How long does a judge take to give judgment in a civil case?
The law gives the judge twenty days from the end of the trial in ordinary proceedings (“juicio ordinario”) and ten days from the hearing in the “juicio verbal” (the simplified procedure), which is cut to five in eviction cases. If the parties have lawyers, in the simplified procedure the judge can even give judgment orally at the end of the hearing and write it up afterwards. In practice these time limits are not always met and the judgment may take weeks or months longer, depending on the court's workload. If you have a court agent (“procurador”), you do not receive it directly but through the court agent, who passes it on to your lawyer as soon as the court gives notice of it.
Alburquerque Abogados
The statutory time limits
The time limits for giving judgment depend on the type of proceedings:
- In ordinary proceedings, twenty days from the end of the trial. If the judge orders final evidentiary measures (“diligencias finales”), which are items of evidence exceptionally taken after the trial, the time limit is suspended in the meantime.
- In ordinary proceedings that never reach trial, because only legal issues are in dispute or the documents are sufficient, twenty days from the end of the preliminary hearing (“audiencia previa”).
- In the simplified procedure, ten days from the end of the hearing. In eviction proceedings for a flat or commercial premises, five.
They are working days, so Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays, the month of August and the days from 24 December to 6 January do not count. When the judgment in the simplified procedure is given orally, it is recorded and written up afterwards. If a party wants to appeal against it, it must give notice of this in writing within five days of the hearing. The time limit for appealing starts when the written judgment is notified to that party.
Why it sometimes takes longer
The time limits are binding on the judge but, if they are exceeded, the judgment is still valid. What matters most is each court's workload and the complexity of the case, for example when there are conflicting expert reports or a great deal of evidence to assess. If the delay is very long, your lawyer can ask in writing for judgment to be given and a complaint can also be made to the “Consejo General del Poder Judicial”, Spain's General Council of the Judiciary.
How you find out
If you have a court agent, the court notifies the judgment to the court agent electronically. In Catalonia, these communications between the courts and court agents go through the e-justícia.cat platform of the Generalitat de Catalunya (the Catalan government). The court agent passes it on straight away to your lawyer, who sends it to you and explains whether it is worth appealing and within what time limit. The time limit for appealing starts to run from notification to the court agent, even if you have not yet read the judgment, so it is advisable to be contactable.
If you do not have a court agent, because the case is worth up to 2.000 euros, the court notifies the judgment to you directly, normally by registered post with acknowledgement of receipt. Companies, which are required to deal with the courts electronically, receive it that way. In eviction cases, anyone without a court agent is told at the hearing to come and collect the judgment from the court on a specific day.
This answer is provided for educational purposes and offers initial guidance on the question raised. Every matter has its own circumstances and nuances that require individual assessment. For that reason, before taking decisions with significant consequences, it is advisable to consult a professional and not to rely solely on this information. Personalised advice makes it possible to apply these explanations to the specific case and to assess the options available with greater certainty.