A Characterization of the Judicial System in Spain: Analysis with Formalism Indices

In this paper, a previously proposed measure of “procedural formalism” of the judicial system for dispute resolution has been adapted in order to characterize the judicial enforcement of contracts in Spain in the long run (1966-2006). Spain has a multiplicity of procedures for the same type of civil dispute depending on the amount of the conflict. In this paper all those procedures are analyzed. The result of this research indicates that formalism of the Spanish judicial system has diminished in the most recent years. That result helps to explain the recent developments of the resolution, congestion and pending cases rates of the Spanish Judicial System. The results also contests the level of formalism assigned to Spain by previous works in this field.