The Secretary General for Innovation and Quality of the Public Justice Service, Manuel Olmedo, appeared this Thursday in the Justice Commission of the Chamber of Deputies to analyse the different aspects of the draft law on legislative procedural efficiency measures of the Public Justice Service. Judicial procedural measures In his speech, the Secretary General (SG) highlighted the contributions of the "multiple interlocutors" and paid tribute to the work carried out with them: "We believe that the text will be the result of the consensus and agreement of all the actors involved in the implementation of the public service of Justice".
As the Minister of Justice, Pilar Llop, has pointed out on previous occasions, this bill is part of the Justice 2030 Plan, "which aims to transform the public justice service to make it more accessible and efficient, and to contribute to cohesion and sustainability efforts".
New technologies applied to justice
In terms of appearance, special attention was paid to the third title of this bill, whose main objective is to adapt the administration of justice to the new realities and needs in the field of new information and communication technologies, corresponding to the attack by other sectors of society.
This is intended to promote the possibility of carrying out certain judicial acts by telematic means, avoiding the need for citizens and professionals to travel and thus eliminating the risk of concentrating people in the judicial authorities.
It is also planned to adapt the legal framework to the needs that have arisen and become apparent during the suspension of judicial activity in a state of alarm and to the changes that have taken place in the current Spanish social reality.
European Regulations
This law also introduces the necessary changes to adapt our legislation to the new European regulations.
In particular, the regulatory framework created by EU Regulation 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market, repealing Directive 1999/93/EC.
This regulation establishes that access to certain eGovernment functions is through identification and authentication systems, separating these concepts from those of electronic signature.
The MASC presentation
The presentation also addressed the first title of the bill. In particular, Olmedo has identified Appropriate Means of Dispute Resolution (ADR) as an "indispensable measure" for the consolidation of a sustainable public justice service.
The Secretary-General has indicated that ADR seeks to "initiate a shift from a culture of litigation and justification of conflict to a culture of negotiation and settlement".
With regard to free legal advice, the secretary general indicated that this bill also contains a final provision amending Law 1/1996 of 10 January 1996 to allow those who meet the legal thresholds and requirements to pay the fees of lawyers who have supported the parties.
Speeding up judicial procedures
Finally, Olmedo addressed the second title, which focuses on procedural law reforms aimed at streamlining and making procedures more efficient. In the area of civil justice, the Secretary General has stated that the matters covered by the Rules of Oral Procedure, whatever their extension, are extended; the holding of a hearing is left to the discretion of the judge after assessing the evidence to be gathered; and oral trials are possible. As for mass judicial proceedings, also covered by Title Two, testimonial proceedings were included in order to "respond to claims where the object and the accused are essentially identical, without having to deal with all of them, whose judgement is always challengeable". on appeal", the Secretary General emphasised.
