The Dark Side Of Spain

The legal system in Spain has considerable differences from the British system, it is therefore imperative that independent legal advice is sought.
It is fair to say that the system is slow and inefficient and frequently in the headlines with stories of abuse and scandal. Judges and lawyers are often accused of taking advantage of their positions and using the system to suit there own personal desires. It is also fair to say that litigation in Spain can be expensive, frustrating and therefore if possible best avoided. Its been reported that as many as 160 legal actions are brought each week to the Spanish Courts that specifically involve property purchase issues, most of which it has to be said will take years to resolve. Throughout Spain the courts have backlogs of many thousands of pending cases many of which will take several years before they are heard. The system is literally jammed to capacity.
A couple of years ago in an attempt to reduce the massive backlog Spain introduced a new system which involved appointing judges from within their own profession. Junior lawyers we invited to become judges but the mediocre salaries which went with the job inevitably meant that those lawyers with successful practices continued in their law firms whilst the less successful, and arguably less competent became judges.
Finding a good lawyer is not easy and needless to say it’s better to find one who speaks reasonable English otherwise you will also need to employ a translator, which is not a very satisfactory arrangement.