Actual decree-law 16/2020
Of 28 April, of procedural and organisational measures to address the COVID-19 in the field of the administration of justice

1. Habilitation of days to procedural effects (article 1): Are declared skillful for all prosecutions the days 11 on 31 August 2020. Are excepted of this forecast on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays, except for for those prosecutions for those which these days are already skillful in accordance with procedural laws.

2. Procedural term computation and extension of the term to appeal (article 2):

a) Terms and terms considered in procedural laws that they would have been suspended for application of the willing thing in the additional condition second of the Royal Decree 463/2020, of 14 March, through which the state of emergency is declared for the management of the health crisis situation brought about by the COVID-19, will return to count from its beginning, being therefore the first day of the computation the next skillful to that in which stops having effect the suspension of the corresponding procedure.

b) Terms for the announcement, preparation, arrangement and interposition of resources against sentences and other resolutions that they put an end to the procedure and that they are notified during the suspension of terms established in the Royal Decree 463/2020, of 14 March, as well as those which are notified within 20 business days next on the uprising the suspension of the procedural terms suspended, they will be expanded by a term equal to the one planned for the interposition of the appeal in its corresponding law regulator. 

 3. Field of the special procedure and content with regard to family (articles 3 to 5). 

Is regulated “former novo” a special procedure and content for the resolution of matters regarding the right of family directly derived from the health crisis.

4. Procedure of the contestation of temporary regulation dossiers of employment to of the article 22 and 23 of the Actual one decree-law 8/2020, of 17 March, of extraordinary urgent measures to address the economic impact and social of the COVID-19 (article 6)

5. Preferred procedure of certain procedures. (article 7)

Will be processed with preference following dossiers and procedures:

a) Voluntary jurisdiction processes or dossiers in which measures are adopted to that it adverts the article 158 of the Civil Code (foodstuffs).

b) In the jurisdictional order civilian: Processes derived from the lack of examination of the legal moratorium in the mortgages of home and properties affections to the economic activity, processes derived from claims of the leaseholders owing to lack of application of the planned moratorium legally or of the compulsory extension of the contract and procedures compete them of debtors that are people natural and that they do not have the condition of employers.

c) In the administrative jurisdictional order, resources that are interposed against acts and resolutions of the Public Administrations through which the application of aids and measures is refused planned legally to alleviate the economic effects of the health crisis COVID-19.

d) In the social jurisdictional order, they will have urgent and preferred character:

I. Processes of dismissals.

II. Processes derived from the extinction of the employment contracts for factual causes.

III. Processes derived from the procedure to declare the recovery duty and way of non lent work schedule during the paid leave considered in the Actual one decree-law 10/2020.

IV. Procedures for the individual or collective contestation of dossiers of temporary regulation of employment for regulated causes in the articles 22 and 23 of the Actual one decree-law 8/2020, of 17 March.

V. Procedures to do effective the type of teleworking or the adjustment of meeting considered in the Actual one decree-law 15/2020.

In the Chapter II measures are regulated compete them and company. 

The health crisis of the COVID-19 constitutes an additional obstacle to the feasibility of companies competed that it can determine, good the impossibility of subscribing or fulfilling an agreement, leading to the companies to the settlement, or a great difficulty of alienating a productive unit that it could result viable. For this reason are added now measures to maintain the companies' economic continuity and of the professionals and self-employed workers that earlier dela coming into force of the state of emergency, came fulfilling regularly the obligations arising out of an agreement, of an extrajudicial agreement of payments or of an agreement of streamlined refinancing (Articles 8 to 18). 

In the Transitory provision second predictions are established with regard to Creditors' Meeting. 

It is repealed the article 43 (Term of the duty of application of contest) of the Royal Decree-Law 8/2020 (Provision. Repealing only).

These measures will have validity during the state of emergency and until three months later of its completion:

1. Celebration of proceedings through telematic presence (article 19)

a) The acts of trial, appearances, statements and views and, general, all proceedings, will be made preferably through telematic presence, provided that the technical means is had.

b) In the jurisdictional order penintentiary will will be necessary the physical presence of the defendant in the trials for serious criminal offence.

c) deliberations of the courts will take place in telematic presence regime when the technical means is had necessary to it.

2. Access to rooms of views (article 20): The judge or court will limit the public access to all oral activities, according to the room.

3. Exploration practitioner-forensic (art.: 21): Reports practitioner-forensic will be able to carry out being based only in the existing medical archive at your disposal, provided that it is possible.

4. It gives of the use of academic gowns (article 22): Parts that attend oral activities will be dispensed of the use of academic gowns in the public audiences.

5. Customer service in judicial headquarters (article 23): Will be made for via telephonic or via email set up for this purpose, that it should be on the website publication object of the corresponding Territorial Management of the Ministry of Justice or of the body that they determine Autonomous Communities with responsibilities with regard to Justice. For those cases in which results essential to attend to the judicial headquarters, will be necessary previously obtain the corresponding appointment.

6. Judicial bodies associated with the COVID – 19, preferred allocation Territorial Attachment Judges and activities within the same destination centre. (articles 24, 25 and 26):

a) You will be able to transform judicial bodies that are pending entered operation at the time of the coming into force of the actual present decree-law in judicial bodies that know exclusively of procedures associated with the COVID-19.

b) Is fitted out to the Ministry of Justice so that it can anticipate the entered operation of the judicial bodies corresponding to the scheduling of 2020, being able to dedicate all or some theirs with exclusive character to the knowledge of procedures associated with the COVID-19.

c) Judges of territorial attachment will be able to practice its jurisdictional functions, with preferred character, in judicial bodies that know of procedures associated with the COVID-19. Article 25. Activities within the same destination centre.

d) The Provincial Secretaries Coordinators will be able to assign to the Lawyers of the Administration of Justice and other civil servants at the service of the Administration of Justice destined in any of back-up procedural units direct to judicial bodies, the performance of any of the duties that, being specific to the Body to that which belong, are attributed to whatever other units.

7. Working day, substitution and support (article 27 and 28):

a) Lawyers of the Administration of Justice and the rest of staff at the service of the Administration of Justice will carry out work days of tomorrow and afternoon for everyone jurisdictional services and bodies (possibility of celebrating trials tomorrow and afternoon).

b) The Ministry of Justice and autonomous communities with responsibilities will establish the distribution of the meeting and the fixation of the schedules.

c) Until 31 of December 2020 the practical teachings of initial training courses of the body of Lawyers of the Administration of Justice will be able to carry out carrying out substitution and support works when thus it determines it the Address of the Centre, having preference on the Lawyers substitutes in any call for the performance of those duties.

8. Transitional arrangement of the procedural activities (Provision. Transit. 1). Standards of the Royal Decree-Law will be applied to all procedural activities that are made starting from its coming into force, anyone that it is the date of initiation of the process in which those are produced. Except for those which have a certain term of duration will be held to the same one.

9. Extension of the terms in the field of the Registry (Provision. Additional. 1). Terms are expanded with regard to authorisations of marriage and enrollments by birth produced during the period of alarm and its extensions.

10. Communication acts of the Attorney General's Office. It recesses the application of the stated in article 151.2 of the Act 1/2000, of 7 January, of Enjuiciamiento Civilian, in relation to the communication acts of the Attorney General's Office, until 31 of December 2020. Until this date, the regulated term in the above-mentioned article will be 10 calendar days (Provision. Additional 4).

11. Modification of the Act 18/2011, of 5 July, regulator of the use of information technologies and the communication in the Administration of Justice (Final provision article 1):

a) the letter Is modified f) of the section 2 of the article 4 that it is redacted as it follows: 

“f) To use the systems of identification and signature established in articles 9 and 10 of the Act 39/2015, of 1 October, of the Common Administrative Procedure of the Public Administrations ”.

b) the letter d Is modified) of the section 2 of the article 6 that it is redacted as it follows:

«d) To use the systems of identification and signature established in articles 9 and 10 of the Act 39/2015, of 1 October, of the Common Administrative Procedure of the Public Administrations, provided that the above-mentioned system identifies him of way unívoca as a professional for any electronic procedure with the Administration in the established terms for procedural laws.

For this purpose, the corresponding General Council or superior should offer judicial branches protocols and interlinking systems that allow the access necessary by electronic media to the record of registered professionals ejercientes considered in the article 10 of the Act 2/1974, of 13 February, on Professional Associations, guaranteeing that they appear its professional details in him, such as professional association number, professional address, phone number and of fax and e-mail address». 

c) a second paragraph Is added to the article 8 with the following draft:

“Competent administrations will give the sure means so that these systems are fully accessible and operations without the need for that users are found physically in the headquarters of its respective bodies, branches or fiscalías”.

d) the additional condition Is modified fifth that it is with the following draft:

“Additional condition fifth. Means and instrument resource electronic and information systems.

Competent Administrations with regard to justice will provide to all bodies, judicial branches and fiscalías of electronic means and instruments and of necessary and enough information systems in order to be able to develop its function efficiently. These systems will be fully accessible and operations without the need for that users are found physically in the headquarters of its respective bodies, branches or fiscalías, with respect for domestic policies that guarantee the right to the collected digital disconnection in the article 88 of the legislative law of the Basic Statute's Act of the Civil Servant, approved by Legislative Royal Decree 5/2015, of 30 October. Similarly, will form to their members in the use and use of these means and instruments”.

11. Modification of the Act 9/2017, of 8 November of Public sector contracts (Provision. End Fourth)

The letter d is modified) of the section 4 of the article 159 (simplified open procedure) that it will be redacted as follows:

“d) The offer will be presented in an only one on or electronic file in the suppositions in which criteria of award are not contemplated in the procedure whose quantitative assessment depends on a value judgement. Otherwise, the offer will be presented in two electronic envelopes or files.

The opening of the envelopes or electronic files containing the proposition will be done for the appropriate order in accordance with that established in the article 145 according to the applicable method to consider criteria of award established in documents. The opening will be done for the trading desk to that which adverts the section 6 of the article 326 of the present Act. In any case, will be public the act of opening of electronic envelopes or files that they contain the part of the offer evaluable via quantifiable criteria through the meer formulas application established in documents, except for when it is planned that they can use electronic media in the tender. For this purpose, in the model of offer that it appears as an annexe to the document these extremes”will be contained.

Vigor: 30 April 2020.