On April 3, Law 1/2025 on efficiency measures for the Public Justice Service, also known as the Mediation Law, will enter into force, which gives us an idea of its most relevant measure: this law establishes the Appropriate Means of Dispute Resolution in non-jurisdictional channels (ADR) and the obligation to resort to them in certain cases before filing a lawsuit. And in this context, reliable communications take on special relevance , as we explain in this article.
The law indicates that it will be mandatory to try to reach a preliminary agreement in disputes related to:
- Commercial disputes.
- Mortgage contracts, loans and claims of abusive clauses.
- Consumer disputes.
- Horizontal property and urban leases litigation.
- And in collective labor disputes, to try to avoid strikes or more serious situations.
In other words, the courts will not admit lawsuits on matters included in the above categories if a mediation, conciliation or negotiation process has not been initiated beforehand through a neutral expert.
Suspension of the forfeiture of the actions
And among the effects of the opening of this agreement process there is a very significant one, that of the interruption of the statute of limitations or suspension of the expiration of the actions from the moment that one of the parties notifies the intention to negotiate to the other. Specifically, the date of interruption will be the date of the attempt to notify the other party at the personal address or place of work, or through the electronic means of communication previously used.
The role of legal communications
It is at this point where legal communications play a fundamental role due to their capacity to certify the content, the sending and receipt, the identities of the sender and the recipient, the time stamps, the opening of links, among other functionalities directly linked to their legal authenticity.
Its probative value is a guarantee and will be essential so that, in this case, the party seeking to initiate mediation can prove it, under a law that requires negotiation before suing. The courts will admit, in this regard, postal communications, by SMS, email, WhatsApp or burofax, provided that they meet the necessary requirements.
Steps to demand
The interruption of actions caused by the notice of intent to mediate will last until the date of signing the agreement or the end of the process without it. And in this case, the lawsuit may be filed within one year from the end of the unsuccessful negotiation. This period, one year, is also the one established for cases in which the notice of attempted conciliation has no response. Again, certification of communications may be essential.
The courts will admit the claim if they have a certificate attesting to the prior attempt to reach an agreement, which will be issued by the professional or institution that has concluded the process. If this requirement is not met, the claim may be inadmissible. And if one of the parties unjustifiably refuses to submit to mediation and later loses the dispute, it risks paying full costs, including those of the mediation.
Sectors that may be affected
This Law has a significant impact on several sectors and company departments. Here are some examples:
Legal Departments and/or Law Firms: Companies should adapt their legal procedures to include mediation and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms before going to court.
Finance and/or collection departments: Claims for non-payment cannot derive directly in the filing of a lawsuit, but it is required that an attempt has been made to reach an agreement beforehand and also to be able to prove it with documents.
Real estate servicers: In disputes with the horizontal property, it is affected by reaching a prior agreement before going to the judicial vija.
Human Resources: This department will have to manage and mediate internal labor conflicts using the new mediation mechanisms established by law.
Therefore, an important aspect to take into account is that the implementation of mediation processes may imply adjustments in budgets: more resources in the legal area or in the financial department, due to the obligation to reach prior agreements.
Taking into account the potential expense that companies may face, the documentary evidence of having tried to resolve the conflict in an alternative way will be decisive, using solutions that provide evidence of this fact and legal guarantees by any means, such as: bureaufax, certified email and even WhatsApp.
