In what cases can a cassation appeal be brought?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

It is generally available against the judgments in which the “Audiencia Provincial”, the provincial appeal court, decides an appeal. It is used to dispute how the law has been applied, not to review the facts or the evidence, except where there is an obvious error. In addition, the appeal must have cassation interest (“interés casacional”), that is, the judgment must contradict the case law of the “Tribunal Supremo”, Spain's Supreme Court, the provincial appeal courts must be deciding the issue differently or there must be no Supreme Court case law on the rule applied. Since the 2023 reform, a case no longer reaches the Supreme Court simply because a lot of money is at stake. If the judgment comes from a Catalan provincial appeal court and the appeal is based on Catalan civil law, it is decided not by the Supreme Court but by the “Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Cataluña”, the High Court of Justice of Catalonia. Which judgments it can be brought against Cassation is an extraordinary appeal, not a third instance in which the case is tried again. It can be brought before the Supreme Court against the judgments in which the provincial appeal court decides an appeal when they are given by several judges. That is why, as a rule, cases conducted as a “juicio verbal”, the simplified procedure, because of the amount claimed, which today means those of up to 15.000 euros, do not reach the Supreme Court, since their appeal is decided by a single judge of the provincial appeal court. The appeal is filed with the provincial appeal court itself within twenty working days of notification of its judgment. It must be based on the infringement of a rule, whether one that governs the proceedings or one that decides the merits of the case. The facts that the provincial appeal court found proved and the assessment of the evidence cannot be disputed, except for an obvious error that can be verified simply by looking at the case file. The written appeal must also meet very strict formal requirements, including a length limit. If it does not meet them, the Supreme Court refuses to admit the appeal without considering the merits. There is no appeal against that decision. What cassation interest is With one exception, the appeal is only admitted if it has cassation interest. The law recognises it in these cases: When the judgment goes against the case law of the Supreme Court. When provincial appeal courts decide the same issue in conflicting ways. When the judgment applies rules on which the Supreme Court has not yet established case law. The Supreme Court may also find manifest cassation interest (“interés casacional notorio”), where the issue is of general interest in ensuring that the law is interpreted uniformly. The exception is judgments given in cases concerning fundamental rights, such as honour or privacy, which can be appealed in cassation even if they have no cassation interest. If Catalan civil law is in dispute If the judgment was given by a provincial appeal court in Catalonia and the appeal is based on the infringement of rules of Catalan civil law, even if it also relies on others, it is decided by the Civil and Criminal Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia. This is what happens in many cases concerning inheritance, sales, condominium (“propiedad horizontal”) or relations between neighbours, which are governed by the “Código Civil de Cataluña”, the Catalan Civil Code. A Catalan law of 2012 governs this appeal and sets out these cases of cassation interest: Where the judgment contradicts the case law of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia. Where there is no case law of that court on the rule applied, however old the rule may be. Here too, there is no minimum amount.