Details

Informations pratiques:
(Les informations suivantes ont été fournies par les autorités étatiques concernées ou ont été obtenues à partir des réponses aux Questionnaires sur la Convention Notification.)

Notification formelle (art. 5(1)(a))
The Central Authority forwards the document to the Dean Judge (Juzgado Decano) of the Courts of First Instance within the judicial territory (partido judicial) where the document is to be served. This court office is competent for distributing the different proceedings (including service of documents) among the judicial authorities that fall under its jurisdiction. Service is done by the Court of First Instance to which the matter has been forwarded.

Simple remise (art. 5(2))
In principle, although a different form of service is not prohibited nor allowed in Spanish domestic law, the Central Authority does not practice informal delivery within the meaning of Article 5(2).

Notification selon une forme particulière (art. 5(1)(b))
In principle, although a different form of service is not prohibited nor allowed in Spanish domestic law, the Central Authority does not usually receive a special request by the applicant according to Article 5(1)(b).

Pour de plus amples informations relatives aux formes de signification ou de notification, voir : Réseau Judiciaire Européen en matière civile et commerciale – Signification et notification des actes – Espagne.

Article 144 of the Spanish Procedural Law establishes that all documents drafted in a foreign language must be accompanied by a translation into Spanish. The requirement for translation is extended to the document or evidence to be served, and if applicable, to the document’s summary.

In practice, the Central Authority requires a Spanish translation of all the requests for service. Some exceptions have been made, such as, considering the mother tongue of the addressee. However, there have been uneven results on the part of the judicial organs.

Only if the forwarding authority justifies sufficiently that the translation is not needed in a particular case, may the Central Authority consider the possibility of accepting the request for service in the original language. However, a summary of the document should always be translated in the official language of the requested country.

Spain has concluded a bilateral agreement with Portugal in 1997 aiming to exclude translation requirements in legal assistance matters. There is also a bilateral agreement with Austria for the same purpose, but its application was directly related to the application of the Civil Procedure Convention of 1954 between the two countries, and, as regards service of documents, the latter has been recently substituted by the EU Regulation. 

Aussi voir Réseau Judiciaire Européen en matière civile et commerciale – Signification et notification des actes – Espagne (question 8).

Clause de non-responsabilité
Les informations présentées ici peuvent être incomplètes ou imparfaitement mises à jour. Veuillez contacter les autorités concernées pour vérifier ces informations.

Le Règlement européen (CE) No 1393/2007 relatif à la signification et à la notification dans les Etats membres des actes judiciaires et extrajudiciaires en matière civile et commerciale (Strasbourg, 13 novembre 2007) (Atlas judiciaire européen – Signification et notification des actes).

Inter-American Convention on Letters Rogatory (Panama City, 13 January 1975) (www.oas.org/DIL/treaties_and_agreements.htm)