Rules for settling disputes with a mediator instead of going to court

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. Mediation is a system in which two or more parties try to reach an agreement by themselves with the help of a mediator. It applies to civil and commercial matters, but not to criminal, labor, public administration or consumer mediation.
2. Starting mediation suspends the deadlines for the expiration of legal claims. If the founding session minutes are not signed within 15 calendar days, the clock starts running again.
3. Mediation is based on voluntariness, equality of the parties, the mediator's impartiality and neutrality, and confidentiality. No one is required to stay in the procedure or to reach an agreement.
4. Mediators must have specific training, liability insurance, and must disclose anything that could affect their impartiality. They are liable for damages caused by bad faith, recklessness or fraud, and the cost of mediation is split equally between the parties unless they agree otherwise.
5. The procedure starts with an information session and a founding session, and must be as short as possible. The agreement reached can be turned into a notarial deed so it becomes an enforceable title, meaning it can be enforced through the courts.
6. The Civil Procedure Law is amended to connect mediation with lawsuits: litigants may submit to mediation, the judge may invite the parties to use it, and mediation agreements turned into notarial deeds allow enforcement to be requested.

Who it affects

• Individuals and companies with a civil or commercial dispute: They can try to resolve it with a mediator before or instead of going to court.
• Mediators: They must have specific training, liability insurance, and follow duties of impartiality and confidentiality.
• Mediation institutions: They must guarantee transparency when appointing mediators, offer electronic mediation, and bear subsidiary liability.
• Law students and law graduates: The rules for becoming a lawyer or court clerk are adjusted, with deadlines to join a bar association without the new professional titles.
• Chambers of commerce: They can perform mediation functions in addition to arbitration.

Words worth knowing

Prescripción

Loss of the right to claim after a set period of time passes.

Caducidad

Expiry of the ability to bring a legal action once the legal deadline passes.

Título ejecutivo

A document that allows asking the courts to enforce what was agreed.

Declinatoria

A motion by which the defendant asks the court to decline jurisdiction over the case.

Elevación a escritura pública

Formalizing the agreement before a notary so it becomes enforceable.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries