Fewer court cases as a result of litigation tax hikes

COURT action taken by ordinary citizens and small companies went down by 3.8 per cent in 2013, the first year in which litigation taxes were introduced.

Criminal action reduced by 2.1 per cent, but civil cases fell by 9.2 per cent and administration, public authority or financial claims – such as unpaid wages or invoices, contesting parking or traffic fines, and anything that would come under the UK small claims courts – reduced by 15.5 per cent.

An average of 183.2 court cases per 1,000 inhabitants, or 18.3 per cent, were filed last year, although in some regions the total was higher – Murcia, Valencia, Cantabria, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Madrid, and Andalucía, in that order, with the most being seen in Andalucía and accounting for 21.6 per cent.

The number of court action for dismissal from jobs went down by 0.4 per cent last year, following two years of rapid rises in industrial tribunals – 5.1 per cent more in 2011 and 25.3 per cent more in 2012.

And mass redundancy cases which have to go through the court and be signed off reduced by 1.5 per cent in 2013, according to statistics issued by the General Council for Judicial Power (CGPJ), the court governing body.