Since 3 April 2025, going to court without having attempted mediation can cost you the case.
This is not an exaggeration. It is Organic Law 1/2025.
These are the 5 points every company and every attorney must know:
- It is mandatory, not optional. Before filing any civil or commercial claim, you must certify that you attempted to resolve the dispute through an ADR mechanism — Adequate Dispute Resolution Means (MASC). Without that certificate, the court will not admit the claim.
- You do not have to reach an agreement. You only have to try in good faith. A single information session before an accredited mediator is sufficient to meet the requirement. If the other party fails to attend, that also counts.
- Refusal has consequences. If a party unjustifiably refuses to participate and later loses the litigation, it may be ordered to pay all costs — including those of the mediation attempt.
- There are important exceptions. It does not apply in criminal, insolvency or administrative proceedings, nor in matters involving minors or fundamental rights.
- The maximum time frame is 3 months. If mediation is chosen as the ADR mechanism, the process may not exceed 3 months from the request. It is an agile mechanism, not a new bureaucratic maze.
LO 1/2025 is not just a procedural change. It is a change of legal culture.