Legal tip 232. Why do I have to pay for a Court Solicitor ( Procurador) in Spain?!
Thursday, February 18, 2010 @ 4:05 PM
The Court Solicitor in Spain: the expeditor of processes.
It has its origins in Roman law and there is this same figure in Portugal:( solicitador) ,France (huissier), Italy, Germany and in virtually all countries of South America, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands ( "gerechtsdeurwaarder ') and in Quebec (huissiers de justice) .
In Spain, the solicitor of the Courts needs to hold a Law degree, and be registered in a College, he holds the legal representation of parties in litigation before the Courts. The solicitor is the guarantor and protector of the equality of the parts in Courts as due to the complexity of the judicial proceedings, it is important to have someone in charge of the procedure so that the parts may exercise their rights and appeals in term .
It is responsible for representing his client before the Tribunal or Court, receiving in its name as many notifications are required to the development of the procedure. This will speed up the development of the legal process, preventing the litigant to be constantly submitted before the court or tribunal to be notified of the different resolutions to be issued in the judicial process.
The solicitors in his work as representatives must follow the process, be aware of all the steps and inform the client and his lawyer. He needs to attend all steps and actions required of the lawsuit. Forward all documents to the lawyer and bear the expenses generated at the request of the customer (court fees, edicts in the Gazette, etc.) . He also gives documented account of them. They also have the duty to cooperate with the courts in the administration of justice and represent litigants without financial resources in the cases provided by law.
Besides presenting the writings of the lawyer, they can also do their own writings, which are procedural writings: Applications for taxation of costs, applications for testimonied copies, writings for Court attendance, requests for verification of home and assets, writings to raise entries, for the speeding of the procedure etc.
Intervention of solicitors is mandatory for all civil cases except oral proceedings of a value less than 900 euros, in the initial request for small claim procedures, in those letters by which parties request urgent action before trial or suspension of hearings, in universal judgements, when the attendance is limited to lodge credit titles or rights, or to attend meetings and incidents relating to challenges to decisions on legal aid.
In Summary: The mission of the Court Solicitor is to expedite the judicial process: by following the procedures from the lawsuit and address the obstacles that could delay the final Court decission and its execution.
Malaga staircase by Alaskan Dude at Flickr.com