Is mediation compulsory in Spain?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

No. Mediation is voluntary and nobody is obliged to continue with it or to sign an agreement. Since 3 April 2025, the law has generally required an attempt to reach an agreement before suing, but it is enough to negotiate directly with the other side or through lawyers, without a mediator. You only have to go through a mediator before going to court if this was agreed in writing, for example in a clause of the contract. In Catalonia, once proceedings are under way, the judge can order the parties to attend an information session on mediation, which is then compulsory and free of charge. What the law requires before suing What the law has generally required since 2025 is an attempt to reach an agreement before suing. Mediation, in which a neutral third party helps the parties to find a solution themselves, is just one way of doing this. Negotiating directly with the other party or through each party's lawyers, with their clients' consent, also counts. There are other routes as well, such as conciliation. If mediation is chosen, attending a first session before the mediator at which the subject of the dispute is recorded is enough to meet that requirement. If you are the one who receives the invitation to mediation, you are not obliged to accept it. But you should bear two things in mind: If you do not attend the first session and do not justify your absence, you are deemed to have rejected mediation and the person who proposed it can then sue you. If the case later goes to court, having refused without good reason can count against you when the judge decides who pays the costs, which are the expenses of the proceedings. When you have to go through a mediator You must attempt mediation if you undertook in writing to do so, for example in a clause of the contract. In that case you must attempt it in good faith before going to court, even if what is in dispute is whether the contract itself is valid. Even so, you can leave it whenever you wish and you are not obliged to sign any agreement. Once proceedings are under way, the judge or the court clerk (“letrado de la Administración de Justicia”), who runs the court office, can suggest that the parties take the dispute to mediation if they see a chance of agreement. Both parties must agree to this. If they do, they can jointly ask for the proceedings to be stayed in the meantime. The information session in Catalonia The Catalan mediation law applies to family disputes and to other civil disputes, such as those within an owners' association (“comunidad de propietarios”) or an association, or between neighbours. Nor does it require mediation before suing, unless this has been agreed. What it does allow is for the judge, once proceedings are under way, to order the parties to attend an information session on mediation, which the law calls a preliminary session (“sesión previa”), if the circumstances make this advisable. The “Código Civil de Cataluña”, the Catalan Civil Code, expressly provides for this in proceedings for annulment of marriage, separation or divorce and in disagreements between parents about their children. The session works as follows: It is compulsory. If a party does not attend and does not justify their absence, the judge is informed. It is free of charge for the parties. It must be held as soon as possible and within one month at the most, unless the judge orders otherwise. If that time limit is exceeded for reasons beyond the parties' control, it is no longer compulsory. Its purpose is to explain what mediation is and what its advantages are. Afterwards, each party decides freely whether to take part in mediation. It is not held, or is interrupted, if there is violence between partners or within the family. If they decide to go to mediation through the “Centre de Mediació de Catalunya”, the Catalan public mediation centre, they pay the fees set by the Generalitat de Catalunya (the Catalan government), except for anyone entitled to legal aid (“asistencia jurídica gratuita”).