When is an appeal ordinary and extraordinary?

When is an appeal ordinary and extraordinary?
Published on: 25 January 2023

Ordinary appeals are those that can be lodged for any reason or on any basis, i.e. modification, exception, appeal or complaint. Extraordinary appeals, on the other hand, can only be lodged on grounds determined by law, i.e. by appeal or review. These can be divided into reimbursable or non-reimbursable or suspended and non-suspended. But to know when an appeal is an ordinary extraordinary appeal, the best person who can advise you is a specialist in civil law.

It is said to be reimbursable or non-reimbursable when they are resolved by the same level of judicial hierarchy that issued the contested decision (reform and appeal) and remissible, those that are resolved by a higher level than the judge or court that issued the decision. There are even some that can only be resolved by the highest levels of the judiciary, such as appeals and corrections.

On the other hand, there are suspended and non-suspended appeals, i.e. those whose filing would mean paralysing the execution of the contested decision.

When we speak of an appeal with "single effect", we mean that it only produces a devolutive effect, i.e. by a decision superior to the judiciary that issues the appeal decision. The acceptance of an appeal with "double effect" also implies that the contested decisions are not enforced when the appeal is disposed of. In any case, the acceptance of an appeal with one or both effects is not left to judicial discretion, but the answer to the appeal in the terms provided for by law, unless expressly provided otherwise by law, does not have suspensive effect. Depending on the nature of the contested decision, a distinction is made between appeals against interlocutory decisions (orders and orders) and appeals against judgments.

What are the procedural deadlines?

(a) The computation of the time limit starts from the day following the day of the notification.

b) For the purposes of the challenge, only weekdays, i.e. Monday to Friday, are counted.

c) These are time limits, of course considerable, and only interrupted by an appeal against any presumption of admissibility. They work all hours of the day to investigate crimes in accordance with article 184.1 of the LOPJ. It is understood that the authorisation of non-working days is for any procedural act occurring during the investigation phase, so that the lodging of an appeal, only in this phase, will be adjusted to the calculation of calendar days. This interpretation is constitutionally valid. It is necessary to take into account the provisions of the Constitutional Court.

Types of ordinary appeals

  • Appeal for reform: If there is no immunity from appeal, an appeal may be lodged against any order or ruling issued by a single judge in a criminal case (examining magistrate, judge for violence against women, juvenile judge or criminal judge) (Articles 217 and 787 of the LECrim). The deadline for filing is three days.
  • Appeal: Appeals against interlocutory judgments can only be lodged against judgments handed down in criminal proceedings by single courts (investigating judges, criminal judges, judges for violence against women, minors, penitentiary surveillance, etc.).
  • Complaint: Complaints may be appealed against two decisions; one against the judge's decision to dismiss the appeal and the other to challenge the decision of the hearing to dismiss the appeal. This appeal will not be addressed to the one who issued the decision on the appeal, but directly to the one who has to decide on the appeal; either the hearing or the Supreme Court, respectively.

Types of extraordinary appeals

These are those applications that can only be made on the grounds or grounds provided for by law. In our legal system, these are appeals to the Supreme Court and appeals for review, including writs and decisions, and are as follows:

  • Appeal: If the contested decision is an order, it can only be appealed on the grounds of illegality.
  • Appeal: If the contested decision is an order, it can only be appealed on the ground of illegality. This shall apply to those orders for which the law allows such appeals on an expedited basis, as well as to all final orders determined in first instance, as well as in appeals in district or criminal courts in state courts, when considering the end of the proceedings. For lack of jurisdiction or free dismissal and by judicial decision subject to reasonable imputation, the case was directed against the accused.
  • Appeal for review: Appeals for review (Art. 954 ff.) only apply to final judgments, which are in principle unappealable, and only paralyse the process of execution of manifestly unjust judgments.
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