The State of Emergency approved in March and the successive restrictive measures that we have experienced throughout 2020 and early 2021 to contain the spread of Covid-19 have meant that the activity of the Courts and Tribunals has been paralyzed and limited , causing delays both in the holding of trials and in the publication of court decisions.
It has always been said that justice is slow, but due to the health crisis this situation has become more acute.
The Ministry of Justice has been proposing and implementing various gambling database measures to solve the collapse of the judicial offices , thus approving a Royal Decree that established morning and afternoon shifts in the courts; hearings by videoconference, or the controversial measure of declaring August as a working day starting on the 11th. For example, within the Valencian Community, 3 new Valencian courts have been created that will alleviate the judicial backlog .
These measures are all insufficient if the Courts and Tribunals are not provided with technical, personal and financial resources.
Can I file a claim against delays in court decisions?
Article 24.2 of the Constitution states:
(…) everyone has the right (…) to a public trial without undue delays and with all guarantees.
The Constitutional Court has understood " undue delays " as a case of abnormal functioning by the Administration of Justice, with an unreasonable irregularity in duration greater than that foreseeable or tolerable, and also attributable to the negligence or inactivity of the bodies in charge of the Administration of Justice.
This way, you will be able to file a claim against delays in judicial decisions. The procedure is regulated in art. 292 LOPJ and following. It is a procedure in which compensation is claimed when the individual suffers damage that is attributable to the Administration of Justice and does not have a legal obligation to bear.
If you have been involved in a legal procedure for a long time and you consider that the delay is not justified, you may consider filing a claim. To do so, it is best to contact a professional such as a law firm in Valencia who will advise you and tell you the steps to follow.
The damage to be able to claim
In order to be able to claim against delays in judicial decisions or in a procedure, the first thing to do is to prove the damage .
Requirements to be met:
The damage must be real, that is, effective.
Economically evaluable, that is, susceptible to economic valuation .
Individual with respect to another person or group
Processing
A request for compensation is filed with the Ministry of Justice
The resolution to this request puts an end to the administrative process.
If you do not agree with the decision, you may file an appeal against the same body that issued the decision or an administrative appeal before the courts.
The deadline for filing a claim is 1 year from the end of the procedure in which the undue delays occurred.
What happens if the delay in court decisions is due to the health situation? Can it be claimed? Is it justified? With the state of alarm of March 14, 2020, justice was paralyzed. After the months of quarantine, justice was overwhelmed not only by the procedures that were paralyzed during those months but also by the procedures that were initiated during the months of confinement.
The courts were already overwhelmed and with the health crisis they have collapsed. The question we are asking is whether this paralysis caused by the health crisis can be considered as undue delays.
Firstly, the suspension periods must be specified and proof must be provided that the procedure has or has not been affected by the pandemic. This must be taken into account in each specific case , taking into account the procedural and personal circumstances.