On Octuber 19, the I Justice Conference was held at the Segovia campus of IE University, under the title “Civil Justice in Spain: Challenges for the New Administration.” The Conference was organized by IE Professor Marco de Benito. Professors Andrés de la Oliva, Faustino Cordón, Ignacio Díez-Picazo, Fernando Gascón, Iván Heredia, Jaime Vegas, and Julio Banacloche acted as speakers. The audience was made up by a select group of scholars, judges, attorneys, and legal advisors of the highest state institutions.
The speakers and attendants analyzed the legislative agenda for the present term of office in civil procedure matters. They tackled, among other matters, insolvency law, voluntary jurisdiction, and international legal cooperation. Especially criticized was the strong increase in the jurisdiction tax, which could effectively hinder access to Justice. The new Judicial Office was also heavily censured, as it entrusts the handling of the procedure to court secretaries, a body dependant on the government which lacks the independence guarantees of the judiciary. Indeed, evidence was shown that, wherever the new Judicial Office has been implemented, it has resulted in chaos and inefficiency.
