Can judgments of Spain’s High Courts of Justice or National Court be challenged?

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Can judgments of Spain’s High Courts of Justice or National Court be challenged?

Some judgments of the contentious-administrative chambers of the High Courts of Justice (Tribunales Superiores de Justicia, TSJ) and the National Court (Audiencia Nacional) may be challenged by a cassation appeal (recurso de casación). This is a special review route, not a general second appeal: it is subject to statutory exclusions and, in the Supreme Court, to the requirement of objective cassational interest for developing case law.

Which judgments may be challenged?

As a general rule, judgments issued at first and final instance or on appeal by the contentious-administrative chambers of the TSJ or the National Court may be subject to cassation before the Supreme Court. Judgments concerning the right of assembly and electoral proceedings are excluded.

For a TSJ judgment to be challenged before the Supreme Court, the cassation grounds must concern a relevant and decisive infringement of State or European Union law that was raised at the appropriate time in the proceedings or considered by the court. If the alleged infringement concerns law enacted by an Autonomous Community, jurisdiction lies with a special section of the corresponding TSJ, not the Supreme Court.

Judgments delivered at first and final instance by the contentious-administrative courts are subject to a narrower rule: they may be challenged only if they contain a legal doctrine considered seriously harmful to the general interest and are capable of being extended to other cases. (Contentious-Administrative Jurisdiction Law 29/1998, section 86.)

What does cassation review?

The appellant must identify a specific infringement of procedural or substantive law, or of case law, and explain why the matter presents objective cassational interest for developing case law. The statute lists circumstances that may indicate such interest and circumstances in which it is presumed, but admission is not automatic. Cassation before the Supreme Court is generally limited to questions of law; it is not a fresh assessment of the facts. (Law 29/1998, sections 87 bis and 88.)

Main time limits and stages

The appeal is prepared before the court that issued the challenged judgment, within 30 days from the day after notification. The preparation filing must identify the alleged legal infringement, show that it was relevant to the outcome, and substantiate the objective cassational interest and the other statutory requirements. Parties who took part, or should have taken part, in the proceedings may have standing.

If the court of origin considers the appeal properly prepared, it serves the parties to appear before the Supreme Court within 15 days and sends the case file. The Supreme Court then decides whether to admit the appeal. If admitted, the appellant has 30 days from notification of the admission order to file the cassation brief. (Law 29/1998, sections 89, 90 and 92.)

The former monetary threshold expressed in pesetas and the old list of fixed cassation grounds no longer describe the current general system. Whether a particular judgment may be challenged depends on the court, the governing law, the specific infringement, the time limit and the admission requirements. The notice of judgment and the case file should be reviewed promptly.