Authority

Spain - Central Authority (Art. 2) and practical information

Central Authority(ies):

Subdirección General de Cooperación Jurídica Internacional 
Ministry of Justice 

Contact details:
Address: Subdirección General de Cooperación Jurídica Internacional 
Ministry of Justice
Calle San Bernardo Nº 62
28071 Madrid
Spain
Telephone: +34 (91) 390 23 86 / 44 11
Fax: +34 (91) 390 2475 / +34 (91) 390 4457 
E-mail: laura.fernandez@mjusticia.es
silvia.villa@mjusticia.es
General website: http://www.mjusticia.es/
Contact person: Ms Laura Fernández Domínguez
Ms Silvia Villa Albertini
Languages spoken by staff: Spanish, English, French 

Practical Information
(The following information was provided by the relevant State authorities or was obtained from the replies to the Evidence Convention Questionnaires)
Blocking statutes: Yes, there are two European instruments of this nature:

Council Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 of 22 November 1996 protecting against the effects of the extra-territorial application of legislation adopted by a third country, and actions based thereon or resulting therefrom (see, Article 5(1)).

Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (See, Art. 25(1)).

Chapter I
(Letters of Requests)
Transmission of Letters of Requests: Letters of Request are sent directly from a judicial authority in the requesting State to the Central Authority of the requested State.
Authority responsible for informing of the time and place of the execution of Letter of Request (Art. 7): Judicial authority competent to execute the request.
Presence of judicial personnel at the execution of the Letter of Request (Art. 8): Declaration of applicability. See Competent Authority.
Privileges and duties existing under the law of States other than the State of origin and the State of execution (Art. 11): No declaration of applicability.
Translation requirements (Arts 4(2) and 33):  Accepts Letters of Requests written in or translated into Spanish.
Costs relating to execution of the Letters of Request (Arts 14(2)(3) and 26): Spain has sought reimbursement of costs under Art. 26.
Time for execution: Between 2 and 6 months approximately.
Art 23 pre-trial discovery of documents: Letter of Request will not be executed (full exclusion).
Information about domestic rules on the taking of evidence:  European Judicial Network in Civil or Commercial Matters - Spain
Witness examination under Chapter I
Should Letters of Request include specific questions to be used during witness examination or only a list of matters to be addressed? Specific questions are required.
Is it a public or private hearing? Public hearing.
Do the judicial authorities "blue-pencil" Letters of Requests (i.e. rephrase, restructure and / or strike out objectionable questions or offensive wording so that a Letter of Request may be executed under the laws of the requested State)? No.
Is the witness provided in advance with a copy of the questions / matters to be addressed as contained in the Letter of Request? No.
Are documents produced by the witness authenticated by the court? Yes.
Is an oath generally administered to the witness? Yes.
Can the witness be made subject to further examination and recall? Yes but a second request is necessary.
Are there sanctions for non-appearance of witness? According to Section 292 of the Civil Procedural Law, the non-appearance of a witness is punished with a fine of 180 to 600 €.
Must interpreters who assist with the witness examination be court-certified? Yes.
How is the testimony transcribed? A civil servant of the Court transcribes the testimony.
Chapter II
(Taking of evidence by diplomatic officers, consular agents and commissioners)
Article 15 Applicable.
Article 16 Applicable. The evidence may be taken, without prior permission of the Spanish Authority, in the premises of the diplomatic or consular representation of the requesting State.
Article 17 Applicable. The evidence may be taken, without prior permission of the Spanish Authority, in the premises of the diplomatic or consular representation of the requesting State.
Article 18 No declaration of applicability (i.e., a diplomatic officer, consular agent or commissioner may not apply for appropriate assistance to obtain evidence by compulsion).
Taking of evidence by video-links
(under either chapter) 
Chapter I
Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? No. Spain bases the use of video-link on the functional development and medium neutral interpretation of the Convention in light of modern technologies and on the basis of domestic legislation.
Technology used: Webcam connection over the internet.
Level of interpretation required: The interpretation is done by the parties or their counsel.
Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: Sequence interpretation.
Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? Interpretation only required on the requested State.
Who pays for the interpretation? The requesting party.
How would a request for evidence be handled if witness not willing? If the witness is not willing to give evidence using video-link, the Letter of Request is not executed in this way.
Chapter II
Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? No information available.
Technology used: No information available.
Level of interpretation required: No information available.
Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: No information available.
Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? No information available.
Who pays for the interpretation? No information available.
Bilateral or multilateral agreements To consult bilateral and multilateral treaties to which Spain is a party, see Boletín Oficial del Estado and www.prontuario.org/.

Bilateral conventions on judicial co-operation: Brazil, China, Dominican Republic, Morocco, Russian Federation, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay.

Multilateral conventions on judicial co-operation: Inter-American Convention on Letters Rogatory (Panama City, 13 January 1975) [OAS]

Council Regulation (EC) No. 1206/2001 of 28 May 2001 on co-operation between the courts of the Member States in the taking of evidence in civil or commercial matters.

Useful links: Consejo General del Poder Judicial
Prontuario Auxilio Judicial Internacional - Guide to International Judicial Co-operation in Spain (Ministry of Justice)

(This page was last updated on 29 July 2014)

This page was last updated on:

Conventions (incl. Protocols and Principles)