Spain

C. Pillar III. Access to Remedy [pages 22-23]

The independence of the judiciary, stipulated in Article 117 of the Spanish Constitution, is an essential element to guarantee access to effective judicial redress mechanisms.

Regarding the need to remove obstacles of any kind that may limit access to remedy, which may include temporary limitations, it should be noted that the Spanish legal system provides no statute of limitation for the most serious crimes, that is, genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

In 2010 a system of criminal liability of legal persons was introduced in the Spanish legal system (Article 31.bis of the Criminal Code), which was subject of technical improvement in 2015. This institution constitutes an important mechanism for the reparation of any damage caused by a company’s activity to the possible victims.

Finally, the Law on Free Legal Aid guarantees that the lack of resources will not be an obstacle to access judicial mechanisms of reparation.

Measures

1. The Government, through the policy of cooperation for development, will support the efforts of third-party States in favor of strengthening the independence of the judiciary.
2. Specific training on business and human rights will be provided to judges and prosecutors. 3. The Government will develop and provide the necessary instruments so that every citizen can have access to comprehensible information about all of the grievance mechanisms that they can use. Therefore, a map of the existing resources in terms of legal assistance will be made and publicised.