public Civil hearings are usually open to the public, although this may be restricted to protect pub- lic order or basic rights. Hearings are filmed and recorded but not transcribed. The content of the recordings is generally not released to the public. 7.7 Level of Intervention by a Judge The level of intervention by a judge depends on the stage of the proceedings. At the preliminary hearing, the judge leads the lawyers from one stage to another (Sections 414 and 429 SCPA). At the trial, the judge may question the witness- es or experts summoned to testify in order to obtain clarification or additional information. The court may also question the experts regarding the conclusions reached in their reports. In civil proceedings, all judgments are issued in writing at a later date as Section 210.3 expressly forbids oral judgments. 7.8 General Timeframes for Proceedings While the SCPA provides some timeframes that are theoretically mandatory, they are rarely respected and, in practice, courts summon hear- ings and render judgments at their convenience.
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