What is an electronic court notification?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

It is one that the court does not send by post or deliver by hand, but makes available to the recipient in an official online mailbox. Companies, members of professional associations in matters relating to their profession and others required to do so by law must receive them in this way. Private individuals can opt for them. If it is not opened within three working days, it is deemed to have been served and time limits start to run all the same. But if it is the first communication in a case, such as service of a claim, the court cannot treat it as served if nobody opens it within that period and must try to deliver it to the recipient's address. Who receives them this way The law requires the following, among others, to deal with the courts by electronic means: Companies and other legal entities. Entities without legal personality, such as a co-ownership (“comunidad de bienes”). People who practise a profession for which membership of a professional association is compulsory, such as law, medicine or architecture, in whatever they do in the course of that profession. Notaries and land registrars. Everyone else, including self-employed people who are not members of a professional association, can choose at any time whether to deal with the court online or on paper. They can also change their minds later. Lawyers and court agents (“procuradores”) receive theirs through LexNET, the Ministry of Justice's system, which in Catalonia operates alongside the e-justícia.cat platform of the Generalitat de Catalunya (the Catalan government). When a company already has a court agent in a case, notifications in that case go to the court agent. What happens if it is not opened The court leaves the notification on the courts' online portal (“sede judicial electrónica”) or at the recipient's designated electronic address (“dirección electrónica habilitada”), which are normally accessed with a digital certificate. It also sends an alert to the email address or mobile number that has been given. That alert is for information only and, if it does not arrive, the notification is still valid. If the notification is not opened within three working days of becoming available, it is deemed to have been served and any time limit it sets starts to run on the next working day. The only exception is for anyone who proves that they could not access the system during those days, for example because of a technical failure. For the first communication in a case, such as the summons to appear and defend a claim or the first summons, the rule gives more protection. If the company does not open it within three days, the court must try to deliver it to the company's address. If that also fails, it gives notice by publication (“edictos”) on the official online notice board (“Tablón Edictal Judicial Único”). What a company should do To avoid missing a time limit because a notification has gone unseen, it is advisable to do the following: Make a specific person responsible for checking the electronic mailbox every day and arrange for someone to cover for them during holidays. Keep the email address and mobile number for alerts up to date, without relying on them alone. Pass any notification on to the lawyer as soon as it arrives. They should not be confused with electronic notifications from the tax authorities or other public authorities, which have their own rules and are deemed to have been served after ten calendar days if they are not opened.