Law 42/2015, of October 5, amending Law 1/2000, of January 7, on Civil Procedure

On October 6, 2015, the Official State Gazette published Law 42/2015, of October 5 amending Law 1/2000, of January 7, on Civil Procedure, which was approved by the Spanish Congress of Deputies on October 1, 2015.

This reform contains important changes to the civil procedure, most notably the obligation for professionals, court bodies and public prosecution services to use remote or electronic media to file submissions and documents and to perform procedural communications from January 1, 2016, and the reinforcement of the role of court representatives. Furthermore, specific changes have introduced to the oral trial process, particularly the written answer to the claim; the possibility for the courts on their own initiative to examine unfair terms in agreements concluded with consumers in applications for order for payment procedures and in the ordering of enforcement of arbitral awards; and the amendment of the general time period for any form of personal action for which no particular time limit has been specified, which will become five years through the amendment of article 1964 of the Spanish Civil Code.