The Secretary of State for Justice, Manuel Olmedo Palacios, has assured that the entry into operation of the Courts of Instance, scheduled from July 1, represents “a historical organizational change” in the Spanish judicial system.
“The Courts are created no less than in 1835, and it is an organizational structure that we all know a long time ago since it was not adequate to attend to volume as to the type of litigation that we have had for decades,” he said in his speech at the round table Approximations to LO 1/2025, of Measures of Efficiency of the Public Service of Justice, held within the framework of the XXX Days of Law “Enrique Ruiz-Vadillo” of the UNED.
As you have pointed out, the implementation of the Courts of Instance will be carried out in three phases: July 2025 for the smaller judicial parties, October for the medium, and January 2026 for the large courts. This staggered schedule, explained Olmedo, will allow you to gain valuable experience in the early stages that will be key to successfully face implementation in the most complex jurisdictions.
“We are already working on the third phase and tackling both the anticipated and new problems that have arisen in the process,” he said.
The Secretary of State has argued that the new model will allow for greater specialization and efficiency. “A clear example is the case of the supervisory procedures, which account for around 60% of the work in the courts of first instance. The new structure will allow its robotization and automated processing, freeing up a considerable part of the workload,” he said.
Olmedo has stressed that the courts of instance will be supported by an updated regulatory and technological framework, thanks to Royal Decree-Law 6/2023, which adapts procedural laws to the challenges of digitalization. “Digital transformation cannot exist without a normative transformation. This law provides the legal certainty necessary to apply the technology in the judicial field,” he said.
New organization and more human resources
The transformation also involves a reorganization of staff and functions within the judicial office. “We are preparing a new Royal Decree to adapt the jobs of the civil servants’ corps to this structure,” he announced.
In addition, in his speech, he recalled that the Government of Spain has increased investment in justice by 25% in this legislature, and that the creation of 87 new judicial and fiscal positions specializing in violence against women and children has been approved.
Something that is linked to the call for opposition, has apostilled and recalled that last week the Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts of Spain, Felix Bolaños, announced that for this year 2025, by 2026 and 2027, 360 places will be created in turn to which 120 places in fourth turn are added, which means almost 1,500 places in free and fourth turns. “The greatest convocation that has existed in history,” he said.
During his speech, Olmedo highlighted the joint work with the autonomous communities and the work of the State Technical Committee of the Electronic Judicial Administration (CTEAJE), which has allowed the approval of mandatory digital models for the most common procedures, such as the monitory. It has also valued the development of compatible computer systems at national level, such as Atenea/Minerva or Avantius, which already allow interoperability in 12 autonomous communities and the autonomous cities of Melilla and Ceuta.
“Complete digitization is not an option, it is a necessity and will be affective because it is accompanied by legal certainty, technological interoperability and an adapted organizational structure,” he stressed.
Finally, the Secretary of State has insisted that the Courts of Instance will also allow a greater unification of criteria, especially in the first instance, where until now there was a great dispersion in judicial practice. “This functional collegiality will allow more coherence, more legal security and a more agile justice that is closer to the citizen,” he concluded.