Procedural Deadlines and Limitation Periods

Business Days vs Calendar Days

The distinction between business days and calendar days is fundamental for any procedural action. A calculation error can mean the permanent loss of a right.

Business days

All days of the year are business days except Saturdays, Sundays, and national or regional holidays. In procedural matters, deadlines set in days are always understood as business days unless the law expressly states "calendar days" (art. 130.2 LEC).

Calendar days

Every day on the calendar counts, including weekends and holidays. They are used, for example, for the 20 calendar-day deadline for administrative appeals or certain criminal deadlines.

Deadline Calculation (art. 130-136 LEC)

General Rules

• The deadline starts on the day after notification (art. 133.1 LEC). If notified on Monday, the first day of the deadline is Tuesday.
• If the last day falls on a non-business day, it extends to the next business day.
• Deadlines set by months or years are computed date to date: notified on March 15, a one-month deadline expires on April 15.
• Procedural acts must be performed during court office hours, except for electronic filing (LexNET), which allows submissions until 23:59 on the last day.

Electronic Filing Deadlines

LexNET accepts filings 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. However, a filing made on a non-business day is deemed filed on the next business day. The cut-off on the last business day is 23:59:59.

Judicial Holidays: August

August is non-business for procedural purposes (art. 183 LOPJ). This means:

• Running deadlines are suspended on August 1 and resume on September 1.
• Deadlines starting during August begin counting on September 1.
• Exceptions: proceedings declared urgent by law, interim measures, gender violence matters, habeas corpus, prison supervision, and criminal duty courts.

Limitation vs Forfeiture

Limitation (Prescripción)

• Interrupted by any exercise of the right (extrajudicial claim, lawsuit, acknowledgment of debt).
• Once interrupted, the period restarts from zero.
• Applied only upon request of a party (the court does not apply it ex officio in civil matters).

Forfeiture (Caducidad)

• Cannot be interrupted (except in very specific statutory cases such as mandatory pre-trial labor conciliation).
• Applied ex officio by the court.
• Once the deadline passes, the right is permanently extinguished.

Table of Common Deadlines

Scenario	Deadline	Type
Dismissal (conciliation filing)	20 business days	Forfeiture
Non-contractual liability (art. 1968 CC)	1 year	Limitation
Personal actions, no special deadline (art. 1964 CC)	5 years	Limitation
Real property actions (art. 1963 CC)	30 years	Limitation
Civil appeal (art. 458 LEC)	20 business days	Forfeiture
Administrative appeal	2 months (express act) / 6 months (silence)	Forfeiture
Labor payment claim	1 year	Limitation
Product liability action	3 years	Limitation

Calculation Tools

To avoid errors, Lexiel includes a procedural deadline calculator that accounts for the judicial calendar of each court district, regional and local holidays, and the August non-business period. The system automatically alerts when a deadline is about to expire and allows configuring advance reminders.