Is it compulsory to be a witness in a trial?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

If the court summons you as a witness, yes. You have a duty to attend on the day of the trial, unless you have a justified reason and notify the court beforehand. If you fail to attend without good reason, the judge can fine you between 180 and 600 euros and summon you again with a warning that, if you fail to attend again, proceedings may be brought against you for disobedience to the authorities. At the trial you must swear or affirm that you will tell the truth and you must answer the questions, although if your profession binds you to secrecy you can ask the judge to excuse you from answering. In return, you can ask the party that called you to pay the expenses and losses that attending causes you. When you are obliged to attend The obligation arises from the court summons, the one you receive from the court, sometimes through the court agent (“procurador”) of one of the parties. If a party simply asks you to come and give evidence, without a summons, you are under no such duty, although that party can ask the court to summon you. Anyone can be a witness. The only exceptions are people permanently deprived of reason or of the sense through which the facts are perceived, such as a blind person as regards what could only be seen. Children under fourteen can give evidence if the judge considers that they understand what happened and can recount it truthfully. Being a relative, friend or employee of one of the parties does not exempt you from giving evidence in a civil case. If you have a justified reason for not attending, such as illness, inform the court as soon as possible with supporting evidence. The judge can set another date or take your evidence at your home. If you live in another town, you can ask to give evidence by video link. What you must do before the judge At the trial, a witness has these duties: To swear or affirm that they will tell the truth. In doing so they are warned of the penalties for giving false evidence, because lying as a witness in a civil case is a criminal offence. To answer the general questions about their relationship with the parties, for example whether they are a relative, friend, enemy or employee of any of them or have an interest in the matter. That does not prevent them from giving evidence, but the judge will take it into account when assessing what they say. To answer the lawyers' and the judge's questions about what they know and explain how they know it. If their profession binds them to secrecy about something, they can explain this and the judge decides whether to excuse them from answering. Expenses If you attend in response to a summons, you are entitled to be compensated by the party that called you for the expenses and losses that attending causes you, such as travel or the earnings you lose that day. Keep the receipts and claim the compensation at the court itself. The court clerk (“letrado de la Administración de Justicia”), the official who runs the court office, sets the amount when the trial ends. If the party does not pay within ten days of that decision becoming final, you can claim it directly through enforcement measures (the “vía de apremio”), which make it possible to attach the assets of whoever does not pay.