Ley Orgánica 1/2025: from juzgados to Tribunales de Instancia
The reform on the efficiency of the public justice service replaces single-judge courts with Tribunales de Instancia, creates Justice Offices in the municipalities and requires an appropriate means of dispute resolution to be attempted before bringing a claim. What changes for anyone with a matter under way in Barcelona.
On 3 January 2025 the Boletín Oficial del Estado (the Spanish official gazette) published Ley Orgánica 1/2025, de 2 de enero (Spanish Organic Act 1/2025, of 2 January), on measures relating to the efficiency of the public justice service. It is not a one-off amendment: it redraws the structure of the courts, changes how work is organised within them and adds a step that must be taken before any civil or commercial claim, affecting anyone who wants to litigate.
At Ajuridic we follow this reform from the office in El Clot because it affects matters under way in every area: family, civil, civil liability and administrative. This guide summarises what changes, when and with what practical effects.
What the reform seeks to do
The previous model was built on single-judge courts: each judge with their own court, their own staff and their own caseload. That design produced a rigidity that was hard to correct. If one court built up incoming cases and the one next door did not, there was no simple way of rebalancing the workload; if a judge went on sick leave, their court came to a standstill; and two courts in the same judicial district could decide identical matters differently.
The Act sets out to do three things:
- Organisational flexibility, so that cases and staff can be redistributed without creating new courts.
- Consistency of approach within a single tribunal, with the resulting gains in legal certainty.
- Taking pressure off the courts, by diverting to other routes those disputes that do not need a judgment and by bringing non-judicial formalities closer to the public.
From juzgados to Tribunales de Instancia
The main change is the disappearance of single-judge courts as an organisational unit. Each judicial district now has a single Tribunal de Instancia structured internally into sections by subject matter: civil, investigation, criminal, family, commercial, contentious-administrative, employment, juvenile and violence against women, depending on the volume in each district.
One common misunderstanding is worth clearing up: this does not mean that cases are now decided by three judges. The rule is still that a single judge hears the case; what is collegiate is the organisation, not the decision. The Act does, however, provide for limited situations of collegiate action in certain matters.
| Previous model | The Ley Orgánica 1/2025 model | Practical effect |
|---|---|---|
| Juzgados de Primera Instancia, Instrucción, and so on, as independent courts | One Tribunal de Instancia per judicial district, divided into sections | Consistency of approach within each section and greater specialisation. |
| Rigid allocation between courts | Flexible distribution of cases within the section | The ability to respond to peaks in incoming work without creating new courts. |
| Staff assigned to each individual court | Shared services of the court office | Centralised handling; the paperwork no longer depends on a single team. |
In a district the size of Barcelona's, the significance of this change lies above all in management: it allows staff to be reassigned between sections according to the actual workload and the way matters are handled to be made uniform.
The court office and the Justice Offices in the municipalities
The court office
The handling of cases is organised into shared services (for processing, for enforcement and for service of documents) headed by letrados de la Administración de Justicia (court clerks). The aim is to standardise repetitive steps and consolidate the electronic case file, with electronic communications and digital access to the proceedings.
The Justice Offices in the municipalities
They replace the former justice of the peace courts and take on non-judicial functions: registering and filing documents, providing information, serving documents, and supporting appropriate means of dispute resolution. The idea is that people should not have to travel to the tribunal's premises for matters that do not require a judicial decision.
Digitalisation
For professionals, the reform consolidates the wholly electronic handling of communications and strengthens the interoperability and security requirements for the electronic file. For members of the public, it means that a good part of the proceedings can be consulted online, but also that electronic time limits run just as precisely as those observed in person.
Appropriate means of dispute resolution
It is the change with the most immediate practical effect: in civil and commercial matters, the law requires proof that an attempt has been made at an appropriate means of dispute resolution before filing the claim. Without that requirement, the claim is not admitted.
Negotiation between the parties or between their solicitors, mediation, conciliation, a confidential binding offer and the opinion of an independent expert all count, among others. There are excluded matters (protection of fundamental rights, urgent interim measures or certain family proceedings involving children) and these are worth checking case by case.
In addition, the parties' attitude to that attempt has financial consequences: an unjustified refusal to take part, or the rejection of a proposal that later turns out to be more favourable than the judgment, can weigh in an order for costs. In practice, it means preparing and documenting the preliminary stage with the same care as the claim itself. How that stage works in a contractual dispute is set out in the guide to civil contracts and claims.
Entry into force and timetable
The Act was published on 3 January 2025 and generally came into force on 3 April 2025, three months after publication. The requirement to use an appropriate means of dispute resolution before bringing a claim applies to claims filed from that date onwards.
The rollout of the Tribunales de Instancia, by contrast, is gradual and is taking place in phases under the approved timetable, starting with certain judicial districts and then extending to the rest. Barcelona, because of its volume, forms part of the rollout planned for the large judicial districts.
What this means for a matter already under way
Proceedings under way continue, but their name and the court they belong to change: what was a juzgado becomes a section of the Tribunal de Instancia. The case number stays the same. It is worth checking the references in notices so as not to confuse courts when filing documents.
What changes for anyone with a matter under way
- Before bringing a claim there is a compulsory preliminary stage in civil and commercial matters. It has to be documented: the proposal, the other side's reply or silence, and the date. That documentation is filed with the claim.
- The court reference changes. Notices identify the section of the Tribunal de Instancia, not the former juzgado.
- The handling of cases is centralised in shared services, so that the administrative point of contact in the proceedings is no longer necessarily the same team as always.
- Non-judicial formalities can be dealt with at the municipal Justice Offices.
- The file is electronic, with online access and time limits that run just the same.
For anyone in dispute with a public authority, the reform is added to the circuit of time limits and appeals explained in the guide to administrative procedures in Barcelona; and for anyone claiming for medical harm, to the route described in the guide to medical negligence.
Official sources
- Ley Orgánica 1/2025, de 2 de enero, de medidas en materia de eficiencia del Servicio Público de Justicia, consolidated text in the Boletín Oficial del Estado.
- Ministerio de la Presidencia, Justicia y Relaciones con las Cortes, for the rollout timetable and official announcements.
- Il·lustre Col·legi de l'Advocacia de Barcelona (ICAB), for the circulars addressed to the Barcelona legal profession.
Other related guides
Family law
Divorces, separations, orders relating to children and variation of orders before the family sections of the Tribunal de Instancia.
Go to the practice areaAdministrative procedures in Barcelona
Time limits, administrative silence and appeals up to the contentious-administrative route.
Read the guideMedical negligence in Barcelona
A type of claim whose handling is directly affected by the reorganisation of the courts.
Read the guideGuide written by the firm Ajuridic. Principal: Noemí Ampurdanés Parés, lawyer registered with the ICAB under no. 22359, with more than 30 years in practice.
It is general information only. It does not constitute legal advice and does not replace analysis of a specific case: the timetable for rolling out the reform is still unfolding and it is worth checking the position in the relevant judicial district.
A matter under way or about to start?
The compulsory preliminary stage and the change in court references affect documents and time limits. The firm is at Carrer del Freser, 104, in El Clot, close to Camp de l'Arpa, La Sagrera and Navas.