What is the time limit for appealing against a first-instance civil judgment?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Twenty working days, counted from the day after the judgment is notified. Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays, the month of August and the days from 24 December to 6 January do not count. The appeal is filed in writing by the lawyer and the court agent (“procurador”), by three o'clock in the afternoon at the latest on the working day following the last day of the time limit. In proceedings started on or after 20 March 2024, it is filed directly with the “Audiencia Provincial”, the provincial appeal court, which is the court that decides it. How the twenty days are counted The twenty days are laid down by the “Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil”, Spain's Civil Procedure Act, for appealing against any judgment that ends the first instance, in both ordinary proceedings (“juicio ordinario”) and the “juicio verbal”, the simplified procedure. They start to run on the day after notification, which is normally made to the court agent electronically. If any of the parties asks for the judgment to be clarified, the time limit starts on the day after notification of the clarification or of its refusal. Only working days count. Saturdays, Sundays, national, regional and local public holidays and every day in August are not working days. So if the judgment is notified at the end of July, almost all of the time limit runs in September. The law also makes the days from 24 December to 6 January, both inclusive, non-working days. In addition, the law allows a margin until three o'clock in the afternoon on the working day following the last day of the time limit. After that, it is no longer possible to appeal. If no one has appealed, the judgment becomes final. In the simplified procedure, the judge may deliver judgment orally at the end of the hearing. In that case, anyone wishing to appeal must give notice of this in writing within five working days of the hearing. The twenty days start to run when they are notified of the judgment in its written form. How it is filed The appeal is a written document signed by the lawyer and by the court agent, who is the person who represents the party before the court. This is what it contains and what is required with it: The reasons why the judgment is wrong, specifying the rulings being appealed against, that is, the specific points in the operative part of the judgment that the party disagrees with. Proof of payment of the deposit of 50 euros that the “Ley Orgánica del Poder Judicial”, Spain's Judiciary Act, requires for appealing. Anyone who has been granted legal aid (“justicia gratuita”) does not pay it. In some cases, proof of having paid, or paid into court, what is owed. For example, a tenant ordered to be evicted must prove that they have paid the rent that has fallen due. New evidence, only in exceptional cases, such as a document that could not be produced earlier. If the proceedings began on or after 20 March 2024, the appeal is filed directly with the provincial appeal court, together with a copy of the judgment. It is the provincial appeal court that then asks the court of first instance for the case file. If the proceedings began earlier, the previous rule generally applies and the appeal is filed with the court that gave the judgment, now the civil section of the first-instance court (“tribunal de instancia”), which sends it on to the provincial appeal court. In both cases, the other party has ten days to oppose the appeal or, in turn, to challenge whatever the judgment denied them.