Where can I see my court notifications?
It depends on how you are involved in the case. If you have a court agent (“procurador”), the court serves its decisions on the court agent electronically and your lawyer passes on to you whatever affects you, so you can ask them for a copy. If you are acting without a court agent, the court sends the notifications to your home address, unless you have chosen to receive them online. In Catalonia, anyone who is a party to proceedings can check their case file, hearing dates (“señalamientos”) and the decisions notified to them on the “Seu judicial electrònica”, the online court portal of the Generalitat de Catalunya (the Catalan government), with a digital certificate or with idCAT Mòbil, the Generalitat's mobile identification system. In the courts whose resources are managed by the Ministry of Justice, the equivalent portal is “Carpeta Justicia”.
Alburquerque Abogados
If you have a lawyer and a court agent
Where there is a court agent, notifications are generally made to the court agent and not to you. The court agent receives them electronically, through LexNET, the Ministry of Justice's system, which in Catalonia operates alongside the Generalitat's e-justícia.cat platform. Your lawyer will pass on to you whatever affects you and explain what time limit each decision sets. If you want to see one, ask them for a copy.
If you are acting without a court agent
If you are litigating without a court agent, for example in a claim for up to 2.000 euros, the court sends notifications to your home by registered post or delivers them to you there. You can ask to receive them online. In that case they will be available to you on the courts' online portal (“sede judicial electrónica”) and you will receive an alert at the email address or mobile number you give. If you do not open them within three working days, they will be deemed to have been received. Companies and other legal entities cannot choose, nor can members of a professional association in matters relating to their profession, because the law requires them to receive notifications electronically.
Where to check them online
In Catalonia, the Generalitat's Seu judicial electrònica has a private area that you enter with a digital certificate, such as the one on the electronic identity card (“DNI electrónico”), or with idCAT Mòbil. Anyone who is a party to proceedings can check the following there:
- The status of their case file.
- Hearing dates, which are the dates of trials and other appearances before the judge.
- Pleadings filed that the court has already processed.
- Decisions that have been notified to them.
It covers civil, commercial and employment matters, except insolvency proceedings of individuals. In the courts whose resources are managed by the Ministry of Justice, such as the “Tribunal Supremo” (Spain's Supreme Court), the “Audiencia Nacional” (Spain's National High Court) and those of several autonomous communities, the equivalent portal is Carpeta Justicia, which also has a mobile app. Other autonomous communities have their own. Notices by publication (“edictos”), which are published when someone cannot be found, can be consulted free of charge on the official online notice board (“Tablón Edictal Judicial Único”), on the website of the “BOE”, Spain's Official State Gazette.
This answer is provided for educational purposes and offers initial guidance on the question raised. Every matter has its own circumstances and nuances that require individual assessment. For that reason, before taking decisions with significant consequences, it is advisable to consult a professional and not to rely solely on this information. Personalised advice makes it possible to apply these explanations to the specific case and to assess the options available with greater certainty.