Our articles offer insights on cross-border litigation, and legal developments in Spain affecting individuals and businesses worldwide. Backed by experienced solicitors in Greater London, we provide articles and practical guidance on Litigation for International Clients and generally strive to offer our clients and partners relevant and updated information. Any questions about our content, feel very welcome to contact us here.
On 13 April 2026, the United States took a step that shifted the tectonic plates of international maritime law. The announcement of a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz was framed as a strategic necessity: a move to cut off Iran’s oil revenues, force diplomatic concessions, and bring a swift end to regional conflict. However, from the perspective of a legal practitioner, the move
A groundbreaking resolution from Spain’s Directorate-General for Legal Security and Public Faith, issued on 4 August 2025, has provided crucial clarification for STEP practitioners managing cross-border estates between the UK and Spain. This decision establishes clear precedent that English law can govern Spanish asset inheritance through implied choice of law provisions, eliminating the need for UK Grants of Probate in many circumstances. The resolution addresses
British clients who attend court in Spain often ask me the same question: “Why is the judge doing all the talking?” For anyone familiar with the English courtroom, where judges sit silently as barristers argue, the Spanish scene can feel unsettling. A magistrate in Madrid may cut into a witness’s testimony, demand further evidence, or redirect a lawyer’s line of questioning. To a British observer, it
The Investors residence permit (also known as golden visa) has been one of the most popular vehicles used by non-European expats in order to start a life in Spain. Between 2019 and 2020, before Brexit fully took effect, some UK citizens secured Spanish Golden Visas through property investments in anticipation of losing EU free movement rights. However, Spain’s new immigration law reform that came into
How Del Canto Chambers Can Help You If you entered into a mortgage in Spain – whether with a Spanish or international bank – and that loan was offered as a multi-currency mortgage (for example, denominated in Swiss francs or Japanese yen on a Spanish property), you may now face unexpected financial and legal consequences. The problem On paper, these products looked like a smart way to
Del Canto Chambers Spanish tax team, led by Paula Losada has recently achieved a significant victory against the Spanish Tax Authorities in an administrative court (Juzgado Central de lo Contencioso-Administrativo nº 2 de la Audiencia Nacional). In 2019, a Spanish tax resident client faced a tax inspection regarding their 2015 Income Tax Return. The Spanish Tax Office claimed a significant amount due to an alleged
A boomerang blow to the enforcement of arbitral awards against Spain?. The High Court of Australia upholds ‘recognition’ and ‘enforcement’ of a multimillion ICSID award in favour of renewable energy investor Infrastructure Services Luxembourg S.À.R.L. Arbitration analysis: In a judgment dated 12 April 2023, the Australian High Court has dismissed the appeal lodged by the Kingdom of Spain (‘Spain’) and upheld the recognition and enforcement
International Comparative Legal Guide – Competition Litigation 2022. Our colleague Josep Galvez has authored the Spanish chapter in the latest edition of the 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 – 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮. The Guide covers common issues in competition litigation across a number of jurisdictions, as well as features further insight into remedies, evidence, timing, settlement, costs, appeal and recent competition litigation cases in Spain. This publication provides corporate
The Lugano Convention: a matter of genuine concern for the UK. “As a consequence of leaving the EU, the UK lost its membership of the Lugano Convention, a relevant international treaty between the EU with other European states that form the European Free Trade Association, including Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland. Consequently, in April 2020, the UK government applied to re-join the Convention as an independent
Boilerplate Clauses in Commercial Contracts. When it comes to daily life, you sign all sorts of contracts. Think you don’t? You might be surprised. When you get a phone and “accept” the disclosures and user agreement, that’s a contract. Lots of contracts surround financial work, such as loans for cars and homes. And most of the time when it comes to contracts, many of us
Mortgage expenses “to be refunded in full”. Once again, the ECJ corrects the jurisprudence of the Spanish Supreme Court, on this occasion with regards to the mortgage expenses and the mortgage opening fees. A judgement has been handed down in the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on 16th July 2020 relating to several issues regarding mortgage expenses, mortgage opening fees, claim limitation periods and
The Hispanic Dispute Resolution Centre (ADR) in London. As part of our Dispute Resolution initiatives, Del Canto Chambers project has launched a project to create a Hispanic Dispute Resolution Centre (ADR) in London as part of the Financial Times #InnovativeLawyers2020 Global Legal Hackathon Challenge The project involves setting up a virtual Hispanic Mediation and Arbitration Centre located in London. With travel restrictions set to continue
Post-COVID19 insolvencies in Spain: Apocalypse now? As we reported in our previous legal alert, the state of emergency has practically suspended all non-urgent activity before the Spanish courts, and specifically those proceedings related to commercial and business matters. Accordingly, despite the severe circumstances affecting companies in financial distress due to their lack of activity, the Spanish commercial courts are not currently processing pre-insolvency notices or
Dear Clients Del Canto Chambers Press Note on COVID-19. Due to the recent communications issued by several Official Sources advising companies to promote the teleworking in those zones where there is a high risk of transmission of the so called Virus Covid-19. Our Firm has decided to put in practice these measures in order to prevent and stop the spreading of the virus. Del Canto
The European Court of Justice ruling on IRPH Spanish mortgage loan clauses. The court handed down judgment on 3 March 2020, granting consumers affected by the index reference for mortgage loans (IRPH) a new chance to claim against Spanish banks. An alternative to Euribor, the IRPH is a mortgage indicator for interest rates applied in Spain by the Spanish Central Bank. Generally, it is more
The new strategy of banks: request the testimony of the borrowers. Banks are up against the wall. Especially with regard to floor clause claims. The Bank’s chances for obtaining a ruling in favour of their interests are very unlikely. Especially, after the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union 21/12/2016. Although the former Spanish Government had put spokes in the consumers’ wheels
The OCU appeals the decision of the CGPJ to create specialized courts for floor clause claims. This isn’t the first time that from Del Canto Chambers, we inform on the disadvantages of the creation of Ad Hoc Courts for floor clauses. In our article published last month #MortgagedJustice. The bank claims: a hard journey. We highlighted the inconveniences for those consumers who, for example, must
When will mankind be convinced and agree to settle their difficulties by arbitration?. We would do better if we would have paid more attention to Benjamin Franklin…. Dispute resolution ADR Alternative dispute resolution ADR is mechanisms for the parties in conflict to resolve their differences and avoid going to court. Its effective, efficient, and quick in family disputes, working relationships, and commercial agreements. In Spain,
If you violate her, you violate me! Spaniards have taken to the streets to protest the verdict of five men accused of raping an 18-year-old woman at the ‘Running of the Bulls’ in Pamplona. According to Spanish Barrister and feminist, Leon Fernando Del Canto, sexual aggression or ‘rape’ is defined by Article 178 of the 1995 Spanish Penal Code as involving penetration but also “violence
The claims service of the Bank of Spain has been overwhelmed by consumers making complaints against lenders for abusive mortgage interest floor clauses, and set-up costs. The Claims Service of the Bank of Spain is a body that evaluates consumer complaints against financial service companies. The Bank of Spain has revealed that there were 40,173 complaints registered with it against Spanish financial institutions last year.
The Decision has already aroused the first controversies in the Spanish legal scene and in the Consumers Associations that will undoubtedly raise this case to the European Court of Justice which will have the last word to say. It is not the first time that the CJEU corrects and amends the decision of the Spanish Supreme Court. Although, the complete sentence has not been published
As was expected after EU Court of Justice ruling in December of 2016, Spanish banks have little hope of defending themselves against legal claims brought by clients with abusive clauses in their mortgages. The effectiveness of the extrajudicial methods for avoiding going to court is limited.Trying to settle out of court is not as effective as you might think. In addition, some clients have been
Our colleague Nuria Monjas de Castro has published an article about the problems of competent jurisdiction due to defamation in digital media. There is no a universal regulation to determine the competent court. It is a complicated issue that is usually resolved by applying a general rule: the domicile court of the defendant will be competent. To find out the original article, we invite you
In the old days – when it comes to floor clauses when I say “in the old days” I mean 2013-, floor clause matters were settled in Commercial Courts; one per province, except in large cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Malaga. These courts were created to take charge of bankruptcy proceedings and industrial and intellectual property matters, among others. This means that in
