Key Aspects of the Social Legal Process
The tribunal process allows events that have been witnessed to be ruled upon.
Principles of the Social Legal Process
Concentration
Unit procedural activities meet several procedural steps, bringing them closer in space and time; it happens with unbroken continuity. This principle dictates that most procedural acts are performed in a single trial session, held in a single hearing.
Orality
The basic procedural activity in the body develops in the trial, where the acts are spoken, done by voice, although it is imposed or documented in the minutes. This is done to simplify the process, make it more accessible to litigants, provide the court with knowledge of arguments and evidence, and give faster performance. Only two phases of the process are typically not oral: the initial claim (Demand) and appeals (Resources).
Speed
Art. 24.2 of the Spanish Constitution (CE) establishes the right to be tried without undue delay.
Gratuity
This principle ensures the labor process is free for the worker to achieve equality with the employer.
Types of Procedural Claims
A procedural claim is the statement by the plaintiff against the defendant that goes before the judge, asking him to decide. In the social field, claims can be:
Cognitive Claims
These aim to achieve a judgment that decides on the action brought in the lawsuit.
- Declarative: Declare the existence or non-existence of a right, and may also address the subsequent lack of implementation of a judgment.
- Sentencing: Result in a judgment requiring the defendant to carry out a service or provide a certain amount of money; execution is required.
- Constitutive: Establish, modify, or extinguish a legal status; these are typically excluded from execution. Article 522 of the Civil Procedure Law (LEC) imposes a duty on all persons and authorities to abide by such decisions and comply with the legal status established or arising from them.
Execution Claims
These pursue the enforcement of a judgment or enforcement order against the debtor.
Precautionary Measures
Measures taken to ensure the effectiveness of the final judgment.
Parties and Representation
Pre-process Acts
These can be required (e.g., conciliation and prior administrative claim) before the process is initiated, often to avoid litigation. Optional or preparatory acts are pre-trial activities that may include preparatory steps and the taking of evidence.
Capacity to Act
Individuals who are not in full exercise of their civil rights must appear through their legitimate representatives, who supplement their lack of capacity (Art. 16.4 LPL).
Legitimation (Legal Standing)
Refers to the specific relationship a person has to the subject of litigation, which is required for the procedural claim to be considered on the merits. These are the people who appear as parties in the process.
The applicant must possess active legitimation to bring the claim in the lawsuit, and the defendant must have passive legitimation as the relevant target of that claim or request.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office
The Public Prosecutor’s Office always participates in proceedings concerning:
- Contesting collective agreements (Art. 162.2 LPL).
- Challenging administrative rulings denying registration of union or business association statutes, such as the challenge of union constitutions.
- Protection of freedom of association and other fundamental rights.
Also participates in cases concerning:
- Disputes concerning jurisdiction, when they arise automatically.
- Reporting on the inadmissibility of pleas and the appropriateness or inappropriateness of the ordinary appeal and the appeal for the unification of doctrine.
Appearance and Representation
In the social process, the general rule is that parties may appear in person, or may be represented by an attorney, an employment consultant, or any person with full enjoyment of their civil rights. A lawyer may also represent parties.
Representation may be granted:
- By a general power of attorney (deed).
- Or ‘apud acta’, by granting power of attorney before the clerk of the court.
During the trial itself, before the judge and court clerk, the clerk notes the representation granted to the attorney or labor relations graduate assisting the party. In the statement of claim, representation must be endorsed to the clerk.
Mandatory Representation
The LPL provides two situations in which representation is required:
- In processes where more than 10 applicants are jointly suing. The representative must be a lawyer, attorney, labor relations graduate, one of the plaintiffs, or a union of which they are members (Art. 19.1 LPL). This representation is granted by appearing before the court clerk or by deed.
- In proceedings where the plurality of parties is not original, but results from the court ordering the accumulation of processes (Art. 29 LPL), affecting more than 10 parties. The clerk asks the parties to designate a representative.