{"id":5385,"date":"2025-04-30T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marcellocarames.com\/changes-in-the-judicial-organisation-following-organic-law-1-2025\/"},"modified":"2025-05-08T11:51:07","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T09:51:07","slug":"changes-in-the-judicial-organisation-following-organic-law-1-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marcellocarames.com\/en\/changes-in-the-judicial-organisation-following-organic-law-1-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"CHANGES IN THE JUDICIAL ORGANISATION FOLLOWING ORGANIC LAW 1\/2025."},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Organic Law 1\/2025, of January 2, on measures regarding the efficiency of the Public Justice Service<\/span> (\u201c<\/strong>Organic Law 1\/2025<\/b><\/a><\/span>\u201d<\/b><\/span>)<\/span>, , has recently entered into force, bringing with it a significant reform of the structure of the judicial system.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>

According to its preamble, the aim of this reform is to achieve greater rationalization and efficiency within the judicial system by avoiding unnecessary duplication and the dispersion of resources and efforts. Thus, the legislator\u2019s intention with this measure \u2014alongside the introduction of appropriate means of dispute resolution in civil matters \u2014is to correct the dysfunctions that have led into the current, unsustainable backlog of judicial proceedings.<\/span><\/p>

The purpose of this note is not to analyze whether the measures introduced by Organic Law 1\/2025 are the most suitable to achieve the legislator\u2019s stated goal, but rather to summarize the main changes made to the organization of our Courts and Tribunals. This issue, despite its undeniable importance, has to some extent been overshadowed by the impact of the introduction of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in civil litigation.<\/span><\/p>

1. The New Courts of First Instance<\/b><\/span><\/p>

The main reform introduced by Organic Law 1\/2025 regarding judicial organization is the creation of the Courts of First Instance<\/strong> <\/span>(\u201c<\/span>Tribunales de Instancia<\/span><\/i>\u201d) to replace the current single-judge courts (\u201c<\/span>Juzgados unipersonales<\/span><\/i>\u201d). In this way, every judge will become part of the new Courts of First Instance.<\/span><\/p>

The Courts of First Instance are judicial bodies organized in a collegial manner, comprising various Sections.<\/span><\/strong> These courts are governed by Articles 84 et seq. of Organic Law 6\/1985, of July 1st, on the Judiciary (the “<\/span>LOPJ<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/span>“).<\/span><\/p>

Article 84 of the LOPJ provides that there will be one Court of First Instance per judicial district, and it will consist of either a Single Civil and Investigative Section or separate Civil and Investigative Sections.<\/span><\/p>

In addition, the Court of First Instance may include one or more of the following sections:<\/span>
<\/span>(i)<\/i><\/b> Family, Children, and Capacity; <\/span>(ii)<\/i><\/b> Commercial; <\/span>(iii)<\/i><\/b> Gender-based Violence;<\/span>
<\/span>(iv) <\/i><\/b>Violence against Children and Adolescents; <\/span>(v) <\/i><\/b>Criminal; <\/span>(vi) <\/i><\/b>Juvenile; <\/span>(vii) <\/i><\/b>Prison Supervision; <\/span>(viii)<\/i><\/b> Administrative Litigation; and<\/span> (ix) <\/i><\/b>Labour. Articles 85 et seq. of the LOPJ regulate the subject matters over which each Section of the Court of First Instance will have jurisdiction.<\/span><\/p>

Some Sections of the Courts of First Instance may extend their jurisdiction to several judicial districts within the same province or neighboring provinces. Most commonly, the Commercial, Criminal, Juvenile, Prison Supervision, Administrative Litigation, and Labour Sections will have province-wide jurisdiction and be headquartered in the provincial capital.<\/span><\/p>

A notable innovation in the functioning of the Courts of First Instance has also been introduced. Organic Law 1\/2025 provides that, although cases will typically be assigned to a judge on a rotating basis, two additional judges may be appointed to hear a case jointly with the judge initially assigned<\/span><\/strong>, when warranted by the volume, complexity, or number of parties involved. <\/span><\/span><\/p>

The transformation of the current single-judge courts into Courts of First Instance<\/span> will take place in stages, in the following order:<\/span><\/p>