Who is the Procurador in Spain?

Who is the Procurador in Spain?

In most legal proceedings in Spain it is mandatory that a party be defended by an Abogado (or) letrado (“lawyer”) and represented by a Procurador who serves as a liaison between the lawyer, client and court, filing pleadings and other documents, receiving court orders and generally checking up on the status of the cases assigned to him. In Spain this field is known as derecho procesal or ‘procedural law’.

In many Spanish court proceedings a client will need both an Abogado and a Procurador. While both words could be translated as ‘lawyer’ the procurador does not defend a client in court.

Instead, a client is said to be ‘represented’ by a Procurador to speed up the court process, presenting appeals or managing court costs, processing orders and publishing announcements in official bulletins.

In Spanish law, a client is said to be ‘defended’ by a lawyer and in many cases the client will not have contact with the procurador (the client’s ‘representation’).

A procurador is compulsory in criminal and civil procedures except where a claim is below €2,000.

The best translation for a procurador in English would be a ‘party agent’ as they represent parties at court.

There are approximately 11,000 procuradores in Spain, divided into several bars.

In 2016 the European Commission opened an investigation (called Europilot) that investigated their role. Specifically, the EU examined whether procuradores caused ‘excessive and unjustified obstacles to the provision of services’.

However, in 2018, the European Commission approved the profession in return for an amendment to Spain’s professional societies law.

How much does a procurador cost?

While lawyers can determine the cost of their own services, the cost of a procurador is regulated by law.

The Real Decreto 1373/2003 established a general table of tariffs depending on the quantity of a legal claim.

At the lowest end of the scale, for a claim of €60 the price of a procurador is €9.64.

At the highest end of the scale, for a claim of €600,000 the price of a procurador is €1,540.

For an exact definition of the procurador, visit: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/regprof/index.cfm?action=regprof&id_regprof=3722

For more details about Procuradores and to find a directory of Procurador in a region of Spain, visit: https://www.cgpe.es

For details about other legal professionals in Spain, have a look at our article about Notaries at https://buenosabogados.es/what-is-the-role-of-a-notary-public-in-spain/

Also the role of the Gestor in Spain: https://buenosabogados.es/what-is-a-gestor/

 

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